THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS [1] By Flavius Josephus Translated by William Whiston PREFACE. 1. Those who undertake to write histories, do not, I perceive, take thattrouble on one and the same account, but for many reasons, and thosesuch as are very different one from another. For some of them applythemselves 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 gratify thosethat happen to be concerned in them, and on that account have spared nopains, but rather gone beyond their own abilities in the performance:but others there are, who, of necessity and by force, are driven towrite history, because they are concerned in the facts, and so cannotexcuse themselves from committing them to writing, for the advantageof posterity; nay, there are not a few who are induced to draw theirhistorical facts out of darkness into light, and to produce them for thebenefit of the public, on account of the great importance of the factsthemselves with which they have been concerned. Now of these severalreasons for writing history, I must profess the two last were my ownreasons also; for since I was myself interested in that war which weJews had with the Romans, and knew myself its particular actions, andwhat conclusion it had, I was forced to give the history of it, because I saw that others perverted the truth of those actions in theirwritings. 2. Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appearto all the Greeks [2] worthy of their study; for it will contain all ourantiquities, and the constitution of our government, as interpreted outof the Hebrew Scriptures. And indeed I did formerly intend, when I wroteof the war, [3] to explain who the Jews originally were, --what fortunesthey had been subject to, --and by what legislature they had beeninstructed in piety, and the exercise of other virtues, --what wars alsothey had made in remote ages, till they were unwillingly engaged inthis last with the Romans: but because this work would take up a greatcompass, I separated it into a set treatise by itself, with a beginningof its own, and its own conclusion; but in process of time, as usuallyhappens to such as undertake great things, I grew weary and went onslowly, it being a large subject, and a difficult thing to translate ourhistory into a foreign, and to us unaccustomed language. However, somepersons there were who desired to know our history, and so exhorted meto go on with it; and, above all the rest, Epaphroditus, [4] a man whois a lover of all kind of learning, but is principally delighted withthe knowledge of history, and this on account of his having been himselfconcerned in great affairs, and many turns of fortune, and having showna wonderful rigor of an excellent nature, and an immovable virtuousresolution in them all. I yielded to this man's persuasions, who alwaysexcites such as have abilities in what is useful and acceptable, tojoin their endeavors with his. I was also ashamed myself to permit anylaziness of disposition to have a greater influence upon me, than thedelight of taking pains in such studies as were very useful: I thereuponstirred up myself, and went on with my work more cheerfully. Besides theforegoing motives, I had others which I greatly reflected on; and thesewere, that our forefathers were willing to communicate such things toothers; and that some of the Greeks took considerable pains to know theaffairs of our nation. 3. I found, therefore, that the second of the Ptolemies was a kingwho was extraordinarily diligent in what concerned learning, and thecollection of books; that he was also peculiarly ambitious to procurea translation of our law, and of the constitution of our governmenttherein contained, into the Greek tongue. Now Eleazar the high priest, one not inferior to any other of that dignity among us, did not envy theforenamed king the participation of that advantage, which otherwise hewould for certain have denied him, but that he knew the custom of ournation was, to hinder nothing of what we esteemed ourselves from beingcommunicated to others. Accordingly, I thought it became me both toimitate the generosity of our high priest, and to suppose there mighteven now be many lovers of learning like the king; for he did not obtainall our writings at that time; but those who were sent to Alexandriaas interpreters, gave him only the books of the law, while there were avast number of other matters in our sacred books. They, indeed, containin them the history of five thousand years; in which time happenedmany strange accidents, many chances of war, and great actions of thecommanders, and mutations of the form of our government. Upon the whole, a man that will peruse this history, may principally learn from it, thatall events succeed well, even to an incredible degree, and the rewardof felicity is proposed by God; but then it is to those that follow hiswill, and do not venture to break his excellent laws: and that so far asmen any way apostatize from the accurate observation of them, what waspractical before becomes impracticable [5] and whatsoever they set aboutas a good thing, is converted into an incurable calamity. And now Iexhort all those that peruse these books, to apply their minds toGod; and to examine the mind of our legislator, whether he hath notunderstood his nature in a manner worthy of him; and hath not everascribed to him such operations as become his power, and hath notpreserved his writings from those indecent fables which others haveframed, although, by the great distance of time when he lived, he mighthave securely forged such lies; for he lived two thousand years ago; atwhich vast distance of ages the poets themselves have not been so hardyas to fix even the generations of their gods, much less the actionsof their men, or their own laws. As I proceed, therefore, I shallaccurately describe what is contained in our records, in the orderof time that belongs to them; for I have already promised so to dothroughout this undertaking; and this without adding any thing to whatis therein contained, or taking away any thing therefrom. 4. But because almost all our constitution depends on the wisdom ofMoses, our legislator, I cannot avoid saying somewhat concerning himbeforehand, though I shall do it briefly; I mean, because otherwisethose that read my book may wonder how it comes to pass, that mydiscourse, which promises an account of laws and historical facts, contains so much of philosophy. The reader is therefore to know, thatMoses deemed it exceeding necessary, that he who would conduct his ownlife well, and give laws to others, in the first place should considerthe Divine nature; and, upon the contemplation of God's operations, should thereby imitate the best of all patterns, so far as it ispossible for human nature to do, and to endeavor to follow after it:neither could the legislator himself have a right mind without such acontemplation; nor would any thing he should write tend to the promotionof virtue in his readers; I mean, unless they be taught first of all, that God is the Father and Lord of all things, and sees all things, and that thence he bestows a happy life upon those that follow him;but plunges such as do not walk in the paths of virtue into inevitablemiseries. Now when Moses was desirous to teach this lesson to hiscountrymen, he did not begin the establishment of his laws after thesame manner that other legislators did; I mean, upon contracts and otherrights between one man and another, but by raising their minds upwardsto regard God, and his creation of the world; and by persuading them, that we men are the most excellent of the creatures of God upon earth. Now when once he had brought them to submit to religion, he easilypersuaded them to submit in all other things: for as to otherlegislators, they followed fables, and by their discourses transferredthe most reproachful of human vices unto the gods, and affordedwicked men the most plausible excuses for their crimes; but as for ourlegislator, when he had once demonstrated that God was possessed ofperfect virtue, he supposed that men also ought to strive after theparticipation of it; and on those who did not so think, and so believe, he inflicted the severest punishments. I exhort, therefore, my readersto examine this whole undertaking in that view; for thereby it willappear to them, that there is nothing therein disagreeable either to themajesty of God, or to his love to mankind; for all things have here areference to the nature of the universe; while our legislator speakssome things wisely, but enigmatically, and others under a decentallegory, but still explains such things as required a directexplication plainly and expressly. However, those that have a mindto know the reasons of every thing, may find here a very curiousphilosophical theory, which I now indeed shall wave the explication of;but if God afford me time for it, I will set about writing it [6] afterI have finished the present work. I shall now betake myself to thehistory before me, after I have first mentioned what Moses says of thecreation of the world, which I find described in the sacred books afterthe manner following. BOOK I. Containing The Interval Of Three Thousand Eight Hundred AndThirty-Three Years. From The Creation To The Death Of Isaac. CHAPTER 1. The Constitution Of The World And The Disposition Of TheElements. 1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. But when theearth did not come into sight, but was covered with thick darkness, anda wind moved upon its surface, God commanded that there should be light:and when that was made, he considered the whole mass, and separated thelight and the darkness; and the name he gave to one was Night, and theother he called Day: and he named the beginning of light, and the timeof rest, The Evening and The Morning, and this was indeed the first day. But Moses said it was one day; the cause of which I am able to give evennow; but because I have promised to give such reasons for all thingsin a treatise by itself, I shall put off its exposition till that time. After this, on the second day, he placed the heaven over the wholeworld, and separated it from the other parts, and he determined itshould stand by itself. He also placed a crystalline [firmament] roundit, and put it together in a manner agreeable to the earth, and fittedit for giving moisture and rain, and for affording the advantage ofdews. On the third day he appointed the dry land to appear, with the seaitself round about it; and on the very same day he made the plants andthe seeds to spring out of the earth. On the fourth day he adorned theheaven with the sun, the moon, and the other stars, and appointed themtheir motions and courses, that the vicissitudes of the seasons mightbe clearly signified. And on the fifth day he produced the livingcreatures, both those that swim, and those that fly; the former inthe sea, the latter in the air: he also sorted them as to societyand mixture, for procreation, and that their kinds might increase andmultiply. On the sixth day he created the four-footed beasts, and madethem male and female: on the same day he also formed man. AccordinglyMoses says, That in just six days the world, and all that is therein, was made. And that the seventh day was a rest, and a release from thelabor of such operations; whence it is that we Celebrate a rest from ourlabors on that day, and call it the Sabbath, which word denotes rest inthe Hebrew tongue. 2. Moreover, Moses, after the seventh day was over[1] begins to talkphilosophically; and concerning the formation of man, says thus: ThatGod took dust from the ground, and formed man, and inserted in him aspirit and a soul. [2] This man was called Adam, which in the Hebrewtongue signifies one that is red, because he was formed out of redearth, compounded together; for of that kind is virgin and trueearth. God also presented the living creatures, when he had made them, according to their kinds, both male and female, to Adam, who gave themthose names by which they are still called. But when he saw that Adamhad no female companion, no society, for there was no such created, andthat he wondered at the other animals which were male and female, helaid him asleep, and took away one of his ribs, and out of it formedthe woman; whereupon Adam knew her when she was brought to him, andacknowledged that she was made out of himself. Now a woman is calledin the Hebrew tongue Issa; but the name of this woman was Eve, whichsignifies the mother of all living. 3. Moses says further, that God planted a paradise in the east, flourishing with all sorts of trees; and that among them was the treeof life, and another of knowledge, whereby was to be known what was goodand 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 wateredby one river, [3] which ran round about the whole earth, and was partedinto four parts. And Phison, which denotes a multitude, running intoIndia, makes its exit into the sea, and is by the Greeks called Ganges. Euphrates also, as well as Tigris, goes down into the Red Sea. [4] Nowthe name Euphrates, or Phrath, denotes either a dispersion, or a flower:by Tiris, or Diglath, is signified what is swift, with narrowness; andGeon runs through Egypt, and denotes what arises from the east, whichthe Greeks call Nile. 4. God therefore commanded that Adam and his wife should eat of allthe rest of the plants, but to abstain from the tree of knowledge;and foretold to them, that if they touched it, it would prove theirdestruction. But while all the living creatures had one language, [5] atthat time the serpent, which then lived together with Adam and his wife, shewed an envious disposition, at his supposal of their living happily, and in obedience to the commands of God; and imagining, that when theydisobeyed them, they would fall into calamities, he persuaded the woman, out of a malicious intention, to taste of the tree of knowledge, tellingthem, that in that tree was the knowledge of good and evil; whichknowledge, when they should obtain, they would lead a happy life; nay, a life not inferior to that of a god: by which means he overcame thewoman, and persuaded her to despise the command of God. Now when she hadtasted of that tree, and was pleased with its fruit, she persuaded Adamto make use of it also. Upon this they perceived that they were becomenaked to one another; and being ashamed thus to appear abroad, they invented somewhat to cover them; for the tree sharpened theirunderstanding; and they covered themselves with fig-leaves; and tyingthese before them, out of modesty, they thought they were happier thanthey were before, as they had discovered what they were in want of. Butwhen God came into the garden, Adam, who was wont before to come andconverse with him, being conscious of his wicked behavior, went out ofthe way. This behavior surprised God; and he asked what was the causeof this his procedure; and why he, that before delighted in thatconversation, did now fly from it, and avoid it. When he made no reply, as conscious to himself that he had transgressed the command of God, God said, "I had before determined about you both, how you might lead ahappy life, without any affliction, and care, and vexation of soul; andthat all things which might contribute to your enjoyment and pleasureshould grow up by my providence, of their own accord, without your ownlabor and pains-taking; which state of labor and pains-taking would soonbring on old age, and death would not be at any remote distance: but nowthou hast abused this my good-will, and hast disobeyed my commands; forthy silence is not the sign of thy virtue, but of thy evil conscience. "However, Adam excused his sin, and entreated God not to be angry at him, and laid the blame of what was done upon his wife; and said that he wasdeceived by her, and thence became an offender; while she againaccused the serpent. But God allotted him punishment, because he weaklysubmitted to the counsel of his wife; and said the ground should nothenceforth yield its fruits of its own accord, but that when it shouldbe harassed by their labor, it should bring forth some of its fruits, and refuse to bring forth others. He also made Eve liable to theinconveniency of breeding, and the sharp pains of bringing forthchildren; and this because she persuaded Adam with the same argumentswherewith the serpent had persuaded her, and had thereby brought himinto a calamitous condition. He also deprived the serpent of speech, outof indignation at his malicious disposition towards Adam. Besides this, he inserted poison under his tongue, and made him an enemy to men; andsuggested to them, that they should direct their strokes against hishead, that being the place wherein lay his mischievous designs towardsmen, and it being easiest to take vengeance on him, that way. And whenhe had deprived him of the use of his feet, he made him to go rollingall along, and dragging himself upon the ground. And when God hadappointed these penalties for them, he removed Adam and Eve out of thegarden into another place. CHAPTER 2. Concerning The Posterity Of Adam, And The Ten GenerationsFrom Him To The Deluge. 1. Adam and Eve had two sons: the elder of them was named Cain; whichname, when it is interpreted, signifies a possession: the younger wasAbel, which signifies sorrow. They had also daughters. Now the twobrethren were pleased with different courses of life: for Abel, theyounger, was a lover of righteousness; and believing that God waspresent at all his actions, he excelled in virtue; and his employmentwas that of a shepherd. But Cain was not only very wicked in otherrespects, but was wholly intent upon getting; and he first contrived toplough the ground. He slew his brother on the occasion following:--Theyhad resolved to sacrifice to God. Now Cain brought the fruits of theearth, and of his husbandry; but Abel brought milk, and the first-fruitsof his flocks: but God was more delighted with the latter oblation, [6]when he was honored with what grew naturally of its own accord, than hewas with what was the invention of a covetous man, and gotten byforcing the ground; whence it was that Cain was very angry that Abel waspreferred by God before him; and he slew his brother, and hid his deadbody, thinking to escape discovery. But God, knowing what had been done, came to Cain, and asked him what was become of his brother, becausehe had not seen him of many days; whereas he used to observe themconversing together at other times. But Cain was in doubt with himself, and knew not what answer to give to God. At first he said that he washimself at a loss about his brother's disappearing; but when he wasprovoked by God, who pressed him vehemently, as resolving to know whatthe 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 convictedCain, as having been the murderer of his brother; and said, "I wonderat thee, that thou knowest not what is become of a man whom thou thyselfhast destroyed. " God therefore did not inflict the punishment [of death]upon him, on account of his offering sacrifice, and thereby makingsupplication to him not to be extreme in his wrath to him; but he madehim accursed, and threatened his posterity in the seventh generation. Healso cast him, together with his wife, out of that land. And when he wasafraid that in wandering about he should fall among Wild beasts, andby that means perish, God bid him not to entertain such a melancholysuspicion, and to go over all the earth without fear of what mischiefhe might suffer from wild beasts; and setting a mark upon him, that hemight be known, he commanded him to depart. 2. And when Cain had traveled over many countries, he, with his wife, built a city, named Nod, which is a place so called, and there hesettled his abode; where also he had children. However, he did notaccept of his punishment in order to amendment, but to increase hiswickedness; for he only aimed to procure every thing that was forhis own bodily pleasure, though it obliged him to be injurious to hisneighbors. He augmented his household substance with much wealth, byrapine and violence; he excited his acquaintance to procure pleasuresand spoils by robbery, and became a great leader of men into wickedcourses. He also introduced a change in that way of simplicity whereinmen lived before; and was the author of measures and weights. Andwhereas they lived innocently and generously while they knew nothing ofsuch arts, he changed the world into cunning craftiness. He first ofall set boundaries about lands: he built a city, and fortified it withwalls, and he compelled his family to come together to it; and calledthat city Enoch, after the name of his eldest son Enoch. Now Jared wasthe son of Enoch; whose son was Malaliel; whose son was Mathusela; whoseson was Lamech; who had seventy-seven children by two wives, Silla andAda. Of those children by Ada, one was Jabal: he erected tents, andloved the life of a shepherd. But Jubal, who was born of the same motherwith him, exercised himself in music;[7] and invented the psaltery andthe harp. But Tubal, one of his children by the other wife, exceeded allmen in strength, and was very expert and famous in martial performances. He procured what tended to the pleasures of the body by that method;and first of all invented the art of making brass. Lamech was alsothe father of a daughter, whose name was Naamah. And because he wasso skillful in matters of divine revelation, that he knew he was to bepunished for Cain's murder of his brother, he made that known tohis wives. Nay, even while Adam was alive, it came to pass that theposterity of Cain became exceeding wicked, every one successively dying, one after another, more wicked than the former. They were intolerablein war, and vehement in robberies; and if any one were slow to murderpeople, yet was he bold in his profligate behavior, in acting unjustly, and doing injuries for gain. 3. Now Adam, who was the first man, and made out of the earth, [for ourdiscourse must now be about him, ] after Abel was slain, and Cain fledaway, on account of his murder, was solicitous for posterity, and had avehement desire of children, he being two hundred and thirty years old;after which time he lived other seven hundred, and then died. He hadindeed many other children, [8] but Seth in particular. As for the rest, it would be tedious to name them; I will therefore only endeavor to givean account of those that proceeded from Seth. Now this Seth, when he wasbrought up, and came to those years in which he could discern whatwas good, became a virtuous man; and as he was himself of an excellentcharacter, so did he leave children behind him who imitated hisvirtues. [9] All these proved to be of good dispositions. They alsoinhabited the same country without dissensions, and in a happycondition, without any misfortunes falling upon them, till they died. They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which isconcerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order. And that theirinventions might not be lost before they were sufficiently known, uponAdam's prediction that the world was to be destroyed at one time bythe force of fire, and at another time by the violence and quantity ofwater, they made two pillars, [10] the one of brick, the other of stone:they inscribed their discoveries on them both, that in case the pillarof brick should be destroyed by the flood, the pillar of stone mightremain, and exhibit those discoveries to mankind; and also inform themthat there was another pillar of brick erected by them. Now this remainsin the land of Siriad to this day. CHAPTER 3. Concerning The Flood; And After What Manner Noah Was Saved InAn Ark, With His Kindred, And Afterwards Dwelt In The Plain Of Shinar. 1. Now this posterity of Seth continued to esteem God as the Lord of theuniverse, and to have an entire regard to virtue, for seven generations;but in process of time they were perverted, and forsook the practicesof their forefathers; and did neither pay those honors to God which wereappointed them, nor had they any concern to do justice towards men. Butfor what degree of zeal they had formerly shown for virtue, they nowshowed by their actions a double degree of wickedness, whereby theymade God to be their enemy. For many angels[11] of God accompanied withwomen, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that wasgood, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; forthe tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of thosewhom the Grecians call giants. But Noah was very uneasy at what theydid; and being displeased at their conduct, persuaded them to changetheir dispositions and their acts for the better: but seeing they didnot yield to him, but were slaves to their wicked pleasures, he wasafraid they would kill him, together with his wife and children, andthose they had married; so he departed out of that land. 2. Now God loved this man for his righteousness: yet he not onlycondemned those other men for their wickedness, but determined todestroy the whole race of mankind, and to make another race that shouldbe pure from wickedness; and cutting short their lives, and making theiryears not so many as they formerly lived, but one hundred and twentyonly, [12] he turned the dry land into sea; and thus were all thesemen destroyed: but Noah alone was saved; for God suggested to him thefollowing contrivance and way of escape:--That he should make an ark offour stories high, three hundred cubits[13] long, fifty cubits broad, and thirty cubits high. Accordingly he entered into that ark, andhis wife, and sons, and their wives, and put into it not only otherprovisions, to support their wants there, but also sent in with therest all sorts of living creatures, the male and his female, for thepreservation of their kinds; and others of them by sevens. Now this arkhad firm walls, and a roof, and was braced with cross beams, so that itcould not be any way drowned or overborne by the violence of the water. And thus was Noah, with his family, preserved. Now he was the tenth fromAdam, as being the son of Lamech, whose father was Mathusela; he was theson of Enoch, the son of Jared; and Jared was the son of Malaleel, who, with many of his sisters, were the children of Cainan, the son of Enos. Now Enos was the son of Seth, the son of Adam. 3. This calamity happened in the six hundredth year of Noah'sgovernment, [age, ] in the second month, [14] called by the MacedoniansDius, but by the Hebrews Marchesuan: for so did they order their yearin Egypt. But Moses appointed that ú Nisan, which is the same withXanthicus, should be the first month for their festivals, because hebrought them out of Egypt in that month: so that this month beganthe year as to all the solemnities they observed to the honor of God, although he preserved the original order of the months as to selling andbuying, and other ordinary affairs. Now he says that this flood beganon the twenty-seventh [seventeenth] day of the forementioned month;and this was two thousand six hundred and fifty-six [one thousand sixhundred and fifty-six] years from Adam, the first man; and the timeis written down in our sacred books, those who then lived having noteddown, [15] with great accuracy, both the births and deaths of illustriousmen. 4. For indeed Seth was born when Adam was in his two hundred andthirtieth year, who lived nine hundred and thirty years. Seth begat Enosin his two hundred and fifth year; who, when he had lived nine hundredand twelve years, delivered the government to Cainan his son, whom hehad in his hundred and ninetieth year. He lived nine hundred and fiveyears. Cainan, when he had lived nine hundred and ten years, had hisson Malaleel, who was born in his hundred and seventieth year. ThisMalaleel, having lived eight hundred and ninety-five years, died, leaving his son Jared, whom he begat when he was in his hundred andsixty-fifth year. He lived nine hundred and sixty-two years; and thenhis son Enoch succeeded him, who was born when his father was onehundred and sixty-two years old. Now he, when he had lived three hundredand sixty-five years, departed and went to God; whence it is that theyhave not written down his death. Now Mathusela, the son of Enoch, whowas born to him when he was one hundred and sixty-five years old, hadLamech for his son when he was one hundred and eighty-seven years ofage; to whom he delivered the government, when he had retained it ninehundred and sixty-nine years. Now Lamech, when he had governed sevenhundred and seventy-seven years, appointed Noah, his son, to be rulerof the people, who was born to Lamech when he was one hundred andeighty-two years old, and retained the government nine hundred and fiftyyears. These years collected together make up the sum before set down. But let no one inquire into the deaths of these men; for they extendedtheir lives along together with their children and grandchildren; butlet him have regard to their births only. 5. When God gave the signal, and it began to rain, the water poured downforty entire days, till it became fifteen cubits higher than the earth;which was the reason why there was no greater number preserved, sincethey had no place to fly to. When the rain ceased, the water did butjust begin to abate after one hundred and fifty days, [that is, on theseventeenth day of the seventh month, ] it then ceasing to subside fora little while. After this, the ark rested on the top of a certainmountain in Armenia; which, when Noah understood, he opened it; andseeing a small piece of land about it, he continued quiet, and conceivedsome cheerful hopes of deliverance. But a few days afterward, whenthe water was decreased to a greater degree, he sent out a raven, asdesirous to learn whether any other part of the earth were left dry bythe water, and whether he might go out of the ark with safety; but theraven, finding all the land still overflowed, returned to Noah again. And after seven days he sent out a dove, to know the state of theground; which came back to him covered with mud, and bringing an olivebranch: hereby Noah learned that the earth was become clear of theflood. So after he had staid seven more days, he sent the livingcreatures out of the ark; and both he and his family went out, when healso sacrificed to God, and feasted with his companions. However, theArmenians call this place, [GREEK] [16] The Place of Descent; forthe ark being saved in that place, its remains are shown there by theinhabitants to this day. 6. Now all the writers of barbarian histories make mention of thisflood, and of this ark; among whom is Berosus the Chaldean. For when heis describing the circumstances of the flood, he goes on thus: "It issaid there is still some part of this ship in Armenia, at the mountainof the Cordyaeans; and that some people carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they take away, and use chiefly as amulets for the averting ofmischiefs. " Hieronymus the Egyptian also, who wrote the PhoenicianAntiquities, and Mnaseas, and a great many more, make mention of thesame. Nay, Nicolaus of Damascus, in his ninety-sixth book, hath aparticular relation about them; where he speaks thus: "There is agreat mountain in Armenia, over Minyas, called Baris, upon which it isreported that many who fled at the time of the Deluge were saved; andthat one who was carried in an ark came on shore upon the top of it; andthat the remains of the timber were a great while preserved. This mightbe the man about whom Moses the legislator of the Jews wrote. " 7. But as for Noah, he was afraid, since God had determined to destroymankind, lest he should drown the earth every year; so he offeredburnt-offerings, and besought God that nature might hereafter go on inits former orderly course, and that he would not bring on so great ajudgment any more, by which the whole race of creatures might be indanger of destruction: but that, having now punished the wicked, hewould of his goodness spare the remainder, and such as he had hithertojudged fit to be delivered from so severe a calamity; for that otherwisethese last must be more miserable than the first, and that they must becondemned to a worse condition than the others, unless they be sufferedto escape entirely; that is, if they be reserved for another deluge;while they must be afflicted with the terror and sight of the firstdeluge, and must also be destroyed by a second. He also entreated God toaccept of his sacrifice, and to grant that the earth might never againundergo the like effects of 'his wrath; that men might be permittedto go on cheerfully in cultivating the same; to build cities, and livehappily in them; and that they might not be deprived of any of thosegood things which they enjoyed before the Flood; but might attain to thelike length of days, and old age, which the ancient people had arrivedat before. 8. When Noah had made these supplications, God, who loved the man forhis righteousness, granted entire success to his prayers, and said, thatit was not he who brought the destruction on a polluted world, but thatthey underwent that vengeance on account of their own wickedness; andthat he had not brought men into the world if he had himself determinedto destroy them, it being an instance of greater wisdom not to havegranted them life at all, than, after it was granted, to procure theirdestruction; "But the injuries, " said he, "they offered to my holinessand virtue, forced me to bring this punishment upon them. But I willleave off for the time to come to require such punishments, the effectsof so great wrath, for their future wicked actions, and especially onaccount of thy prayers. But if I shall at any time send tempests ofrain, in an extraordinary manner, be not affrighted at the largeness ofthe showers; for the water shall no more overspread the earth. However, I require you to abstain from shedding the blood of men, and to keepyourselves pure from murder; and to punish those that commit any suchthing. I permit you to make use of all the other living creatures atyour pleasure, and as your appetites lead you; for I have made you lordsof them all, both of those that walk on the land, and those that swimin the waters, and of those that fly in the regions of the air on high, excepting their blood, for therein is the life. But I will give youa sign that I have left off my anger by my bow. " [whereby is meant therainbow, for they determined that the rainbow was the bow of God]. Andwhen God had said and promised thus, he went away. 9. Now when Noah had lived three hundred and fifty years after theFlood, and that all that time happily, he died, having lived the numberof nine hundred and fifty years. But let no one, upon comparing thelives of the ancients with our lives, and with the few years which wenow live, think that what we have said of them is false; or make theshortness of our lives at present an argument, that neither did theyattain to so long a duration of life, for those ancients were beloved ofGod, and [lately] made by God himself; and because their food was thenfitter for the prolongation of life, might well live so great a numberof years: and besides, God afforded them a longer time of lifeon account of their virtue, and the good use they made of it inastronomical and geometrical discoveries, which would not have affordedthe time of foretelling [the periods of the stars] unless they had livedsix hundred years; for the great year is completed in that interval. NowI have for witnesses to what I have said, all those that have writtenAntiquities, both among the Greeks and barbarians; for even Manetho, who wrote the Egyptian History, and Berosus, who collected the ChaldeanMonuments, and Mochus, and Hestieus, and, besides these, Hieronymus theEgyptian, and those who composed the Phoenician History, agree to whatI here say: Hesiod also, and Hecatseus, Hellanicus, and Acusilaus; and, besides these, Ephorus and Nicolaus relate that the ancients lived athousand years. But as to these matters, let every one look upon them ashe thinks fit. CHAPTER 4. Concerning The Tower Of Babylon, And The Confusion OfTongues. 1. Now the sons of Noah were three, --Shem, Japhet, and Ham, born onehundred years before the Deluge. These first of all descended fromthe mountains into the plains, and fixed their habitation there; andpersuaded others who were greatly afraid of the lower grounds on accountof the flood, and so were very loath to come down from the higherplaces, to venture to follow their examples. Now the plain in which theyfirst dwelt was called Shinar. God also commanded them to send coloniesabroad, for the thorough peopling of the earth, that they might notraise seditions among themselves, but might cultivate a great part ofthe earth, and enjoy its fruits after a plentiful manner. But they wereso ill instructed that they did not obey God; for which reason they fellinto calamities, and were made sensible, by experience, of what sin theyhad been guilty: for when they flourished with a numerous youth, Godadmonished them again to send out colonies; but they, imagining theprosperity they enjoyed was not derived from the favor of God, butsupposing that their own power was the proper cause of the plentifulcondition they were in, did not obey him. Nay, they added to this theirdisobedience to the Divine will, the suspicion that they were thereforeordered to send out separate colonies, that, being divided asunder, theymight the more easily be Oppressed. 2. Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contemptof God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and ofgreat strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, asif it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that itwas their own courage which procured that happiness. He also graduallychanged the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning menfrom the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence onhis power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have amind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too highfor the waters to be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself onGod for destroying their forefathers! 3. Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination ofNimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God; andthey built a tower, neither sparing any pains, nor being in any degreenegligent about the work: and, by reason of the multitude of handsemployed 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 itreally was. It was built of burnt brick, cemented together with mortar, made of bitumen, that it might not be liable to admit water. WhenGod saw that they acted so madly, he did not resolve to destroy themutterly, since they were not grown wiser by the destruction of theformer sinners; but he caused a tumult among them, by producing inthem divers languages, and causing that, through the multitude of thoselanguages, they should not be able to understand one another. The placewherein they built the tower is now called Babylon, because of theconfusion of that language which they readily understood before; for theHebrews mean by the word Babel, confusion. The Sibyl also makes mentionof 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, asif they would thereby ascend up to heaven, but the gods sent storms ofwind and overthrew the tower, and gave every one his peculiar language;and for this reason it was that the city was called Babylon. " But as tothe plan of Shinar, in the country of Babylonia, Hestiaeus mentions it, when he says thus: "Such of the priests as were saved, took the sacredvessels of Jupiter Enyalius, and came to Shinar of Babylonia. " CHAPTER 5. After What Manner The Posterity Of Noah Sent Out Colonies, And Inhabited The Whole Earth. 1. After this they were dispersed abroad, on account of their languages, and went out by colonies every where; and each colony took possessionof that land which they light upon, and unto which God led them; sothat the whole continent was filled with them, both the inland and themaritime countries. There were some also who passed over the sea inships, and inhabited the islands: and some of those nations do stillretain the denominations which were given them by their first founders;but some have lost them also, and some have only admitted certainchanges in them, that they might be the more intelligible to theinhabitants. And they were the Greeks who became the authors of suchmutations. For when in after-ages they grew potent, they claimed tothemselves the glory of antiquity; giving names to the nations thatsounded well [in Greek] that they might be better understood amongthemselves; and setting agreeable forms of government over them, as ifthey were a people derived from themselves. CHAPTER 6. How Every Nation Was Denominated From Their FirstInhabitants. 1. Now they were the grandchildren of Noah, in honor of whom names wereimposed on the nations by those that first seized upon them. Japhet, theson of Noah, had seven sons: they inhabited so, that, beginning at themountains Taurus and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia, as far as theriver Tansis, and along Europe to Cadiz; and settling themselves onthe lands which they light upon, which none had inhabited before, theycalled the nations by their own names. For Gomer founded those whomthe Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls, ] but were then called Gomerites. Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who areby the Greeks called Scythians. Now as to Javan and Madai, the sonsof Japhet; from Madai came the Madeans, who are called Medes, by theGreeks; but from Javan, Ionia, and all the Grecians, are derived. Thobelfounded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberes; and the Mosocheniwere founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians. There is also a markof their ancient denomination still to be shown; for there is even nowamong them a city called Mazaca, which may inform those that are ableto understand, that so was the entire nation once called. Thiras alsocalled those whom he ruled over Thirasians; but the Greeks changedthe name into Thracians. And so many were the countries that had thechildren of Japhet for their inhabitants. Of the three sons of Gomer, Aschanax founded the Aschanaxians, who are now called by the GreeksRheginians. So did Riphath found the Ripheans, now called Paphlagonians;and Thrugramma the Thrugrammeans, who, as the Greeks resolved, werenamed Phrygians. Of the three sons of Javan also, the son of Japhet, Elisa gave name to the Eliseans, who were his subjects; they are now theAeolians. Tharsus to the Tharsians, for so was Cilicia of old called;the sign of which is this, that the noblest city they have, and ametropolis also, is Tarsus, the tau being by change put for the theta. Cethimus possessed the island Cethima: it is now called Cyprus; and fromthat it is that all islands, and the greatest part of the sea-coasts, are named Cethim by the Hebrews: and one city there is in Cyprus thathas been able to preserve its denomination; it has been called Citiusby those who use the language of the Greeks, and has not, by the use ofthat dialect, escaped the name of Cethim. And so many nations have thechildren and grandchildren of Japhet possessed. Now when I have premisedsomewhat, which perhaps the Greeks do not know, I will return andexplain what I have omitted; for such names are pronounced here afterthe manner of the Greeks, to please my readers; for our own countrylanguage does not so pronounce them: but the names in all cases are ofone and the same ending; for the name we here pronounce Noeas, is thereNoah, and in every case retains the same termination. 2. The children of Ham possessed the land from Syria and Amanus, and themountains of Libanus; seizing upon all that was on its sea-coasts, andas far as the ocean, and keeping it as their own. Some indeed of itsnames are utterly vanished away; others of them being changed, andanother sound given them, are hardly to be discovered; yet a few thereare which have kept their denominations entire. For of the four sons ofHam, time has not at all hurt the name of Chus; for the Ethiopians, overwhom he reigned, are even at this day, both by themselves and by all menin Asia, called Chusites. The memory also of the Mesraites is preservedin their name; for all we who inhabit this country [of Judea] calledEgypt Mestre, and the Egyptians Mestreans. Phut also was the founder ofLibya, and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself: there is alsoa river in the country of Moors which bears that name; whence it is thatwe may see the greatest part of the Grecian historiographers mentionthat river and the adjoining country by the appellation of Phut: butthe name it has now has been by change given it from one of the sons ofMesraim, who was called Lybyos. We will inform you presently what hasbeen the occasion why it has been called Africa also. Canaan, the fourthson of Ham, inhabited the country now called Judea, and called it fromhis own name Canaan. The children of these [four] were these: Sabas, whofounded the Sabeans; Evilas, who founded the Evileans, who are calledGetuli; Sabathes founded the Sabathens, they are now called by theGreeks Astaborans; Sabactas settled the Sabactens; and Ragmus theRagmeans; and he had two sons, the one of whom, Judadas, settled theJudadeans, a nation of the western Ethiopians, and left them his name;as did Sabas to the Sabeans: but Nimrod, the son of Chus, staid andtyrannized at Babylon, as we have already informed you. Now all thechildren of Mesraim, being eight in number, possessed the country fromGaza to Egypt, though it retained the name of one only, the Philistim;for the Greeks call part of that country Palestine. As for the rest, Ludieim, and Enemim, and Labim, who alone inhabited in Libya, and calledthe country from himself, Nedim, and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, andCephthorim, we know nothing of them besides their names; for theEthiopic war[17] which we shall describe hereafter, was the cause thatthose cities were overthrown. The sons of Canaan were these: Sidonius, who also built a city of the same name; it is called by the Greeks SidonAmathus inhabited in Amathine, which is even now called Amathe by theinhabitants, although the Macedonians named it Epiphania, from one ofhis posterity: Arudeus possessed the island Aradus: Arucas possessedArce, which is in Libanus. But for the seven others, [Eueus, ] Chetteus, Jebuseus, Amorreus, Gergesus, Eudeus, Sineus, Samareus, we have nothingin the sacred books but their names, for the Hebrews overthrew theircities; and their calamities came upon them on the occasion following. 3. Noah, when, after the deluge, the earth was resettled in its formercondition, set about its cultivation; and when he had planted it withvines, and when the fruit was ripe, and he had gathered the grapes intheir season, and the wine was ready for use, he offered sacrifice, andfeasted, and, being drunk, he fell asleep, and lay naked in an unseemlymanner. When his youngest son saw this, he came laughing, and showedhim to his brethren; but they covered their father's nakedness. And whenNoah was made sensible of what had been done, he prayed for prosperityto his other sons; but for Ham, he did not curse him, by reason of hisnearness in blood, but cursed his prosperity: and when the rest of themescaped that curse, God inflicted it on the children of Canaan. But asto these matters, we shall speak more hereafter. 4. Shem, the third son of Noah, had five sons, who inhabited the landthat began at Euphrates, and reached to the Indian Ocean. For Elam leftbehind him the Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians. Ashur lived atthe city Nineve; and named his subjects Assyrians, who became the mostfortunate nation, beyond others. Arphaxad named the Arphaxadites, whoare now called Chaldeans. Aram had the Aramites, which the Greeks calledSyrians; as Laud founded the Laudites, which are now called Lydians. Ofthe four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus: this countrylies between Palestine and Celesyria. Ul founded Armenia; and Gather theBactrians; and Mesa the Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini. Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom theyoriginally called the Jews Hebrews. [18] Heber begat Joetan and Phaleg:he was called Phaleg, because he was born at the dispersion of thenations to their several countries; for Phaleg among the Hebrewssignifies division. Now Joctan, one of the sons of Heber, had thesesons, Elmodad, Saleph, Asermoth, Jera, Adoram, Aizel, Decla, Ebal, Abimael, Sabeus, Ophir, Euilat, and Jobab. These inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asia adjoining to it. And this shallsuffice concerning the sons of Shem. 5. I will now treat of the Hebrews. The son of Phaleg, whose father WasHeber, was Ragau; whose son was Serug, to whom was born Nahor; his sonwas Terah, who was the father of Abraham, who accordingly was the tenthfrom Noah, and was born in the two hundred and ninety-second year afterthe deluge; for Terah begat Abram in his seventieth year. Nahor begatHaran when he was one hundred and twenty years old; Nahor was born toSerug in his hundred and thirty-second year; Ragau had Serug at onehundred and thirty; at the same age also Phaleg had Ragau; Heber begatPhaleg in his hundred and thirty-fourth year; he himself being begottenby Sala when he was a hundred and thirty years old, whom Arphaxad hadfor his son at the hundred and thirty-fifth year of his age. Arphaxadwas the son of Shem, and born twelve years after the deluge. Now Abramhad two brethren, Nahor and Haran: of these Haran left a son, Lot; asalso Sarai and Milcha his daughters; and died among the Chaldeans, in acity of the Chaldeans, called Ur; and his monument is shown to thisday. These married their nieces. Nabor married Milcha, and Abram marriedSarai. Now Terah hating Chaldea, on account of his mourning for Ilaran, they all removed to Haran of Mesopotamia, where Terah died, and wasburied, when he had lived to be two hundred and five years old; for thelife of man was already, by degrees, diminished, and became shorter thanbefore, till the birth of Moses; after whom the term of human life wasone hundred and twenty years, God determining it to the length thatMoses happened to live. Now Nahor had eight sons by Milcha; Uz and Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Azau, Pheldas, Jadelph, and Bethuel. These were all thegenuine sons of Nahor; for Teba, and Gaam, and Tachas, and Maaca, wereborn of Reuma his concubine: but Bethuel had a daughter, Rebecca, and ason, Laban. CHAPTER 7. How Abram Our Forefather Went Out Of The Land Of TheChaldeans, And Lived In The Land Then Called Canaan But Now Judea. 1. Now Abram, having no son of his own, adopted Lot, his brother Haran'sson, and his wife Sarai's brother; and he left the land of Chaldeawhen he was seventy-five years old, and at the command of God went intoCanaan, and therein he dwelt himself, and left it to his posterity. Hewas a person of great sagacity, both for understanding all things andpersuading his hearers, and not mistaken in his opinions; for whichreason he began to have higher notions of virtue than others had, and hedetermined to renew and to change the opinion all men happened then tohave concerning God; for he was the first that ventured to publish thisnotion, That there was but one God, the Creator of the universe; andthat, as to other [gods], if they contributed any thing to the happinessof men, that each of them afforded it only according to his appointment, and not by their own power. This his opinion was derived from theirregular phenomena that were visible both at land and sea, as well asthose that happen to the sun, and moon, and all the heavenly bodies, thus:--"If [said he] these bodies had power of their own, they wouldcertainly take care of their own regular motions; but since they do notpreserve such regularity, they make it plain, that in so far as theyco-operate to our advantage, they do it not of their own abilities, but as they are subservient to Him that commands them, to whom alone weought justly to offer our honor and thanksgiving. " For which doctrines, when the Chaldeans, and other people of Mesopotamia, raised a tumultagainst him, he thought fit to leave that country; and at the commandand by the assistance of God, he came and lived in the land of Canaan. And when he was there settled, he built an altar, and performed asacrifice to God. 2. Berosus mentions our father Abram without naming him, when he saysthus: "In the tenth generation after the Flood, there was among theChaldeans a man righteous and great, and skillful in the celestialscience. " But Hecatseus does more than barely mention him; for hecomposed, and left behind him, a book concerning him. And Nicolaus ofDamascus, in the fourth book of his History, says thus: "Abram reignedat Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the landabove Babylon, called the land of the Chaldeans: but, after a long time, he got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, andwent into the land then called the land of Canaan, but now the land ofJudea, and this when his posterity were become a multitude; as to whichposterity of his, we relate their history in another work. Now the nameof Abram is even still famous in the country of Damascus; and there isshown a village named from him, The Habitation of Abram. " CHAPTER 8. That When There Was A Famine In Canaan, Abram Went ThenceInto Egypt; And After He Had Continued There A While He Returned BackAgain. 1. Now, after this, when a famine had invaded the land of Canaan, andAbram had discovered that the Egyptians were in a flourishing condition, he was disposed to go down to them, both to partake of the plenty theyenjoyed, and to become an auditor of their priests, and to know whatthey said concerning the gods; designing either to follow them, if theyhad better notions than he, or to convert them into a better way, ifhis own notions proved the truest. Now, seeing he was to take Saraiwith him, and was afraid of the madness of the Egyptians with regardto women, lest the king should kill him on occasion of his wife's greatbeauty, he contrived this device:--he pretended to be her brother, anddirected her in a dissembling way to pretend the same, for he saidit would be for their benefit. Now, as soon as he came into Egypt, ithappened to Abram as he supposed it would; for the fame of his wife'sbeauty was greatly talked of; for which reason Pharaoh, the king ofEgypt, would not be satisfied with what was reported of her, but wouldneeds see her himself, and was preparing to enjoy her; but God put astop to his unjust inclinations, by sending upon him a distemper, and asedition against his government. And when he inquired of the priestshow he might be freed from these calamities, they told him that this hismiserable condition was derived from the wrath of God, upon account ofhis inclinations 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, thatsupposing the woman to be his sister, and not his wife, he set hisaffections on her, as desiring an affinity with him by marrying her, butnot as incited by lust to abuse her. He also made him a large presentin money, and gave him leave to enter into conversation with the mostlearned among the Egyptians; from which conversation his virtue and hisreputation became more conspicuous than they had been before. 2. For whereas the Egyptians were formerly addicted to differentcustoms, and despised one another's sacred and accustomed rites, andwere very angry one with another on that account, Abram conferred witheach of them, and, confuting the reasonings they made use of, every onefor their own practices, demonstrated that such reasonings were vain andvoid of truth: whereupon he was admired by them in those conferences asa very wise man, and one of great sagacity, when he discoursed on anysubject he undertook; and this not only in understanding it, but inpersuading other men also to assent to him. He communicated to themarithmetic, and delivered to them the science of astronomy; for beforeAbram came into Egypt they were unacquainted with those parts oflearning; for that science came from the Chaldeans into Egypt, and fromthence to the Greeks also. 3. As soon as Abram was come back into Canaan, he parted the landbetween him and Lot, upon account of the tumultuous behavior of theirshepherds, concerning the pastures wherein they should feed theirflocks. However, he gave Lot his option, or leave, to choose which landshe would take; and he took himself what the other left, which were thelower grounds at the foot of the mountains; and he himself dwelt inHebron, which is a city seven years more ancient than Tunis of Egypt. But Lot possessed the land of the plain, and the river Jordan, notfar from the city of Sodom, which was then a fine city, but is nowdestroyed, by the will and wrath of God, the cause of which I shall showin its proper place hereafter. CHAPTER 9. The Destruction Of The Sodomites By The Assyrian Wall. At this time, when the Assyrians had the dominion over Asia, the peopleof Sodom were in a flourishing condition, both as to riches and thenumber of their youth. There were five kings that managed the affairsof this county: Ballas, Barsas, Senabar, and Sumobor, with the king ofBela; and each king led on his own troops: and the Assyrians made warupon them; and, dividing their army into four parts, fought againstthem. Now every part of the army had its own commander; and when thebattle was joined, the Assyrians were conquerors, and imposed a tributeon the kings of the Sodomites, who submitted to this slavery twelveyears; and so long they continued to pay their tribute: but on thethirteenth year they rebelled, and then the army of the Assyrians cameupon them, under their commanders Amraphel, Arioch, Chodorlaomer, and Tidal. These kings had laid waste all Syria, and overthrown theoffspring of the giants. And when they were come over against Sodom, they pitched their camp at the vale called the Slime Pits, for at thattime there were pits in that place; but now, upon the destruction of thecity of Sodom, that vale became the Lake Asphaltites, as it is called. However, concerning this lake we shall speak more presently. Now whenthe Sodomites joined battle with the Assyrians, and the fight was veryobstinate, many of them were killed, and the rest were carried captive;among which captives was Lot, who had come to assist the Sodomites. CHAPTER 10. How Abram Fought With The Assyrians, And Overcame Them, AndSaved The Sodomite Prisoners, And Took From The Assyrians The Prey TheyHad Gotten. 1. When, Abram heard of their calamity, he was at once afraid for Lothis kinsman, and pitied the Sodomites, his friends and neighbors; andthinking it proper to afford them assistance, he did not delay it, butmarched hastily, and the fifth night fell upon the Assyrians, near Dan, for that is the name of the other spring of Jordan; and before theycould arm themselves, he slew some as they were in their beds, beforethey could suspect any harm; and others, who were not yet gone to sleep, but were so drunk they could not fight, ran away. Abram pursued afterthem, till, on the second day, he drove them in a body unto Hoba, aplace belonging to Damascus; and thereby demonstrated that victory doesnot depend on multitude and the number of hands, but the alacrity andcourage of soldiers overcome the most numerous bodies of men, while hegot the victory over so great an army with no more than three hundredand eighteen of his servants, and three of his friends: but all thosethat fled returned home ingloriously. 2. So Abram, when he had saved the captive Sodomites, who had been takenby the Assyrians, and Lot also, his kinsman, returned home in peace. Now the king of Sodom met him at a certain place, which they called TheKing's Dale, where Melchisedec, king of the city Salem, received him. That name signifies, the righteous king: and such he was, withoutdispute, insomuch that, on this account, he was made the priest of God:however, they afterward called Salem Jerusalem. Now this Melchisedecsupplied Abram's army in an hospitable manner, and gave them provisionsin abundance; and as they were feasting, he began to praise him, and tobless God for subduing his enemies under him. And when Abram gave himthe tenth part of his prey, he accepted of the gift: but the king ofSodom desired Abram to take the prey, but entreated that he might havethose men restored to him whom Abram had saved from the Assyrians, because they belonged to him. But Abram would not do so; nor would makeany other advantage of that prey than what his servants had eaten; butstill insisted that he should afford a part to his friends that hadassisted him in the battle. The first of them was called Eschol, andthen Enner, and Mambre. 3. And God commended his virtue, and said, Thou shalt not however losethe rewards thou hast deserved to receive by such thy glorious actions. He answered, And what advantage will it be to me to have such rewards, when I have none to enjoy them after me?--for he was hitherto childless. And God promised that he should have a son, and that his posterityshould be very numerous; insomuch that their number should be likethe stars. When he heard that, he offered a sacrifice to God, as hecommanded him. The manner of the sacrifice was this:--He took an heiferof three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram in likemanner of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a pigeon [19] and ashe was enjoined, he divided the three former, but the birds he did notdivide. After which, before he built his altar, where the birds of preyflew about, as desirous of blood, a Divine voice came to him, declaringthat their neighbors would be grievous to his posterity, when theyshould be in Egypt, for four hundred years; [20] during which timethey should be afflicted, but afterwards should overcome their enemies, should conquer the Canaanites in war, and possess themselves of theirland, and of their cities. 4. Now Abram dwelt near the oak called Ogyges, --the place belongs toCanaan, not far from the city of Hebron. But being uneasy at his wife'sbarrenness, he entreated God to grant that he might have male issue; andGod required of him to be of good courage, and said that he would add toall the rest of the benefits that he had bestowed upon him, ever sincehe led him out of Mesopotamia, the gift of children. Accordingly Sarai, at God's command, brought to his bed one of her handmaidens, a womanof Egyptian descent, in order to obtain children by her; and when thishandmaid was with child, she triumphed, and ventured to affront Sarai, as if the dominion were to come to a son to be born of her. But whenAbram resigned her into the hand of Sarai, to punish her, she contrivedto fly away, as not able to bear the instances of Sarai's severity toher; and she entreated God to have compassion on her. Now a Divine Angelmet her, as she was going forward in the wilderness, and bid her returnto her master and mistress, for if she would submit to that wise advice, she would live better hereafter; for that the reason of her beingin such a miserable case was this, that she had been ungrateful andarrogant towards her mistress. He also told her, that if she disobeyedGod, and went on still in her way, she should perish; but if she wouldreturn back, she should become the mother of a son who should reign overthat country. These admonitions she obeyed, and returned to her masterand mistress, and obtained forgiveness. A little while afterwards, shebare Ismael; which may be interpreted Heard of God, because God hadheard his mother's prayer. 5. The forementioned son was born to Abram when he was eighty-six yearsold: but when he was ninety-nine, God appeared to him, and promised himthat he Should have a son by Sarai, and commanded that his name shouldbe Isaac; and showed him, that from this son should spring great nationsand kings, and that they should obtain all the land of Canaan by war, from Sidon to Egypt. But he charged him, in order to keep his posterityunmixed with others, that they should be circumcised in the flesh oftheir foreskin, and that this should be done on the eighth day afterthey were born: the reason of which circumcision I will explain inanother place. And Abram inquiring also concerning Ismael, whether heshould live or not, God signified to him that he should live to be veryold, and should be the father of great nations. Abram therefore gavethanks to God for these blessings; and then he, and all his family, andhis son Ismael, were circumcised immediately; the son being that daythirteen years of age, and he ninety-nine. CHAPTER 11. How God Overthrew The Nation Of The Sodomites, Out Of HisWrath Against Them For Their Sins. 1. About this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their richesand great wealth; they became unjust towards men, and impious towardsGod, insomuch that they did not call to mind the advantages theyreceived from him: they hated strangers, and abused themselves withSodomitical practices. God was therefore much displeased at them, anddetermined to punish them for their pride, and to overthrow their city, and to lay waste their country, until there should neither plant norfruit grow out of it. 2. When God had thus resolved concerning the Sodomites, Abraham, as hesat by the oak of Mambre, at the door of his tent, saw three angels; andthinking them to be strangers, he rose up, and saluted them, and desiredthey would accept of an entertainment, and abide with him; to which, when they agreed, he ordered cakes of meal to be made presently; andwhen he had slain a calf, he roasted it, and brought it to them, as theysat under the oak. Now they made a show of eating; and besides, theyasked him about his wife Sarah, where she was; and when he said she waswithin, they said they would come again hereafter, and find her becomea mother. Upon which the woman laughed, and said that it was impossibleshe should bear children, since she was ninety years of age, and herhusband was a hundred. Then they concealed themselves no longer, butdeclared that they were angels of God; and that one of them was sent toinform them about the child, and two of the overthrow of Sodom. 3. When Abraham heard this, he was grieved for the Sodomites; and herose up, and besought God for them, and entreated him that he would notdestroy the righteous with the wicked. And when God had replied thatthere was no good man among the Sodomites; for if there were but tensuch man among them, he would not punish any of them for theirsins, Abraham held his peace. And the angels came to the city of theSodomites, and Lot entreated them to accept of a lodging with him; forhe was a very generous and hospitable man, and one that had learned toimitate the goodness of Abraham. Now when the Sodomites saw the youngmen to be of beautiful countenances, and this to an extraordinarydegree, and that they took up their lodgings with Lot, they resolvedthemselves to enjoy these beautiful boys by force and violence; and whenLot exhorted them to sobriety, and not to offer any thing immodest tothe strangers, but to have regard to their lodging in his house; andpromised that if their inclinations could not be governed, he wouldexpose his daughters to their lust, instead of these strangers; neitherthus were they made ashamed. 4. But God was much displeased at their impudent behavior, so that heboth smote those men with blindness, and condemned the Sodomites touniversal destruction. But Lot, upon God's informing him of the futuredestruction of the Sodomites, went away, taking with him his wifeand daughters, who were two, and still virgins; for those that werebetrothed [21] to them were above the thoughts of going, and deemed thatLot's words were trifling. God then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire, with its inhabitants; and laid waste the countrywith the like burning, as I formerly said when I wrote the Jewish War. [22] But Lot's wife continually turning back to view the city as shewent 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 ofsalt;[23] for I have seen it, and it remains at this day. Now he and hisdaughters fled to a certain small place, encompassed with the fire, andsettled in it: it is to this day called Zoar, for that is the wordwhich the Hebrews use for a small thing. There it was that he lived amiserable life, on account of his having no company, and his want ofprovisions. 5. But his daughters, thinking that all mankind were destroyed, approached to their father, [24] though taking care not to be perceived. This they did, that human kind might not utterly fail: and they baresons; the son of the elder was named Moab, Which denotes one derivedfrom his father; the younger bare Ammon, which name denotes one derivedfrom a kinsman. The former of whom was the father of the Moabites, which is even still a great nation; the latter was the father of theAmmonites; and both of them are inhabitants of Celesyria. And such wasthe departure of Lot from among the Sodomites. CHAPTER 12. Concerning Abimelech; And Concerning Ismael The Son OfAbraham; And Concerning The Arabians, Who Were His Posterity. 1. Abraham now removed to Gerar of Palestine, leading Sarah along withhim, under the notion of his sister, using the like dissimulationthat he had used before, and this out of fear: for he was afraid ofAbimelech, the king of that country, who did also himself fall in lovewith Sarah, and was disposed to corrupt her; but he was restrained fromsatisfying his lust by a dangerous distemper which befell him from God. Now when his physicians despaired of curing him, he fell asleep, andsaw a dream, warning him not to abuse the stranger's wife; and when herecovered, he told his friends that God had inflicted that disease uponhim, by way of punishment, for his injury to the stranger; and in orderto preserve the chastity of his wife, for that she did not accompany himas his sister, but as his legitimate wife; and that God had promised tobe gracious to him for the time to come, if this person be once secureof his wife's chastity. When he had said this, by the advice of hisfriends, he sent for Abraham, and bid him not to be concerned about hiswife, or fear the corruption of her chastity; for that God took care ofhim, and that it was by his providence that he received his wife again, without her suffering any abuse. And he appealed to God, and to hiswife's conscience; and said that he had not any inclination at first toenjoy her, if he had known she was his wife; but since, said he, thouleddest her about as thy sister, I was guilty of no offense. He alsoentreated him to be at peace with him, and to make God propitious tohim; and that if he thought fit to continue with him, he should havewhat he wanted in abundance; but that if he designed to go away, heshould be honorably conducted, and have whatsoever supply he wantedwhen he came thither. Upon his saying this, Abraham told him thathis pretense of kindred to his wife was no lie, because she was hisbrother's daughter; and that he did not think himself safe in histravels abroad, without this sort of dissimulation; and that he was notthe cause of his distemper, but was only solicitous for his own safety:he said also, that he was ready to stay with him. Whereupon Abimelechassigned him land and money; and they coventanted to live togetherwithout guile, and took an oath at a certain well called Beersheba, which may be interpreted, The Well of the Oath: and so it is named bythe people of the country unto this day. 2. Now in a little time Abraham had a son by Sarah, as God had foretoldto him, whom he named Isaac, which signifies Laughter. And indeed theyso called him, because Sarah laughed when God [25] said that she shouldbear a son, she not expecting such a thing, as being past the age ofchild-bearing, for she was ninety years old, and Abraham a hundred; sothat this son was born to them both in the last year of each of thosedecimal numbers. And they circumcised him upon the eighth day and fromthat time the Jews continue the custom of circumcising their sons withinthat number of days. But as for the Arabians, they circumcise after thethirteenth year, because Ismael, the founder of their nation, whowas born to Abraham of the concubine, was circumcised at that age;concerning whom I will presently give a particular account, with greatexactness. 3. As for Sarah, she at first loved Ismael, who was born of her ownhandmaid Hagar, with an affection not inferior to that of her own son, for he was brought up in order to succeed in the government; but whenshe herself had borne Isaac, she was not willing that Ismael shouldbe brought up with him, as being too old for him, and able to do himinjuries when their father should be dead; she therefore persuadedAbraham to send him and his mother to some distant country. Now, at thefirst, he did not agree to what Sarah was so zealous for, and thought itan instance of the greatest barbarity, to send away a young child [26]and a woman unprovided of necessaries; but at length he agreed to it, because God was pleased with what Sarah had determined: so he deliveredIsmael to his mother, as not yet able to go by himself; and commandedher 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 necessaryprovisions failed, she found herself in an evil case; and when the waterwas almost spent, she laid the young child, who was ready to expire, under a fig-tree, and went on further, that so he might die while shewas absent. But a Divine Angel came to her, and told her of a fountainhard by, and bid her take care, and bring up the child, because sheshould be very happy by the preservation of Ismael. She then tookcourage, upon the prospect of what was promised her, and, meeting withsome shepherds, by their care she got clear of the distresses she hadbeen 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 wereborn to Ismael twelve sons; Nabaioth, Kedar, Abdeel, Mabsam, Idumas, Masmaos, Masaos, Chodad, Theman, Jetur, Naphesus, Cadmas. Theseinhabited all the country from Euphrates to the Red Sea, and called itNabatene. They are an Arabian nation, and name their tribes from these, both because of their own virtue, and because of the dignity of Abrahamtheir father. CHAPTER 13. Concerning Isaac The Legitimate Son Of Abraham. 1. Now Abraham greatly loved Isaac, as being his only begotten [27] andgiven to him at the borders of old age, by the favor of God. The childalso endeared himself to his parents still more, by the exercise ofevery virtue, and adhering to his duty to his parents, and being zealousin the worship of God. Abraham also placed his own happiness in thisprospect, that, when he should die, he should leave this his son in asafe and secure condition; which accordingly he obtained by the willof God: who being desirous to make an experiment of Abraham's religiousdisposition towards himself, appeared to him, and enumerated all theblessings he had bestowed on him; how he had made him superior to hisenemies; and that his son Isaac, who was the principal part of hispresent happiness, was derived from him; and he said that he requiredthis son of his as a sacrifice and holy oblation. Accordingly hecommanded him to carry him to the mountain Moriah, and to build analtar, and offer him for a burnt-offering upon it for that this wouldbest manifest his religious disposition towards him, if he preferredwhat was pleasing to God, before the preservation of his own son. 2. Now Abraham thought that it was not right to disobey God in anything, but that he was obliged to serve him in every circumstance oflife, since all creatures that live enjoy their life by his providence, and the kindness he bestows on them. Accordingly he concealed thiscommand of God, and his own intentions about the slaughter of his son, from his wife, as also from every one of his servants, otherwise heshould have been hindered from his obedience to God; and he took Isaac, together with two of his servants, and laying what things were necessaryfor a sacrifice upon an ass, he went away to the mountain. Now the twoservants went along with him two days; but on the third day, as soon ashe saw the mountain, he left those servants that were with him tillthen in the plain, and, having his son alone with him, he came to themountain. It was that mountain upon which king David afterwards builtthe temple. [28] Now they had brought with them every thing necessaryfor a sacrifice, excepting the animal that was to be offered only. NowIsaac was twenty-five years old. And as he was building the altar, heasked his father what he was about to offer, since there was no animalthere for an oblation:--to which it was answered, "That God wouldprovide himself an oblation, he being able to make a plentiful provisionfor men out of what they have not, and to deprive others of what theyalready have, when they put too much trust therein; that therefore, ifGod pleased to be present and propitious at this sacrifice, he wouldprovide himself an oblation. " 3. As soon as the altar was prepared, and Abraham had laid on the wood, and all things were entirely ready, he said to his son, "O son, I pouredout a vast number of prayers that I might have thee for my son; whenthou wast come into the world, there was nothing that could contributeto thy support for which I was not greatly solicitous, nor any thingwherein 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 mydominion; but since it was by God's will that I became thy father, andit is now his will that I relinquish thee, bear this consecration to Godwith a generous mind; for I resign thee up to God who has thought fitnow to require this testimony of honor to himself, on account of thefavors he hath conferred on me, in being to me a supporter and defender. Accordingly thou, my son, wilt now die, not in any common way of goingout of the world, but sent to God, the Father of all men, beforehand, bythy own father, in the nature of a sacrifice. I suppose he thinks theeworthy to get clear of this world neither by disease, neither by war, nor by any other severe way, by which death usually comes upon men, but so that he will receive thy soul with prayers and holy offices ofreligion, and will place thee near to himself, and thou wilt there beto me a succorer and supporter in my old age; on which account Iprincipally brought thee up, and thou wilt thereby procure me God for myComforter instead of thyself. " 4. Now Isaac was of such a generous disposition as became the son ofsuch a father, and was pleased with this discourse; and said, "Thathe was not worthy to be born at first, if he should reject thedetermination of God and of his father, and should not resign himself upreadily to both their pleasures; since it would have been unjust if hehad not obeyed, even if his father alone had so resolved. " So he wentimmediately to the altar to be sacrificed. And the deed had been done ifGod had not opposed it; for he called loudly to Abraham by his name, andforbade him to slay his son; and said, "It was not out of a desire ofhuman blood that he was commanded to slay his son, nor was he willingthat he should be taken away from him whom he had made his father, butto try the temper of his mind, whether he would be obedient to such acommand. Since therefore he now was satisfied as to that his alacrity, and the surprising readiness he showed in this his piety, he wasdelighted in having bestowed such blessings upon him; and that he wouldnot be wanting in all sort of concern about him, and in bestowing otherchildren upon him; and that his son should live to a very great age;that he should live a happy life, and bequeath a large principality tohis children, who should be good and legitimate. " He foretold also, that his family should increase into many nations [29] and that thosepatriarchs should leave behind them an everlasting name; that theyshould obtain the possession of the land of Canaan, and be envied by allmen. When God had said this, he produced to them a ram, which did notappear before, for the sacrifice. So Abraham and Isaac receiving eachother unexpectedly, and having obtained the promises of such greatblessings, embraced one another; and when they had sacrificed, theyreturned to Sarah, and lived happily together, God affording them hisassistance in all things they desired. CHAPTER 14. Concerning Sarah Abraham's Wife; And How She Ended Her Days. Now Sarah died a little while after, having lived one hundred andtwenty-seven years. They buried her in Hebron; the Canaanites publiclyallowing them a burying-place; which piece of ground Abraham boughtfor four hundred shekels, of Ephron, an inhabitant of Hebron. And bothAbraham and his descendants built themselves sepulchers in that place. CHAPTER 15. How The Nation Of The Troglodytes Were Derived From AbrahamBy Keturah. Abraham after this married Keturah, by whom six sons were born to him, men of courage, and of sagacious minds: Zambran, and Jazar, and Madan, and Madian, and Josabak, and Sous. Now the sons of Sous were Sabathanand Dadan. The sons of Dadan were Latusim, and Assur, and Luom. The sonsof Madiau were Ephas, and Ophren, and Anoch, and Ebidas, and Eldas. Now, for all these sons and grandsons, Abraham contrived to settle them incolonies; and they took possession of Troglodytis, and the country ofArabia the Happy, as far as it reaches to the Red Sea. It is related ofthis Ophren, that he made war against Libya, and took it, and that hisgrandchildren, when they inhabited it, called it [from his name] Africa. And indeed Alexander Polyhistor gives his attestation to what I heresay; who speaks thus: "Cleodemus the prophet, who was also calledMalchus, who wrote a History of the Jews, in agreement with the Historyof Moses, their legislator, relates, that there were many sons born toAbraham by Keturah: nay, he names three of them, Apher, and Surim, andJaphran. That from Surim was the land of Assyria denominated; and thatfrom the other two [Apher and Japbran] the country of Africa took itsname, because these men were auxiliaries to Hercules, when he foughtagainst Libya and Antaeus; and that Hercules married Aphra's daughter, and of her he begat a son, Diodorus; and that Sophon was his son, fromwhom that barbarous people called Sophacians were denominated. " CHAPTER 16. How Isaac Took Rebeka To Wife. 1. Now when Abraham, the father of Isaac, had resolved to take Rebeka, who was grand-daughter to his brother Nahor, for a wife to his sonIsaac, who was then about forty years old, he sent the ancientest ofhis servants to betroth her, after he had obliged him to give him thestrongest assurances of his fidelity; which assurances were given afterthe manner following:--They put each other's hands under each other'sthighs; 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 that they either rarely or never were seen in thatcountry, The servant got thither not under a considerable time; for itrequires much time to pass through Meopotamia, in which it is tedioustraveling, both in the winter for the depth of the clay, and in summerfor want of water; and, besides this, for the robberies there committed, which are not to be avoided by travelers but by caution beforehand. However, the servant came to Haran; and when he was in the suburbs, hemet a considerable number of maidens going to the water; he thereforeprayed to God that Rebeka might be found among them, or her whom Abrahamsent him as his servant to espouse to his son, in case his will werethat this marriage should be consummated, and that she might be madeknown to him by the sign, That while others denied him water to drink, she might give it him. 2. With this intention he went to the well, and desired the maidens togive him some water to drink: but while the others refused, on pretensethat they wanted it all at home, and could spare none for him, oneonly of the company rebuked them for their peevish behavior towardsthe stranger; and said, What is there that you will ever communicateto anybody, who have not so much as given the man some water? She thenoffered him water in an obliging manner. And now he began to hope thathis grand affair would succeed; but desiring still to know the truth, he commended her for her generosity and good nature, that she did notscruple to afford a sufficiency of water to those that wanted it, thoughit cost her some pains to draw it; and asked who were her parents, andwished them joy of such a daughter. "And mayst thou be espoused, " saidhe, "to their satisfaction, into the family of an agreeable husband, and bring him legitimate children. " Nor did she disdain to satisfy hisinquiries, but told him her family. "They, " says she, "call me Rebeka;my father was Bethuel, but he is dead; and Laban is my brother; and, together with my mother, takes care of all our family affairs, and isthe guardian of my virginity. " When the servant heard this, he was veryglad at what had happened, and at what was told him, as perceiving thatGod had thus plainly directed his journey; and producing his bracelets, and some other ornaments which it was esteemed decent for virgins towear, he gave them to the damsel, by way of acknowledgment, and as areward for her kindness in giving him water to drink; saying, it was butjust that she should have them, because she was so much more obligingthan any of the rest. She desired also that he would come and lodgewith them, since the approach of the night gave him not time to proceedfarther. And producing his precious ornaments for women, he said hedesired to trust them to none more safely than to such as she had shownherself to be; and that he believed he might guess at the humanity ofher mother and brother, that they would not be displeased, from thevirtue he found in her; for he would not be burdensome, but would paythe hire for his entertainment, and spend his own money. To which shereplied, that he guessed right as to the humanity of her parents; butcomplained 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 firstinform her brother Laban, and, if he gave her leave, she would conducthim in. 3. As soon then as this was over, she introduced the stranger; and forthe camels, the servants of Laban brought them in, and took care ofthem; and he was himself brought in to supper by Laban. And, aftersupper, he says to him, and to the mother of the damsel, addressinghimself to her, "Abraham is the son of Terah, and a kinsman of yours;for Nahor, the grandfather of these children, was the brother ofAbraham, by both father and mother; upon which account he hath sent meto you, being desirous to take this damsel for his son to wife. He ishis legitimate son, and is brought up as his only heir. He could indeedhave had the most happy of all the women in that country for him, but hewould not have his son marry any of them; but, out of regard to his ownrelations, he desired him to match here, whose affection and inclinationI would not have you despise; for it was by the good pleasure of Godthat other accidents fell out in my journey, and that thereby I lightedupon your daughter and your house; for when I was near to the city, Isaw a great many maidens coming to a well, and I prayed that I mightmeet with this damsel, which has come to pass accordingly. Do youtherefore confirm that marriage, whose espousals have been already madeby a Divine appearance; and show the respect you have for Abraham, whohath sent me with so much solicitude, in giving your consent to themarriage of this damsel. " Upon this they understood it to be the will ofGod, and greatly approved of the offer, and sent their daughter, as wasdesired. Accordingly Isaac married her, the inheritance being nowcome to him; for the children by Keturah were gone to their own remotehabitations. CHAPTER 17. Concerning The Death Of Abraham. A Little while after this Abraham died. He was a man of incomparablevirtue, and honored by God in a manner agreeable to his piety towardshim. The whole time of his life was one hundred seventy and five years, and he was buried in Hebron, with his wife Sarah, by their sons Isaacand Ismael. CHAPTER 18. Concerning The Sons Of Isaac, Esau And Jacob; Of TheirNativity And Education. 1. Now Isaac's wife proved with child, after the death of Abraham; [30]and when her belly was greatly burdened, Isaac was very anxious, andinquired of God; who answered, that Rebeka should bear twins; andthat two nations should take the names of those sons; and that he whoappeared the second should excel the elder. Accordingly she, in a littletime, as God had foretold, bare twins; the elder of whom, from his headto his feet, was very rough and hairy; but the younger took hold of hisheel as they were in the birth. Now the father loved the elder, who wascalled Esau, a name agreeable to his roughness, for the Hebrews callsuch a hairy roughness [Esau, [31] or] Seir; but Jacob the younger wasbest beloved by his mother. 2. When there was a famine in the land, Isaac resolved to go into Egypt, the land there being good; but he went to Gerar, as God commanded him. Here Abimelech the king received him, because Abraham had formerly livedwith him, and had been his friend. And as in the beginning he treatedhim exceeding kindly, so he was hindered from continuing in the samedisposition to the end, by his envy at him; for when he saw that God waswith Isaac, and took such great care of him, he drove him away fromhim. But Isaac, when he saw how envy had changed the temper of Abimelechretired to a place called the Valley, not far from Gerar: and as hewas digging a well, the shepherds fell upon him, and began to fight, inorder to hinder the work; and because he did not desire to contend, theshepherds seemed to get the him, so he still retired, and dug anotherand when certain other shepherds of Abimelech began to offer himviolence, he left that also, still retired, thus purchasing security tohimself a rational and prudent conduct. At length the gave him leaveto dig a well without disturbance. He named this well Rehoboth, whichdenotes a large space; but of the former wells, one was called Escon, which denotes strife, the other Sitenna, name signifies enmity. 3. It was now that Isaac's affairs increased, and in a flourishingcondition; and this his great riches. But Abimelech, thinking inopposition to him, while their living made them suspicious of eachother, and retiring showing a secret enmity also, he afraid that hisformer friendship with Isaac would not secure him, if Isaac shouldendeavor the injuries he had formerly offered him; he therefore renewedhis friendship with him, Philoc, one of his generals. And when he hadobtained every thing he desired, by reason of Isaac's good nature, whopreferred the earlier friendship Abimelech had shown to himself and hisfather to his later wrath against him, he returned home. 4. Now when Esau, one of the sons of Isaac, whom the father principallyloved, was now come to the age of forty years, he married Adah, thedaughter of Helon, and Aholibamah, the daughter of Esebeon; which Helonand Esebeon were great lords among the Canaanites: thereby taking uponhimself the authority, and pretending to have dominion over his ownmarriages, without so much as asking the advice of his father; for hadIsaac been the arbitrator, he had not given him leave to marry thus, forhe was not pleased with contracting any alliance with the people of thatcountry; but not caring to be uneasy to his son by commanding him to putaway 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 disorder of his eyes, his very old age hindered him from his worship of God [by sacrifice];he bid him therefore to go out a hunting, and when he had caught as muchvenison as he could, to prepare him a supper [32] that after this hemight make supplication to God, to be to him a supporter and an assisterduring the whole time of his life; saying, that it was uncertain whenhe should die, and that he was desirous, by prayers for him, to procure, beforehand, God to be merciful to him. 6. Accordingly, Esau went out a hunting. But Rebeka [33] thinking itproper to have the supplication made for obtaining the favor of God toJacob, and that without the consent of Isaac, bid him kill kids of thegoats, and prepare a supper. So Jacob obeyed his mother, accordingto all her instructions. Now when the supper was got ready, he tooka goat's skin, and put it about his arm, that by reason of its hairyroughness, he might by his father be believed to be Esau; for they beingtwins, and in all things else alike, differed only in this thing. This was done out of his fear, that before his father had made hissupplications, he should be caught in his evil practice, and lest heshould, on the contrary, provoke his father to curse him. So he broughtin the supper to his father. Isaac perceivest to be Esau. So suspectingno deceit, he ate the supper, and betook himself to his prayers andintercessions with God; and said, "O Lord of all ages, and Creator ofall substance; for it was thou that didst propose to my father greatplenty 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 tobestow on them still greater blessings; do thou therefore confirmthese thy promises, and do not overlook me, because of my presentweak condition, on account of which I most earnestly pray to thee. Begracious to this my son; and preserve him and keep him from every thingthat is evil. Give him a happy life, and the possession of as many goodthings as thy power is able to bestow. Make him terrible to his enemies, and honorable and beloved among his friends. " 7. Thus did Isaac pray to God, thinking his prayers had been made forEsau. He had but just finished them, when Esau came in from hunting. Andwhen Isaac perceived his mistake, he was silent: but Esau required thathe might be made partaker of the like blessing from his father thathis brother had partook of; but his father refused it, because allhis prayers had been spent upon Jacob: so Esau lamented the mistake. However, his father being grieved at his weeping, said, that "he shouldexcel in hunting and strength of body, in arms, and all such sorts ofwork; and should obtain glory for ever on those accounts, he and hisposterity after him; but still should serve his brother. " 8. Now the mother delivered Jacob, when she was afraid that his brotherwould inflict some punishment upon him because of the mistake about theprayers of Isaac; for she persuaded her husband to take a wife for Jacobout of Mesopotamia, of her own kindred, Esau having married alreadyBasemmath, the daughter of Ismael, without his father's consent; forIsaac did not like the Canaanites, so that he disapproved of Esau'sformer marriages, which made him take Basemmath to wife, in order toplease him; and indeed he had a great affection for her. CHAPTER 19. Concerning Jacob's Flight Into Mesopotamia, By Reason Of TheFear He Was In Of His Brother. 1. Now Jacob was sent by his mother to Mesopotamia, in order to marryLaban her brother's daughter [which marriage was permitted by Isaac, on account of his obsequiousness to the desires of his wife]; and heaccordingly journeyed through the land of Canaan; and because he hatedthe people of that country, he would not lodge with any of them, buttook up his lodging in the open air, and laid his head on a heap ofstones that he had gathered together. At which time he saw in his sleepsuch a vision standing by him:--he seemed to see a ladder that reachedfrom the earth unto heaven, and persons descending upon the ladder thatseemed more excellent than human; and at last God himself stood aboveit, and was plainly visible to him, who, calling him by his name, spaketo him in these words:-- 2. "O Jacob, 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 eminentvirtue, to be dejected at thy present circumstances, but to hope forbetter times, for thou shalt have great abundance of all good things, bymy assistance: for I brought Abraham hither, out of Mesopotamia, when hewas driven away by his kinsmen, and I made thy father a happy man, nor will I bestow a lesser degree of happiness on thyself: be of goodcourage, therefore, and under my conduct proceed on this thy journey, for the marriage thou goest so zealously about shall be consummated. Andthou shalt have children of good characters, but their multitude shallbe innumerable; and they shall leave what they have to a still morenumerous posterity, to whom, and to whose posterity, I give the dominionof all the land, and their posterity shall fill the entire earth andsea, so far as the sun beholds them: but do not thou fear any danger, nor be afraid of the many labors thou must undergo, for by my providenceI will direct thee what thou art to do in the time present, and stillmuch more in the time to come. " 3. Such were the predictions which God made to Jacob; whereupon hebecame very joyful at what he had seen and heard; and he poured oil onthe stones, because on them the prediction of such great benefits wasmade. He also vowed a vow, that he would offer sacrifices upon them, ifhe lived and returned safe; and if he came again in such a condition, he would give the tithe of what he had gotten to God. He also judgedthe place to be honorable and gave it the name of Bethel, which, in theGreek, is interpreted, The House of God. 4. So he proceeded on his journey to Mesopotamia, and at length came toHaran; and meeting with shepherds in the suburbs, with boys grown up, and maidens sitting about a certain well, he staid with them, as wantingwater to drink; and beginning to discourse with them, he asked themwhether they knew such a one as Laban, and whether he was still alive. Now they all said they knew him, for he was not so inconsiderable aperson as to be unknown to any of them; and that his daughter fed herfather's flock together with them; and that indeed they wondered thatshe was not yet come, for by her means thou mightest learn more exactlywhatever thou desirest to know about that family. While they were sayingthis the damsel came, and the other shepherds that came down along withher. Then they showed her Jacob, and told her that he was a stranger, who came to inquire about her father's affairs. But she, as pleased, after the custom of children, with Jacob's coming, asked him who hewas, and whence he came to them, and what it was he lacked that he camethither. She also wished it might be in their power to supply the wantshe came about. 5. But Jacob was quite overcome, not so much by their kindred, nor bythat affection which might arise thence, as by his love to the damsel, and his surprise at her beauty, which was so flourishing, as few of thewomen of that age could vie with. He said then, "There is a relationbetween thee and me, elder than either thy or my birth, if thou be thedaughter of Laban; for Abraham was the son of Terah, as well as Haranand Nahor. Of the last of whom [Nahor] Bethuel thy grandfather was theson. Isaac my father was the son of Abraham and of Sarah, who was thedaughter of Haran. But there is a nearer and later cement of mutualkindred which we bear to one another, for my mother Rebeka was sisterto Laban thy father, both by the same father and mother; I therefore andthou are cousin-germans. And I am now come to salute you, and to renewthat affinity which is proper between us. " Upon this the damsel, at themention of Rebeka, as usually happens to young persons, wept, and thatout of the kindness she had for her father, and embraced Jacob, shehaving learned an account of Rebeka from her father, and knew that herparents loved to hear her named; and when she had saluted him, shesaid that "he brought the most desirable and greatest pleasures to herfather, with all their family, who was always mentioning his mother, and always thinking of her, and her alone; and that this will make theeequal in his eyes to any advantageous circumstances whatsoever. " Thenshe bid him go to her father, and follow her while she conducted him tohim; and not to deprive him of such a pleasure, by staying any longeraway from him. 6. When she had said thus, she brought him to Laban; and being ownedby his uncle, he was secure himself, as being among his friends; and hebrought a great deal of pleasure to them by his unexpected coning. Buta little while afterward, Laban told him that he could not express inwords the joy he had at his coming; but still he inquired of him theoccasion of his coming, and why he left his aged mother and father, whenthey wanted to be taken care of by him; and that he would afford him allthe assistance he wanted. Then Jacob gave him an account of the wholeoccasion of his journey, and told him, "that Isaac had two sons thatwere twins, himself and Esau; who, because he failed of his father'sprayers, which by his mother's wisdom were put up for him, sought tokill him, as deprived of the kingdom [34] which was to be given him ofGod, and of the blessings for which their father prayed; and that thiswas the occasion of his coming hither, as his mother had commanded himto do: for we are all [says he] brethren one to another; but our motheresteems an alliance with your family more than she does one with thefamilies of the country; so I look upon yourself and God to bethe supporters of my travels, and think myself safe in my presentcircumstances. " 7. Now Laban promised to treat him with great humanity, both on accountof his ancestors, and particularly for the sake of his mother, towardswhom, he said, he would show his kindness, even though she were absent, by taking care of him; for he assured him he would make him the headshepherd of his flock, and give him authority sufficient for thatpurpose; and when he should have a mind to return to his parents, hewould send him back with presents, and this in as honorable a manner asthe nearness of their relation should require. This Jacob heard gladly;and said he would willingly, and with pleasure, undergo any sort ofpains while he tarried with him, but desired Rachel to wife, as thereward of those pains, who was not only on other accounts esteemed byhim, but also because she was the means of his coming to him; for hesaid he was forced by the love of the damsel to make this proposal. Laban was well pleased with this agreement, and consented to give thedamsel to him, as not desirous to meet with any better son-in-law; andsaid he would do this, if he would stay with him some time, for he wasnot willing to send his daughter to be among the Canaanites, for herepented of the alliance he had made already by marrying his sisterthere. And when Jacob had given his consent to this, he agreed tostay seven years; for so many years he had resolved to serve hisfather-in-law, that, having given a specimen of his virtue, it mightbe better known what sort of a man he was. And Jacob, accepting of histerms, after the time was over, he made the wedding-feast; and when itwas night, without Jacob's perceiving it, he put his other daughterinto bed to him, who was both elder than Rachel, and of no comelycountenance: Jacob lay with her that night, as being both in drink andin the dark. However, when it was day, he knew what had been done tohim; and he reproached Laban for his unfair proceeding with him; whoasked pardon for that necessity which forced him to do what he did;for he did not give him Lea out of any ill design, but as overcome byanother greater necessity: that, notwithstanding this, nothing shouldhinder him from marrying Rachel; but that when he had served anotherseven years, he would give him her whom he loved. Jacob submitted tothis condition, for his love to the damsel did not permit him to dootherwise; and when another seven years were gone, he took Rachel towife. 8. Now each of these had handmaids, by their father's donation. Zilphawas handmaid to Lea, and Bilha to Rachel; by no means slaves, [35] buthowever subject to their mistresses. Now Lea was sorely troubled ather husband's love to her sister; and she expected she should be betteresteemed if she bare him children: so she entreated God perpetually;and when she had borne a son, and her husband was on that account betterreconciled to her, she named her son Reubel, because God had had mercyupon her, in giving her a son, for that is the signification of thisname. After some time she bare three more sons; Simeon, which namesignifies that God had hearkened to her prayer. Then she bare Levi, theconfirmer of their friendship. After him was born Judah, which denotesthanksgiving. But Rachel, fearing lest the fruitfulness of her sistershould make herself enjoy a lesser share of Jacob's affections, put tobed to him her handmaid Bilha; by whom Jacob had Dan: one may interpretthat name into the Greek tongue, a divine judgment. And after himNephthalim, as it were, unconquerable in stratagems, since Racheltried to conquer the fruitfulness of her sister by this stratagem. Accordingly, Lea took the same method, and used a counter-stratagem tothat of her sister; for she put to bed to him her own handmaid. Jacob therefore had by Zilpha a son, whose name was Gad, which may beinterpreted fortune; and after him Asher, which may be called a happyman, because he added glory to Lea. Now Reubel, the eldest son of Lea, brought apples of mandrakes [36] to his mother. When Rachel saw them, she desired that she would give her the apples, for she longed to eatthem; but when she refused, and bid her be content that she had deprivedher of the benevolence she ought to have had from her husband, Rachel, in order to mitigate her sister's anger, said she would yield herhusband to her; and he should lie with her that evening. She acceptedof the favor, and Jacob slept with Lea, by the favor of Rachel. She barethen these sons: Issachar, denoting one born by hire: and Zabulon, oneborn as a pledge of benevolence towards her; and a daughter, Dina. Aftersome time Rachel had a son, named Joseph, which signified there shouldbe another added to him. 9. Now Jacob fed the flocks of Laban his father-in-law all this time, being twenty years, after which he desired leave of his father-in-lawto take his wives and go home; but when his father-in-law would not givehim leave, he contrived to do it secretly. He made trial therefore ofthe disposition of his wives what they thought of this journey;--whenthey appeared glad, and approved of it. Rachel took along with her theimages of the gods, which, according to their laws, they used toworship in their own country, and ran away together with her sister. Thechildren also of them both, and the handmaids, and what possessionsthey had, went along with them. Jacob also drove away half the cattle, without letting Laban know of it beforehand But the reason why Racheltook the images of the gods, although Jacob had taught her to despisesuch worship of those gods, was this, That in case they were pursued, and taken by her father, she might have recourse to these images, inorder obtain his pardon. 10. But Laban, after one day's time, being acquainted with Jacob's andhis daughters' departure, was much troubled, and pursued after them, leading a band of men with him; and on the seventh day overtook them, and found them resting on a certain hill; and then indeed he did notmeddle with them, for it was even-tide; but God stood by him in adream, and warned him to receive his son-in-law and his daughters in apeaceable manner; and not to venture upon any thing rashly, or in wrathto but to make a league with Jacob. And he him, that if he despisedtheir small number, attacked them in a hostile manner, he would assistthem. When Laban had been thus forewarned by God, he called Jacob to himthe next day, in order to treat with him, and showed him what dream hehad; in dependence whereupon he came confidently to him, and began toaccuse him, alleging that he had entertained him when he was poor, andin want of all things, and had given him plenty of all things which hehad. "For, " said he, "I have joined my daughters to thee in marriage, and supposed that thy kindness to me be greater than before; but thouhast had no regard to either thy mother's relations to me, nor to theaffinity now newly contracted between us; nor to those wives whom thouhast married; nor to those children, of whom I am the grandfather. Thouhast treated me as an enemy, driving away my cattle, and by persuadingmy daughters to run away from their father; and by carrying home thosesacred paternal images which were worshipped by my forefathers, and havebeen honored with the like worship which they paid them by myself. Inshort, thou hast done this whilst thou art my kinsman, and my sister'sson, and the husband of my daughters, and was hospitably treated by me, and didst eat at my table. " When Laban had said this, Jacob made hisdefense--That he was not the only person in whom God had implanted thelove of his native country, but that he had made it natural to all men;and that therefore it was but reasonable that, after so long time, heshould go back to it. "But as to the prey, of whose driving away thouaccusest me, if any other person were the arbitrator, thou wouldst befound in the wrong; for instead of those thanks I ought to have had fromthee, for both keeping thy cattle, and increasing them, how is it thatthou art unjustly angry at me because I have taken, and have with me, asmall portion of them? But then, as to thy daughters, take notice, thatit is not through any evil practices of mine that they follow me in myreturn home, but from that just affection which wives naturally have totheir husbands. They follow therefore not so properly myself as theirown children. " And thus far of his apology was made, in order to clearhimself of having acted unjustly. To which he added his own complaintand accusation of Laban; saying, "While I was thy sister's son, and thouhadst given me thy daughters in marriage, thou hast worn me out withthy harsh commands, and detained me twenty years under them. That indeedwhich was required in order to my marrying thy daughters, hard as itwas, I own to have been tolerable; but as to those that were put uponme after those marriages, they were worse, and such indeed as an enemywould have avoided. " For certainly Laban had used Jacob very ill; forwhen he saw that God was assisting to Jacob in all that he desired, hepromised him, that of the young cattle which should be born, he shouldhave sometimes what was of a white color, and sometimes what shouldbe of a black color; but when those that came to Jacob's share provednumerous, he did not keep his faith with him, but said he would givethem to him the next year, because of his envying him the multitude ofhis possessions. He promised him as before, because he thought such anincrease was not to be expected; but when it appeared to be fact, hedeceived him. 11. But then, as to the sacred images, he bid him search for them; andwhen Laban accepted of the offer, Rachel, being informed of it, putthose images into that camel's saddle on which she rode, and sat uponit; and said, that her natural purgation hindered her rising up: soLaban left off searching any further, not supposing that his daughter insuch circumstances would approach to those images. So he made a leaguewith Jacob, and bound it by oaths, that he would not bear him any maliceon account of what had happened; and Jacob made the like league, andpromised to love Laban's daughters. And these leagues they confirmedwith oaths also, which the made upon certain as whereon they erected apillar, in the form of an altar: whence that hill is called Gilead; andfrom thence they call that land the Land of Gilead at this day. Now whenthey had feasted, after the making of the league, Laban returned home. CHAPTER 20. Concerning The Meeting Of Jacob And Esau. 1. Now as Jacob was proceeding on his journey to the land of Canaan, angels appeared to him, and suggested to him good hope of his futurecondition; and that place he named the Camp of God. And beingdesirous of knowing what his brother's intentions were to him, hesent messengers, to give him an exact account of every thing, as beingafraid, on account of the enmities between them. He charged those thatwere sent, to say to Esau, "Jacob had thought it wrong to live togetherwith him while he was in anger against him, and so had gone out of thecountry; and that he now, thinking the length of time of his absencemust have made up their differences, was returning; that he brought withhim his wives, and his children, with what possessions he had gotten;and delivered himself, with what was most dear to him, into his hands;and should think it his greatest happiness to partake together with hisbrother of what God had bestowed upon him. " So these messengers told himthis message. Upon which Esau was very glad, and met his brother withfour hundred men. And Jacob, when he heard that he was coming to meethim with such a number of men, was greatly afraid: however, he committedhis hope of deliverance to God; and considered how, in his presentcircumstances, he might preserve himself and those that were with him, and overcome his enemies if they attacked him injuriously. He thereforedistributed his company into parts; some he sent before the rest, andthe others he ordered to come close behind, that so, if the first wereoverpowered when his brother attacked them, they might have those thatfollowed as a refuge to fly unto. And when he had put his company inthis order, he sent some of them to carry presents to his brother. The presents were made up of cattle, and a great number of four-footedbeasts, of many kinds, such as would be very acceptable to those thatreceived them, on account of their rarity. Those who were sent went atcertain intervals of space asunder, that, by following thick, one afteranother, they might appear to be more numerous, that Esau might remit ofhis 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 tohim. 2. When Jacob had made these appointments all the day, and night cameon, he moved on with his company; and, as they were gone over a certainriver called Jabboc, Jacob was left behind; and meeting with an angel, he wrestled with him, the angel beginning the struggle: but he prevailedover the angel, who used a voice, and spake to him in words, exhortinghim to be pleased with what had happened to him, and not to suppose thathis victory was a small one, but that he had overcome a divine angel, and to esteem the victory as a sign of great blessings that should cometo him, and that his offspring should never fall, and that no man shouldbe too hard for his power. He also commanded him to be called Israel, which in the Hebrew tongue signifies one that struggled with the divineangel. [37] These promises were made at the prayer of Jacob; for when heperceived him to be the angel of God, he desired he would signify to himwhat should befall him hereafter. And when the angel had said what isbefore related, he disappeared; but Jacob was pleased with these things, and named the place Phanuel, which signifies, the face of God. Now whenhe felt pain, by this struggling, upon his broad sinew, he abstainedfrom eating that sinew himself afterward; and for his sake it is stillnot eaten by us. 3. When Jacob understood that his brother was near, he ordered his wivesto go before, each by herself, with the handmaids, that they might seethe actions of the men as they were fighting, if Esau were so disposed. He then went up to his brother Esau, and bowed down to him, who had noevil design upon him, but saluted him; and asked him about the companyof the children and of the women; and desired, when he had understoodall he wanted to know about them, that he would go along with him totheir father; but Jacob pretending that the cattle were weary, Esaureturned to Seir, for there was his place of habitation, he having namedthe place Roughness, from his own hairy roughness. CHAPTER 21. Concerning The Violation Of Dina's Chastity. 1. Hereupon Jacob came to the place, till this day called Tents[Succoth]; from whence he went to Shechem, which is a city of theCanaanites. Now as the Shechemites were keeping a festival Dina, who wasthe only daughter of Jacob, went into the city to see the finery of thewomen of that country. But when Shechem, the son of Hamor the king, sawher, he defiled her by violence; and being greatly in love with her, desired of his father that he would procure the damsel to him for awife. To which desire he condescended, and came to Jacob, desiring himto give leave that his son Shechem might, according to law, marry Dina. But Jacob, not knowing how to deny the desire of one of such greatdignity, and yet not thinking it lawful to marry his daughter to astranger, entreated him to give him leave to have a consultation aboutwhat he desired him to do. So the king went away, in hopes that Jacobwould grant him this marriage. But Jacob informed his sons of thedefilement of their sister, and of the address of Hamor; and desiredthem to give their advice what they should do. Upon fills, the greatestpart said nothing, not knowing what advice to give. But Simeon and Levi, the brethren of the damsel by the same mother, agreed between themselvesupon the action following: It being now the time of a festival, when theShechemites were employed in ease and feasting, they fell upon the watchwhen they were asleep, and, coming into the city, slew all the males[38] as also the king, and his son, with them; but spared the women. And when they had done this without their father's consent, they broughtaway their sister. 2. Now while Jacob was astonished at the greatness of this act, and wasseverely blaming his sons for it, God stood by him, and bid him be ofgood courage; but to purify his tents, and to offer those sacrificeswhich he had vowed to offer when he went first into Mesopotamia, and sawhis vision. As he was therefore purifying his followers, he lightedupon the gods of Laban; [for he did not before know they were stolenby Rachel;] and he hid them in the earth, under an oak, in Shechem. Anddeparting thence, he offered sacrifice at Bethel, the place where he sawhis dream, when he went first into Mesopotamia. 3. And when he was gone thence, and was come over against Ephrata, hethere buried Rachel, who died in child-bed: she was the only one ofJacob's kindred that had not the honor of burial at Hebron. And when hehad mourned for her a great while, he called the son that was born ofher Benjamin, [39] because of the sorrow the mother had with him. Theseare all the children of Jacob, twelve males and one female. --Of themeight were legitimate, --viz. Six of Lea, and two of Rachel; and fourwere of the handmaids, two of each; all whose names have been set downalready. CHAPTER 22. How Isaac Died, And Was Buried In Hebron. From thence Jacob came to Hebron, a city situate among the Canaanites;and there it was that Isaac lived: and so they lived together for alittle while; for as to Rebeka, Jacob did not find her alive. Isaac alsodied not long after the coming of his son; and was buried by his sons, with his wife, in Hebron, where they had a monument belonging to themfrom their forefathers. Now Isaac was a man who was beloved of God, andwas vouchsafed great instances of providence by God, after Abraham hisfather, and lived to be exceeding old; for when he had lived virtuouslyone hundred and eighty-five years, he then died. BOOK II. Containing The Interval Of Two Hundred And Twenty Years. From The Death Of Isaac To The Exodus Out Of Egypt. CHAPTER 1. How Esau And Jacob, Isaac's Sons Divided Their Habitation;And Esau Possessed Idumea And Jacob Canaan. 1. After the death of Isaac, his sons divided their habitationsrespectively; nor did they retain what they had before; but Esaudeparted from the city of Hebron, and left it to his brother, and dweltin Seir, and ruled over Idumea. He called the country by that namefrom himself, for he was named Adom; which appellation he got on thefollowing occasion:--One day returning from the toil of hunting veryhungry, [it was when he was a child in age, ] he lighted on his brotherwhen he was getting ready lentile-pottage for his dinner, which was ofa very red color; 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 ofhis brother'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 redness of this pottage, he was, in way of jest, by his contemporaries, called Adom, for the Hebrews callwhat is red Adom; and this was the name given to the country; but theGreeks gave it a more agreeable pronunciation, and named it Idumea. 2. He became the father of five sons; of whom Jaus, and Jalomus, andCoreus, were by one wife, whose name was Alibama; but of the rest, Aliphaz was born to him by Ada, and Raguel by Basemmath: and thesewere the sons of Esau. Aliphaz had five legitimate sons; Theman, Omer, Saphus, Gotham, and Kanaz; for Amalek was not legitimate, but by aconcubine, whose name was Thamna. These dwelt in that part of Idumeawhich is called Gebalitis, and that denominated from Amalek, Amalekitis;for Idumea was a large country, and did then preserve the name of thewhole, while in its several parts it kept the names of its peculiarinhabitants. CHAPTER 2. How Joseph, The Youngest Of Jacob's Sons, Was Envied By HisBrethren, When Certain Dreams Had Foreshown His Future Happiness. 1. It happened that Jacob came to so great happiness as rarely any otherperson had arrived at. He was richer than the rest of the inhabitants ofthat country; and was at once envied and admired for such virtuous sons, for they were deficient in nothing, but were of great souls, both forlaboring with their hands and enduring of toil; and shrewd also inunderstanding. And God exercised such a providence over him, and such acare of his happiness, as to bring him the greatest blessings, even outof what appeared to be the most sorrowful condition; and to make him thecause of our forefathers' departure out of Egypt, him and his posterity. The occasion was this:--When Jacob had his son Joseph born to him byRachel, his father loved him above the rest of his sons, both because ofthe beauty of his body, and the virtues of his mind, for he excelled therest in prudence. This affection of his father excited the envy and thehatred of his brethren; as did also his dreams which he saw, and relatedto his father, and to them, which foretold his future happiness, itbeing usual with mankind to envy their very nearest relations such theirprosperity. Now the visions which Joseph saw in his sleep were these:-- 2. When they were in the middle of harvest, and Joseph was sent by hisfather, with his brethren, to gather the fruits of the earth, he saw avision in a dream, but greatly exceeding the customary appearancesthat come when we are asleep; which, when he was got up, he told hisbrethren, that they might judge what it portended. He said, he saw thelast night, that his wheat-sheaf stood still in the place where he setit, but that their sheaves ran to bow down to it, as servants bow downto their masters. But as soon as they perceived the vision foretold thathe should obtain power and great wealth, and that his power should be inopposition to them, they gave no interpretation of it to Joseph, as ifthe dream were not by them understood: but they prayed that no part ofwhat they suspected to be its meaning might come to pass; and they barea still greater hatred to him on that account. 3. But God, in opposition to their envy, sent a second vision to Joseph, which was much more wonderful than the former; for it seemed to him thatthe sun took with him the moon, and the rest of the stars, and came downto the earth, and bowed down to him. He told the vision to his father, and that, as suspecting nothing of ill-will from his brethren, when theywere there also, and desired him to interpret what it should signify. Now Jacob was pleased with the dream: for, considering the prediction inhis mind, and shrewdly and wisely guessing at its meaning, he rejoicedat the great things thereby signified, because it declared the futurehappiness of his son; and that, by the blessing of God, the time wouldcome when he should be honored, and thought worthy of worship by hisparents and brethren, as guessing that the moon and sun were like hismother and father; the former, as she that gave increase and nourishmentto all things; and the latter, he that gave form and other powers tothem; and that the stars were like his brethren, since they were elevenin number, as were the stars that receive their power from the sun andmoon. 4. And thus did Jacob make a judgment of this vision, and that a shrewdone also. But these interpretations caused very great grief to Joseph'sbrethren; and they were affected to him hereupon as if he were a certainstranger, that was to those good things which were signified by thedreams and not as one that was a brother, with whom it was probable theyshould be joint-partakers; and as they had been partners in the sameparentage, so should they be of the same happiness. They also resolvedto kill the lad; and having fully ratified that intention of theirs, assoon as their collection of the fruits was over, they went to Shechem, which is a country good for feeding of cattle, and for pasturage; therethey fed their flocks, without acquainting their father with theirremoval thither; whereupon he had melancholy suspicions about them, asbeing ignorant of his sons' condition, and receiving no messenger fromthe flocks that could inform him of the true state they were in; so, because he was in great fear about them, he sent Joseph to the flocks, to learn the circumstances his brethren were in, and to bring him wordhow they did. CHAPTER 3. How Joseph Was Thus Sold By His Brethren Into Egypt, By Reason Of Their Hatred To Him; And How He There Grew Famous AndIllustrious And Had His Brethren Under His Power. 1. Now these brethren rejoiced as soon as they saw their brother comingto them, not indeed as at the presence of a near relation, or as atthe presence of one sent by their father, but as at the presence of anenemy, and one that by Divine Providence was delivered into their hands;and they already resolved to kill him, and not let slip the opportunitythat lay before them. But when Reubel, the eldest of them, saw them thusdisposed, and that they had agreed together to execute their purpose, he tried to restrain them, showing them the heinous enterprise they weregoing about, and the horrid nature of it; that this action would appearwicked in the sight of God, and impious before men, even though theyshould kill one not related to them; but much more flagitious anddetestable to appear to have slain their own brother, by which act thefather must be treated unjustly in the son's slaughter, and the mother[1] also be in perplexity while she laments that her son is taken awayfrom her, and this not in a natural way neither. So he entreated themto have a regard to their own consciences, and wisely to consider whatmischief would betide them upon the death of so good a child, and theiryoungest brother; that they would also fear God, who was already both aspectator and a witness of the designs they had against their brother;that he would love them if they abstained from this act, and yielded torepentance and amendment; but in case they proceeded to do the fact, all sorts of punishments would overtake them from God for this murder oftheir brother, since they polluted his providence, which was every wherepresent, and which did not overlook what was done, either in deserts orin cities; for wheresoever a man is, there ought he to suppose that Godis also. He told them further, that their consciences would be theirenemies, if they attempted to go through so wicked an enterprise, whichthey can never avoid, whether it be a good conscience; or whether itbe such a one as they will have within them when once they have killedtheir brother. He also added this besides to what he had before said, that it was not a righteous thing to kill a brother, though he hadinjured them; that it is a good thing to forget the actions of such nearfriends, even in things wherein they might seem to have offended; butthat they were going to kill Joseph, who had been guilty of nothingthat was ill towards them, in whose case the infirmity of his small ageshould rather procure him mercy, and move them to unite together in thecare of his preservation. That the cause of killing him made the actitself much worse, while they determined to take him off out of envyat his future prosperity, an equal share of which they would naturallypartake while he enjoyed it, since they were to him not strangers, butthe nearest relations, for they might reckon upon what God bestowed uponJoseph as their own; and that it was fit for them to believe, that theanger of God would for this cause be more severe upon them, if they slewhim who was judged by God to be worthy of that prosperity which was tobe hoped for; and while, by murdering him, they made it impossible forGod to bestow it upon him. 2. Reubel said these and many other things, and used entreaties to them, and thereby endeavored to divert them from the murder of their brother. But when he saw that his discourse had not mollified them at all, andthat they made haste to do the fact, he advised them to alleviate thewickedness they were going about, in the manner of taking Joseph off;for as he had exhorted them first, when they were going to revengethemselves, to be dissuaded from doing it; so, since the sentencefor killing their brother had prevailed, he said that they would not, however, be so grossly guilty, if they would be persuaded to follow hispresent advice, which would include what they were so eager about, butwas not so very bad, but, in the distress they were in, of a lighternature. He begged of them, therefore, not to kill their brother withtheir own hands, but to cast him into the pit that was hard by, and soto let him die; by which they would gain so much, that they would notdefile their own hands with his blood. To this the young men readilyagreed; so Reubel took the lad and tied him to a cord, and let him downgently into the pit, for it had no water at all in it; who, when hehad done this, went his way to seek for such pasturage as was fit forfeeding his flocks. 3. But Judas, being one of Jacob's sons also, seeing some Arabians, ofthe posterity of Ismael, carrying spices and Syrian wares out of theland of Gilead to the Egyptians, after Rubel was gone, advised hisbrethren 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 befreed from this barbarous action. This, therefore, was resolved on; sothey drew Joseph up out of the pit, and sold him to the merchants fortwenty pounds [2] He was now seventeen years old. But Reubel, coming inthe night-time to the pit, resolved to save Joseph, without the privityof his brethren; and when, upon his calling to him, he made no answer, he was afraid that they had destroyed him after he was gone; of whichhe complained to his brethren; but when they had told him what they haddone, Reubel left off his mourning. 4. When Joseph's brethren had done thus to him, they considered whatthey should do to escape the suspicions of their father. Now they hadtaken away from Joseph the coat which he had on when he came to them atthe time they let him down into the pit; so they thought proper to tearthat coat to pieces, and to dip it into goats' blood, and then to carryit and show it to their father, that he might believe he was destroyedby wild beasts. And when they had so done, they came to the old man, but this not till what had happened to his son had already come to hisknowledge. Then they said that they had not seen Joseph, nor knew whatmishap had befallen him; but that they had found his coat bloody andtorn to pieces, whence they had a suspicion that he had fallen amongwild beasts, and so perished, if that was the coat he had on when hecame from home. Now Jacob had before some better hopes that his son wasonly made a captive; but now he laid aside that notion, and supposedthat this coat was an evident argument that he was dead, for he wellremembered that this was the coat he had on when he sent him to hisbrethren; so he hereafter lamented the lad as now dead, and as if he hadbeen the father of no more than one, without taking any comfort in therest; and so he was also affected with his misfortune before he met withJoseph's brethren, when he also conjectured that Joseph was destroyedby wild beasts. He sat down also clothed in sackcloth and in heavyaffliction, insomuch that he found no ease when his sons comforted him, neither did his pains remit by length of time. CHAPTER 4. Concerning The Signal Chastity Of Joseph. 1. Now Potiphar, an Egyptian, who was chief cook to king Pharaoh, boughtJoseph of the merchants, who sold him to him. He had him in the greatesthonor, and taught him the learning that became a free man, and gavehim leave to make use of a diet better than was allotted to slaves. He intrusted also the care of his house to him. So he enjoyed theseadvantages, yet did not he leave that virtue which he had before, uponsuch a change of his condition; but he demonstrated that wisdom was ableto govern the uneasy passions of life, in such as have it in reality, and do not only put it on for a show, under a present state ofprosperity. 2. For when his master's wife was fallen in love with him, both onaccount of his beauty of body, and his dexterous management of affairs;and supposed, that if she should make it known to him, she could easilypersuade him to come and lie with her, and that he would look upon itas a piece of happy fortune that his mistress should entreat him, asregarding that state of slavery he was in, and not his moral character, which continued after his condition was changed. So she made known hernaughty inclinations, and spake to him about lying with her. However, herejected her entreaties, not thinking it agreeable to religion to yieldso far to her, as to do what would tend to the affront and injury of himthat purchased him, and had vouchsafed him so great honors. He, on thecontrary, exhorted her to govern that passion; and laid before her theimpossibility of her obtaining her desires, which he thought might beconquered, if she had no hope of succeeding; and he said, that as tohimself, he would endure any thing whatever before he would be persuadedto it; for although it was fit for a slave, as he was, to do nothingcontrary to his mistress, he might well be excused in a case where thecontradiction was to such sort of commands only. But this opposition ofJoseph, when she did not expect it, made her still more violent in herlove to him; and as she was sorely beset with this naughty passion, soshe resolved to compass her design by a second attempt. 3. When, therefore, there was a public festival coming on, in which itwas the custom for women to come to the public solemnity; she pretendedto her husband that she was sick, as contriving an opportunity forsolitude and leisure, that she might entreat Joseph again. Whichopportunity being obtained, she used more kind words to him than before;and said that it had been good for him to have yielded to her firstsolicitation, and to have given her no repulse, both because of thereverence he ought to bear to her dignity who solicited him, and becauseof the vehemence of her passion, by which she was forced though she werehis mistress to condescend beneath her dignity; but that he may now, bytaking more prudent advice, wipe off the imputation of his former folly;for whether it were that he expected the repetition of her solicitationsshe had now made, and that with greater earnestness than before, forthat she had pretended sickness on this very account, and had preferredhis conversation before the festival and its solemnity; or whether heopposed her former discourses, as not believing she could be in earnest;she now gave him sufficient security, by thus repeating her application, that she meant not in the least by fraud to impose upon him; and assuredhim, that if he complied with her affections, he might expect theenjoyment of the advantages he already had; and if he were submissive toher, he should have still greater advantages; but that he must lookfor revenge and hatred from her, in case he rejected her desires, andpreferred the reputation of chastity before his mistress; for that hewould gain nothing by such procedure, because she would then become hisaccuser, and would falsely pretend to her husband, that he had attemptedher chastity; and that Potiphar would hearken to her words rather thanto 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 pity dissuade Joseph from his chastity, nor did fear compelhim to a compliance with her; but he opposed her solicitations, and didnot yield to her threatenings, and was afraid to do an ill thing, and chose to undergo the sharpest punishment rather than to enjoy hispresent advantages, by doing what his own conscience knew would justlydeserve that he should die for it. He also put her in mind that she wasa married woman, and that she ought to cohabit with her husband only;and desired her to suffer these considerations to have more weight withher than the short pleasure of lustful dalliance, which would bring herto repentance afterwards, would cause trouble to her, and yet would notamend what had been done amiss. He also suggested to her the fearshe would be in lest they should be caught; and that the advantage ofconcealment was uncertain, and that only while the wickedness was notknown [would there be any quiet for them]; but that she might have theenjoyment of her husband's company without any danger. And he told her, that in the company of her husband she might have great boldness from agood conscience, both before God and before men. Nay, that she would actbetter like his mistress, and make use of her authority over him betterwhile she persisted in her chastity, than when they were both ashamedfor what wickedness they had been guilty of; and that it is much betterto a life, well and known to have been so, than upon the hopes of theconcealment of evil practices. 5. Joseph, by saying this, and more, tried to restrain the violentpassion of the woman, and to reduce her affections within the rules ofreason; but she grew more ungovernable and earnest in the matter; andsince she despaired of persuading him, she laid her hands upon him, andhad a mind to force him. But as soon as Joseph had got away from heranger, leaving also his garment with her, for he left that to her, and leaped out of her chamber, she was greatly afraid lest he shoulddiscover her lewdness to her husband, and greatly troubled at theaffront he had offered her; so she resolved to be beforehand with him, and to accuse Joseph falsely to Potiphar, and by that means to revengeherself on him for his pride and contempt of her; and she thought ita wise thing in itself, and also becoming a woman, thus to prevent hisaccusation. Accordingly she sat sorrowful and in confusion, framingherself so hypocritically and angrily, that the sorrow, which was reallyfor her being disappointed of her lust, might appear to be for theattempt upon her chastity; so that when her husband came home, and wasdisturbed at the sight of her and inquired what was the cause of thedisorder she was in, she began to accuse Joseph: and, "O husband, "said she, "mayst thou not live a day longer if thou dost not punish thewicked slave who has desired to defile thy bed; who has neither mindedwho he was when he came to our house, so as to behave himself withmodesty; nor has he been mindful of what favors he had received fromthy bounty [as he must be an ungrateful man indeed, unless he, in everyrespect, carry himself in a manner agreeable to us]: this man, I say, laid a private design to abuse thy wife, and this at the time of afestival, observing when thou wouldst be absent. So that it now is clearthat his modesty, as it appeared to be formerly, was only because of therestraint he was in out of fear of thee, but that he was not really ofa good disposition. This has been occasioned by his being advanced tohonor beyond what he deserved, and what he hoped for; insomuch that heconcluded, that he who was deemed fit to be trusted with thy estateand the government of thy family, and was preferred above thy eldestservants, might be allowed to touch thy wife also. " Thus when she hadended her discourse, she showed him his garment, as if he then left itwith her when he attempted to force her. But Potiphar not being ableto disbelieve what his wife's tears showed, and what his wife said, andwhat he saw himself, and being seduced by his love to his wife, didnot set himself about the examination of the truth; but taking it forgranted that his wife was a modest woman, and condemning Joseph as awicked man, he threw him into the malefactors' prison; and had a stillhigher opinion of his wife, and bare her witness that she was a woman ofa becoming modesty and chastity. CHAPTER 5. What Things Befell Joseph In Prison. 1. Now Joseph, commending all his affairs to God, did not betake himselfto make his defense, nor to give an account of the exact circumstancesof the fact, but silently underwent the bonds and the distress he wasin, firmly believing that God, who knew the cause of his affliction, andthe truth of the fact, would be more powerful than those that inflictedthe punishments upon him:--a proof of whose providence he quicklyreceived; for the keeper of the prison taking notice of his care andfidelity in the affairs he had set him about, and the dignity of hiscountenance, relaxed his bonds, and thereby made his heavy calamitylighter, and more supportable to him. He also permitted him to make useof a diet better than that of the rest of the prisoners. Now, as hisfellow prisoners, when their hard labors were over, fell to discoursingone among another, as is usual in such as are equal sufferers, and toinquire one of another what were the occasions of their being condemnedto a prison: among them the king's cupbearer, and one that had beenrespected by him, was put in bonds, upon the king's anger at him. Thisman was under the same bonds with Joseph, and grew more familiar withhim; and upon his observing that Joseph had a better understandingthan the rest had, he told him of a dream he had, and desired he wouldinterpret its meaning, complaining that, besides the afflictions heunderwent from the king, God did also add to him trouble from hisdreams. 2. He therefore said, that in his sleep he saw three clusters of grapeshanging upon three branches of a vine, large already, and ripe forgathering; and that he squeezed them into a cup which the king held inhis hand; and when he had strained the wine, he gave it to the king todrink, and that he received it from him with a pleasant countenance. This, he said, was what he saw; and he desired Joseph, that if he hadany portion of understanding in such matters, he would tell him whatthis vision foretold. Who bid him be of good cheer, and expect to beloosed from his bonds in three days' time, because the king desired hisservice, and was about to restore him to it again; for he let him knowthat God bestows the fruit of the vine upon men for good; which wine ispoured out to him, and is the pledge of fidelity and mutual confidenceamong men; and puts an end to their quarrels, takes away passion andgrief out of the minds of them that use it, and makes them cheerful. "Thou sayest that thou didst squeeze this wine from three clusters ofgrapes with thine hands, and that the king received it: know, therefore, that this vision is for thy good, and foretells a release from thypresent distress within the same number of days as the branches hadwhence thou gatheredst thy grapes in thy sleep. However, rememberwhat prosperity I have foretold thee when thou hast found it true byexperience; and when thou art in authority, do not overlook us in thisprison, wherein thou wilt leave us when thou art gone to the place wehave foretold; for we are not in prison for any crime; but for the sakeof our virtue and sobriety are we condemned to suffer the penalty ofmalefactors, and because we are not willing to injure him that has thusdistressed us, though it were for our own pleasure. " The cupbearer, therefore, as was natural to do, rejoiced to hear such an interpretationof his dream, and waited the completion of what had been thus shown himbeforehand. 3. But another servant there was of the king, who had been chief baker, and was now bound in prison with the cupbearer; he also was in goodhope, upon Joseph's interpretation of the other's vision, for he hadseen a dream also; so he desired that Joseph would tell him what thevisions he had seen the night before might mean. They were these thatfollow:--"Methought, " says he, "I carried three baskets upon my head;two were full of loaves, and the third full of sweetmeats and othereatables, such as are prepared for kings; but that the fowls cameflying, and eat them all up, and had no regard to my attempt to drivethem away. " And he expected a prediction like to that of the cupbearer. But Joseph, considering and reasoning about the dream, said to him, thathe would willingly be an interpreter of good events to him, and not ofsuch as his dream denounced to him; but he told him that he had onlythree days in all to live, for that the [three] baskets signify, thaton the third day he should be crucified, and devoured by fowls, while hewas not able to help himself. Now both these dreams had the same severalevents that Joseph foretold they should have, and this to both theparties; for on the third day before mentioned, when the king solemnizedhis birth-day, he crucified the chief baker, but set the butler freefrom his bonds, and restored him to his former ministration. 4. But God freed Joseph from his confinement, after he had endured hisbonds two years, and had received no assistance from the cupbearer, whodid not remember what he had said to him formerly; and God contrivedthis method of deliverance for him. Pharaoh the king had seen inhis sleep the same evening two visions; and after them had theinterpretations of them both given him. He had forgotten the latter, butretained the dreams themselves. Being therefore troubled at what he hadseen, for it seemed to him to be all of a melancholy nature, the nextday he called together the wisest men among the Egyptians, desiringto learn from them the interpretation of his dreams. But when theyhesitated about them, the king was so much the more disturbed. And nowit was that the memory of Joseph, and his skill in dreams, came into themind of the king's cupbearer, when he saw the confusion that Pharaoh wasin; so he came and mentioned Joseph to him, as also the vision he hadseen in prison, and how the event proved as he had said; as also thatthe chief baker was crucified on the very same day; and that this alsohappened to him according to the interpretation of Joseph. That Josephhimself was laid in bonds by Potiphar, who was his head cook, as aslave; but, he said, he was one of the noblest of the stock of theHebrews; and said further, his father lived in great splendor. "If, therefore, thou wilt send for him, and not despise him on the score ofhis misfortunes, thou wilt learn what thy dreams signify. " So the kingcommanded that they should bring Joseph into his presence; and those whoreceived the command came and brought him with them, having taken careof his habit, that it might be decent, as the king had enjoined them todo. 5. But the king took him by the hand; and, "O young man, " says he, "formy servant bears witness that thou art at present the best and mostskillful person I can consult with; vouchsafe me the same favors whichthou bestowedst on this servant of mine, and tell me what events theyare which the visions of my dreams foreshow; and I desire thee tosuppress nothing out of fear, nor to flatter me with lying words, orwith what may please me, although the truth should be of a melancholynature. For it seemed to me that, as I walked by the river, I sawkine fat and very large, seven in number, going from the river to themarshes; and other kine of the same number like them, met them out ofthe marshes, exceeding lean and ill-favored, which ate up the fatand the large kine, and yet were no better than before, and not lessmiserably pinched with famine. After I had seen this vision, I awakedout of my sleep; and being in disorder, and considering with myself whatthis appearance should be, I fell asleep again, and saw another dream, much more wonderful than the foregoing, which still did more affrightand disturb me:--I saw seven ears of corn growing out of one root, having their heads borne down by the weight of the grains, and bendingdown with the fruit, which was now ripe and fit for reaping; and nearthese I saw seven other ears of corn, meager and weak, for want of rain, which fell to eating and consuming those that were fit for reaping, andput me into great astonishment. " 6. To which Joseph replied:--"This dream, " said he, "O king, althoughseen under two forms, signifies one and the same event of things; forwhen thou sawest the fat kine, which is an animal made for the ploughand for labor, devoured by the worser kine, and the ears of corn eatenup by the smaller ears, they foretell a famine, and want of the fruitsof the earth for the same number of years, and equal with those whenEgypt was in a happy state; and this so far, that the plenty of theseyears will be spent in the same number of years of scarcity, and thatscarcity of necessary provisions will be very difficult to be corrected;as a sign whereof, the ill-favored kine, when they had devoured thebetter sort, could not be satisfied. But still God foreshows what isto come upon men, not to grieve them, but that, when they know itbeforehand, they may by prudence make the actual experience of what isforetold the more tolerable. If thou, therefore, carefully disposeof the plentiful crops which will come in the former years, thou wiltprocure 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 him by what means he might so dispense the foregoing plentifulcrops in the happy years, as to make the miserable crops more tolerable. Joseph then added this his advice: To spare the good crops, and notpermit the Egyptians to spend them luxuriously, but to reserve what theywould have spent in luxury beyond their necessity against the time ofwant. He also exhorted him to take the corn of the husbandmen, and givethem only so much as will be sufficient for their food. AccordinglyPharaoh being surprised at Joseph, not only for his interpretation ofthe dream, but for the counsel he had given him, intrusted him withdispensing the corn; with power to do what he thought would be for thebenefit of the people of Egypt, and for the benefit of the king, asbelieving that he who first discovered this method of acting, wouldprove the best overseer of it. But Joseph having this power given him bythe king, with leave to make use of his seal, and to wear purple, drovein his chariot through all the land of Egypt, and took the corn of thehusbandmen, [3] allotting as much to every one as would be sufficientfor seed, and for food, but without discovering to any one the reasonwhy he did so. CHAPTER 6. How Joseph When He Was Become Famous In Egypt, Had HisBrethren In Subjection. 1. Joseph was now grown up to thirty years of age, and enjoyed greathonors from the king, who called him Psothom Phanech, out of regard tohis prodigious degree of wisdom; for that name denotes the revealer ofsecrets. He also married a wife of very high quality; for he married thedaughter of Petephres, [4] one of the priests of Heliopolis; she wasa virgin, and her name was Asenath. By her he had children beforethe scarcity came on; Manasseh, the elder, which signifies forgetful, because his present happiness made him forget his former misfortunes;and Ephraim, the younger, which signifies restored, because he wasrestored to the freedom of his forefathers. Now after Egypt had happilypassed over seven years, according to Joseph's interpretation of thedreams, the famine came upon them in the eighth year; and because thismisfortune fell upon them when they had no sense of it beforehand, [5]they were all sorely afflicted by it, and came running to the king'sgates; and he called upon Joseph, who sold the corn to them, beingbecome confessedly a savior to the whole multitude of the Egyptians. Nordid he open this market of corn for the people of that country only, butstrangers had liberty to buy also; Joseph being willing that all men, who are naturally akin to one another, should have assistance from thosethat lived in happiness. 2. Now Jacob also, when he understood that foreigners might come, sent all his sons into Egypt to buy corn, for the land of Canaan wasgrievously afflicted with the famine; and this great misery touchedthe whole continent. He only retained Benjamin, who was born to him byRachel, and was of the same mother with Joseph. These sons of Jacob thencame into Egypt, and applied themselves to Joseph, wanting to buy corn;for nothing of this kind was done without his approbation, since eventhen only was the honor that was paid the king himself advantageous tothe persons that paid it, when they took care to honor Joseph also. Nowwhen he well knew his brethren, they thought nothing of him; for hewas but a youth when he left them, and was now come to an age so muchgreater, that the lineaments of his face were changed, and he was notknown by them: besides this, the greatness of the dignity wherein heappeared, suffered them not so much as to suspect it was he. He nowmade trial what sentiments they had about affairs of the greatestconsequence; for he refused to sell them corn, and said they werecome as spies of the king's affairs; and that they came from severalcountries, and joined themselves together, and pretended that they wereof kin, it not being possible that a private man should breed up so manysons, and those of so great beauty of countenance as they were, suchan education of so many children being not easily obtained by kingsthemselves. Now this he did in order to discover what concerned hisfather, and what happened to him after his own departure from him, andas desiring to know what was become of Benjamin his brother; for he wasafraid that they had ventured on the like wicked enterprise against himthat they had done to himself, and had taken him off also. 3. Now these brethren of his were under distraction and terror, andthought that very great danger hung over them; yet not at all reflectingupon their brother Joseph, and standing firm under the accusations laidagainst them, they made their defense by Reubel, the eldest of them, who now became their spokesman: "We come not hither, " said he, "with anyunjust design, nor in order to bring any harm to the king's affairs; weonly want to be preserved, as supposing your humanity might be a refugefor us from the miseries which our country labors under, we having heardthat you proposed to sell corn, not only to your own countrymen, but tostrangers also, and that you determined to allow that corn, in orderto preserve all that want it; but that we are brethren, and of the samecommon blood, the peculiar lineaments of our faces, and those not somuch different from one another, plainly show. Our father's name isJacob, an Hebrew man, who had twelve of us for his sons by four wives;which twelve of us, while we were all alive, were a happy family; butwhen one of our brethren, whose name was Joseph, died, our affairschanged for the worse, for our father could not forbear to make a longlamentation for him; and we are in affliction, both by the calamity ofthe death of our brother, and the miserable state of our aged father. Weare now, therefore, come to buy corn, having intrusted the care of ourfather, and the provision for our family, to Benjamin, our youngestbrother; and if thou sendest to our house, thou mayst learn whether weare guilty of the least falsehood in what we say. " 4. And thus did Reubel endeavor to persuade Joseph to have a betteropinion of them. But when he had learned from them that Jacob was alive, and that his brother was not destroyed by them, he for the present putthem in prison, as intending to examine more into their affairs when heshould be at leisure. But on the third day he brought them out, and saidto them, "Since you constantly affirm that you are not come to do anyharm to the king's affairs; that you are brethren, and the sons of thefather 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 injuryhere; and if, when ye have carried corn to your father, you will cometo me again, and bring your brother, whom you say you left there, alongwith you, for this shall be by me esteemed an assurance of the truth ofwhat you have told me. " Hereupon they were in greater grief than before;they wept, and perpetually deplored one among another the calamity ofJoseph; and said, "They were fallen into this misery as a punishmentinflicted by God for what evil contrivances they had against him. "And Reubel was large in his reproaches of them for their too laterepentance, whence no profit arose to Joseph; and earnestly exhortedthem to bear with patience whatever they suffered, since it was doneby God in way of punishment, on his account. Thus they spake to oneanother, not imagining that Joseph understood their language. A generalsadness also seized on them at Reubel's words, and a repentance for whatthey had done; and they condemned the wickedness they had perpetrated, for which they judged they were justly punished by God. Now when Josephsaw that they were in this distress, he was so affected at it that hefell into tears, and not being willing that they should take notice ofhim, he retired; and after a while came to them again, and taking Symeon[6] in order to his being a pledge for his brethren's return, he bidthem take the corn they had bought, and go their way. He also commandedhis steward privily to put the money which they had brought withthem for the purchase of corn into their sacks, and to dismiss themtherewith; who did what he was commanded to do. 5. Now when Jacob's sons were come into the land of Canaan, they toldtheir father what had happened to them in Egypt, and that they weretaken to have come thither as spies upon the king; and how they saidthey were brethren, and had left their eleventh brother with theirfather, but were not believed; and how they had left Symeon with thegovernor, until Benjamin should go thither, and be a testimonial of thetruth of what they had said: and they begged of their father to fearnothing, but to send the lad along with them. But Jacob was not pleasedwith any thing his sons had done; and he took the detention of Symeonheinously, and thence thought it a foolish thing to give up Benjaminalso. Neither did he yield to Reubel's persuasion, though he begged itof him, and gave leave that the grandfather might, in way of requital, kill his own sons, in case any harm came to Benjamin in the journey. Sothey were distressed, and knew not what to do; nay, there was anotheraccident that still disturbed them more, --the money that was foundhidden in their sacks of corn. Yet when the corn they had brought failedthem, and when the famine still afflicted them, and necessity forcedthem, Jacob did [7] [not] still resolve to send Benjamin with hisbrethren, although there was no returning into Egypt unless they camewith what they had promised. Now the misery growing every day worse, and his sons begging it of him, he had no other course to take in hispresent circumstances. And Judas, who was of a bold temper on otheroccasions, spake his mind very freely to him: "That it did not becomehim to be afraid on account of his son, nor to suspect the worst, as hedid; 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 withhim; that he ought not to condemn them to such manifest destruction; nordeprive them of that plenty of food they might have from Pharaoh, by hisunreasonable fear about his son Benjamin, but ought to take care ofthe preservation of Symeon, lest, by attempting to hinder Benjamin'sjourney, Symeon should perish. He exhorted him to trust God for him; andsaid he would either bring his son back to him safe, or, together withhis, lose his own life. " So that Jacob was at length persuaded, anddelivered Benjamin to them, with the price of the corn doubled; he alsosent presents to Joseph of the fruits of the land of Canaan, balsamand rosin, as also turpentine and honey. [8] Now their father shed manytears at the departure of his sons, as well as themselves. His concernwas, that he might receive them back again safe after their journey; andtheir concern was, that they might find their father well, and no wayafflicted with grief for them. And this lamentation lasted a whole day;so that the old man was at last tired with grief, and staid behind; butthey went on their way for Egypt, endeavoring to mitigate theirgrief for their present misfortunes, with the hopes of better successhereafter. 6. As soon as they came into Egypt, they were brought down to Joseph:but here no small fear disturbed them, lest they should be accused aboutthe price of the corn, as if they had cheated Joseph. They then made along apology to Joseph's steward; and told him, that when they came homethey found the money in their sacks, and that they had now brought italong with them. He said he did not know what they meant: so they weredelivered from that fear. And when he had loosed Symeon, and put himinto a handsome habit, he suffered him to be with his brethren; at whichtime Joseph came from his attendance on the king. So they offered himtheir presents; and upon his putting the question to them about theirfather, they answered that they found him well. He also, upon hisdiscovery that Benjamin was alive, asked whether this was their youngerbrother; for he had seen him. Whereupon they said he was: he replied, that the God over all was his protector. But when his affection to himmade him shed tears, he retired, desiring he might not be seen in thatplight by his brethren. Then Joseph took them to supper, and they wereset down in the same order as they used to sit at their father's table. And although Joseph treated them all kindly, yet did he send a mess toBenjamin that was double to what the rest of the guests had for theirshares. 7. Now when after supper they had composed themselves to sleep, Josephcommanded his steward both to give them their measures of corn, and tohide its price again in their sacks; and that withal they should putinto Benjamin's sack the golden cup, out of which he loved himself todrink. --which things he did, in order to make trial of his brethren, whether they would stand by Benjamin when he should be accused of havingstolen the cup, and should appear to be in danger; or whether they wouldleave him, and, depending on their own innocency, go to their fatherwithout him. When the servant had done as he was bidden, the sons ofJacob, knowing nothing of all this, went their way, and took Symeonalong with them, and had a double cause of joy, both because they hadreceived him again, and because they took back Benjamin to their father, as they had promised. But presently a troop of horsemen encompassedthem, and brought with them Joseph's servant, who had put the cup intoBenjamin's sack. Upon which unexpected attack of the horsemen they weremuch disturbed, and asked what the reason was that they came thus uponmen, who a little before had been by their lord thought worthy of anhonorable and hospitable reception? They replied, by calling them wickedwretches, who had forgot that very hospitable and kind treatment whichJoseph had given them, and did not scruple to be injurious to him, andto carry off that cup out of which he had, in so friendly a manner, drank to them, and not regarding their friendship with Joseph, no morethan the danger they should be in if they were taken, in comparison ofthe unjust gain. Hereupon he threatened that they should be punished;for though they had escaped the knowledge of him who was but a servant, yet had they not escaped the knowledge of God, nor had gone off withwhat they had stolen; and, after all, asked why we come upon them, asif they knew nothing of the matter: and he told them that they shouldimmediately know it by their punishment. This, and more of the samenature, did the servant say, in way of reproach to them: but they beingwholly ignorant of any thing here that concerned them, laughed at whathe said, and wondered at the abusive language which the servant gavethem, when he was so hardy as to accuse those who did not before so muchas retain the price of their corn, which was found in their sacks, butbrought it again, though nobody else knew of any such thing, --so farwere they from offering any injury to Joseph voluntarily. But still, supposing that a search would be a more sure justification of themselvesthan their own denial of the fact, they bid him search them, and that ifany of them had been guilty of the theft, to punish them all; for beingno way conscious to themselves of any crime, they spake with assurance, and, as they thought, without any danger to themselves also. Theservants desired there might be a search made; but they said thepunishment should extend to him alone who should be found guilty of thetheft. So they made the search; and, having searched all the rest, theycame last of all to Benjamin, as knowing it was Benjamin's sack in whichthey had hidden the cup, they having indeed searched the rest only for ashow of accuracy: so the rest were out of fear for themselves, and werenow only concerned about Benjamin, but still were well assured that hewould also be found innocent; and they reproached those that came afterthem for their hindering them, while they might, in the mean while, havegotten a good way on their journey. But as soon as they had searchedBenjamin's sack, they found the cup, and took it from him; and all waschanged into mourning and lamentation. They rent their garments, andwept for the punishment which their brother was to undergo for histheft, and for the delusion they had put on their father, when theypromised they would bring Benjamin safe to him. What added to theirmisery was, that this melancholy accident came unfortunately at a timewhen they thought they had been gotten off clear; but they confessedthat this misfortune of their brother, as well as the grief of theirfather for him, was owing to themselves, since it was they that forcedtheir father to send him with them, when he was averse to it. 8. The horsemen therefore took Benjamin and brought him to Joseph, hisbrethren also following him; who, when he saw him in custody, and themin the habit of mourners, said, "How came you, vile wretches as youare, to have such a strange notion of my kindness to you, and of God'sprovidence, as impudently to do thus to your benefactor, who in suchan hospitable manner had entertained you?" Whereupon they gave upthemselves to be punished, in order to save Benjamin; and called to mindwhat a wicked enterprise they had been guilty of against Joseph. Theyalso pronounced him more happy than themselves, if he were dead, inbeing freed from the miseries of this life; and if he were alive, thathe enjoyed the pleasure of seeing God's vengeance upon them. They saidfurther; that they were the plague of their father, since they shouldnow add to his former affliction for Joseph, this other affliction forBenjamin. Reubel also was large in cutting them upon this occasion. ButJoseph dismissed them; for he said they had been guilty of no offense, and that he would content himself with the lad's punishment; for he saidit was not a fit thing to let him go free, for the sake of those who hadnot offended; nor was it a fit thing to punish them together with himwho had been guilty of stealing. And when he promised to give them leaveto go away in safety, the rest of them were under great consternation, and were able to say nothing on this sad occasion. But Judas, who hadpersuaded their father to send the lad from him, being otherwise alsoa very bold and active man, determined to hazard himself for thepreservation of his brother. "It is true, " [9] said he, "O governor, that we have been very wicked with regard to thee, and on that accountdeserved punishment; even all of us may justly be punished, althoughthe theft were not committed by all, but only by one of us, and he theyoungest also; but yet there remains some hope for us, who otherwisemust be under despair on his account, and this from thy goodness, whichpromises us a deliverance out of our present danger. And now I beg thouwilt not look at us, or at that great crime we have been guilty of, but at thy own excellent nature, and take advice of thine own virtue, instead of that wrath thou hast against us; which passion those thatotherwise are of lower character indulge, as they do their strength, andthat not only on great, but also on very trifling occasions. Overcome, sir, that passion, and be not subdued by it, nor suffer it to slay thosethat do not otherwise presume upon their own safety, but are desirousto accept of it from thee; for this is not the first time that thou wiltbestow it on us, but before, when we came to buy corn, thou affordedstus great plenty of food, and gavest us leave to carry so much home toour family as has preserved them from perishing by famine. Nor is thereany difference between not overlooking men that were perishing for wantof necessaries, and not punishing those that seem to be offenders, and have been so unfortunate as to lose the advantage of that gloriousbenefaction which they received from thee. This will be an instance ofequal favor, though bestowed after a different manner; for thou wiltsave those this way whom thou didst feed the other; and thou wilt herebypreserve alive, by thy own bounty, those souls which thou didst notsuffer to be distressed by famine, it being indeed at once a wonderfuland a great thing to sustain our lives by corn, and to bestow on us thatpardon, whereby, now we are distressed, we may continue those lives. And I am ready to suppose that God is willing to afford thee thisopportunity of showing thy virtuous disposition, by bringing us intothis calamity, that it may appear thou canst forgive the injuries thatare done to thyself, and mayst be esteemed kind to others, besides thosewho, on other accounts, stand in need of thy assistance; since it isindeed a right thing to do well to those who are in distress for wantof food, but still a more glorious thing to save those who deserve to bepunished, when it is on account of heinous offenses against thyself;for if it be a thing deserving commendation to forgive such as havebeen guilty of small offenses, that tend to a person's loss, and thisbe praiseworthy in him that overlooks such offenses, to restrain a man'spassion as to crimes which are capital to the guilty, is to be like themost excellent nature of God himself. And truly, as for myself, had itnot been that we had a father, who had discovered, on occasion of thedeath of Joseph, how miserably he is always afflicted at the loss ofhis sons, I had not made any words on account of the saving of our ownlives; I mean, any further than as that would be an excellent characterfor thyself, to preserve even those that would have nobody to lamentthem when they were dead, but we would have yielded ourselves up tosuffer whatsoever thou pleasedst; but now [for we do not plead for mercyto ourselves, though indeed, if we die, it will be while we are young, and before we have had the enjoyment of life] have regard to our father, and take pity of his old age, on whose account it is that we make thesesupplications to thee. We beg thou wilt give us those lives which thiswickedness of ours has rendered obnoxious to thy punishment; and thisfor his sake who is not himself wicked, nor does his being our fathermake us wicked. He is a good man, and not worthy to have such trials ofhis patience; and now, we are absent, he is afflicted with care for us. But if he hear of our deaths, and what was the cause of it, he will onthat account die an immature death; and the reproachful manner of ourruin will hasten his end, and will directly kill him; nay, will bringhim to a miserable death, while he will make haste to rid himself out ofthe world, and bring himself to a state of insensibility, before the sadstory of our end come abroad into the rest of the world. Consider thesethings in this manner, although our wickedness does now provoke theewith a just desire of punishing that wickedness, and forgive it for ourfather's sake; and let thy commiseration of him weigh more with theethan our wickedness. Have regard to the old age of our father, who, ifwe perish, will be very lonely while he lives, and will soon die himselfalso. Grant this boon to the name of fathers, for thereby thou wilthonor him that begat thee, and will grant it to thyself also, who enjoyest already that denomination; thou wilt then, by thatdenomination, be preserved of God, the Father of all, --by showing apious regard to which, in the case of our father, thou wilt appear tohonor him who is styled by the same name; I mean, if thou wilt have thispity on our father, upon this consideration, how miserable he will beif he be deprived of his sons! It is thy part therefore to bestow on uswhat God has given us, when it is in thy power to take it away, and soto 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 when it isin thy power to destroy, to forget that thou ever hadst that power, andto look on thyself as only allowed power for preservation; and that themore any one extends this power, the greater reputation does he gain tohimself. 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 todeath, since we dare not show ourselves alive to our father without ourbrother, but here must we partake of one and the same catastrophe of hislife. And so far we beg of thee, O governor, that if thou condemnest ourbrother to die, thou wilt punish us together with him, as partners ofhis crime, --for we shall not think it reasonable to be reserved to killourselves for grief of our brother's death, but so to die rather asequally guilty with him of this crime. I will only leave with thee thisone consideration, and then will say no more, viz. That our brothercommitted this fault when he was young, and not yet of confirmed wisdomin his conduct; and that men naturally forgive such young persons. Iend here, without adding what more I have to say, that in case thoucondemnest us, that omission may be supposed to have hurt us, andpermitted thee to take the severer side. But in case thou settest usfree, that this may be ascribed to thy own goodness, of which thou artinwardly conscious, that thou freest us from condemnation; and that notby barely preserving us, but by granting us such a favor as will make usappear more righteous than we really are, and by representing to thyselfmore motives for our deliverance than we are able to produce ourselves. If, therefore, thou resolvest to slay him, I desire thou wilt slay mein his stead, and send him back to his father; or if thou pleasest toretain him with thee as a slave, I am fitter to labor for thy advantagein that capacity, and, as thou seest, am better prepared for either ofthose sufferings. " So Judas, being very willing to undergo any thingwhatever for the deliverance of his brother, cast himself down atJoseph's feet, and earnestly labored to assuage and pacify his anger. All his brethren also fell down before him, weeping and deliveringthemselves up to destruction for the preservation of the life ofBenjamin. 10. But Joseph, as overcome now with his affections, and no longer ableto personate an angry man, 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 himself known to his brethren;and said, "I commend you for your virtue, and your kindness to ourbrother: I find you better men than I could have expected from whatyou contrived about me. Indeed, I did all this to try your love to yourbrother; so I believe you were not wicked by nature in what you didin my case, but that all has happened according to God's will, who hashereby procured our enjoyment of what good things we have; and, if hecontinue in a favorable disposition, of what we hope for hereafter. Since, therefore, I know that our father is safe and well, beyondexpectation, and I see you so well disposed to your brother, I will nolonger remember what guilt you seem to have had about me, but will leaveoff to hate you for that your wickedness; and do rather return you mythanks, that you have concurred with the intentions of God to bringthings to their present state. I would have you also rather to forgetthe same, since that imprudence of yours is come to such a happyconclusion, than to be uneasy and blush at those your offenses. Do not, therefore, let your evil intentions, when you condemned me, and thatbitter remorse which might follow, be a grief to you now, because thoseintentions were frustrated. Go, therefore, your way, rejoicing in whathas happened by the Divine Providence, and inform your father of it, lest he should be spent with cares for you, and deprive me of the mostagreeable part of my felicity; I mean, lest he should die before hecomes into my sight, and enjoys the good things that we now have. Bring, therefore, with you our father, and your wives and children, and allyour kindred, and remove your habitations hither; for it is not properthat the persons dearest to me should live remote from me, now myaffairs are so prosperous, especially when they must endure five moreyears of famine. " When Joseph had said this, he embraced his brethren, who were in tears and sorrow; but the generous kindness of theirbrother seemed to leave among them no room for fear, lest they shouldbe punished on account of what they had consulted and acted againsthim; and they were then feasting. Now the king, as soon as he heard thatJoseph's brethren were come to him, was exceeding glad of it, as if ithad been a part of his own good fortune; and gave them wagons full ofcorn and gold and silver, to be conveyed to his father. Now when theyhad received more of their brother part to be carried to their father, and part as free gifts to every one of themselves, Benjamin having stillmore than the rest, they departed. CHAPTER 7. The Removal Of Joseph's Father With All His Family, To Him, On Account Of The Famine. 1. As soon as Jacob came to know, by his sons returning home, in whatstate Joseph was, that he had not only escaped death, for which yethe lived all along in mourning, but that he lived in splendor andhappiness, and ruled over Egypt, jointly with the king, and hadintrusted to his care almost all his affairs, he did not think any thinghe was told to be incredible, considering the greatness of the works ofGod, and his kindness to him, although that kindness had, for some latetimes, been intermitted; so he immediately and zealously set out uponhis journey to him. 2. When he came to the Well of the Oath, [Beersheba, ] he offeredsacrifice to God; and being afraid that the happiness there was in Egyptmight tempt his posterity to fall in love with it, and settle in it, andno more think of removing into the land of Canaan, and possessing it, asGod had promised them; as also being afraid, lest, if this descent intoEgypt were made without the will of God, his family might be destroyedthere; out of fear, withal, lest he should depart this life before hecame to the sight of Joseph; he fell asleep, revolving these doubts inhis mind. 3. But God stood by him, and called him twice by his name; and when heasked who he was, God said, "No, sure; it is not just that thou, Jacob, shouldst be unacquainted with that God who has been ever a protectorand a helper to thy forefathers, and after them to thyself: for when thyfather would have deprived thee of the dominion, I gave it thee; and bymy kindness it was that, when thou wast sent into Mesopotamia all alone, thou obtainedst good wives, and returnedst with many children, and muchwealth. Thy whole family also has been preserved by my providence; andit was I 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 he differs but little from a king. Accordingly, I come now as aguide to thee in this journey; and foretell to thee, that thou shalt diein the arms of Joseph: and I inform thee, that thy posterity shall bemany ages in authority and glory, and that I will settle them in theland which I have promised them. " 4. Jacob, encouraged by this dream, went on more cheerfully for Egyptwith his sons, and all belonging to them. Now they were in all seventy. I once, indeed, thought it best not to set down the names of thisfamily, especially because of their difficult pronunciation [by theGreeks]; but, upon the whole, I think it necessary to mention thosenames, that I may disprove such as believe that we came not originallyfrom Mesopotamia, but are Egyptians. Now Jacob had twelve sons; of theseJoseph was come thither before. We will therefore set down the names ofJacob's children and grandchildren. Reuben had four sons--Anoch, Phallu, Assaron, Charmi. Simeon had six--Jamuel, Jamin, Avod, Jachin, Soar, Saul. Levi had three sons--Gersom, Caath, Merari. Judas had threesons--Sala, Phares, Zerah; and by Phares two grandchildren, Esrom andAmar. Issachar had four sons--Thola, Phua, Jasob, Samaron. Zabulon hadwith him three sons--Sarad, Helon, Jalel. So far is the posterity ofLea; with whom went her daughter Dinah. These are thirty-three. Rachelhad two sons, the one of whom, Joseph, had two sons also, Manasses andEphraim. The other, Benjamin, had ten sons--Bolau, Bacchar, Asabel, Geras, Naaman, Jes, Ros, Momphis, Opphis, Arad. These fourteen added tothe thirty-three before enumerated, amount to the number forty-seven. And this was the legitimate posterity of Jacob. He had besides byBilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, Dan and Nephtliali; which last had foursons that followed him--Jesel, Guni, Issari, and Sellim. Dan had an onlybegotten son, Usi. If these be added to those before mentioned, theycomplete the number fifty-four. Gad and Aser were the sons of Zilpha, who was the handmaid of Lea. These had with them, Gad seven--Saphoniah, Augis, Sunis, Azabon, Aerin, Erocd, Ariel. Aser had a daughter, Sarah, and six male children, whose names were Jomne, Isus, Isoui, Baris, Abarand Melchiel. If we add these, which are sixteen, to the fifty-four, the forementioned number [70] is completed [11] Jacob not being himselfincluded in that number. 5. When Joseph understood that his father was coming, for Judas hisbrother was come before him, and informed him of his approach, he wentout to meet him; and they met together at Heroopolis. But Jacob almostfainted away at this unexpected and great joy; however, Joseph revivedhim, being yet not himself able to contain from being affected in thesame manner, at the pleasure he now had; yet was he not wholly overcomewith his passion, as his father was. After this, he desired Jacob totravel on slowly; but he himself took five of his brethren with him, andmade haste to the king, to tell him that Jacob and his family were come;which was a joyful hearing to him. He also bid Joseph tell him what sortof life his brethren loved to lead, that he might give them leave tofollow the same, who told him they were good shepherds, and had beenused to follow no other employment but this alone. Whereby he providedfor 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 theymight be acceptable to the Egyptians, by doing nothing that would becommon to them with the Egyptians; for the Egyptians are prohibited tomeddle with feeding of sheep. [12] 6. When Jacob was come to the king, and saluted him, and wished allprosperity to his government, Pharaoh asked him how old he now was; uponwhose answer, that he was a hundred and thirty years old, he admiredJacob on account of the length of his life. And when he had added, thatstill he had not lived so long as his forefathers, he gave him leaveto live with his children in Heliopolis; for in that city the king'sshepherds had their pasturage. 7. However, the famine increased among the Egyptians, and this heavyjudgment grew more oppressive to them, because neither did the riveroverflow the ground, for it did not rise to its former height, nor didGod send rain upon it; [13] nor did they indeed make the least provisionfor themselves, so ignorant were they what was to be done; but Josephsold them corn for their money. But when their money failed them, theybought corn with their cattle and their slaves; and if any of them hada small piece of land, they gave up that to purchase them food, by whichmeans the king became the owner of all their substance; and they wereremoved, some to one place, and some to another, that so the possessionof their country might be firmly assured to the king, excepting thelands of the priests, for their country continued still in their ownpossession. And indeed this sore famine made their minds, as wellas their bodies, slaves; and at length compelled them to procure asufficiency of food by such dishonorable means. But when this miseryceased, and the river overflowed the ground, and the ground broughtforth its fruits plentifully, Joseph came to every city, and gatheredthe people thereto belonging together, and gave them back entirely theland which, by their own consent, the king might have possessed alone, and alone enjoyed the fruits of it. He also exhorted them to look onit as every one's own possession, and to fall to their husbandry withcheerfulness, and to pay as a tribute to the king, the fifth part [14]of the fruits for the land which the king, when it was his own, restoredto them. These men rejoiced upon their becoming unexpectedly owners oftheir lands, and diligently observed what was enjoined them; and bythis means Joseph procured to himself a greater authority among theEgyptians, and greater love to the king from them. Now this law, thatthey should pay the fifth part of their fruits as tribute, continueduntil their later kings. CHAPTER 8. Of The Death Of Jacob And Joseph. 1. Now when Jacob had lived seventeen years in Egypt, he fell into adisease, and died in the presence of his sons; but not till he made hisprayers for their enjoying prosperity, and till he had foretold to themprophetically how every one of them was to dwell in the land of Canaan. But this happened many years afterward. He also enlarged upon thepraises of Joseph [15] how he had not remembered the evil doings of hisbrethren to their disadvantage; nay, on the contrary, was kind to them, bestowing upon them so many benefits, as seldom are bestowed on men'sown benefactors. He then commanded his own sons that they should admitJoseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasses, into their number, and dividethe land of Canaan in common with them; concerning whom we shall treathereafter. However, he made it his request that he might be buried atHebron. So he died, when he had lived full a hundred and fifty years, three only abated, having not been behind any of his ancestors in pietytowards God, and having such a recompense for it, as it was fit thoseshould have who were so good as these were. But Joseph, by the king'spermission, carried his father's dead body to Hebron, and there buriedit, at a great expense. Now his brethren were at first unwilling toreturn back with him, because they were afraid lest, now their fatherwas dead, he should punish them for their secret practices against him;since he was now gone, for whose sake he had been so gracious to them. But he persuaded them to fear no harm, and to entertain no suspicions ofhim: 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; havingbeen a man of admirable virtue, and conducting all his affairs by therules of reason; and used his authority with moderation, which was thecause of his so great felicity among the Egyptians, even when he camefrom another country, and that in such ill circumstances also, as wehave already described. At length his brethren died, after they hadlived happily in Egypt. Now the posterity and sons of these men, aftersome time, carried their bodies, and buried them at Hebron: but asto the bones of Joseph, they carried them into the land of Canaanafterward, when the Hebrews went out of Egypt, for so had Joseph madethem promise him upon oath. But what became of every one of these men, and by what toils they got the possession of the land of Canaan, shallbe shown hereafter, when I have first explained upon what account it wasthat they left Egypt. CHAPTER 9. Concerning The Afflictions That Befell The Hebrews In Egypt, During Four Hundred Years. [16] 1. Now it happened that the Egyptians grew delicate and lazy, asto pains-taking, and gave themselves up to other pleasures, and inparticular to the love of gain. They also became very ill-affectedtowards the Hebrews, as touched with envy at their prosperity; for whenthey saw how the nation of the Israelites flourished, and were becomeeminent already in plenty of wealth, which they had acquired by theirvirtue and natural love of labor, they thought their increase wasto their own detriment. And having, in length of time, forgotten thebenefits they had received from Joseph, particularly the crown being nowcome into another family, they became very abusive to the Israelites, and contrived many ways of afflicting them; for they enjoined them tocut a great number of channels for the river, and to build walls fortheir cities and ramparts, that they might restrain the river, andhinder its waters from stagnating, upon its running over its own banks:they set them also to build pyramids, [17] and by all this wore themout; and forced them to learn all sorts of mechanical arts, and toaccustom themselves to hard labor. And four hundred years did they spendunder these afflictions; for they strove one against the other whichshould get the mastery, the Egyptians desiring to destroy the Israelitesby these labors, and the Israelites desiring to hold out to the endunder them. 2. While the affairs of the Hebrews were in this condition, there wasthis occasion offered itself to the Egyptians, which made them moresolicitous for the extinction of our nation. One of those sacredscribes, [18] who are very sagacious in foretelling future events truly, told the king, that about this time there would a child be born to theIsraelites, who, if he were reared, would bring the Egyptian dominionlow, and would raise the Israelites; that he would excel all men invirtue, and obtain a glory that would be remembered through all ages. Which thing was so feared by the king, that, according to this man'sopinion, he commanded that they should cast every male child, which wasborn to the Israelites, into the river, and destroy it; that besidesthis, the Egyptian midwives [19] should watch the labors of the Hebrewwomen, and observe what is born, for those were the women who wereenjoined to do the office of midwives to them; and by reason of theirrelation to the king, would not transgress his commands. He enjoinedalso, that if any parents should disobey him, and venture to save theirmale children alive, [20] they and their families should be destroyed. This was a severe affliction indeed to those that suffered it, not onlyas they were deprived of their sons, and while they were the parentsthemselves, they were obliged to be subservient to the destructionof their own children, but as it was to be supposed to tend to theextirpation of their nation, while upon the destruction of theirchildren, and their own gradual dissolution, the calamity would becomevery hard and inconsolable to them. And this was the ill state theywere in. But no one can be too hard for the purpose of God, though hecontrive ten thousand subtle devices for that end; for this child, whom the sacred scribe foretold, was brought up and concealed fromthe observers appointed by the king; and he that foretold him did notmistake in the consequences of his preservation, which were brought topass after the manner following:-- 3. A man whose name was Amram, one of the nobler sort of the Hebrews, was afraid for his whole nation, lest it should fail, by the want ofyoung men to be brought up hereafter, and was very uneasy at it, hiswife being then with child, and he knew not what to do. Hereupon hebetook himself to prayer to God; and entreated him to have compassionon those men who had nowise transgressed the laws of his worship, and toafford them deliverance from the miseries they at that time endured, and to render abortive their enemies' hopes of the destruction oftheir nation. Accordingly God had mercy on him, and was moved by hissupplication. He stood by him in his sleep, and exhorted him not todespair of his future favors. He said further, that he did not forgettheir piety towards him, and would always reward them for it, as he hadformerly granted his favor to their forefathers, and made them increasefrom a few to so great a multitude. He put him in mind, that whenAbraham was come alone out of Mesopotamia into Canaan, he had been madehappy, not only in other respects, but that when his wife was at firstbarren, she was afterwards by him enabled to conceive seed, and bare himsons. That he left to Ismael and to his posterity the country of Arabia;as also to his sons by Ketura, Troglodytis; and to Isaac, Canaan. Thatby my assistance, said he, he did great exploits in war, which, unlessyou be yourselves impious, you must still remember. As for Jacob, hebecame well known to strangers also, by the greatness of that prosperityin which he lived, and left to his sons, who came into Egypt with nomore than seventy souls, while you are now become above six hundredthousand. Know therefore that I shall provide for you all in commonwhat is for your good, and particularly for thyself what shall make theefamous; for that child, out of dread of whose nativity the Egyptianshave doomed the Israelite children to destruction, shall be this childof thine, and shall be concealed from those who watch to destroy him:and when he is brought up in a surprising way, he shall deliver theHebrew nation from the distress they are under from the Egyptians. Hismemory shall be famous while the world lasts; and this not only amongthe Hebrews, but foreigners also:--all which shall be the effect of myfavor to thee, and to thy posterity. He shall also have such a brother, that he shall himself obtain my priesthood, and his posterity shall haveit after him to the end of the world. 4. When the vision had informed him of these things, Amram awaked andtold it to Jochebed who was his wife. And now the fear increased uponthem on account of the prediction in Amram's dream; for they were underconcern, not only for the child, but on account of the great happinessthat was to come to him also. However, the mother's labor was such asafforded a confirmation to what was foretold by God; for it was notknown to those that watched her, by the easiness of her pains, andbecause the throes of her delivery did not fall upon her with violence. And now they nourished the child at home privately for three months; butafter that time Amram, fearing he should be discovered, and, by fallingunder the king's displeasure, both he and his child should perish, and so he should make the promise of God of none effect, he determinedrather to trust the safety and care of the child to God, than todepend on his own concealment of him, which he looked upon as a thinguncertain, and whereby both the child, so privately to be nourished, and himself should be in imminent danger; but he believed that God wouldsome way for certain procure the safety of the child, in order to securethe truth of his own predictions. When they had thus determined, theymade an ark of bulrushes, after the manner of a cradle, and of a bignesssufficient for an infant to be laid in, without being too straitened:they then daubed it over with slime, which would naturally keep out thewater from entering between the bulrushes, and put the infant into it, and setting it afloat upon the river, they left its preservation to God;so the river received the child, and carried him along. But Miriam, the child's sister, passed along upon the bank over against him, as hermother had bid her, to see whither the ark would be carried, where Goddemonstrated that human wisdom was nothing, but that the Supreme Beingis able to do whatsoever he pleases: that those who, in order to theirown security, condemn others to destruction, and use great endeavorsabout it, fail of their purpose; but that others are in a surprisingmanner preserved, and obtain a prosperous condition almost from the verymidst of their calamities; those, I mean, whose dangers arise by theappointment of God. And, indeed, such a providence was exercised in thecase of this child, as showed the power of God. 5. Thermuthis was the king's daughter. She was now diverting herself bythe banks of the river; and seeing a cradle borne along by the current, she sent some that 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 was greatly in love with it, onaccount of its largeness and beauty; for God had taken such great carein the formation of Moses, that he caused him to be thought worthy ofbringing up, and providing for, by all those that had taken the mostfatal resolutions, on account of the dread of his nativity, for thedestruction of the rest of the Hebrew nation. Thermuthis bid them bringher a woman that might afford her breast to the child; yet would not thechild admit of her breast, but turned away from it, and did the like tomany other women. Now Miriam was by when this happened, not to appear tobe there on purpose, but only as staying to see the child; and shesaid, "It is in vain that thou, O queen, callest for these women for thenourishing of the child, who are no way of kin to it; but still, if thouwilt order one of the Hebrew women to be brought, perhaps it may admitthe breast of one of its own nation. " Now since she seemed to speakwell, Thermuthis bid her procure such a one, and to bring one of thoseHebrew women that gave suck. So when she had such authority given her, she came back and brought the mother, who was known to nobody there. Andnow the child gladly admitted the breast, and seemed to stick close toit; and so it was, that, at the queen's desire, the nursing of the childwas entirely intrusted to the mother. 6. Hereupon it was that Thermuthis imposed this name Mouses upon him, from what had happened when he was put into the river; for the Egyptianscall water by the name of Mo, and such as are saved out of it, by thename of Uses: so by putting these two words together, they imposed thisname upon him. And he was, by the confession of all, according to God'sprediction, as well for his greatness of mind as for his contempt ofdifficulties, the best of all the Hebrews, for Abraham was his ancestorof the seventh generation. For Moses was the son of Amram, who was theson of Caath, whose father Levi was the son of Jacob, who was the sonof Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. Now Moses's understanding becamesuperior to his age, nay, far beyond that standard; and when he wastaught, he discovered greater quickness of apprehension than was usualat his age, and his actions at that time promised greater, when heshould come to the age of a man. God did also give him that tallness, when he was but three years old, as was wonderful. And as for hisbeauty, there was nobody so unpolite as, when they saw Moses, they werenot greatly surprised at the beauty of his countenance; nay, it happenedfrequently, that those that met him as he was carried along the road, were obliged to turn again upon seeing the child; that they left whatthey were about, and stood still a great while to look on him; forthe beauty of the child was so remarkable and natural to him on manyaccounts, that it detained the spectators, and made them stay longer tolook upon him. 7. Thermuthis therefore perceiving him to be so remarkable a child, adopted him for her son, having no child of her own. And when one timehad carried Moses to her father, she showed him to him, and said shethought to make him her successor, if it should please God she shouldhave no legitimate child of her own; and to him, "I have brought up achild who is of a divine form, [21] and of a generous mind; and as Ihave received him from the bounty of the river, in, I thought proper toadopt him my son, and the heir of thy kingdom. " And she had said this, she put the infant into her father's hands: so he took him, and huggedhim to his breast; and on his daughter's account, in a pleasant way, puthis diadem upon his head; but Moses threw it down to the ground, and, in a puerile mood, he wreathed it round, and trod upon his feet, whichseemed to bring along with evil presage concerning the kingdom of Egypt. But when the sacred scribe saw this, [he was the person who foretoldthat his nativity would the dominion of that kingdom low, ] he made aviolent attempt to kill him; and crying out in a frightful manner, hesaid, "This, O king! this child is he of whom God foretold, that if wekill him we shall be in no danger; he himself affords an attestation tothe prediction of the same thing, by his trampling upon thy government, and treading upon thy diadem. Take him, therefore, out of the way, anddeliver the Egyptians from the fear they are in about him; and deprivethe Hebrews of the hope they have of being encouraged by him. " ButThermuthis prevented him, and snatched the child away. And the king wasnot hasty to slay him, God himself, whose providence protected Moses, inclining the king to spare him. He was, therefore, educated with greatcare. So the Hebrews depended on him, and were of good hopes greatthings would be done by him; but the Egyptians were suspicious of whatwould follow such his education. Yet because, if Moses had been slain, there was no one, either akin or adopted, that had any oracle on hisside for pretending to the crown of Egypt, and likely to be of greateradvantage to them, they abstained from killing him. CHAPTER 10. How Moses Made War With The Ethiopians. 1. Moses, therefore, when he was born, and brought up in the foregoingmanner, and came to the age of maturity, made his virtue manifest to theEgyptians; and showed that he was born for the bringing them down, andraising the Israelites. And the occasion he laid hold of was this:--TheEthiopians, who are next neighbors to the Egyptians, made an inroad intotheir country, which they seized upon, and carried off the effects ofthe Egyptians, who, in their rage, fought against them, and revenged theaffronts they had received from them; but being overcome in battle, someof them were slain, and the rest ran away in a shameful manner, and bythat means saved themselves; whereupon the Ethiopians followed afterthem in the pursuit, and thinking that it would be a mark of cowardiceif they did not subdue all Egypt, they went on to subdue the rest withgreater vehemence; and when they had tasted the sweets of the country, they never left off the prosecution of the war: and as the nearest partshad not courage enough at first to fight with them, they proceeded asfar as Memphis, and the sea itself, while not one of the cities wasable to oppose them. The Egyptians, under this sad oppression, betookthemselves to their oracles and prophecies; and when God had given themthis counsel, to make use of Moses the Hebrew, and take his assistance, the king commanded his daughter to produce him, that he might be thegeneral [22] of their army. Upon which, when she had made him swear hewould do him no harm, she delivered him to the king, and supposed hisassistance would be of great advantage to them. She withal reproachedthe priest, who, when they had before admonished the Egyptians to killhim, was not ashamed now to own their want of his help. 2. So Moses, at the persuasion both of Thermuthis and the king himself, cheerfully undertook the business: and the sacred scribes of bothnations were glad; those of the Egyptians, that they should at onceovercome their enemies by his valor, and that by the same piece ofmanagement Moses would be slain; but those of the Hebrews, that theyshould escape from the Egyptians, because Moses was to be their general. But Moses prevented the enemies, and took and led his army before thoseenemies were apprized of his attacking them; for he did not march bythe river, but by land, where he gave a wonderful demonstration of hissagacity; for when the ground was difficult to be passed over, becauseof the multitude of serpents, [which it produces in vast numbers, and, indeed, is singular in some of those productions, which other countriesdo not breed, and yet such as are worse than others in power andmischief, and an unusual fierceness of sight, some of which ascend outof the ground unseen, and also fly in the air, and so come upon men atunawares, and do them a mischief, ] Moses invented a wonderful stratagemto preserve the army safe, and without hurt; for he made baskets, likeunto arks, of sedge, and filled them with ibes, [23] and carriedthem along with them; which animal is the greatest enemy to serpentsimaginable, for they fly from them when they come near them; and asthey fly they are caught and devoured by them, as if it were done bythe harts; but the ibes are tame creatures, and only enemies to theserpentine kind: but about these ibes I say no more at present, sincethe Greeks themselves are not unacquainted with this sort of bird. Assoon, therefore, as Moses was come to the land which was the breeder ofthese serpents, he let loose the ibes, and by their means repelled theserpentine kind, and used them for his assistants before the army cameupon that ground. When he had therefore proceeded thus on his journey, he came upon the Ethiopians before they expected him; and, joiningbattle with them, he beat them, and deprived them of the hopes theyhad of success against the Egyptians, and went on in overthrowing theircities, and indeed made a great slaughter of these Ethiopians. Now whenthe Egyptian army had once tasted of this prosperous success, by themeans of Moses, they did not slacken their diligence, insomuch that theEthiopians were in danger of being reduced to slavery, and all sorts ofdestruction; and at length they retired to Saba, which was a royal cityof Ethiopia, which Cambyses afterwards named Mero, after the name ofhis own sister. The place was to be besieged with very great difficulty, since it was both encompassed by the Nile quite round, and the otherrivers, Astapus and Astaboras, made it a very difficult thing for suchas attempted to pass over them; for the city was situate in aretired place, and was inhabited after the manner of an island, beingencompassed with a strong wall, and having the rivers to guard themfrom their enemies, and having great ramparts between the wall and therivers, insomuch, that when the waters come with the greatest violence, it can never be drowned; which ramparts make it next to impossible foreven such as are gotten over the rivers to take the city. However, whileMoses was uneasy at the army's lying idle, [for the enemies durst notcome to a battle, ] this accident happened:--Tharbis was the daughter ofthe king of the Ethiopians: she happened to see Moses as he led thearmy near the walls, and fought with great courage; and admiring thesubtilty of his undertakings, and believing him to be the author of theEgyptians' success, when they had before despaired of recovering theirliberty, and to be the occasion of the great danger the Ethiopians werein, when they had before boasted of their great achievements, she felldeeply in love with him; and upon the prevalancy of that passion, sentto him the most faithful of all her servants to discourse with him abouttheir marriage. He thereupon accepted the offer, on condition she wouldprocure the delivering up of the city; and gave her the assurance of anoath to take her to his wife; and that when he had once taken possessionof the city, he would not break his oath to her. No sooner was theagreement made, but it took effect immediately; and when Moses had cutoff the Ethiopians, he gave thanks to God, and consummated his marriage, and led the Egyptians back to their own land. CHAPTER 11. How Moses Fled Out Of Egypt Into Midian. 1. Now the Egyptians, after they had been preserved by Moses, entertained a hatred to him, and were very eager in compassing theirdesigns against him, as suspecting that he would take occasion, from hisgood success, to raise a sedition, and bring innovations into Egypt; andtold the king he ought to be slain. The king had also some intentionsof himself to the same purpose, and this as well out of envy at hisglorious expedition at the head of his army, as out of fear of beingbrought low by him and being instigated by the sacred scribes, he wasready to undertake to kill Moses: but when he had learned beforehandwhat plots there were against him, he went away privately; and becausethe public roads were watched, he took his flight through the deserts, and where his enemies could not suspect he would travel; and, thoughhe was destitute of food, he went on, and despised that difficultycourageously; and when he came to the city Midian, which lay upon theRed Sea, and was so denominated from one of Abraham's sons by Keturah, he sat upon a certain well, and rested himself there after his laboriousjourney, and the affliction he had been in. It was not far from thecity, and the time of the day was noon, where he had an occasion offeredhim 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 seizeon the wells before others came, lest their flocks should want water, and lest it should be spent by others before they came. There werenow come, therefore, to this well seven sisters that were virgins, thedaughters of Raguel, a priest, and one thought worthy by the peopleof the country of great honor. These virgins, who took care of theirfather's flocks, which sort of work it was customary and very familiarfor women to do in the country of the Troglodytes, they came first ofall, and drew water out of the well in a quantity sufficient for theirflocks, into troughs, which were made for the reception of that water;but when the shepherds came upon the maidens, and drove them away, thatthey might have the command of the water themselves, Moses, thinking itwould be a terrible reproach upon him if he overlooked the young womenunder unjust oppression, and should suffer the violence of the men toprevail over the right of the maidens, he drove away the men, who had amind to more than their share, and afforded a proper assistance to thewomen; who, when they had received such a benefit from him, came totheir father, and told him how they had been affronted by the shepherds, and assisted by a stranger, and entreated that he would not let thisgenerous action be done in vain, nor go without a reward. Now the fathertook it well from his daughters that they were so desirous to rewardtheir benefactor; and bid them bring Moses into his presence, that hemight be rewarded as he deserved. And when Moses came, he told him whattestimony his daughters bare to him, that he had assisted them; andthat, as he admired him for his virtue, he said that Moses had bestowedsuch his assistance on persons not insensible of benefits, but wherethey were both able and willing to return the kindness, and even toexceed the measure of his generosity. So he made him his son, andgave him one of his daughters in marriage; and appointed him to be theguardian and superintendent over his cattle; for of old, all the wealthof the barbarians was in those cattle. CHAPTER 12. Concerning The Burning Bush And The Rod Of Moses. 1. Now Moses, when he had obtained the favor of Jethro, for that wasone of the names of Raguel, staid there and fed his flock; but some timeafterward, taking his station at the mountain called Sinai, he drovehis flocks thither to feed them. Now this is the highest of all themountains thereabout, and the best for pasturage, the herbage beingthere good; and it had not been before fed upon, because of the opinionmen had that God dwelt there, the shepherds not daring to ascend up toit; and here it was that a wonderful prodigy happened to Moses; for afire fed upon a thorn bush, yet did the green leaves and the flowerscontinue untouched, and the fire did not at all consume the fruitbranches, although the flame was great and fierce. Moses was aftrightedat this strange sight, as it was to him; but he was still moreastonished 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 inventuring to come into a place whither no man had ever come before, because the place was divine; and advised him to remove a great way offfrom the flame, and to be contented with what he had seen; and thoughhe were himself a good man, and the offspring of great men, yet that heshould not pry any further; and he foretold to him, that he should haveglory and honor among men, by the blessing of God upon him. He alsocommanded him to go away thence with confidence to Egypt, in order tohis being the commander and conductor of the body of the Hebrews, andto his delivering his own people from the injuries they sufferedthere: "For, " said God, "they shall inhabit this happy land which yourforefather Abraham inhabited, and shall have the enjoyment of all goodthings. " But still he enjoined them, when he brought the Hebrews outof the land of Egypt, to come to that place, and to offer sacrifices ofthanksgiving there, Such were the divine oracles which were deliveredout of the fire. 2. But Moses was astonished at what he saw, and much more at whathe heard; and he said, "I think it would be an instance of too greatmadness, O Lord, for one of that regard I bear to thee, to distrust thypower, since I myself adore it, and know that it has been made manifestto my progenitors: but I am still in doubt how I, who am a private man, and one of no abilities, should either persuade my own countrymen toleave the country they now inhabit, and to follow me to a land whitherI lead them; or, if they should be persuaded, how can I force Pharaohto permit them to depart, since they augment their own wealth andprosperity by the labors and works they put upon them?" 3. But God persuaded him to be courageous on all occasions, and promisedto be with him, and to assist him in his words, when he was to persuademen; and in his deeds, when he was to perform wonders. He bid him alsoto take a signal of the truth of what he said, by throwing his rod uponthe ground, which, when he had done, it crept along, and was become aserpent, and rolled itself round in its folds, and erected its head, as ready to revenge itself on such as should assault it; after which itbecome a rod again as it was before. After this God bid Moses to puthis right hand into his bosom: he obeyed, and when he took it out itwas white, and in color like to chalk, but afterward it returned to itswonted color again. He also, upon God's command, took some of the waterthat was near him, and poured it upon the ground, and saw the color wasthat of blood. Upon the wonder that Moses showed at these signs, Godexhorted him to be of good courage, and to be assured that he would bethe greatest support to him; and bid him make use of those signs, inorder to obtain belief among all men, that "thou art sent by me, anddost all things according to my commands. Accordingly I enjoin thee tomake no more delays, but to make haste to Egypt, and to travel nightand day, and not to draw out the time, and so make the slavery of theHebrews and their sufferings to last the longer. " 4. Moses having now seen and heard these wonders that assured him of thetruth of these promises of God, had no room left him to disbelieve them:he entreated him to grant him that power when he should be in Egypt; andbesought him to vouchsafe him the knowledge of his own name; and sincehe had heard and seen him, that he would also tell him his name, thatwhen he offered sacrifice he might invoke him by such his name in hisoblations. Whereupon God declared to him his holy name, which had neverbeen discovered to men before; concerning which it is not lawful for meto say any more [24] Now these signs accompanied Moses, not then only, but always when he prayed for them: of all which signs he attributed thefirmest assent to the fire in the bush; and believing that God would bea gracious supporter to him, he hoped he should be able to deliver hisown nation, and bring calamities on the Egyptians. CHAPTER 13. How Moses And Aaron Returned Into Egypt To Pharaoh. 1. So Moses, when he understood that the Pharaoh, in whose reign he fledaway, was dead, asked leave of Raguel to go to Egypt, for the benefit ofhis own people. And he took with him Zipporah, the daughter of Raguel, whom he had married, and the children he had by her, Gersom and Eleazer, and made haste into Egypt. Now the former of those names, Gersom, inthe Hebrew tongue, signifies that he was in a strange land; and Eleazer, that, by the assistance of the God of his fathers, he had escaped fromthe Egyptians. Now when they were near the borders, Aaron his brother, by the command of God, met him, to whom he declared what had befallenhim at the mountain, and the commands that God had given him. But asthey were going forward, the chief men among the Hebrews, having learnedthat they were coming, met them: to whom Moses declared the signs he hadseen; and while they could not believe them, he made them see them, Sothey took courage at these surprising and unexpected sights, and hopedwell of their entire deliverance, as believing now that God took care oftheir preservation. 2. Since then Moses found that the Hebrews would be obedient towhatsoever he should direct, as they promised to be, and were in lovewith liberty, he came to the king, who had indeed but lately receivedthe government, and told him how much he had done for the good of theEgyptians, when they were despised by the Ethiopians, and their countrylaid waste by them; and how he had been the commander of their forces, and had labored for them, as if they had been his own people and heinformed him in what danger he had been during that expedition, withouthaving any proper returns made him as he had deserved. He also informedhim distinctly what things happened to him at Mount Sinai; and what Godsaid to him; and the signs that were done by God, in order to assurehim of the authority of those commands which he had given him. He alsoexhorted him not to disbelieve what he told him, nor to oppose the willof God. 3. But when the king derided Moses; he made him in earnest see the signsthat were done at Mount Sinai. Yet was the king very angry with himand called him an ill man, who had formerly run away from his Egyptianslavery, and came now back with deceitful tricks, and wonders, andmagical arts, to astonish him. And when he had said this, he commandedthe priests to let him see the same wonderful sights; as knowing thatthe Egyptians were skillful in this kind of learning, and that he wasnot the only person who knew them, and pretended them to be divine; asalso he told him, that when he brought such wonderful sights before him, he would only be believed by the unlearned. Now when the priests threwdown their rods, they became serpents. But Moses was not daunted at it;and said, "O king, I do not myself despise the wisdom of the Egyptians, but I say that what I do is so much superior to what these do by magicarts and tricks, as Divine power exceeds the power of man: but I willdemonstrate that what I do is not done by craft, or counterfeiting whatis not really true, but that they appear by the providence and power ofGod. " And when he had said this, he cast his rod down upon the ground, and commanded it to turn itself into a serpent. It obeyed him, and wentall round, and devoured the rods of the Egyptians, which seemed to bedragons, until it had consumed them all. It then returned to its ownform, and Moses took it into his hand again. 4. However, the king was no more moved when was done than before;and being very angry, he said that he should gain nothing by this hiscunning and shrewdness against the Egyptians;--and he commanded him thatwas the chief taskmaster over the Hebrews, to give them no relaxationfrom their labors, but to compel them to submit to greater oppressionsthan before; and though he allowed them chaff before for making theirbricks, he would allow it them no longer, but he made them to work hardat brick-making in the day-time, and to gather chaff in the night. Nowwhen their labor was thus doubled upon them, they laid the blame uponMoses, because their labor and their misery were on his account becomemore severe to them. But Moses did not let his courage sink for theking's threatenings; nor did he abate of his zeal on account ofthe Hebrews' complaints; but he supported himself, and set his soulresolutely against them both, and used his own utmost diligence toprocure liberty to his countrymen. So he went to the king, and persuadedhim to let the Hebrews go to Mount Sinai, and there to sacrifice to God, because God had enjoined them so to do. He persuaded him also notto counterwork the designs of God, but to esteem his favor above allthings, and to permit them to depart, lest, before he be aware, he layan obstruction in the way of the Divine commands, and so occasionhis own suffering such punishments as it was probable any one thatcounterworked the Divine commands should undergo, since the severestafflictions arise from every object to those that provoke the Divinewrath against them; for such as these have neither the earth nor the airfor their friends; nor are the fruits of the womb according to nature, but every thing is unfriendly and adverse towards them. He said further, that the Egyptians should know this by sad experience; and that besides, the Hebrew people should go out of their country without their consent. CHAPTER 14. Concerning The Ten Plagues Which Came Upon The Egyptians. 1. But when the king despised the words of Moses, and had no regard atall to them, grievous plagues seized the Egyptians; every one of which Iwill describe, both because no such plagues did ever happen to any othernation as the Egyptians now felt, and because I would demonstrate thatMoses did not fail in any one thing that he foretold them; and becauseit is for the good of mankind, that they may learn this caution--Not todo anything that may displease God, lest he be provoked to wrath, andavenge their iniquities upon them. For the Egyptian river ran withbloody 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 notonly of the color of blood, but it brought upon those that ventured todrink of it, great pains and bitter torment. Such was the river to theEgyptians; but it was sweet and fit for drinking to the Hebrews, and noway different from what it naturally used to be. As the king thereforeknew not what to do in these surprising circumstances, and was in fearfor the Egyptians, he gave the Hebrews leave to go away; but when theplague ceased, he changed his mind again, end would not suffer them togo. 2. But when God saw that he was ungrateful, and upon the ceasing ofthis calamity would not grow wiser, he sent another plague upon theEgyptians:--An innumerable multitude of frogs consumed the fruit of theground; the river was also full of them, insomuch that those who drewwater had it spoiled by the blood of these animals, as they died in, andwere destroyed by, the water; and the country was full of filthy slime, as they were born, and as they died: they also spoiled their vesselsin their houses which they used, and were found among what they eat andwhat they drank, and came in great numbers upon their beds. There wasalso an ungrateful smell, and a stink arose from them, as they wereborn, and as they died therein. Now, when the Egyptians were under theoppression of these miseries, the king ordered Moses to take the Hebrewswith him, and be gone. Upon which the whole multitude of the frogsvanished away; and both the land and the river returned to their formernatures. But as soon as Pharaoh saw the land freed from this plague, heforgot the cause of it, and retained the Hebrews; and, as though he hada mind to try the nature of more such judgments, he would not yet sufferMoses and his people to depart, having granted that liberty rather outof fear than out of any good consideration. [35] 3. Accordingly, God punished his falseness with another plague, addedto the former; for there arose out of the bodies of the Egyptiansan innumerable quantity of lice, by which, wicked as they were, theymiserably perished, as not able to destroy this sort of vermin eitherwith washes or with ointments. At which terrible judgment the king ofEgypt was in disorder, upon the fear into which he reasoned himself, lest his people should be destroyed, and that the manner of this deathwas also reproachful, so that he was forced in part to recover himselffrom his wicked temper to a sounder mind, for he gave leave for theHebrews themselves to depart. But when the plague thereupon ceased, hethought it proper to require that they should leave their children andwives behind them, as pledges of their return; whereby he provoked Godto be more vehemently angry at him, as if he thought to impose on hisprovidence, and as if it were only Moses, and not God, who punished theEgyptians for the sake of the Hebrews: for he filled that countryfull of various sorts of pestilential creatures, with their variousproperties, such indeed as had never come into the sight of men before, by whose means the men perished themselves, and the land was destituteof husbandmen for its cultivation; but if any thing escaped destructionfrom them, it was killed by a distemper which the men underwent also. 4. But when Pharaoh did not even then yield to the will of God, but, while he gave leave to the husbands to take their wives with them, yetinsisted that the children should be left behind, God presently resolvedto punish his wickedness with several sorts of calamities, and thoseworse than the foregoing, which yet had so generally afflicted them; fortheir bodies had terrible boils, breaking forth with blains, whilethey were already inwardly consumed; and a great part of the Egyptiansperished in this manner. But when the king was not brought to reason bythis plague, hail was sent down from heaven; and such hail it was, asthe climate of Egypt had never suffered before, nor was it like to thatwhich falls in other climates in winter time, [26] but was larger thanthat which falls in the middle of spring to those that dwell in thenorthern and north-western regions. This hail broke down their boughsladen with fruit. After this a tribe of locusts consumed the seed whichwas not hurt by the hail; so that to the Egyptians all hopes of thefuture fruits of the ground were entirely lost. 5. One would think the forementioned calamities might have beensufficient for one that was only foolish, without wickedness, to makehim wise, and to make him Sensible what was for his advantage. ButPharaoh, led not so much by his folly as by his wickedness, even whenhe saw the cause of his miseries, he still contested with God, andwillfully deserted the cause of virtue; so he bid Moses take the Hebrewsaway, with their wives and children, to leave their cattle behind, since their own cattle were destroyed. But when Moses said that what hedesired was unjust, since they were obliged to offer sacrifices to Godof those cattle, and the time being prolonged on this account, a thickdarkness, without the least light, spread itself over the Egyptians, whereby their sight being obstructed, and their breathing hindered bythe thickness of the air, they died miserably, and under a terror lestthey should be swallowed up by the dark cloud. Besides this, when thedarkness, after three days and as many nights, was dissipated, and whenPharaoh did not still repent and let the Hebrews go, Moses came to himand said, "How long wilt thou be disobedient to the command of God? forhe enjoins thee to let the Hebrews go; nor is there any other way ofbeing freed from the calamities are under, unless you do so. " But theking angry at what he said, and threatened to cut off his head if hecame any more to trouble him these matters. Hereupon Moses said he notspeak to him any more about them, for he himself, together with theprincipal men among the Egyptians, should desire the Hebrews away. Sowhen Moses had said this, he his way. 6. But when God had signified, that with one plague he would compel theEgyptians to let Hebrews go, he commanded Moses to tell the people thatthey should have a sacrifice ready, and they should prepare themselveson the tenth day of the month Xanthicus, against the fourteenth, [whichmonth is called by the Egyptians Pharmuth, Nisan by the Hebrews; butthe Macedonians call it Xanthicus, ] and that he should carry the Hebrewswith all they had. Accordingly, he having got the Hebrews ready fortheir departure, and having sorted the people into tribes, he kept themtogether in one place: but when the fourteenth day was come, and allwere ready to depart they offered the sacrifice, and purified theirhouses with the blood, using bunches of hyssop for that purpose; andwhen they had supped, they burnt the remainder of the flesh, as justready to depart. Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice inlike manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha which signifiesthe feast of the passover; because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of thefirst-born came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of theEgyptians who lived near the king's palace, persuaded Pharaoh to let theHebrews go. Accordingly he called for Moses, and bid them be gone; assupposing, that if once the Hebrews were gone out of the country, Egyptshould be freed from its miseries. They also honored the Hebrews withgifts; [27] some, in order to get them to depart quickly, and others onaccount of their neighborhood, and the friendship they had with them. CHAPTER 15. How The Hebrews Under The Conduct Of Moses Left Egypt. 1. So the Hebrews went out of Egypt, while the Egyptians wept, andrepented that they had treated them so hardly. --Now they took theirjourney by Letopolis, a place at that time deserted, but where Babylonwas built afterwards, when Cambyses laid Egypt waste: but as they wentaway hastily, on the third day they came to a place called Beelzephon, on the Red Sea; and when they had no food out of the land, because itwas a desert, they eat of loaves kneaded of flour, only warmed by agentle heat; and this food they made use of for thirty days; for whatthey brought with them out of Egypt would not suffice them any longertime; and this only while they dispensed it to each person, to use somuch only as would serve for necessity, but not for satiety. Whenceit is that, in memory of the want we were then in, we keep a feastfor eight days, which is called the feast of unleavened bread. Nowthe entire multitude of those that went out, including the women andchildren, was not easy to be numbered, but those that were of an age fitfor war, were six hundred thousand. 2. They left Egypt in the month Xanthicus, on the fifteenth day of thelunar month; four hundred and thirty years after our forefather Abrahamcame into Canaan, but two hundred and fifteen years only after Jacobremoved into Egypt. [28] It was the eightieth year of the age of Moses, and of that of Aaron three more. They also carried out the bones ofJoesph with them, as he had charged his sons to do. 3. But the Egyptians soon repented that the Hebrews were gone; and theking also was mightily concerned that this had been procured by themagic arts of Moses; so they resolved to go after them. Accordingly theytook their weapons, and other warlike furniture, and pursued after them, in order to bring them back, if once they overtook them, because theywould now have no pretense to pray to God against them, since they hadalready been permitted to go out; and they thought they should easilyovercome them, as they had no armor, and would be weary with theirjourney; so they made haste in their pursuit, and asked of every onethey met which way they were gone. And indeed that land was difficult tobe traveled over, not only by armies, but by single persons. Now Mosesled the Hebrews this way, that in case the Egyptians should repent andbe desirous to pursue after them, they might undergo the punishment oftheir wickedness, and of the breach of those promises they had made tothem. As also he led them this way on account of the Philistines, whohad quarreled with them, and hated them of old, that by all means theymight not know of their departure, for their country is near to thatof Egypt; and thence it was that Moses led them not along the road thattended to the land of the Philistines, but he was desirous that theyshould go through the desert, that so after a long journey, and aftermany afflictions, they might enter upon the land of Canaan. Anotherreason of this was, that God commanded him to bring the people toMount Sinai, that there they might offer him sacrifices. Now when theEgyptians had overtaken the Hebrews, they prepared to fight them, and bytheir multitude they drove them into a narrow place; for the numberthat pursued after them was six hundred chariots, with fifty thousandhorsemen, and two hundred thousand foot-men, all armed. They also seizedon the passages by which they imagined the Hebrews might fly, shuttingthem up [29] between inaccessible precipices and the sea; for there was[on each side] a [ridge of] mountains that terminated at the sea, whichwere impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed theirflight; wherefore they there pressed upon the Hebrews with their army, where [the ridges of] the mountains were closed with the sea; which armythey placed at the chops of the mountains, that so they might deprivethem of any passage into the plain. 4. When the Hebrews, therefore, were neither able to bear up, beingthus, as it were, besieged, because they wanted provisions, nor saw anypossible way of escaping; and if they should have thought of fighting, they had no weapons; they expected a universal destruction, unless theydelivered themselves up to the Egyptians. So they laid the blame onMoses, and forgot all the signs that had been wrought by God for therecovery of their freedom; and this so far, that their incredulityprompted them to throw stones at the prophet, while he encouraged themand promised them deliverance; and they resolved that they would deliverthemselves up to the Egyptians. So there was sorrow and lamentationamong the women and children, who had nothing but destruction beforetheir eyes, while they were encompassed with mountains, the sea, andtheir enemies, and discerned no way of flying from them. 5. But Moses, though the multitude looked fiercely at him, did not, however, give over the care of them, but despised all dangers, out ofhis trust in God, who, as he had afforded them the several steps alreadytaken for the recovery of their liberty, which he had foretold them, would not now suffer them to be subdued by their enemies, to be eithermade slaves or be slain by them; and, standing in midst of them, he said, "It is not just of us to distrust even men, when they havehitherto well managed our affairs, as if they would not be the samehereafter; but it is no better than madness, at this time to despairof the providence of God, by whose power all those things have beenperformed he promised, when you expected no such things: I mean all thatI have been concerned in for deliverance and escape from slavery. Nay, when we are in the utmost distress, as you see we ought rather to hopethat God will succor us, by whose operation it is that we are now thisnarrow place, that he may out of such difficulties as are otherwiseinsurmountable and out of which neither you nor your enemies expectyou can be delivered, and may at once demonstrate his own power andhis providence over us. Nor does God use to give his help in smalldifficulties to those whom he favors, but in such cases where no one cansee how any hope in man can better their condition. Depend, therefore, upon such a Protector as is able to make small things great, and to showthat this mighty force against you is nothing but weakness, and be notaffrighted at the Egyptian army, nor do you despair of being preserved, because the sea before, and the mountains behind, afford you noopportunity for flying, for even these mountains, if God so please, maybe made plain ground for you, and the sea become dry land. " CHAPTER 16. How The Sea Was Divided Asunder For The Hebrews, WhenThey Were Pursued By The Egyptians, And So Gave Them An Opportunity OfEscaping From Them. 1. When Moses had said this, he led them to the sea, while the Egyptianslooked on; for they were within sight. Now these were so distressed bythe toil of their pursuit, that they thought proper to put off fightingtill the next day. But when Moses was come to the sea-shore, he tookhis rod, and made supplication to God, and called upon him to be theirhelper and assistant; and said "Thou art not ignorant, O Lord, that itis beyond human strength and human contrivance to avoid the difficultieswe are now under; but it must be thy work altogether to procuredeliverance to this army, which has left Egypt at thy appointment. Wedespair of any other assistance or contrivance, and have recourseonly to that hope we have in thee; and if there be any method that canpromise us an escape by thy providence, we look up to thee for it. Andlet it come quickly, and manifest thy power to us; and do thou raise upthis people unto good courage and hope of deliverance, who are deeplysunk into a disconsolate state of mind. We are in a helpless place, butstill it is a place that thou possessest; still the sea is thine, themountains also that enclose us are thine; so that these mountains willopen themselves if thou commandest them, and the sea also, if thoucommandest it, will become dry land. Nay, we might escape by a flightthrough the air, if thou shouldst determine we should have that way ofsalvation. " 2. When Moses had thus addressed himself to God, he smote the sea withhis rod, which parted asunder at the stroke, and receiving those watersinto itself, left the ground dry, as a road and a place of flight forthe Hebrews. Now when Moses saw this appearance of God, and that the seawent out of its own place, and left dry land, he went first of all intoit, and bid the Hebrews to follow him along that divine road, and torejoice at the danger their enemies that followed them were in; and gavethanks to God for this so surprising a deliverance which appeared fromhim. 3. Now, while these Hebrews made no stay, but went on earnestly, as ledby God's presence with them, the Egyptians supposed first that they weredistracted, and were going rashly upon manifest destruction. But whenthey saw that they were going a great way without any harm, and that noobstacle or difficulty fell in their journey, they made haste to pursuethem, hoping that the sea would be calm for them also. They put theirhorse foremost, and went down themselves into the sea. Now the Hebrews, while these were putting on their armor, and therein spending theirtime, were beforehand with them, and escaped them, and got first overto the land on the other side without any hurt. Whence the others wereencouraged, and more courageously pursued them, as hoping no harm wouldcome to them neither: but the Egyptians were not aware that they wentinto a road made for the Hebrews, and not for others; that this road wasmade for the deliverance of those in danger, but not for those thatwere earnest to make use of it for the others' destruction. As soon, therefore, as ever the whole Egyptian army was within it, the sea flowedto its own place, and came down with a torrent raised by storms of wind, [30] and encompassed the Egyptians. Showers of rain also came down fromthe sky, and dreadful thunders and lightning, with flashes of fire. Thunderbolts also were darted upon them. Nor was there any thing whichused to be sent by God upon men, as indications of his wrath, which didnot happen at this time, for a dark and dismal night oppressed them. Andthus did all these men perish, so that there was not one man left to bea messenger of this calamity to the rest of the Egyptians. 4. But the Hebrews were not able to contain themselves for joy at theirwonderful deliverance, and destruction of their enemies; now indeedsupposing themselves firmly delivered, when those that would have forcedthem into slavery were destroyed, and when they found they had God soevidently for their protector. And now these Hebrews having escaped thedanger they were in, after this manner, and besides that, seeing theirenemies punished in such a way as is never recorded of any other menwhomsoever, were all the night employed in singing of hymns, and inmirth. [31] Moses also composed a song unto God, containing his praises, and a thanksgiving for his kindness, in hexameter verse. [32] 5. As for myself, I have delivered every part of this history as I foundit in the sacred books; nor let any one wonder at the strangeness of thenarration if a way were discovered to those men of old time, who werefree from the wickedness of the modern ages, whether it happened by thewill of God or whether it happened of its own accord;--while, for thesake of those that accompanied Alexander, king of Macedonia, who yetlived, comparatively but a little while ago, the Pamphylian Sea retiredand afforded them a passage [33] through itself, had no other way togo; I mean, when it was the will of God to destroy the monarchy of thePersians: and this is confessed to be true by all that have writtenabout the actions of Alexander. But as to these events, let every onedetermine as he pleases. 6. On the next day Moses gathered together the weapons of the Egyptians, which were brought to the camp of the Hebrews by the current of the sea, and the force of the winds resisting it; and he conjectured that thisalso happened by Divine Providence, that so they might not be destituteof weapons. So when he had ordered the Hebrews to arm themselves withthem, he led them to Mount Sinai, in order to offer sacrifice to God, and to render oblations for the salvation of the multitude, as he wascharged to do beforehand. BOOK III. Containing The Interval Of Two Years. From The Exodus Out Of Egypt, To The Rejection Of That Generation. CHAPTER 1. How Moses When He Had Brought The People Out Of Egypt LedThem To Mount Sinai; But Not Till They Had Suffered Much In TheirJourney. 1. When the Hebrews had obtained such a wonderful deliverance, thecountry was a great trouble to them, for it was entirely a desert, andwithout sustenance for them; and also had exceeding little water, sothat it not only was not at all sufficient for the men, but not enoughto feed any of the cattle, for it was parched up, and had no moisturethat might afford nutriment to the vegetables; so they were forced totravel over this country, as having no other country but this to travelin. They had indeed carried water along with them from the land overwhich they had traveled before, as their conductor had bidden them; butwhen that was spent, they were obliged to draw water out of wells, withpain, by reason of the hardness of the soil. Moreover, what water theyfound was bitter, and not fit for drinking, and this in small quantitiesalso; and as they thus traveled, they came late in the evening to aplace called Marah, [1] which had that name from the badness of itswater, for Mar denotes bitterness. Thither they came afflicted bothby the tediousness of their journey, and by their want of food, for itentirely failed them at that time. Now here was a well, which made themchoose to stay in the place, which, although it were not sufficient tosatisfy so great an army, did yet afford them some comfort, as found insuch desert places; for they heard from those who had been to search, that there was nothing to be found, if they traveled on farther. Yet wasthis water bitter, and not fit for men to drink; and not only so, but itwas intolerable even to the cattle themselves. 2. When Moses saw how much the people were cast down, and that theoccasion of it could not be contradicted, for the people were not in thenature of a complete army of men, who might oppose a manly fortitude tothe necessity that distressed them; the multitude of the children, and of the women also, being of too weak capacities to be persuaded byreason, blunted the courage of the men themselves, --he was therefore ingreat difficulties, and made everybody's calamity his own; for theyran all of them to him, and begged of him; the women begged for theirinfants, and the men for the women, that he would not overlook them, but procure some way or other for their deliverance. He thereforebetook himself to prayer to God, that he would change the water from itspresent badness, and make it fit for drinking. And when God had grantedhim that favor, he took the top of a stick that lay down at his feet, and divided it in the middle, and made the section lengthways. Hethen let it down into the well, and persuaded the Hebrews that God hadhearkened to his prayers, and had promised to render the water such asthey desired it to be, in case they would be subservient to him in whathe should enjoin them to do, and this not after a remiss or negligentmanner. And when they asked what they were to do in order to have thewater changed for the better, he bid the strongest men among them thatstood there, to draw up water [2] and told them, that when the greatestpart was drawn up, the remainder would be fit to drink. So they laboredat it till the water was so agitated and purged as to be fit to drink. 3. And now removing from thence they came to Elim; which place lookedwell at a distance, for there was a grove of palm-trees; but when theycame near to it, it appeared to be a bad place, for the palm-trees wereno more than seventy; and they were ill-grown and creeping trees, by thewant of water, for the country about was all parched, and no moisturesufficient to water them, and make them hopeful and useful, was derivedto them from the fountains, which were in number twelve: they wererather a few moist places than springs, which not breaking out of theground, nor running over, could not sufficiently water the trees. Andwhen they dug into the sand, they met with no water; and if they tooka few drops of it into their hands, they found it to be useless, onaccount of its mud. The trees were too weak to bear fruit, for want ofbeing sufficiently cherished and enlivened by the water. So they laidthe blame on their conductor, and made heavy complaints against him;and said that this their miserable state, and the experience they had ofadversity, were owing to him; for that they had then journeyed an entirethirty days, and had spent all the provisions they had brought withthem; and meeting with no relief, they were in a very despondingcondition. And by fixing their attention upon nothing but their presentmisfortunes, they were hindered from remembering what deliverances theyhad 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 theirattempt to stone him, as the direct occasion of their present miseries. 4. But as for Moses himself, while the multitude were irritated andbitterly set against him, he cheerfully relied upon God, and upon hisconsciousness of the care he had taken of these his own people; and hecame into the midst of them, even while they clamored against him, andhad stones in their hands in order to despatch him. Now he was ofan agreeable presence, and very able to persuade the people by hisspeeches; accordingly he began to mitigate their anger, and exhortedthem not to be over-mindful of their present adversities, lest theyshould thereby suffer the benefits that had formerly been bestowed onthem to slip out of their memories; and he desired them by no means, onaccount of their present uneasiness, to cast those great and wonderfulfavors and gifts, which they had obtained of God, out of their minds, but to expect deliverance out of those their present troubles which theycould not free themselves from, and this by the means of that DivineProvidence which watched over them. Seeing it is probable that God triestheir virtue, and exercises their patience by these adversities, that itmay appear what fortitude they have, and what memory they retain of hisformer wonderful works in their favor, and whether they will not thinkof them upon occasion of the miseries they now feel. He told them, it appeared they were not really good men, either in patience, or inremembering what had been successfully done for them, sometimes bycontemning God and his commands, when by those commands they left theland of Egypt; and sometimes by behaving themselves ill towards him whowas the servant of God, and this when he had never deceived them, eitherin what he said, or had ordered them to do by God's command. He also putthem in mind of all that had passed; how the Egyptians were destroyedwhen they attempted to detain them, contrary to the command of God; andafter what manner the very same river was to the others bloody, and notfit for drinking, but was to them sweet, and fit for drinking; and howthey went a new road through the sea, which fled a long way from them, by which very means they were themselves preserved, but saw theirenemies destroyed; and that when they were in want of weapons, God gavethem plenty of them;-and so he recounted all the particular instances, how when they were, in appearance, just going to be destroyed, God hadsaved them in a surprising manner; and that he had still the same power;and that they ought not even now to despair of his providence over them;and accordingly he exhorted them to continue quiet, and to consider thathelp would not come too late, though it come not immediately, if it bepresent with them before they suffer any great misfortune; that theyought to reason thus: that God delays to assist them, not because he hasno regard to them, but because he will first try their fortitude, andthe pleasure they take in their freedom, that he may learn whether youhave 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 areslaves to such as own them, and feed them liberally, but only in orderto make them more useful in their service. That as for himself, heshall not be so much concerned for his own preservation; for if hedie unjustly, he shall not reckon it any affliction, but that he isconcerned for them, lest, by casting stones at him, they should bethought to condemn God himself. 5. By this means Moses pacified the people, and restrained them fromstoning him, and brought them to repent of what they were going to do. And because he thought the necessity they were under made their passionless unjustifiable, he thought he ought to apply himself to God byprayer and supplication; and going up to an eminence, he requested ofGod for some succor for the people, and some way of deliverance from thewant they were in, because in him, and in him alone, was their hopeof salvation; and he desired that he would forgive what necessity hadforced the people to do, since such was the nature of mankind, hard toplease, and very complaining under adversities. Accordingly God promisedhe would take care of them, and afford them the succor they weredesirous of. Now when Moses had heard this from God, he came down tothe multitude. But as soon as they saw him joyful at the promises he hadreceived from God, they changed their sad countenances into gladness. Sohe placed himself in the midst of them, and told them he came to bringthem from God a deliverance from their present distresses. Accordinglya little after came a vast number of quails, which is a bird moreplentiful in this Arabian Gulf than any where 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 uponthe Hebrews, who caught them, and satisfied their hunger with them, andsupposed that this was the method whereby God meant to supply them withfood. Upon which Moses returned thanks to God for affording them hisassistance 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; andMoses, when he found it stick to his hands, supposed this was also comefor food from God to them. He tasted it; and perceiving that the peopleknew not what it was, and thought it snowed, and that it was whatusually fell at that time of the year, he informed them that this dewdid not fall from heaven after the manner they imagined, but came fortheir preservation and sustenance. So he tasted it, and gave them someof it, that they might be satisfied about what he told them. They alsoimitated their conductor, and were pleased with the food, for it waslike honey in sweetness and pleasant taste, but like in its body tobdellium, one of the sweet spices, and in bigness equal to corianderseed. And very earnest they were in gathering it; but they were enjoinedto gather it equally [3]--the measure of an omer for each one everyday, because this food should not come in too small a quantity, lestthe weaker might not be able to get their share, by reason of theoverbearing of the strong in collecting it. However, these strong men, when they had gathered more than the measure appointed for them, had nomore than others, but only tired themselves more in gathering it, forthey found no more than an omer apiece; and the advantage they got bywhat was superfluous was none at all, it corrupting, both by the wormsbreeding in it, and by its bitterness. So divine and wonderful a foodwas this! It also supplied the want of other sorts of food to those thatfed on it. And even now, in all that place, this manna comes down inrain, [4] according to what Moses then obtained of God, to send it tothe people for their sustenance. Now the Hebrews call this food manna:for the particle man, in our language, is the asking of a question. What is this? So the Hebrews were very joyful at what was sent them fromheaven. Now they made use of this food for forty years, or as long asthey were in the wilderness. 7. As soon as they were removed thence, they came to Rephidim, beingdistressed to the last degree by thirst; and while in the foregoing daysthey had lit on a few small fountains, but now found the earth entirelydestitute of water, they were in an evil case. They again turned theiranger against Moses; but he at first avoided the fury of the multitude, and then betook himself to prayer to God, beseeching him, that as he hadgiven them food when they were in the greatest want of it, so he wouldgive them drink, since the favor of giving them food was of no value tothem while they had nothing to drink. And God did not long delay to giveit them, but promised Moses that he would procure them a fountain, andplenty of water, from a place they did not expect any. So he commandedhim to smite the rock which they saw lying there, [5] with his rod, andout of it to receive plenty of what they wanted; for he had taken carethat drink should come to them without any labor or pains-taking. WhenMoses had received this command from God, he came to the people, whowaited for him, and looked upon him, for they saw already that he wascoming apace from his eminence. As soon as he was come, he told themthat God would deliver them from their present distress, and had grantedthem an unexpected favor; and informed them, that a river should runfor their sakes out of the rock. But they were amazed at that hearing, supposing they were of necessity to cut the rock in pieces, now theywere distressed by their thirst and by their journey; while Moses onlysmiting the rock with his rod, opened a passage, and out of it burstwater, and that in great abundance, and very clear. But they wereastonished at this wonderful effect; and, as it were, quenched theirthirst by the very sight of it. So they drank this pleasant, this sweetwater; and such it seemed to be, as might well be expected where God wasthe donor. They were also in admiration how Moses was honored by God;and they made grateful returns of sacrifices to God for his providencetowards them. Now that Scripture, which is laid up in the temple, [6]informs us, how God foretold to Moses, that water timid in this mannerbe derived out of the rock. ' CHAPTER 2. How The Amalekites And The Neighbouring Nations, Made WarWith The Hebrews And Were Beaten And Lost A Great Part Of Their Army. 1. The name of the Hebrews began already to be every where renowned, and rumors about them ran abroad. This made the inhabitants of thosecountries to be in no small fear. Accordingly they sent ambassadorsto one another, and exhorted one another to defend themselves, and toendeavor 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; andwhose kings exhorted one another, and their neighbors, to go to this waragainst the Hebrews; telling them that an army of strangers, and sucha one as had run away from slavery under the Egyptians, lay in wait toruin them; which army they were not, in common prudence and regard totheir own safety, to overlook, but to crush them before they gatherstrength, and come to be in prosperity: and perhaps attack them first ina hostile manner, as presuming upon our indolence in not attacking thembefore; and that we ought to avenge ourselves of them for what they havedone in the wilderness, but that this cannot be so well done when theyhave once laid their hands on our cities and our goods: that those whoendeavor to crush a power in its first rise, are wiser than those thatendeavor to put a stop to its progress when it is become formidable; forthese last seem to be angry only at the flourishing of others, but theformer do not leave any room for their enemies to become troublesome tothem. After they had sent such embassages to the neighboring nations, and among one another, they resolved to attack the Hebrews in battle. 2. These proceedings of the people of those countries occasionedperplexity and trouble to Moses, who expected no such warlikepreparations. And when these nations were ready to fight, and themultitude of the Hebrews were obliged to try the fortune of war, theywere in a mighty disorder, and in want of all necessaries, and yet wereto make war with men who were thoroughly well prepared for it. Thentherefore it was that Moses began to encourage them, and to exhort themto have a good heart, and rely on God's assistance by which they hadbeen state of freedom and to hope for victory over those who were readyto fight with them, in order to deprive them of that blessing: that theywere to suppose their own army to be numerous, wanting nothing, neitherweapons, nor money, nor provisions, nor such other conveniences as, whenmen are in possession of, they fight undauntedly; and that they are tojudge themselves to have all these advantages in the Divine assistance. They are also to suppose the enemy's army to be small, unarmed, weak, and such as want those conveniences which they know must be wanted, when it is God's will that they shall be beaten; and how valuable God'sassistance is, they had experienced in abundance of trials; and thosesuch as were more terrible than war, for that is only against men; butthese were against famine and thirst, things indeed that are in theirown nature insuperable; as also against mountains, and that sea whichafforded them no way for escaping; yet had all these difficulties beenconquered by God's gracious kindness to them. So he exhorted them tobe courageous at this time, and to look upon their entire prosperity todepend on the present conquest of their enemies. 3. And with these words did Moses encourage the multitude, who thencalled together the princes of their tribes, and their chief men, both separately and conjointly. The young men he charged to obey theirelders, and the elders to hearken to their leader. So the people wereelevated in their minds, and ready to try their fortune in battle, andhoped to be thereby at length delivered from all their miseries: nay, they desired that Moses would immediately lead them against theirenemies without the least delay, that no backwardness might be ahindrance to their present resolution. So Moses sorted all that were fitfor war into different troops, and set Joshua, the son of Nun, of thetribe of Ephraim, over them; one that was of great courage, and patientto undergo labors; of great abilities to understand, and to speak whatwas proper; and very serious in the worship of God; and indeed made likeanother Moses, a teacher of piety towards God. He also appointed a smallparty of the armed men to be near the water, and to take care of thechildren, and the women, and of the entire camp. So that whole nightthey prepared themselves for the battle; they took their weapons, if anyof them had such as were well made, and attended to their commanders asready to rush forth to the battle as soon as Moses should give the wordof command. Moses also kept awake, teaching Joshua after what manner heshould order his camp. But when the day began, Moses called for Joshuaagain, and exhorted him to approve himself in deeds such a one as a hisreputation made men expect from him; and to gain glory by the presentexpedition, in the opinion of those under him, for his exploits in thisbattle. He also gave a particular exhortation to the principal men ofthe Hebrews, and encouraged the whole army as it stood armed before him. And when he had thus animated the army, both by his words and works, andprepared every thing, he retired to a mountain, and committed the armyto God and to Joshua. 4. So the armies joined battle; and it came to a close fight, hand tohand, both sides showing great alacrity, and encouraging one another. And indeed while Moses stretched out his hand towards heaven [7] theHebrews were too hard for the Amalekites: but Moses not being able tosustain his hands thus stretched out, [for as often as he let down hishands, so often were his own people worsted, ] he bade his brother Aaron, and Hur their sister Miriam's husband, to stand on each side of him, andtake hold of his hands, and not permit his weariness to prevent it, butto assist him in the extension of his hands. When this was done, theHebrews conquered the Amalekites by main force; and indeed they had allperished, unless the approach of the night had obliged the Hebrews todesist from killing any more. So our forefathers obtained a most signaland most seasonable victory; for they not only overcame those thatfought against them, but terrified also the neighboring nations, and gotgreat and splendid advantages, which they obtained of their enemies bytheir hard pains in this battle: for when they had taken the enemy'scamp, they got ready booty for the public, and for their own privatefamilies, whereas till then they had not any sort of plenty, of evennecessary food. The forementioned battle, when they had once got it, wasalso the occasion of their prosperity, not only for the present, butfor the future ages also; for they not only made slaves of the bodiesof their enemies, but subdued their minds also, and after this battle, became terrible to all that dwelt round about them. Moreover, theyacquired a vast quantity of riches; for a great deal of silver and goldwas left in the enemy's camp; as also brazen vessels, which theymade common use of in their families; many utensils also that wereembroidered there were of both sorts, that is, of what were weaved, andwhat were the ornaments of their armor, and other things that served foruse in the family, and for the furniture of their rooms; they got alsothe prey of their cattle, and of whatsoever uses to follow camps, when they remove from one place to another. So the Hebrews now valuedthemselves upon their courage, and claimed great merit for their valor;and they perpetually inured themselves to take pains, by which theydeemed every difficulty might be surmounted. Such were the consequencesof this battle. 5. On the next day, Moses stripped the dead bodies of their enemies, andgathered together the armor of those that were fled, and gave rewardsto such as had signalized themselves in the action; and highly commendedJoshua, their general, who was attested to by all the army, on accountof the great actions he had done. Nor was any one of the Hebrews slain;but the slain of the enemy's army were too many to be enumerated. SoMoses offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to God, and built an altar, which he named The Lord the Conqueror. He also foretold that theAmalekites should utterly be destroyed; and that hereafter none of themshould remain, because they fought against the Hebrews, and this whenthey were in the wilderness, and in their distress also. Moreover, herefreshed the army with feasting. And thus did they fight this firstbattle with those that ventured to oppose them, after they were gone outof Egypt. But when Moses had celebrated this festival for the victory, he permitted the Hebrews to rest for a few days, and then he broughtthem out after the fight, in order of battle; for they had now manysoldiers in light armor. And going gradually on, he came to Mount Sinai, in three months' time after they were removed out of Egypt; at whichmountain, as we have before related, the vision of the bush, and theother wonderful appearances, had happened. CHAPTER 3. That Moses Kindly Received-His Father-In-Law, Jethro, When HeCame To Him To Mount Sinai. Now when Raguel, Moses's father-in-law, understood in what a prosperouscondition his affairs were, he willingly came to meet him. And Mosesand his children, and pleased himself with his coming. And when he hadoffered sacrifice, he made a feast for the multitude, near the Bushhe had formerly seen; which multitude, every one according to theirfamilies, partook of the feast. But Aaron and his family took Raguel, and sung hymns to God, as to Him who had been the author procurer oftheir deliverance and their freedom. They also praised their conductor, as him by whose virtue it was that all things had succeeded with them. Raguel also, in his eucharistical oration to Moses, made great encomiumsupon the whole multitude; and he could not but admire Moses for hisfortitude, and that humanity he had shewn in the delivery of hisfriends. CHAPTER 4. How Raguel Suggested To Moses To Set His People In Order, Under Their Rulers Of Thousands, And Rulers Of Hundreds, Who LivedWithout Order Before; And How Moses Complied In All Things With HisFather-In-Law's Admonition. 1. The next day, as Raguel saw Moses in the of a crowd of business forhe determined the differences of those that referred them to him, everyone still going to him, and supposing that they should then only obtainjustice, if he were the arbitrator; and those that lost their causesthought it no harm, while they thought they lost them justly, and notby partiality. Raguel however said nothing to him at that time, as notdesirous to be any hinderance to such as had a mind to make use of thevirtue of their conductor. But afterward he took him to himself, andwhen he had him alone, he instructed him in what he ought to do; andadvised him to leave the trouble of lesser causes to others, but himselfto take care of the greater, and of the people's safety, for thatcertain others of the Hebrews might be found that were fit to determinecauses, but that nobody but a Moses could take of the safety of so manyten thousands. "Be therefore, " says he, "insensible of thine ownvirtue, and what thou hast done by ministering under God to the people'spreservation. Permit, therefore, the determination of common causes tobe done by others, but do thou reserve thyself to the attendance on Godonly, and look out for methods of preserving the multitude from theirpresent distress. Make use of the method I suggest to you, as to humanaffairs; and take a review of the army, and appoint chosen rulers overtens of thousands, and then over thousands; then divide them into fivehundreds, and again into hundreds, and into fifties; and set rulers overeach of them, who may distinguish them into thirties, and keep them inorder; and at last number them by twenties and by tens: and let therebe one commander over each number, to be denominated from the number ofthose over whom they are rulers, but such as the whole multitude havetried, and do approve of, as being good and righteous men; [8] and letthose rulers decide the controversies they have one with another. Butif any great cause arise, let them bring the cognizance of it before therulers of a higher dignity; but if any great difficulty arise that istoo hard for even their determination, let them send it to thee. Bythese means two advantages will be gained; the Hebrews will have justicedone them, and thou wilt be able to attend constantly on God, andprocure him to be more favorable to the people. " 2. This was the admonition of Raguel; and Moses received his advice verykindly, and acted according to his suggestion. Nor did he conceal theinvention of this method, nor pretend to it himself, but informed themultitude who it was that invented it: nay, he has named Raguel in thebooks 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 theinventions of other men; whence we may learn the virtuous dispositionof Moses: but of such his disposition, we shall have proper occasion tospeak in other places of these books. CHAPTER 5. How Moses Ascended Up To Mount Sinai, And Received Laws FromGod, And Delivered Them To The Hebrews. 1. Now Moses called the multitude together, and told them that he wasgoing from them unto mount Sinai to converse with God; to receive fromhim, and to bring back with him, a certain oracle; but he enjoined themto pitch their tents near the mountain, and prefer the habitation thatwas nearest to God, before one more remote. When he had said this, heascended up to Mount Sinai, which is the highest of all the mountainsthat are in that country [9] and is not only very difficult to beascended by men, on account of its vast altitude, but because of thesharpness of its precipices also; nay, indeed, it cannot be lookedat without pain of the eyes: and besides this, it was terrible andinaccessible, on account of the rumor that passed about, that God dweltthere. But the Hebrews removed their tents as Moses had bidden them, andtook possession of the lowest parts of the mountain; and were elevatedin their minds, in expectation that Moses would return from God withpromises of the good things he had proposed to them. So they feastedand waited for their conductor, and kept themselves pure as in otherrespects, and not accompanying with their wives for three days, as hehad before ordered them to do. And they prayed to God that he wouldfavorably receive Moses in his conversing with him, and bestow somesuch gift upon them by which they might live well. They also lived moreplentifully as to their diet; and put on their wives and children moreornamental and decent clothing than they usually wore. 2. So they passed two days in this way of feasting; but on the thirdday, before the sun was up, a cloud spread itself over the whole campof the Hebrews, such a one as none had before seen, and encompassed theplace where they had pitched their tents; and while all the rest of theair was clear, there came strong winds, that raised up large showers ofrain, which became a mighty tempest. There was also such lightning, aswas terrible to those that saw it; and thunder, with its thunderbolts, were sent down, and declared God to be there present in a graciousway to such as Moses desired he should be gracious. Now, as to thesematters, every one of my readers may think as he pleases; but I am undera necessity of relating this history as it is described in the sacredbooks. This sight, and the amazing sound that came to their ears, disturbed the Hebrews to a prodigious degree, for they were not such asthey were accustomed to; and then the rumor that was spread abroad, howGod frequented that mountain, greatly astonished their minds, so theysorrowfully contained themselves within their tents, as both supposingMoses to be destroyed by the Divine wrath, and expecting the likedestruction for themselves. 3. When they were under these apprehensions, Moses appeared as joyfuland greatly exalted. When they saw him, they were freed from their fear, and admitted of more comfortable hopes as to what was to come. Theair also was become clear and pure of its former disorders, upon theappearance of Moses; whereupon he called together the people to acongregation, in order to their hearing what God would say to them: andwhen they were gathered together, he stood on an eminence whencethey might all hear him, and said, "God has received me graciously, OHebrews, as he has formerly done; and has suggested a happy method ofliving for you, and an order of political government, and is now presentin the camp: I therefore charge you, for his sake and the sake of hisworks, and what we have done by his means, that you do not put a lowvalue on what I am going to say, because the commands have been given byme that now deliver them to you, nor because it is the tongue of a manthat delivers them to you; but if you have a due regard to the greatimportance of the things themselves, you will understand the greatnessof Him whose institutions they are, and who has not disdained tocommunicate them to me for our common advantage; for it is not to besupposed that the author of these institutions is barely Moses, the sonof Amram and Jochebed, but He who obliged the Nile to run bloody foryour sakes, and tamed the haughtiness of the Egyptians by various sortsof judgments; he who provided a way through the sea for us; he whocontrived a method of sending us food from heaven, when we weredistressed 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 topartake of the fruits both of the land and of the sea; he by whose meansNoah escaped the deluge; he by whose means our forefather Abraham, of awandering pilgrim, was made the heir of the land of Canaan; he by whosemeans Isaac was born of parents that were very old; he by whose meansJacob was adorned with twelve virtuous sons; he by whose means Josephbecame a potent lord over the Egyptians; he it is who conveys theseinstructions to you by me as his interpreter. And let them be toyou venerable, and contended for more earnestly by you than your ownchildren and your own wives; for if you will follow them, you will leada happy life you will enjoy the land fruitful, the sea calm, and thefruit of the womb born complete, as nature requires; you will be alsoterrible to your enemies for I have been admitted into the presence ofGod and been made a hearer of his incorruptible voice so great is hisconcern for your nation, and its duration. " 4. When he had said this, he brought the people, with their wivesand children, so near the mountain, that they might hear God himselfspeaking to them about the precepts which they were to practice; thatthe energy of what should be spoken might not be hurt by its utteranceby that tongue of a man, which could but imperfectly deliver it to theirunderstanding. And they all heard a voice that came to all of them fromabove, insomuch that no one of these words escaped them, which Moseswrote on two tables; which it is not lawful for us to set down directly, but their import we will declare [10] 5. The first commandment teaches us that there is but one God, and thatwe ought to worship him only. The second commands us not to make theimage of any living creature to worship it. The third, that we mustnot swear by God in a false matter. The fourth, that we must keep theseventh day, by resting from all sorts of work. The fifth, that wemust honor our parents. The sixth that we must abstain from murder. Theseventh that we must not commit adultery. The eighth, that we must notbe guilty of theft. The ninth, that we must not bear false witness. The tenth, that we must not admit of the desire of any thing that isanother's. 6. Now when the multitude had heard God himself giving those preceptswhich Moses had discoursed of, they rejoiced at what was said; and thecongregation was dissolved: but on the following days they came tohis tent, and desired him to bring them, besides, other laws from God. Accordingly he appointed such laws, and afterwards informed them in whatmanner they should act in all cases; which laws I shall make mention ofin their proper time; but I shall reserve most of those laws for anotherwork, [11] and make there a distinct explication of them. 7. When matters were brought to this state, Moses went up again to MountSinai, of which he had told them beforehand. He made his ascent in theirsight; and while he staid there so long a time, [for he was absent fromthem forty days, ] fear seized upon the Hebrews, lest Moses should havecome to any harm; nor was there any thing else so sad, and that so muchtroubled them, as this supposal that Moses was perished. Now there wasa variety in their sentiments about it; some saying that he was fallenamong wild beasts; and those that were of this opinion were chiefly suchas were ill-disposed to him; but others said that he was departed, andgone to God; but the wiser sort were led by their reason to embraceneither of those opinions with any satisfaction, thinking, that as itwas a thing that sometimes happens to men to fall among wild beasts andperish that way, so it was probable enough that he might depart andgo to God, on account of his virtue; they therefore were quiet, andexpected the event: yet were they exceeding sorry upon the supposal thatthey were deprived of a governor and a protector, such a one indeed asthey could never recover again; nor would this suspicion give them leaveto expect any comfortable event about this man, nor could they preventtheir trouble and melancholy upon this occasion. However, the camp durstnot remove all this while, because Moses had bidden them afore to staythere. 8. But when the forty days, and as many nights, were over, Mosescame down, having tasted nothing of food usually appointed for thenourishment of men. His appearance filled the army with gladness, andhe declared to them what care God had of them, and by what manner ofconduct of their lives they might live happily; telling them, thatduring these days of his absence he had suggested to him also that hewould have a tabernacle built for him, into which he would descend whenhe came to them, and how we should carry it about with us when we removefrom this place; and that there would be no longer any occasion forgoing up to Mount Sinai, but that he would himself come and pitch histabernacle amongst us, and be present at our prayers; as also, that thetabernacle should be of such measures and construction as he had shownhim, and that you are to fall to the work, and prosecute it diligently. When he had said this, he showed them the two tables, with the tencommandments engraven upon them, five upon each table; and the writingwas by the hand of God. CHAPTER 6. Concerning The Tabernacle Which Moses Built In The WildernessFor The Honor Of God And Which Seemed To Be A Temple. 1. Hereupon the Israelites rejoiced at what they had seen and heard oftheir conductor, and were not wanting in diligence according to theirability; for they brought silver, and gold, and brass, and of the bestsorts of wood, and such as would not at all decay by putrefaction;camels' hair also, and sheep-skins, some of them dyed of a blue color, and some of a scarlet; some brought the flower for the purple color, andothers for white, with wool dyed by the flowers aforementioned; and finelinen and precious stones, which those that use costly ornaments setin ouches of gold; they brought also a great quantity of spices; forof these materials did Moses build the tabernacle, which did not at alldiffer from a movable and ambulatory temple. Now when these things werebrought together with great diligence, [for every one was ambitious tofurther the work even beyond their ability, ] he set architects over theworks, and this by the command of God; and indeed the very same whichthe people themselves would have chosen, had the election been allowedto them. Now their names are set down in writing in the sacred books;and they were these: Besaleel, the son of Uri, of the tribe of Judah, the grandson of Miriam, the sister of their conductor and Aholiab, fileson of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Now the people went on with whatthey had undertaken with so great alacrity, that Moses was obliged torestrain them, by making proclamation, that what had been brought wassufficient, as the artificers had informed him; so they fell to workupon the building of the tabernacle. Moses also informed them, accordingto the direction of God, both what the measures were to be, and itslargeness; and how many vessels it ought to contain for the use of thesacrifices. The women also were ambitious to do their parts, about thegarments of the priests, and about other things that would be wanted inthis work, both for ornament and for the divine service itself. 2. Now when all things were prepared, the gold, and the silver, and thebrass, and what was woven, Moses, when he had appointed beforehandthat there should be a festival, and that sacrifices should be offeredaccording to every one's ability, reared up the tabernacle [12] and whenhe had measured the open court, fifty cubits broad and a hundred long, he set up brazen pillars, five cubits high, twenty on each of the longersides, and ten pillars for the breadth behind; every one of the pillarsalso had a ring. Their chapiters were of silver, but their bases were ofbrass: they resembled the sharp ends of spears, and were of brass, fixedinto the ground. Cords were also put through the rings, and were tiedat their farther ends to brass nails of a cubit long, which, at everypillar, were driven into the floor, and would keep the tabernacle frombeing shaken by the violence of winds; but a curtain of fine soft linenwent round all the pillars, and hung down in a flowing and loose mannerfrom their chapiters, and enclosed the whole space, and seemed not atall unlike to a wall about it. And this was the structure of three ofthe sides of this enclosure; but as for the fourth side, which was fiftycubits in extent, and was the front of the whole, twenty cubits of itwere for the opening of the gates, wherein stood two pillars on eachside, after the resemblance of open gates. These were made wholly ofsilver, and polished, and that all over, excepting the bases, which wereof brass. Now on each side of the gates there stood three pillars, whichwere inserted into the concave bases of the gates, and were suited tothem; and round them was drawn a curtain of fine linen; but to the gatesthemselves, which were twenty cubits in extent, and five in height, thecurtain was composed of purple, and scarlet, and blue, and fine linen, and embroidered with many and divers sorts of figures, exceptingthe figures of animals. Within these gates was the brazen laver forpurification, having a basin beneath of the like matter, whence thepriests might wash their hands and sprinkle their feet; and this wasthe ornamental construction of the enclosure about the court of thetabernacle, which was exposed to the open air. 3. As to the tabernacle itself, Moses placed it in the middle of thatcourt, with its front to the east, that, when the sun arose, it mightsend its first rays upon it. Its length, when it was set up, was thirtycubits, and its breadth was twelve [ten] cubits. The one of its wallswas on the south, and the other was exposed to the north, and on theback part of it remained the west. It was necessary that its heightshould be equal to its breadth [ten cubits]. There were also pillarsmade of wood, twenty on each side; they were wrought into a quadrangularfigure, in breadth a cubit and a half, but the thickness was fourfingers: they had thin plates of gold affixed to them on both sides, inwardly and outwardly: they had each of them two tenons belonging tothem, inserted into their bases, and these were of silver, in each ofwhich bases there was a socket to receive the tenon; but the pillarson the west wall were six. Now all these tenons and sockets accuratelyfitted one another, insomuch that the joints were invisible, and bothseemed to be one entire and united wall. It was also covered with gold, both within and without. The number of pillars was equal on the oppositesides, and there were on each part twenty, and every one of them had thethird part of a span in thickness; so that the number of thirty cubitswere fully made up between them; but as to the wall behind, where thesix pillars made up together only nine cubits, they made two otherpillars, and cut them out of one cubit, which they placed in thecorners, and made them equally fine with the other. Now every one of thepillars had rings of gold affixed to their fronts outward, as if theyhad taken root in the pillars, and stood one row over against anotherround about, through which were inserted bars gilt over with gold, eachof them five cubits long, and these bound together the pillars, the headof one bar running into another, after the nature of one tenon insertedinto another; but for the wall behind, there was but one row of barsthat went through all the pillars, into which row ran the ends of thebars on each side of the longer walls; the male with its female being sofastened in their joints, that they held the whole firmly together;and for this reason was all this joined so fast together, that thetabernacle might not be shaken, either by the winds, or by anyother means, but that it might preserve itself quiet and immovablecontinually. 4. As for the inside, Moses parted its length into three partitions. Atthe distance of ten cubits from the most secret end, Moses placed fourpillars, the workmanship of which was the very same with that of therest; and they stood upon the like bases with them, each a small matterdistant from his fellow. Now the room within those pillars was the mostholy place; but the rest of the room was the tabernacle, which wasopen for the priests. However, this proportion of the measures of thetabernacle proved to be an imitation of the system of the world; forthat third part thereof which was within the four pillars, to which thepriests were not admitted, is, as it were, a heaven peculiar to God. Butthe space of the twenty cubits, is, as it were, sea and land, on whichmen live, and so this part is peculiar to the priests only. But at thefront, where the entrance was made, they placed pillars of gold, thatstood on bases of brass, in number seven; but then they spread over thetabernacle veils of fine linen and purple, and blue, and scarlet colors, embroidered. The first veil was ten cubits every way, and this theyspread over the pillars which parted the temple, and kept the most holyplace concealed within; and this veil was that which made this part notvisible to any. Now the whole temple was called The Holy Place: but thatpart which was within the four pillars, and to which none were admitted, was called The Holy of Holies. This veil was very ornamental, andembroidered with all sorts of flowers which the earth produces; andthere were interwoven into it all sorts of variety that might be anornament, excepting the forms of animals. Another veil there was whichcovered the five pillars that were at the entrance. It was like theformer in its magnitude, and texture, and color; and at the corner ofevery pillar a ring retained it from the top downwards half the depth ofthe pillars, the other half affording an entrance for the priests, who crept under it. Over this there was a veil of linen, of the samelargeness with the former: it was to be drawn this way or that way bycords, the rings of which, fixed to the texture of the veil, and to thecords also, were subservient to the drawing and undrawing of theveil, and to the fastening it at the corner, that then it might be nohinderance to the view of the sanctuary, especially on solemn days;but that on other days, and especially when the weather was inclined tosnow, it might be expanded, and afford a covering to the veil of diverscolors. Whence that custom of ours is derived, of having a fine linenveil, after the temple has been built, to be drawn over the entrances. But the ten other curtains were four cubits in breadth, and twenty-eightin length; and had golden clasps, in order to join the one curtain tothe other, which was done so exactly that they seemed to be one entirecurtain. These were spread over the temple, and covered all the top andparts of the walls, on the sides and behind, so far as within one cubitof 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 woolwere made, and were extended loosely down to the ground, appearing likea triangular front and elevation at the gates, the eleventh curtainbeing used for this very purpose. There were also other curtains made ofskins above these, which afforded covering and protection to those thatwere woven both in hot weather and when it rained. And great was thesurprise of those who viewed these curtains at a distance, for theyseemed not at all to differ from the color of the sky. But those thatwere made of hair and of skins, reached down in the same manner as didthe veil at the gates, and kept off the heat of the sun, and what injurythe 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 naturallystrong, and could not be corrupted. This was called Eron in our ownlanguage. Its construction was thus: its length was five spans, but itsbreadth and height was each of them three spans. It was covered allover with gold, both within and without, so that the wooden part wasnot seen. It had also a cover united to it, by golden hinges, after awonderful manner; which cover was every way evenly fitted to it, and hadno eminences to hinder its exact conjunction. There were also two goldenrings belonging to each of the longer boards, and passing through theentire wood, and through them gilt bars passed along each board, thatit 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 theshoulders of the priests. Upon this its cover were two images, which theHebrews call Cherubims; they are flying creatures, but their form is notlike to that of any of the creatures which men have seen, though Mosessaid he had seen such beings near the throne of God. In this ark he putthe two tables whereon the ten commandments were written, five upon eachtable, and two and a half upon each side of them; and this ark he placedin the most holy place. 6. But in the holy place he placed a table, like those at Delphi. Itslength was two cubits, and its breadth one cubit, and its height threespans. It had feet also, the lower half of which were complete feet, resembling those which the Dorians put to their bedsteads; but the upperparts towards the table were wrought into a square form. The table hada hollow towards every side, having a ledge of four fingers' depth, thatwent round about like a spiral, both on the upper and lower part of thebody of the work. Upon every one of the feet was there also inserted aring, 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 itwas joined to the rings; for they were not entire rings; but beforethey came quite round they ended in acute points, the one of which wasinserted into the prominent part of the table, and the other into thefoot; and by these it was carried when they journeyed: Upon this table, which was placed on the north side of the temple, not far from the mostholy place, were laid twelve unleavened loaves of bread, six upon eachheap, one above another: they were made of two tenth-deals of thepurest flour, which tenth-deal [an omer] is a measure of the Hebrews, containing seven Athenian cotyloe; and above those loaves were puttwo vials full of frankincense. Now after seven days other loaves werebrought in their stead, on the day which is by us called the Sabbath;for we call the seventh day the Sabbath. But for the occasion of thisintention of placing loaves here, we will speak to it in another place. 7. Over against this table, near the southern wall, was set acandlestick of cast gold, hollow within, being of the weight of onehundred pounds, which the Hebrews call Chinchares, if it be turned intothe Greek language, it denotes a talent. It was made with its knops, andlilies, and pomegranates, and bowls [which ornaments amounted to seventyin all]; by which means the shaft elevated itself on high from a singlebase, and spread itself into as many branches as there are planets, including the sun among them. It terminated in seven heads, in one row, all standing parallel to one another; and these branches carried sevenlamps, one by one, in imitation of the number of the planets. Theselamps looked to the east and to the south, the candlestick being situateobliquely. 8. Now between this candlestick and the table, which, as we said, werewithin the sanctuary, was the altar of incense, made of wood indeed, butof the same wood of which the foregoing vessels were made, such as wasnot liable to corruption; it was entirely crusted over with a goldenplate. 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 hada golden crown encompassing it round about, whereto belonged rings andbars, by which the priests carried it when they journeyed. Before thistabernacle there was reared a brazen altar, but it was within made ofwood, 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 alsoa brazen hearth of network; for the ground underneath received the firefrom the hearth, because it had no basis to receive it. Hard by thisaltar lay the basins, and the vials, and the censers, and the caldrons, made of gold; but the other vessels, made for the use of the sacrifices, were all of brass. And such was the construction of the tabernacle; andthese were the vessels thereto belonging. CHAPTER 7. Concerning The Garments Of The Priests, And Of The HighPriest. 1. There were peculiar garments appointed for the priests, and for allthe rest, which they call Cohanoeoe [-priestly] garments, as also forthe high priests, which they call Cahanoeoe Rabbae, and denote the highpriest's garments. Such was therefore the habit of the rest. But whenthe priest approaches the sacrifices, he purifies himself with thepurification which the law prescribes; and, in the first place, he putson that which is called Machanase, which means somewhat that is fasttied. It is a girdle, composed of fine twined linen, and is put aboutthe privy parts, the feet being to be inserted into them in the natureof breeches, but above half of it is cut off, and it ends at the thighs, and is there tied fast. 2. Over this he wore a linen vestment, made of fine flax doubled: itis called Chethone, and denotes linen, for we call linen by the name ofChethone. This vestment reaches down to the feet, and sits close to thebody; and has sleeves that are tied fast to the arms: it is girded tothe breast a little above the elbows, by a girdle often going round, four fingers broad, but so loosely woven, that you would think it werethe skin of a serpent. It is embroidered with flowers of scarlet, andpurple, and blue, and fine twined linen, but the warp was nothing butfine linen. The beginning of its circumvolution is at the breast; andwhen it has gone often round, it is there tied, and hangs loosely theredown to the ankles: I mean this, all the time the priest is not aboutany laborious service, for in this position it appears in the mostagreeable manner to the spectators; but when he is obliged to assist atthe offering sacrifices, and to do the appointed service, that he maynot be hindered in his operations by its motion, he throws it tothe left, and bears it on his shoulder. Moses indeed calls this beltAlbaneth; but we have learned from the Babylonians to call it Emia, forso it is by them called. This vestment has no loose or hollow parts anywhere in it, but only a narrow aperture about the neck; and it is tiedwith certain strings hanging down from the edge over the breast andback, and is fastened above each shoulder: it is called Massabazanes. 3. Upon his head he wears a cap, not brought to a conic form norencircling the whole head, but still covering more than the half of it, which is called Masnaemphthes; and its make is such that it seems to bea crown, being made of thick swathes, but the contexture is of linen;and it is doubled round many times, and sewed together; besides which, a piece of fine linen covers the whole cap from the upper part, andreaches down to the forehead, and hides the seams of the swathes, whichwould otherwise appear indecently: this adheres closely upon the solidpart of the head, and is thereto so firmly fixed, that it may not falloff during the sacred service about the sacrifices. So we have now shownyou what is the habit of the generality of the priests. 4. The high priest is indeed adorned with the same garments that we havedescribed, without abating one; only over these he puts on a vestmentof a blue color. This also is a long robe, reaching to his feet, [inour language it is called Meeir, ] and is tied round with a girdle, embroidered with the same colors and flowers as the former, with amixture of gold interwoven. To the bottom of which garment are hungfringes, in color like pomegranates, with golden bells [13] by acurious and beautiful contrivance; so that between two bells hangs apomegranate, and between two pomegranates a bell. Now this vesture wasnot composed of two pieces, nor was it sewed together upon the shouldersand the sides, but it was one long vestment so woven as to have anaperture for the neck; not an oblique one, but parted all along thebreast and the back. A border also was sewed to it, lest the apertureshould look too indecently: it was also parted where the hands were tocome out. 5. Besides these, the high priest put on a third garment, which wascalled the Ephod, which resembles the Epomis of the Greeks. Its makewas after this manner: it was woven to the depth of a cubit, of severalcolors, with gold intermixed, and embroidered, but it left the middle ofthe breast uncovered: it was made with sleeves also; nor did it appearto be at all differently made from a short coat. But in the void placeof this garment there was inserted a piece of the bigness of a span, embroidered with gold, and the other colors of the ephod, and was calledEssen, [the breastplate, ] which in the Greek language signifies theOracle. This piece exactly filled up the void space in the ephod. Itwas united to it by golden rings at every corner, the like rings beingannexed to the ephod, and a blue riband was made use of to tie themtogether by those rings; and that the space between the rings mightnot appear empty, they contrived to fill it up with stitches ofblue ribands. There were also two sardonyxes upon the ephod, at theshoulders, to fasten it in the nature of buttons, having each endrunning to the sardonyxes of gold, that they might be buttoned bythem. On these were engraven the names of the sons of Jacob, in our owncountry 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 inlargeness and beauty; and they were an ornament not to be purchased bymen, because of their immense value. These stones, however, stood inthree rows, by four in a row, and were inserted into the breastplateitself, and they were set in ouches of gold, that were themselvesinserted in the breastplate, and were so made that they might not fallout low the first three stones were a sardonyx, a topaz, and an emerald. The second row contained a carbuncle, a jasper, and a sapphire. Thefirst of the third row was a ligure, then an amethyst, and the third anagate, being the ninth of the whole number. The first of the fourth rowwas a chrysolite, the next was an onyx, and then a beryl, which was thelast of all. Now the names of all those sons of Jacob were engraven inthese stones, whom we esteem the heads of our tribes, each stone havingthe honor of a name, in the order according to which they were born. Andwhereas the rings were too weak of themselves to bear the weight of thestones, they made two other rings of a larger size, at the edge of thatpart of the breastplate which reached to the neck, and inserted into thevery texture of the breastplate, to receive chains finely wrought, whichconnected them with golden bands to the tops of the shoulders, whoseextremity turned backwards, and went into the ring, on the prominentback part of the ephod; and this was for the security of thebreastplate, that it might not fall out of its place. There was also agirdle sewed to the breastplate, which was of the forementioned colors, with gold intermixed, which, when it had gone once round, was tied againupon the seam, and hung down. There were also golden loops that admittedits fringes at each extremity of the girdle, and included them entirely. 6. The high priest's mitre was the same that we described before, andwas wrought like that of all the other priests; above which there wasanother, with swathes of blue embroidered, and round it was a goldencrown polished, of three rows, one above another; out of which arose acup of gold, which resembled the herb which we call Saccharus; but thoseGreeks that are skillful in botany call it Hyoscyamus. Now, lest anyone that has seen this herb, but has not been taught its name, and isunacquainted with its nature, or, having known its name, knows not theherb when he sees it, I shall give such as these are a description ofit. This herb is oftentimes in tallness above three spans, but its rootis like that of a turnip [for he that should compare it thereto wouldnot be mistaken]; but its leaves are like the leaves of mint. Out ofits branches it sends out a calyx, cleaving to the branch; and a coatencompasses it, which it naturally puts off when it is changing, inorder to produce its fruit. This calyx is of the bigness of the boneof the little finger, but in the compass of its aperture is like a cup. This I will further describe, for the use of those that are unacquaintedwith it. Suppose a sphere be divided into two parts, round at thebottom, but having another segment that grows up to a circumference fromthat bottom; suppose it become narrower by degrees, and that the cavityof that part grow decently smaller, and then gradually grow wider againat the brim, such as we see in the navel of a pomegranate, with itsnotches. And indeed such a coat grows over this plant as renders it ahemisphere, and that, as one may say, turned accurately in a lathe, and having its notches extant above it, which, as I said, grow like apomegranate, only that they are sharp, and end in nothing but prickles. Now the fruit is preserved by this coat of the calyx, which fruit islike the seed of the herb Sideritis: it sends out a flower that may seemto resemble that of poppy. Of this was a crown made, as far from thehinder part of the head to each of the temples; but this Ephielis, forso this calyx may be called, did not cover the forehead, but it wascovered with a golden plate, [14] which had inscribed upon it the nameof God in sacred characters. And such were the ornaments of the highpriest. 7. Now here one may wonder at the ill-will which men bear to us, andwhich they profess to bear on account of our despising that Deity whichthey pretend to honor; for if any one do but consider the fabric of thetabernacle, and take a view of the garments of the high priest, and ofthose vessels which we make use of in our sacred ministration, he willfind that our legislator was a divine man, and that we are unjustlyreproached by others; for if any one do without prejudice, and withjudgment, look upon these things, he will find they were every onemade in way of imitation and representation of the universe. When Mosesdistinguished the tabernacle into three parts, [15] and allowed two ofthem to the priests, as a place accessible and common, he denoted theland and the sea, these being of general access to all; but he set apartthe third division for God, because heaven is inaccessible to men. Andwhen he ordered twelve loaves to be set on the table, he denotedthe year, as distinguished into so many months. By branching out thecandlestick into seventy parts, he secretly intimated the Decani, orseventy divisions of the planets; and as to the seven lamps upon thecandlesticks, they referred to the course of the planets, of which thatis the number. The veils, too, which were composed of four things, theydeclared the four elements; for the fine linen was proper to signify theearth, because the flax grows out of the earth; the purple signified thesea, because that color is dyed by the blood of a sea shell-fish; theblue is fit to signify the air; and the scarlet will naturally be anindication of fire. Now the vestment of the high priest being madeof linen, signified the earth; the blue denoted the sky, being likelightning in its pomegranates, and in the noise of the bells resemblingthunder. And for the ephod, it showed that God had made the universe offour elements; and as for the gold interwoven, I suppose it related tothe splendor by which all things are enlightened. He also appointed thebreastplate to be placed in the middle of the ephod, to resemble theearth, for that has the very middle place of the world. And the girdlewhich encompassed the high priest round, signified the ocean, for thatgoes round about and includes the universe. Each of the sardonyxesdeclares to us the sun and the moon; those, I mean, that were in thenature of buttons on the high priest's shoulders. And for the twelvestones, whether we understand by them the months, or whether weunderstand the like number of the signs of that circle which the Greekscall the Zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning. And for themitre, which was of a blue color, it seems to me to mean heaven; for howotherwise could the name of God be inscribed upon it? That it was alsoillustrated with a crown, and that of gold also, is because of thatsplendor with which God is pleased. Let this explication [16] sufficeat present, since the course of my narration will often, and on manyoccasions, afford me the opportunity of enlarging upon the virtue of ourlegislator. CHAPTER 8. Of The Priesthood Of Aaron. 1. When what has been described was brought to a conclusion, gifts notbeing yet presented, God appeared to Moses, and enjoined him to bestowthe high priesthood upon Aaron his brother, as upon him that best ofthem all deserved to obtain that honor, on account of his virtue. Andwhen he had gathered the multitude together, he gave them an account ofAaron's virtue, and of his good-will to them, and of the dangers he hadundergone for their sakes. Upon which, when they had given testimony tohim in all respects, and showed their readiness to receive him, Mosessaid to them, "O you Israelites, this work is already brought to aconclusion, in a manner most acceptable to God, and according toour abilities. And now since you see that he is received into thistabernacle, we shall first of all stand in need of one that mayofficiate for us, and may minister to the sacrifices, and to the prayersthat are to be put up for us. And indeed had the inquiry after sucha person been left to me, I should have thought myself worthy of thishonor, both because all men are naturally fond of themselves, andbecause I am conscious to myself that I have taken a great deal of painsfor your deliverance; but now God himself has determined that Aaron isworthy of this honor, and has chosen him for his priest, as knowing himto be the most righteous person among you. So that he is to put on thevestments which are consecrated to God; he is to have the care of thealtars, and to make provision for the sacrifices; and he it is thatmust put up prayers for you to God, who will readily hear them, not onlybecause he is himself solicitous for your nation, but also because hewill receive them as offered by one that he hath himself chosen to thisoffice. " The Hebrews were pleased with what was said, and they gavetheir approbation to him whom God had ordained; for Aaron was of themall the most deserving of this honor, on account of his own stock andgift of prophecy, and his brother's virtue. He had at that time foursons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2. Now Moses commanded them to make use of all the utensils whichwere more than were necessary to the structure of the tabernacle, forcovering the tabernacle itself, the candlestick, and altar of incense, and the other vessels, that they might not be at all hurt when theyjourneyed, either by the rain, or by the rising of the dust. And when hehad gathered the multitude together again, he ordained that they shouldoffer half a shekel for every man, as an oblation to God; which shekelis a piece among the Hebrews, and is equal to four Athenian drachmae. [18] Whereupon they readily obeyed what Moses had commanded; and thenumber of the offerers was six hundred and five thousand five hundredand fifty. Now this money that was brought by the men that were free, was given by such as were about twenty years old, but under fifty; andwhat was collected was spent in the uses of the tabernacle. 3. Moses now purified the tabernacle and the priests; which purificationwas performed after the following manner:--He commanded them to takefive hundred shekels of choice myrrh, an equal quantity of cassia, andhalf the foregoing weight of cinnamon and calamus [this last is a sortof sweet spice]; to beat them small, and wet them with an bin of oilof olives [an hin is our own country measure, and contains two Athenianchoas, or congiuses]; then mix them together, and boil them, and preparethem after the art of the apothecary, and make them into a very sweetointment; and afterward to take it to anoint and to purify the prieststhemselves, and all the tabernacle, as also the sacrifices. There werealso many, and those of various kinds, of sweet spices, that belonged tothe tabernacle, and such as were of very great price, and were broughtto the golden altar of incense; the nature of which I do not nowdescribe, lest it should be troublesome to my readers; but incense[19] was to be offered twice a-day, both before sun-rising and atsun-setting. They were also to keep oil already purified for the lamps;three of which were to give light all day long, [20] upon the sacredcandlestick, before God, and the rest were to be lighted at the evening. 4. Now all was finished. Besaleel and Aholiab appeared to be the mostskillful of the workmen; for they invented finer works than what othershad done before them, and were of great abilities to gain notions ofwhat they were formerly ignorant of; and of these, Besaleel was judgedto be the best. Now the whole time they were about this work was theinterval of seven months; and after this it was that was ended the firstyear since their departure out of Egypt. But at the beginning of thesecond year, on the month Xanthicus, as the Macedonians call it, buton the month Nisan, as the Hebrews call it, on the new moon, theyconsecrated the tabernacle, and all its vessels, which I have alreadydescribed. 5. Now God showed himself pleased with the work of the Hebrews, and didnot permit their labors to be in vain; nor did he disdain to make use ofwhat they had made, but he came and sojourned with them, and pitched histabernacle in the holy house. And in the following manner did he come toit:--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 isseen in the winter season, nor yet in so thin a one as men might be ableto discern any thing through it, but from it there dropped a sweet dew, and such a one as showed the presence of God to those that desired andbelieved 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 offeredsacrifices in the open court of the tabernacle, as God commanded him;a bull, a ram, and a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering. Now Ishall speak of what we do in our sacred offices in my discourse aboutsacrifices; and therein shall inform men in what cases Moses bid usoffer a whole burnt-offering, and in what cases the law permits usto partake of them as of food. And when Moses had sprinkled Aaron'svestments, himself, and his sons, with the blood of the beasts thatwere slain, and had purified them with spring waters and ointment, theybecame God's priests. After this manner did he consecrate them and theirgarments for seven days together. The same he did to the tabernacle, andthe vessels thereto belonging, both with oil first incensed, as I said, and with the blood of bulls and of rams, slain day by day one, accordingto 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 toexceed each other in the sacrifices which they brought, and so fulfilledMoses's injunctions. But as the sacrifices lay upon the altar, a suddenfire was kindled from among them of its own accord, and appeared to thesight like fire from a flash of lightning, and consumed whatsoever wasupon the altar. 7. Hereupon an affliction befell Aaron, considered as a man and afather, but was undergone by him with true fortitude; for he had indeeda firmness of soul in such accidents, and he thought this calamity cameupon him according to God's will: for whereas he had four sons, as Isaid before, the two elder of them, Nadab and Abihu, did not bring thosesacrifices which Moses bade them bring, but which they used to offerformerly, and were burnt to death. Now when the fire rushed upon them, and began to burn them, nobody could quench it. Accordingly they diedin this manner. And Moses bid their father and their brethren to takeup their bodies, to carry them out of the camp, and to bury themmagnificently. Now the multitude lamented them, and were deeply affectedat this their death, which so unexpectedly befell them. But Mosesentreated their brethren and their father not to be troubled for them, and to prefer the honor of God before their grief about them; for Aaronhad already put on his sacred garments. 8. But Moses refused all that honor which he saw the multitude ready tobestow upon him, and attended to nothing else but the service of God. He went no more up to Mount Sinai; but he went into the tabernacle, andbrought back answers from God for what he prayed for. His habit was alsothat of a private man, and in all other circumstances he behaved himselflike one of the common people, and was desirous to appear withoutdistinguishing himself from the multitude, but would have it known thathe did nothing else but take care of them. He also set down in writingthe form of their government, and those laws by obedience wheretothey would lead their lives so as to please God, and so as to have noquarrels one among another. However, the laws he ordained were such asGod suggested to him; so I shall now discourse concerning that form ofgovernment, and those laws. 9. I will now treat of what I before omitted, the garment of the highpriest: for he [Moses] left no room for the evil practices of [false]prophets; but if some of that sort should attempt to abuse the Divineauthority, he left it to God to be present at his sacrifices when hepleased, and when he pleased to be absent. [21] And he was willing thisshould be known, not to the Hebrews only, but to those foreigners alsowho were there. For as to those stones, [22] which we told you before, the high priest bare on his shoulders, which were sardonyxes, [and Ithink it needless to describe their nature, they being known toevery body, ] the one of them shined out when God was present at theirsacrifices; I mean that which was in the nature of a button on his rightshoulder, bright rays darting out thence, and being seen even by thosethat were most remote; which splendor yet was not before natural to thestone. This has appeared a wonderful thing to such as have not so farindulged themselves in philosophy, as to despise Divine revelation. Yetwill I mention what is still more wonderful than this: for God declaredbeforehand, by those twelve stones which the high priest bare on hisbreast, and which were inserted into his breastplate, when they shouldbe victorious in battle; for so great a splendor shone forth from thembefore the army began to march, that all the people were sensible ofGod's being present for their assistance. Whence it came to pass thatthose Greeks, who had a veneration for our laws, because they could notpossibly contradict this, called that breastplate the Oracle. Now thisbreastplate, and this sardonyx, left off shining two hundred yearsbefore I composed this book, God having been displeased at thetransgressions of his laws. Of which things we shall further discourseon a fitter opportunity; but I will now go on with my proposednarration. 10. The tabernacle being now consecrated, and a regular order beingsettled for the priests, the multitude judged that God now dwelt amongthem, and betook themselves to sacrifices and praises to God as beingnow delivered from all expectation of evils and as entertaining ahopeful prospect of better times hereafter. They offered also giftsto God some as common to the whole nation, and others as peculiarto themselves, and these tribe by tribe; for the heads of the tribescombined together, two by two, and brought a waggon and a yoke ofoxen. These amounted to six, and they carried the tabernacle when theyjourneyed. Besides which, each head of a tribe brought a bowl, and acharger, and a spoon, of ten darics, full of incense. Now the chargerand the bowl were of silver, and together they weighed two hundredshekels, but the bowl cost no more than seventy shekels; and these werefull of fine flour mingled with oil, such as they used on the altarabout the sacrifices. They brought also a young bullock, and a ram, witha lamb of a year old, for a whole burnt-offering, as also a goat for theforgiveness of sins. Every one of the heads of the tribes brought alsoother sacrifices, called peace-offerings, for every day two bulls, andfive rams, with lambs of a year old, and kids of the goats. These headsof tribes were twelve days in sacrificing, one sacrificing everyday. Now Moses went no longer up to Mount Sinai, but went into thetabernacle, and learned of God what they were to do, and what lawsshould be made; which laws were preferable to what have been devised byhuman understanding, and proved to be firmly observed for all time tocome, as being believed to be the gift of God, insomuch that the Hebrewsdid not transgress any of those laws, either as tempted in times ofpeace by luxury, or in times of war by distress of affairs. But I sayno more here concerning them, because I have resolved to compose anotherwork concerning our laws. CHAPTER 9. The Manner Of Our Offering Sacrifices. 1. I Will now, however, make mention of a few of our laws which belongto purifications, and the like sacred offices, since I am accidentallycome to this matter of sacrifices. These sacrifices were of two sorts;of those sorts one was offered for private persons, and the other forthe people in general; and they are done in two different ways. In theone case, what is slain is burnt, as a whole burnt-offering, whence thatname is given to it; but the other is a thank-offering, and is designedfor feasting those that sacrifice. I will speak of the former. Suppose aprivate 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, thoughof bulls he is permitted to sacrifice those of a greater age; but allburnt-offerings are to be of males. When they are slain, the priestssprinkle the blood round about the altar; they then cleanse the bodies, and divide them into parts, and salt them with salt, and lay them uponthe altar, while the pieces of wood are piled one upon another, and thefire is burning; they next cleanse the feet of the sacrifices, and theinwards, in an accurate manner and so lay them to the rest to be purgedby the fire, while the priests receive the hides. This is the way ofoffering a burnt-offering. 2. But those that offer thank-offerings do indeed sacrifice the samecreatures, but such as are unblemished, and above a year old; however, they may take either males or females. They also sprinkle the altar withtheir blood; but they lay upon the altar the kidneys and the caul, andall the fat, and the lobe of the liver, together with the rump of thelamb; then, giving the breast and the right shoulder to the priests, theofferers feast upon the remainder of the flesh for two days; and whatremains they burn. 3. The sacrifices for sins are offered in the same manner as isthe thank-offering. But those who are unable to purchase completesacrifices, offer two pigeons, or turtle doves; the one of which is madea burnt-offering to God, the other they give as food to the priests. Butwe shall treat more accurately about the oblation of these creatures inour discourse concerning sacrifices. But if a person fall into sin byignorance, he offers an ewe lamb, or a female kid of the goats, of thesame age; and the priests sprinkle the blood at the altar, not after theformer manner, but at the corners of it. They also bring the kidneys andthe rest of the fat, together with the lobe of the liver, to the altar, while the priests bear away the hides and the flesh, and spend it in theholy place, on the same day; [23] for the law does not permit them toleave of it until the morning. But if any one sin, and is conscious ofit himself, but hath nobody that can prove it upon him, he offers a ram, the law enjoining him so to do; the flesh of which the priests eat, as before, in the holy place, on the same day. And if the rulers offersacrifices for their sins, they bring the same oblations that privatemen do; only they so far differ, that they are to bring for sacrifices abull or a kid of the goats, both males. 4. Now the law requires, both in private and public sacrifices, thatthe finest flour be also brought; for a lamb the measure of one tenthdeal, --for a ram two, --and for a bull three. This they consecrate uponthe altar, when it is mingled with oil; for oil is also brought by thosethat sacrifice; for a bull the half of an hin, and for a ram the thirdpart of the same measure, and one quarter of it for a lamb. This hin isan ancient Hebrew measure, and is equivalent to two Athenian choas [orcongiuses]. They bring the same quantity of oil which they do of wine, and they pour the wine about the altar; but if any one does not offer acomplete sacrifice of animals, but brings fine flour only for a vow, hethrows a handful upon the altar as its first-fruits, while the prieststake the rest for their food, either boiled or mingled with oil, butmade into cakes of bread. But whatsoever it be that a priest himselfoffers, it must of necessity be all burnt. Now the law forbids us tosacrifice any animal at the same time with its dam; and, in other cases, not till the eighth day after its birth. Other sacrifices there arealso appointed for escaping distempers, or for other occasions, inwhich meat-offerings are consumed, together with the animals that aresacrificed; of which it is not lawful to leave any part till the nextday, only the priests are to take their own share. CHAPTER 10. Concerning The Festivals; And How Each Day Of Such FestivalIs To Be Observed. 1. The law requires, that out of the public expenses a lamb of the firstyear be killed every day, at the beginning and at the ending of the day;but on the seventh day, which is called the Sabbath, they kill two, andsacrifice them in the same manner. At the new moon, they both performthe daily sacrifices, and slay two bulls, with seven lambs of the firstyear, and a kid of the goats also, for the expiation of sins; that is, if they have sinned through ignorance. 2. But on the seventh month, which the Macedonians call Hyperberetaeus, they make 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, anda kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids ofthe goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the campinto the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for thesins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place ofgreat cleanness, within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnta bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his owncharges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holyplace, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkledthe ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and againas often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he alsoat last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the greataltar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, andthe fat, with the lobe of the liver, upon the altar. The high priestlikewise presents a ram to God as a burnt-offering. 4. Upon the fifteenth day of the same month, when the season of the yearis changing for winter, the law enjoins us to pitch tabernacles in everyone of our houses, so that we preserve ourselves from the cold of thattime of the year; as also that when we should arrive at our own country, and come to that city which we should have then for our metropolis, because of the temple therein to be built, and keep a festival for eightdays, and offer burnt-offerings, and sacrifice thank-offerings, thatwe should then carry in our hands a branch of myrtle, and willow, and abough of the palm-tree, with the addition of the pome citron: Thatthe burnt-offering on the first of those days was to be a sacrifice ofthirteen bulls, and fourteen lambs, and fifteen rams, with the additionof a kid of the goats, as an expiation for sins; and on the followingdays the same number of lambs, and of rams, with the kids of the goats;but abating one of the bulls every day till they amounted to seven only. On the eighth day all work was laid aside, and then, as we said before, they sacrificed to God a bullock, a ram, and seven lambs, with a kidof the goats, for an expiation of sins. And this is the accustomedsolemnity of the Hebrews, when they pitch their tabernacles. 5. In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is thebeginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, whenthe sun is in Aries, [for in this month it was that we were deliveredfrom bondage under the Egyptians, ] the law ordained that we should everyyear slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we cameout of Egypt, and which was called the Passover; and so we do celebratethis passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice tillthe day following. The feast of unleavened bread succeeds that of thepassover, and falls on the fifteenth day of the month, and continuesseven days, wherein they feed on unleavened bread; on every one of whichdays two bulls are killed, and one ram, and seven lambs. Now these lambsare entirely burnt, besides the kid of the goats which is added to allthe rest, for sins; for it is intended as a feast for the priest onevery one of those days. But on the second day of unleavened bread, which is the sixteenth day of the month, they first partake of thefruits of the earth, for before that day they do not touch them. Andwhile they suppose it proper to honor God, from whom they obtain thisplentiful provision, in the first place, they offer the first-fruits oftheir barley, and that in the manner following: They take a handful ofthe ears, and dry them, then beat them small, and purge the barley fromthe bran; they then bring one tenth deal to the altar, to God; and, casting one handful of it upon the fire, they leave the rest for the useof the priest. And after this it is that they may publicly or privatelyreap their harvest. They also at this participation of the first-fruitsof the earth, sacrifice a lamb, as a burnt-offering to God. 6. When a week of weeks has passed over after this sacrifice, [whichweeks contain forty and nine days, ] on the fiftieth day, which isPentecost, but is called by the Hebrews Asartha, which signifiesPentecost, they bring to God a loaf, made of wheat flour, of two tenthdeals, with leaven; and for sacrifices they bring two lambs; and whenthey have only presented them to God, they are made ready for supper forthe priests; nor is it permitted to leave any thing of them till the dayfollowing. They also slay three bullocks for a burnt-offering, and tworams; and fourteen lambs, with two kids of the goats, for sins; nor isthere anyone of the festivals but in it they offer burnt-offerings; theyalso allow themselves to rest on every one of them. Accordingly, the lawprescribes in them all what kinds they are to sacrifice, and how theyare to rest entirely, and must slay sacrifices, in order to feast uponthem. 7. However, out of the common charges, baked bread [was set on the tableof shew-bread], without leaven, of twenty-four tenth deals of flour, forso much is spent upon this bread; two heaps of these were baked, theywere baked the day before the sabbath, but were brought into the holyplace on the morning of the sabbath, and set upon the holy table, six ona heap, one loaf still standing over against another; where two goldencups full of frankincense were also set upon them, and there theyremained till another sabbath, and then other loaves were brought intheir stead, while the loaves were given to the priests for their food, and the frankincense was burnt in that sacred fire wherein all theirofferings were burnt also; and so other frankincense was set upon theloaves instead of what was there before. The high priest also, of hisown charges, offered a sacrifice, and that twice every day. It was madeof flour mingled with oil, and gently baked by the fire; the quantitywas one tenth deal of flour; he brought the half of it to the firein the morning, and the other half at night. The account of thesesacrifices I shall give more accurately hereafter; but I think I havepremised what for the present may be sufficient concerning them. CHAPTER 11. Of The Purifications. 1. Moses took out the tribe of Levi from communicating with the rest ofthe people, and set them apart to be a holy tribe; and purified themby water taken from perpetual springs, and with such sacrifices as wereusually offered to God on the like occasions. He delivered to them alsothe tabernacle, and the sacred vessels, and the other curtains, whichwere made for covering the tabernacle, that they might minister underthe conduct of the priests, who had been already consecrated to God. 2. He also determined concerning animals; which of them might be usedfor food, and which they were obliged to abstain from; which matters, when this work shall give me occasion, shall be further explained; andthe causes shall be added by which he was moved to allot some of themto be our food, and enjoined us to abstain from others. However, heentirely forbade us the use of blood for food, and esteemed it tocontain the soul and spirit. He also forbade us to eat the flesh of ananimal that died of itself, as also the caul, and the fat of goats, andsheep, and bulls. 3. He also ordered that those whose bodies were afflicted with leprosy, and that had a gonorrhea, should not come into the city; nay, he removedthe women, when they had their natural purgations, till the seventh day;after which he looked on them as pure, and permitted them to come inagain. The law permits those also who have taken care of funerals tocome in after the same manner, when this number of days is over; but ifany continued longer than that number of days in a state of pollution, the law appointed the offering two lambs for a sacrifice; the one ofwhich they are to purge by fire, and for the other, the priests take itfor themselves. In the same manner do those sacrifice who have had thegonorrhea. But he that sheds his seed in his sleep, if he go downinto cold water, has the same privilege with those that have lawfullyaccompanied with their wives. And for the lepers, he suffered them notto come into the city at all, nor to live with any others, as if theywere in effect dead persons; but if any one had obtained by prayerto God, the recovery from that distemper, and had gained a healthfulcomplexion again, such a one returned thanks to God, with several sortsof sacrifices; concerning which we will speak hereafter. 4. Whence one cannot but smile at those who say that Moses was himselfafflicted with the leprosy when he fled out of Egypt, and that he becamethe conductor of those who on that account left that country, and ledthem into the land of Canaan; for had this been true, Moses would nothave made these laws to his own dishonor, which indeed it was morelikely he would have opposed, if others had endeavored to introducethem; and this the rather, because there are lepers in many nations, whoyet are in honor, and not only free from reproach and avoidance, but whohave been great captains of armies, and been intrusted with high officesin the commonwealth, and have had the privilege of entering into holyplaces and temples; so that nothing hindered, but if either Moseshimself, or the multitude that was with him, had been liable to such amisfortune in the color of his skin, he might have made laws about themfor their credit and advantage, and have laid no manner of difficultyupon them. Accordingly, it is a plain case, that it is out of violentprejudice only that they report these things about us. But Moses waspure from any such distemper, and lived with countrymen who were pureof it also, and thence made the laws which concerned others that had thedistemper. He did this for the honor of God. But as to these matters, let every one consider them after what manner he pleases. 5. As to the women, when they have born a child, Moses forbade them tocome into the temple, or touch the sacrifices, before forty days wereover, supposing it to be a boy; but if she hath born a girl, the law isthat she cannot be admitted before twice that number of days be over. And when after the before-mentioned time appointed for them, theyperform their sacrifices, the priests distribute them before God. 6. But if any one suspect that his wife has been guilty of adultery, hewas to bring a tenth deal of barley flour; they then cast one handful toGod and gave the rest of it to the priests for food. One of the priestsset the woman at the gates that are turned towards the temple, and tookthe veil from her head, and wrote the name of God on parchment, andenjoined her to swear that she had not at all injured her husband; andto wish that, if she had violated her chastity, her right thigh mightbe put out of joint; that her belly might swell; and that she might diethus: but that if her husband, by the violence of his affection, andof the jealousy which arose from it, had been rashly moved to thissuspicion, that she might bear a male child in the tenth month. Nowwhen these oaths were over, the priest wiped the name of God out of theparchment, and wrung the water into a vial. He also took some dust outof the temple, if any happened to be there, and put a little of it intothe vial, and gave it her to drink; whereupon the woman, if she wereunjustly accused, conceived with child, and brought it to perfection inher womb: but if she had broken her faith of wedlock to her husband, and had sworn falsely before God, she died in a reproachful manner; herthigh fell off from her, and her belly swelled with a dropsy. And theseare the ceremonies about sacrifices, and about the purifications theretobelonging, which Moses provided for his countrymen. He also prescribedthe following laws to them:-- CHAPTER 12. Several Laws. 1. As for adultery, Moses forbade it entirely, as esteeming it a happything that men should be wise in the affairs of wedlock; and that it wasprofitable both to cities and families that children should be known tobe genuine. He also abhorred men's lying with their mothers, as one ofthe greatest crimes; and the like for lying with the father's wife, andwith aunts, and sisters, and sons' wives, as all instances of abominablewickedness. He also forbade a man to lie with his wife when she wasdefiled by her natural purgation: and not to come near brute beasts; norto approve of the lying with a male, which was to hunt after unlawfulpleasures on account of beauty. To those who were guilty of suchinsolent behavior, he ordained death for their punishment. 2. As for the priests, he prescribed to them a double degree of purity[25] for he restrained them in the instances above, and moreover forbadethem to marry harlots. He also forbade them to marry a slave, or acaptive, and such as got their living by cheating trades, and bykeeping inns; as also a woman parted from her husband, on any accountwhatsoever. Nay, he did not think it proper for the high priest tomarry even the widow of one that was dead, though he allowed that to thepriests; but he permitted him only to marry a virgin, and to retain her. Whence it is that the high priest is not to come near to one that isdead, although the rest are not prohibited from coming near to theirbrethren, or parents, or children, when they are dead; but they are tobe unblemished in all respects. He ordered that the priest who hadany blemish, should have his portion indeed among the priests, but heforbade him to ascend the altar, or to enter into the holy house. He also enjoined them, not only to observe purity in their sacredministrations, but in their daily conversation, that it might beunblamable also. And on this account it is that those who wear thesacerdotal garments are without spot, and eminent for their purity andsobriety: nor are they permitted to drink wine so long as they wearthose garments. [26] Moreover, they offer sacrifices that are entire, and have no defect whatsoever. 3. And truly Moses gave them all these precepts, being such as wereobserved during his own lifetime; but though he lived now in thewilderness, yet did he make provision how they might observe the samelaws when they should have taken the land of Canaan. He gave them restto the land from ploughing and planting every seventh year, as he hadprescribed 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 commonbelong to all that pleased to use it, making no distinction in thatrespect between their own countrymen and foreigners: and he ordained, that they should do the same after seven times seven years, which inall are fifty years; and that fiftieth year is called by the Hebrews TheJubilee, wherein debtors are freed from their debts, and slaves areset at liberty; which slaves became such, though they were of the samestock, by transgressing some of those laws the punishment of which wasnot capital, but they were punished by this method of slavery. Thisyear also restores the land to its former possessors in the mannerfollowing:--When the Jubilee is come, which name denotes liberty, hethat sold the land, and he that bought it, meet together, and make anestimate, 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 morethan the expenses laid out, he that sold it takes the land again; but ifthe expenses prove more than the fruits, the present possessor receivesof the former owner the difference that was wanting, and leaves the landto him; and if the fruits received, and the expenses laid out, proveequal to one another, the present possessor relinquishes it to theformer owners. Moses would have the same law obtain as to those housesalso which were sold in villages; but he made a different law for suchas were sold in a city; for if he that sold it tendered the purchaserhis money again within a year, he was forced to restore it; but in casea whole year had intervened, the purchaser was to enjoy what he hadbought. This was the constitution of the laws which Moses learned of Godwhen the camp lay under Mount Sinai, and this he delivered in writing tothe Hebrews. 4. Now when this settlement of laws seemed to be well over, Mosesthought fit at length to take a review of the host, as thinking itproper to settle the affairs of war. So he charged the heads of thetribes, excepting the tribe of Levi, to take an exact account of thenumber of those that were able to go to war; for as to the Levites, theywere holy, and free from all such burdens. Now when the people had beennumbered, there were found six hundred thousand that were able to goto war, from twenty to fifty years of age, besides three thousand sixhundred and fifty. Instead of Levi, Moses took Manasseh, the son ofJoseph, among the heads of tribes; and Ephraim instead of Joseph. It wasindeed the desire of Jacob himself to Joseph, that he would give him hissons to be his own by adoption, as I have before related. 5. When they set up the tabernacle, they received it into the midst oftheir camp, three of the tribes pitching their tents on each side ofit; and roads were cut through the midst of these tents. It was like awell-appointed market; and every thing was there ready for sale in dueorder; and all sorts of artificers were in the shops; and it resemblednothing so much as a city that sometimes was movable, and sometimesfixed. The priests had the first places about the tabernacle; then theLevites, who, because their whole multitude was reckoned from thirtydays old, were twenty-three thousand eight hundred and eighty males; andduring the time that the cloud stood over the tabernacle, they thoughtproper to stay in the same place, as supposing that God there inhabitedamong them; but when that removed, they journeyed also. 6. Moreover, Moses was the inventor of the form of their trumpet, whichwas made of silver. Its description is this:--In length it was littleless than a cubit. It was composed of a narrow tube, somewhat thickerthan a flute, but with so much breadth as was sufficient for admissionof the breath of a man's mouth: it ended in the form of a bell, likecommon trumpets. Its sound was called in the Hebrew tongue Asosra. Twoof these being made, one of them was sounded when they required themultitude to come together to congregations. When the first of them gavea signal, the heads of the tribes were to assemble, and consult aboutthe affairs to them properly belonging; but when they gave the signalby both of them, they called the multitude together. Whenever thetabernacle was removed, it was done in this solemn order:--At thefirst alarm of the trumpet, those whose tents were on the east quarterprepared to remove; when the second signal was given, those that wereon the south quarter did the like; in the next place, the tabernacle wastaken to pieces, and was carried in the midst of six tribes that wentbefore, and of six that followed, all the Levites assisting about thetabernacle; when the third signal was given, that part which had theirtents towards the west put themselves in motion; and at the fourthsignal those on the north did so likewise. They also made use of thesetrumpets in their sacred ministrations, when they were bringing theirsacrifices to the altar as well on the Sabbaths as on the rest of the[festival] days; and now it was that Moses offered that sacrifice whichwas called the Passover in the Wilderness, as the first he had offeredafter the departure out of Egypt. CHAPTER 13. Moses Removed From Mount Sinai, And Conducted The People ToThe Borders Of The Canaanites. A Little while afterwards he rose up, and went from Mount Sinai; and, having passed through several mansions, of which we will speak hecame to a place called Hazeroth, where the multitude began again tobe mutinous, and to Moses for the misfortunes they had suffered theirtravels; and that when he had persuaded to leave a good land, they atonce had lost land, and instead of that happy state he had them, theywere still wandering in their miserable condition, being already in wantwater; and if the manna should happen to fail, must then utterly perish. Yet while they spake many and sore things against the there was one ofthem who exhorted them to be unmindful of Moses, and of what great painshe had been at about their common safety; not to despair of assistancefrom God. The multitude thereupon became still more unruly, and mutinousagainst Moses than before. Hereupon Moses, although he was so baselyabused by them encouraged them in their despairing conditioned andpromised that he would procure them a quantity of flesh-meat, andthat not for a few days only, but for many days. This they were not tobelieve; and when one of them asked, whence he could obtain such vastplenty of what he promised, he replied, "Neither God nor I, we hear suchopprobrious language from will leave off our labors for you; and thissoon appear also. " As soon as ever he had this, the whole camp wasfilled with quails, they stood round about them, and gathered greatnumbers. However, it was not long ere God punished the Hebrews for theirinsolence, those reproaches they had used towards him, no small numberof them died; and still to this day the place retains the memory of thisdestruction and is named Kibrothhattaavah, which is, Graves of Lust. CHAPTER 14. How Moses Sent Some Persons To Search Out The Land Of TheCanaanites, And The Largeness Of Their Cities; And Further That WhenThose Who Were Sent Were Returned, After Forty Days And Reported ThatThey Should Not Be A Match For Them, And Extolled The Strength Of TheCanaanites The Multitude Were Disturbed And Fell Into Despair; And WereResolved To Stone Moses, And To Return Back Again Into Egypt, And ServeThe Egyptians. 1. When Moses had led the Hebrews away from thence to a place calledParan, which was near to the borders of the Canaanites, and a placedifficult to be continued in, he gathered the multitude together to acongregation; and standing in the midst of them, he said, "Of thetwo things that God determined to bestow upon us, liberty, and thepossession of a Happy Country, the one of them ye already are partakersof, by the gift of God, and the other you will quickly obtain; for wenow have our abode near the borders of the Canaanites, and nothing canhinder the acquisition of it, when we now at last are fallen upon it: Isay, not only no king nor city, but neither the whole race of mankind, if they were all gathered together, could do it. Let us thereforeprepare ourselves for the work, for the Canaanites will not resign uptheir land to us without fighting, but it must be wrested from them bygreat struggles in war. Let us then send spies, who may take a view ofthe goodness of the land, and what strength it is of; but, above allthings, let us be of one mind, and let us honor God, who above all isour helper and assister. " 2. When Moses had said thus, the multitude requited him with marks ofrespect; and chose twelve spies, of the most eminent men, one out ofeach tribe, who, passing over all the land of Canaan, from the bordersof Egypt, came to the city Hamath, and to Mount Lebanon; and havinglearned the nature of the land, and of its inhabitants, they came home, having spent forty days in the whole work. They also brought with themof the fruits which the land bare; they also showed them the excellencyof those fruits, and gave an account of the great quantity of the goodthings that land afforded, which were motives to the multitude to go towar. But then they terrified them again with the great difficulty therewas in obtaining it; that the rivers were so large and deep that theycould not be passed over; and that the hills were so high that theycould not travel along for them; that the cities were strong with walls, and their firm fortifications round about them. They told them also, that they found at Hebron the posterity of the giants. Accordingly thesespies, who had seen the land of Canaan, when they perceived that allthese difficulties were greater there than they had met with sincethey came out of Egypt, they were aftrighted at them themselves, andendeavored to affright the multitude also. 3. So they supposed, from what they had heard, that it was impossibleto get the possession of the country. And when the congregation wasdissolved, they, their wives and children, continued their lamentation, as if God would not indeed assist them, but only promised them fair. They also again blamed Moses, and made a clamor against him and hisbrother Aaron, the high priest. Accordingly they passed that night veryill, and with contumelious language against them; but in the morningthey ran to a congregation, intending to stone Moses and Aaron, and soto return back into Egypt. 4. But of the spies, there were Joshua the son of Nun, of the tribeof Ephraim, and Caleb of the tribe of Judah, that were afraid of theconsequence, and came into the midst of them, and stilled the multitude, and desired them to be of good courage; and neither to condemn God, ashaving told them lies, nor to hearken to those who had aftrighted them, by telling them what was not true concerning the Canaanites, but tothose that encouraged them to hope for good success; and that theyshould gain possession of the happiness promised them, because neitherthe height of mountains, nor the depth of rivers, could hinder men oftrue courage from attempting them, especially while God would take careof them beforehand, and be assistant to them. "Let us then go, " saidthey, "against our enemies, and have no suspicion of ill success, trusting in God to conduct us, and following those that are to be ourleaders. " Thus did these two exhort them, and endeavor to pacify therage they were in. But Moses and Aaron fell on the ground, and besoughtGod, not for their own deliverance, but that he would put a stop to whatthe people were unwarily doing, and would bring their minds to a quiettemper, which were now disordered by their present passion. The cloudalso did now appear, and stood over the tabernacle, and declared to themthe presence of God to be there. CHAPTER 15. How Moses Was Displeased At This, And Foretold That God WasAngry And That They Should Continue In The Wilderness For Forty YearsAnd Not, During That Time, Either Return Into Egypt Or Take PossessionOf Canaan. 1. Moses came now boldly to the multitude, and informed them that Godwas moved at their abuse of him, and would inflict punishment upon them, not indeed such as they deserved for their sins, but such as parentsinflict on their children, in order to their correction. For, he said, that when he was in the tabernacle, and was bewailing with ears thatdestruction which was coming upon them God put him in mind what thingshe 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 beeninduced, through the timorousness of the spies, to think that theirwords were truer than his own promise to them; and that on this account, though he would not indeed destroy them all, nor utterly exterminatetheir nation, which he had honored more than any other part of mankind, yet he would not permit them to take possession of the land of Canaan, nor enjoy its happiness; but would make them wander in the wilderness, and live without a fixed habitation, and without a city, for forty yearstogether, as a punishment for this their transgression; but that he hadpromised to give that land to our children, and that he would make themthe possessors of those good things which, by your ungoverned passions, you have deprived yourselves of. 2. When Moses had discoursed thus to them according to the direction ofGod, the multitude, grieved, and were in affliction; and entreated Mostto procure their reconciliation to God, and to permit them no longer towander in the wilderness, but bestow cities upon them. But he replied, that God would not admit of any such trial, for that God was not movedto this determination from any human levity or anger, but that hehad judicially condemned them to that punishment. Now we are not todisbelieve that Moses, who was but a single person, pacified so manyten thousands when they were in anger, and converted them to a mildnesstemper; for God was with him, and prepared way to his persuasions ofthe multitude; and as they had often been disobedient, they were nowsensible that such disobedience was disadvantageous to them and thatthey had still thereby fallen into calamities. 3. But this man was admirable for his virtue, and powerful in makingmen give credit to what he delivered, not only during the time of hisnatural life, but even there is still no one of the Hebrews who doesnot act even now as if Moses were present, and ready to punish him ifhe should do any thing that is indecent; nay, there is no one but isobedient to what laws he ordained, although they might be concealed intheir transgressions. There are also many other demonstrations that hispower was more than human, for still some there have been, who have comefrom the parts beyond Euphrates, a journey of four months, through manydangers, and at great expenses, in honor of our temple; and yet, when they had offered their oblations, could not partake of their ownsacrifices, because Moses had forbidden it, by somewhat in the lawthat did not permit them, or somewhat that had befallen them, whichour ancient customs made inconsistent therewith; some of these didnot sacrifice at all, and others left their sacrifices in an imperfectcondition; many were not able, even at first, so much as to enter thetemple, but went their ways in this as preferring a submission to thelaws of Moses before the fulfilling of their own inclinations, they hadno fear upon them that anybody could convict them, but only out of areverence to their own conscience. Thus this legislation, which appearedto be divine, made this man to be esteemed as one superior to his ownnature. Nay, further, a little before the beginning of this war, whenClaudius was emperor of the Romans, and Ismael was our high priest, andwhen so great a famine [27] was come upon us, that one tenth deal [ofwheat] was sold for four drachmae, and when no less than seventy coriof flour were brought into the temple, 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, evenwhile so great a distress was upon the land; and this out of a dread ofthe 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 atwhat was then done, while to this very day the writings left by Moseshave so great a force, that even those that hate us do confess, that hewho established this settlement was God, and that it was by the meansof Moses, and of his virtue; but as to these matters, let every one takethem as he thinks fit. BOOK IV. Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Eight Years. From The Rejection Of That Generation To The Death Of Moses. CHAPTER 1. Fight Of The Hebrews With The Canaanites Without The ConsentOf Moses; And Their Defeat. 1. Now this life of the Hebrews in the wilderness was so disagreeableand troublesome to them, and they were so uneasy at it, that althoughGod had forbidden them to meddle with the Canaanites, yet could they notbe persuaded to be obedient to the words of Moses, and to be quiet;but supposing they should be able to beat their enemies, withouthis approbation, they accused him, and suspected that he made it hisbusiness to keep in a distressed condition, that they might always standin need of his assistance. Accordingly they resolved to fight withthe Canaanites, and said that God gave them his assistance, not outof regard to Moses's intercessions, but because he took care of theirentire nation, on account of their forefathers, whose affairs he tookunder his own conduct; as also, that it was on account of their ownvirtue that he had formerly procured them their liberty, and would beassisting to them, now they were willing to take pains for it. They alsosaid that they were possessed of abilities sufficient for the conquestof their enemies, although Moses should have a mind to alienate God fromthem; that, however, it was for their advantage to be their own masters, and not so far to rejoice in their deliverance from the indignities theyendured under the Egyptians, as to bear the tyranny of Moses overthem, and to suffer themselves to be deluded, and live according to hispleasure, as though God did only foretell what concerns us out of hiskindness to him, as if they were not all the posterity of Abraham; thatGod made him alone the author of all the knowledge we have, and we muststill learn it from him; that it would be a piece of prudence to opposehis arrogant pretenses, and to put their confidence in God, and toresolve to take possession of that land which he had promised them, andnot to give ear to him, who on this account, and under the pretense ofDivine authority, forbade them so to do. Considering, therefore, thedistressed state they were in at present, and that in those desertplaces they were still to expect things would be worse with them, theyresolved to fight with the Canaanites, as submitting only to God, their supreme Commander, and not waiting for any assistance from theirlegislator. 2. When, therefore, they had come to this resolution, as being bestfor them, they went against their enemies; but those enemies were notdismayed either at the attack itself, or at the great multitude thatmade it, and received them with great courage. Many of the Hebrews wereslain; and the remainder of the army, upon the disorder of theirtroops, were pursued, and fled, after a shameful manner, to their camp. Whereupon this unexpected misfortune made them quite despond; andthey hoped for nothing that was good; as gathering from it, that thisaffliction came from the wrath of God, because they rashly went out towar 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 thisvictory, and should be desirous of gaining still greater glory, andshould attack them, he resolved that it was proper to withdraw the armyinto the wilderness to a further distance from the Canaanites: sothe multitude gave themselves up again to his conduct, for they weresensible that, without his care for them, their affairs could not be ina good condition; and he caused the host to remove, and he went furtherinto the wilderness, as intending there to let them rest, and not topermit them to fight the Canaanites before God should afford them a morefavorable opportunity. CHAPTER 2. The Sedition Of Corah And Of The Multitude Against Moses, AndAgainst His Brother, Concerning The Priesthood. 1. That which is usually the case of great armies, and especially uponill success, to be hard to be pleased, and governed with difficulty, didnow befall the Jews; for they being in number six hundred thousand, and by reason of their great multitude not readily subject to theirgovernors, even in prosperity, they at this time were more than usuallyangry, both against one another and against their leader, because ofthe distress they were in, and the calamities they then endured. Such asedition overtook them, as we have not the like example either amongthe Greeks or the Barbarians, by which they were in danger of beingall destroyed, but were notwithstanding saved by Moses, who would notremember that he had been almost stoned to death by them. Nor did Godneglect to prevent their ruin; but, notwithstanding the indignitiesthey had offered their legislator and the laws, and disobedience to thecommandments which he had sent them by Moses, he delivered them fromthose terrible calamities which, without his providential care, had beenbrought upon them by this sedition. So I will first explain the causewhence this sedition arose, and then will give an account of thesedition itself; as also of what settlements made for their governmentafter it was over. 2. Corah, a Hebrew of principal account, both by his family and by hiswealth, one that was also able to speak well, and one that could easilypersuade the people by his speeches, saw that Moses was in an exceedinggreat dignity, and was at it, and envied him on that account, [he ofthe same tribe with Moses, and of kin to him, ] was particularly grieved, because he thought he better deserved that honorable post on accountof great riches, and not inferior to him in his birth. So he raised aclamor against him among the Levites, who were of the same tribe, andamong his kindred, saying, "That it was a very sad thing that theyshould overlook Moses, while hunted after and paved the way to glory forhimself, and by ill arts should obtain it, under the pretense of God'scommand, while, contrary to laws, he had given the priesthood to Aaron, the common suffrage of the multitude, but by his own vote, as bestowingdignities in a way on whom he pleased. " He added, "That this concealedway of imposing on them was harder to be borne than if it had been doneby an open force upon them, because he did now not only their powerwithout their consent, but even they were unapprised of his contrivancesagainst them; for whosoever is conscious to himself that he deserves anydignity, aims to get it by persuasion, and not by an arrogant method ofviolence; those that believe it impossible to obtain honors justly, makea show of goodness, and do not introduce force, but by cunning tricksgrow wickedly powerful. That it was proper for the multitude to punishsuch men, even while they think themselves concealed in their designs, and not suffer them to gain strength till they have them for their openenemies. For what account, " added he, "is Moses able to give, why he hasbestowed the priesthood on Aaron and his sons? for if God had determinedto bestow that honor on one of the tribe of Levi, I am more worthy of itthan he is; I myself being equal to Moses by my family, and superior tohim both in riches and in age: but if God had determined to bestow iton the eldest be, that of Reuben might have it most justly; and thenDathan, and Abiram, and [On, the son of] Peleth, would have it; forthese are the oldest men of that tribe, and potent on account of theirgreat wealth also. " 3. Now Corah, when he said this, had a mind to appear to take care ofthe public welfare, but in reality he was endeavoring to procure to havethat dignity transferred by the multitude to himself. Thus did he, outof a malignant design, but with discourse to those of his own tribe;when these words did gradually spread to more people, and when thehearers still added to what tended to the scandals that were cast uponthe whole army was full of them. Now of those that conspired with Corah, there were two hundred and fifty, and those of the principal men also, who were eager to have the priesthood taken away from Moses's brother, and to bring him into disgrace: nay, the multitude themselves wereprovoked to be seditious, and attempted to stone Moses, wad gatheredthemselves together after an indecent manner, with confusion anddisorder. And now all were, in a tumultuous manner, raising a before thetabernacle of God, to prosecute the tyrant, and to relieve the multitudefrom their slavery under him who, under color of the Divine laid violentinjunctions upon them; for had it been God who chose one that was tothe office of a priest, he would have raised person to that dignity, andwould not produced such a one as was inferior to many others nor havegiven him that office; and that in he had judged it fit to bestow it onAaron, he would have permitted it to the multitude to bestow it, and nothave left it to be bestowed by his own brother. 4. Now although Moses had a great while ago foreseen this calumny ofCorah, and had seen the people were irritated, yet was he not affrightedat it; but being of good courage, because given them right advice abouttheir affairs, and knowing that his brother had been made partaker ofthe priesthood at the command of God, and not by his own favor to him, he came to the assembly; and as for the multitude, he said not a word tothem, but spake as loud to Corah as he could; and being very skillful inmaking speeches, and having this natural talent, among others, that hecould greatly move the multitude with his discourses, he said, "O Corah, both thou and all these with thee [pointing to the two hundred and fiftymen] seem to be worthy of this honor; nor do I pretend but that thiswhole company may be worthy of the like dignity, although they maynot be so rich or so great as you are: nor have I taken and given thisoffice to my brother because he excelled others in riches, for thouexceedest us both in the greatness of thy wealth; [1] nor indeed becausehe was of an eminent family, for God, by giving us the same commonancestor, has made our families equal: nay, nor was it out of brotherlyaffection, which another might yet have justly done; for certainly, unless I had bestowed this honor out of regard to God, and to his laws, I had not passed by myself, and given it to another, as being nearerof kin to myself than to my brother, and having a closer intimacy withmyself than I have with him; for surely it would not be a wise thing forme to expose myself to the dangers of offending, and to bestow thehappy employment on this account upon another. But I am above such basepractices: nor would God have overlooked this matter, and seen himselfthus despised; nor would he have suffered you to be ignorant of what youwere to do, in order to please him; but he hath himself chosen one thatis to perform that sacred office to him, and thereby freed us fromthat care. So that it was not a thing that I pretend to give, but onlyaccording to the determination of God; I therefore propose it still tobe contended for by such as please to put in for it, only desiring thathe who has been already preferred, and has already obtained it, maybe allowed now also to offer himself for a candidate. He prefers yourpeace, and your living without sedition, to this honorable employment, although in truth it was with your approbation that he obtained it; forthough God were the donor, yet do we not offend when we think fit toaccept it with your good-will; yet would it have been an instance ofimpiety not to have taken that honorable employment when he offered it;nay, it had been exceedingly unreasonable, when God had thought fit anyone should have it for all time to come, and had made it secure and firmto him, to have refused it. However, he himself will judge again who itshall be whom he would have to offer sacrifices to him, and to have thedirection of matters of religion; for it is absurd that Corah, who isambitious of this honor, should deprive God of the power of giving it towhom he pleases. Put an end, therefore, to your sedition and disturbanceon this account; and tomorrow morning do every one of you that desirethe priesthood bring a censer from home, and come hither with incenseand fire: and do thou, O Corah, leave the judgment to God, and await tosee on which side he will give his determination upon this occasion, butdo not thou make thyself greater than God. Do thou also come, that thiscontest about this honorable employment may receive determination. AndI suppose we may admit Aaron without offense, to offer himself to thisscrutiny, since he is of the same lineage with thyself, and has donenothing in his priesthood that can be liable to exception. Come yetherefore together, and offer your incense in public before all thepeople; and when you offer it, he whose sacrifice God shall accept shallbe ordained to the priesthood, and shall be clear of the present calumnyon Aaron, as if I had granted him that favor because he was my brother. " CHAPTER 3. How Those That Stirred Up This Sedition Were Destroyed, According To The Will Of God; And How Aaron, Moses's Brother Both He AndHis Posterity, Retained The Priesthood. 1. When Moses had said this, the multitude left off the turbulentbehavior they had indulged, and the suspicion they had of Moses, andcommended what he had said; for those proposals were good, and wereso esteemed of the people. At that time therefore they dissolved theassembly. But on the next day they came to the congregation, in orderto be present at the sacrifice, and at the determination that was to bemade between the candidates for the priesthood. Now this congregationproved a turbulent one, and the multitude were in great suspense inexpectation of what was to be done; for some of them would have beenpleased if Moses had been convicted of evil practices, but the wisersort desired that they might be delivered from the present disorder anddisturbance; for they were afraid, that if this sedition went on, thegood order of their settlement would rather be destroyed; but thewhole body of the people do naturally delight in clamors against theirgovernors, and, by changing their opinions upon the harangues of everyspeaker, disturb the public tranquillity. And now Moses sent messengersfor Abiram and Dathan, and ordered them to come to the assembly, andwait there for the holy offices that were to be performed. But theyanswered the messenger, that they would not obey his summons; nay, wouldnot overlook Moses's behavior, who was growing too great for them byevil practices. Now when Moses heard of this their answer, he desiredthe heads of the people to follow him, and he went to the factionof Dathan, not thinking it any frightful thing at all to go to theseinsolent people; so they made no opposition, but went along with him. But Dathan, and his associates, when they understood that Moses and theprincipal of the people were coming to them, came out, with their wivesand children, and stood before their tents, and looked to see what Moseswould do. They had also their servants about them 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 outwith a loud voice, in order to be heard by the whole multitude, andsaid, "O Lord of the creatures that are in the heaven, in the earth, andin the sea; for thou art the most authentic witness to what I have done, that it has all been done by thy appointment, and that it was thou thataffordedst us assistance when we attempted any thing, and showedst mercyon the Hebrews in all their distresses; do thou come now, and hear allthat I say, for no action or thought escapes thy knowledge; so that thouwilt not disdain to speak what is true, for my vindication, without anyregard to the ungrateful imputations of these men. As for what was donebefore I was born, thou knowest best, as not learning them by report, but seeing them, and being present with them when they were done; butfor what has been done of late, and which these men, although they knowthem well enough, unjustly pretend to suspect, be thou my witness. WhenI lived a private quiet life, I left those good things which, by my owndiligence, and by thy counsel, I enjoyed with Raguel my father-in-law;and I gave myself up to this people, and underwent many miseries ontheir account. I also bore great labors at first, in order to obtainliberty for them, and now in order to their preservation; and havealways showed myself ready to assist them in every distress of theirs. Now, therefore, since I am suspected by those very men whose being isowing to my labors, come thou, as it is reasonable to hope thou wilt;thou, I say, who showedst me that fire at mount Sinai, and madest me tohear its voice, and to see the several wonders which that place affordedthou who commandedst me to go to Egypt, and declare thy will to thispeople; thou who disturbest the happy estate of the Egyptians, andgavest us the opportunity of flying away from our under them, and madestthe dominion of Pharaoh inferior to my dominion; thou who didst make thesea dry land for us, when we knew not whither to go, and didst overwhelmthe Egyptians with those destructive waves which had been divided forus; thou who didst bestow upon us the security of weapons when we werenaked; thou who didst make the fountains that were corrupted to flow, soas to be fit for drinking, and didst furnish us with water that came outof the rocks, when we were in want of it; thou who didst preserve ourlives with [quails, which was] food from the sea, when the fruits of theground failed us; thou didst send us such food from heaven as had neverbeen seen before; thou who didst suggest to us the knowledge of thylaws, and appoint to us a of government, --come thou, I say, O Lord ofthe whole world, and that as such a Judge and a Witness to me as cannotbe bribed, and show how I never admitted of any gift against justicefrom any of the Hebrews; and have never condemned a man that ought tohave been acquitted, on account of one that was rich; and have neverattempted to hurt this commonwealth. I am now and am suspected of athing the remotest from my intentions, as if I had given the preisthoodto Aaron, not at thy command, but out own favor to him; do thou at thistime demonstrate that all things are administered by thy providence andthat nothing happens by chance, but is governed by thy will, and therebyattains its end: as also demonstrate that thou takest care that havedone good to the Hebrews; demonstrate this, I say, by the punishmentof Abiram and Dathan, who condemn thee as an insensible Being, and oneovercome by my contrivances. This thou do by inflicting such an openpunishment on these men who so madly fly in the face of thy glory, aswill take them out of the world, not in an manner, but so that it mayappear they do die after the manner of other men: let that ground whichthey tread upon open about them and consume them, with their familiesand goods. This will be a demonstration of thy power to all and thismethod of their sufferings will be an instruction of wisdom for thosethat entertain profane sentiments of thee. By this means I shall bea good servant, in the precepts thou hast given by me. But if thecalumnies they have raised against me be true, mayst thou preserve thesemen from every evil accident, and bring all that destruction on me whichI have imprecated upon them. And when thou hast inflicted punishmenton those that have endeavored to deal unjustly with this people, bestow upon them concord and peace. Save this multitude that follow thycommandments, and preserve them free from harm, and let them not partakeof the punishment of those that have sinned; for thou knowest thyself itis not just, that for the wickedness of those men the whole body of theIsraelites should suffer punishment. " 3. When Moses had said this, with tears in his eyes, the ground wasmoved on a sudden; and the agitation that set it in motion was likethat which the wind produces in waves of the sea. The people were allaftrighted; and the ground that was about their tents sunk down at thegreat noise, with a terrible sound, and carried whatsoever was dear tothe seditious into itself, who so entirely perished, that there was notthe least appearance that any man had ever been seen there, the earththat had opened itself about them, closing again, and becoming entire asit was before, insomuch that such as saw it afterward did not perceivethat any such accident had happened to it. Thus did these men perish, and become a demonstration of the power of God. And truly, any one wouldlament them, not only on account of this calamity that befell them, which yet deserves our commiseration, but also because their kindredwere pleased with their sufferings; for they forgot the relation theybare to them, and at the sight of this sad accident approved of thejudgment given against them; and because they looked upon the peopleabout Dathan as pestilent men, they thought they perished as such, anddid 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 that he whosesacrifice God was best pleased with might be ordained to that function. There attended two hundred and fifty men, who indeed were honored by thepeople, not only on account of the power of their ancestors, but also onaccount of their own, in which they excelled the others: Aaron alsoand Corah came forth, and they all offered incense, in those censers oftheirs which they brought with them, before the tabernacle. Hereuponso great a fire shone out as no one ever saw in any that is made by thehand of man, neither in those eruptions out of the earth that are causedby subterraneous burn-rags, nor in such fires as arise of their ownaccord in the woods, when the agitation is caused by the trees rubbingone against another: but this fire was very bright, and had a terribleflame, such as is kindled at the command of God; by whose irruption onthem, all the company, and Corah himself, were destroyed, [2] and thisso entirely, that their very bodies left no remains behind them. Aaronalone was preserved, and not at all hurt by the fire, because it was Godthat sent the fire to burn those only who ought to be burned. HereuponMoses, after these men were destroyed, was desirous that the memory ofthis judgment might be delivered down to posterity, and that future agesmight be acquainted with it; and so he commanded Eleazar, the son ofAaron, to put their censers near the brazen altar, that they might be amemorial to posterity of what these men suffered, for supposing that thepower of God might be eluded. And thus Aaron was now no longer esteemedto have the priesthood by the favor of Moses, but by the public judgmentof God; and thus he and his children peaceably enjoyed that honorafterward. CHAPTER 4. What Happened To The Hebrews During Thirty-Eight Years In TheWilderness. 1. However, this sedition was so far from ceasing upon this destruction, that it grew much stronger, and became more intolerable. And theoccasion of its growing worse was of that nature, as made it likelythe 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'sfavor to Moses; they therefore laid the blame upon him that God was soangry, and that this happened not so much because of the wickedness ofthose that were punished, as because Moses procured the punishment;and that these men had been destroyed without any sin of theirs, onlybecause they were zealous about the Divine worship; as also, that he whohad been the cause of this diminution of the people, by destroying somany men, and those the most excellent of them all, besides his escapingany punishment himself, had now given the priesthood to his brother sofirmly, that nobody could any longer dispute it with him; for no oneelse, to be sure, could now put in for it, since he must have seen thosethat first did so to have miserably perished. Nay, besides this, thekindred of those that were destroyed made great entreaties to themultitude to abate the arrogance of Moses, because it would be safestfor them so to do. 2. Now Moses, upon his hearing for a good while that the people weretumultuous, was afraid that they would attempt some other innovation, and that some great and sad calamity would be the consequence. He calledthe multitude to a congregation, and patiently heard what apology theyhad to make for themselves, without opposing them, and this lest heshould imbitter the multitude: he only desired the heads of the tribesto bring their rods, [3] with the names of their tribes inscribed uponthem, and that he should receive the priesthood in whose rod God shouldgive a sign. This was agreed to. So the rest brought their rods, as didAaron also, who had written the tribe of Levi on his rod. These rodsMoses laid up in the tabernacle of God. On the next day he brought outthe rods, which were known from one another by those who brought them, they having distinctly noted them, as had the multitude also; and asto the rest, in the same form Moses had received them, in that they sawthem still; but they also saw buds and branches grown out of Aaron'srod, with ripe fruits upon them; they were almonds, the rod having beencut out of that tree. The people were so amazed at this strange sight, that though Moses and Aaron were before under some degree of hatred, they now laid that hatred aside, and began to admire the judgment of Godconcerning them; so that hereafter they applauded what God had decreed, and permitted Aaron to enjoy the priesthood peaceably. And thus Godordained him priest three several times, and he retained that honorwithout further disturbance. And hereby this sedition of the Hebrews, which had been a great one, and had lasted a great while, was at lastcomposed. 3. And now Moses, because the tribe of Levi was made free from war andwarlike expeditions, and was set apart for the Divine worship, lest theyshould want and seek after the necessaries of life, and so neglect thetemple, commanded the Hebrews, according to the will of God, that whenthey should gain the possession of the land of Canaan, they shouldassign forty-eight good and fair cities to the Levites; and permit themto enjoy their suburbs, as far as the limit of two thousand cubits wouldextend from the walls of the city. And besides this, he appointed thatthe 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 tribereceives of the multitude; but I think it necessary to set down what ispaid by all, peculiarly to the priests. 4. Accordingly he commanded the Levites to yield up to the prieststhirteen of their forty-eight cities, and to set apart for them thetenth part of the tithes which they every year receive of the people;as also, that it was but just to offer to God the first-fruits of theentire product of the ground; and that they should offer the first-bornof those four-footed beasts that are appointed for sacrifices, if it bea male, to the priests, to be slain, that they and their entire familiesmay eat them in the holy city; but that the owners of those first-bornwhich are not appointed for sacrifices in the laws of our country, should bring a shekel and a half in their stead: but for the first-bornof a man, five shekels: that they should also have the first-fruits outof the shearing of the sheep; and that when any baked bread corn, andmade loaves of it, they should give somewhat of what they had baked tothem. Moreover, when any have made a sacred vow, I mean those that arecalled Nazarites, that suffer their hair to grow long, and use no wine, when they consecrate their hair, [4] and offer it for a sacrifice, theyare to allot that hair for the priests [to be thrown into the fire]. Such also as dedicate themselves to God, as a corban, which denotes whatthe Greeks call a gift, when they are desirous of being freed from thatministration, are to lay down money for the priests; thirty shekels ifit be a woman, and fifty if it be a man; but if any be too poor to paythe appointed sum, it shall be lawful for the priests to determine thatsum as they think fit. And if any slay beasts at home for a privatefestival, but not for a religious one, they are obliged to bring the mawand the cheek, [or breast, ] and the right shoulder of the sacrifice, to the priests. With these Moses contrived that the priests should beplentifully maintained, besides what they had out of those offerings forsins which the people gave them, as I have set it down in the foregoingbook. He also ordered, that out of every thing allotted for the priests, their servants, [their sons, ] their daughters, and their wives, shouldpartake, as well as themselves, excepting what came to them out of thesacrifices that were offered for sins; for of those none but the malesof the family of the priests might eat, and this in the temple also, andthat the same day they were offered. 5. When Moses had made these constitutions, after the sedition was over, he removed, together with the whole army, and came to the bordersof Idumea. He then sent ambassadors to the king of the Idumeans, anddesired him to give him a passage through his country; and agreed tosend him what hostages he should desire, to secure him from an injury. He desired him also, that he would allow his army liberty to buyprovisions; and, if he insisted upon it, he would pay down a price forthe very water they should drink. But the king was not pleased withthis embassage from Moses: nor did he allow a passage for the army, butbrought his people armed to meet Moses, and to hinder them, in case theyshould endeavor to force their passage. Upon which Moses consulted Godby the oracle, who would not have him begin the war first; and so hewithdrew his forces, and traveled round about through the wilderness. 6. Then it was that Miriam, the sister of Moses, came to her end, havingcompleted her fortieth year [5] since she left Egypt, on the first [6]day of the lunar month Xanthicus. They then made a public funeral forher, at a great expense. She was buried upon a certain mountain, whichthey call Sin: and when they had mourned for her thirty days, Mosespurified the people after this manner: He brought a heifer that hadnever been used to the plough or to husbandry, that was complete in allits parts, and entirely of a red color, at a little distance from thecamp, into a place perfectly clean. This heifer was slain by the highpriest, and her blood sprinkled with his finger seven times beforethe tabernacle of God; after this, the entire heifer was burnt in thatstate, together with its skin and entrails; and they threw cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet wool, into the midst of the fire; then a cleanman gathered all her ashes together, and laid them in a place perfectlyclean. When therefore any persons were defiled by a dead body, they puta little of these ashes into spring water, with hyssop, and, dippingpart of these ashes in it, they sprinkled them with it, both on thethird day, and on the seventh, and after that they were clean. Thishe enjoined them to do also when the tribes should come into their ownland. 7. Now when this purification, which their leader made upon the mourningfor his sister, as it has been now described, was over, he caused thearmy to remove and to march through the wilderness and through Arabia;and when he came to a place which the Arabians esteem their metropolis, which was formerly called Arce, but has now the name of Petra, at thisplace, which was encompassed with high mountains, Aaron went up one ofthem in the sight of the whole army, Moses having before told him thathe was to die, for this place was over against them. He put off hispontifical garments, and delivered them to Eleazar his son, to whom thehigh priesthood belonged, because he was the elder brother; and diedwhile the multitude looked upon him. He died in the same year wherein helost his sister, having lived in all a hundred twenty and three years. He died on the first day of that lunar month which is called by theAthenians Hecatombaeon, by the Macedonians Lous, but by the HebrewsAbba. CHAPTER 5. How Moses Conquered Sihon And Og Kings Of The Amorites, AndDestroyed Their Whole Army And Then Divided Their Land By Lot To TwoTribes And A Half Of The Hebrews. 1. The people mourned for Aaron thirty days, and when this mourningwas over, Moses removed the army from that place, and came to theriver Arnon, which, issuing out of the mountains of Arabia, and runningthrough all that wilderness, falls into the lake Asphaltitis, andbecomes the limit between the land of the Moabites and the land of theAmorites. This land is fruitful, and sufficient to maintain a greatnumber of men, with the good things it produces. Moses therefore sentmessengers to Sihon, the king of this country, desiring that he wouldgrant his army a passage, upon what security he should please torequire; he promised that he should be no way injured, neither as tothat country which Sihon governed, nor as to its inhabitants; andthat he would buy his provisions at such a price as should be to theiradvantage, even though he should desire to sell them their very water. But Sihon refused his offer, and put his army into battle array, and waspreparing every thing in order to hinder their passing over Arnon. 2. When Moses saw that the Amorite king was disposed to enter uponhostilities with them, he thought he ought not to bear that insult; and, determining to wean the Hebrews from their indolent temper, and preventthe disorders which arose thence, which had been the occasion of theirformer sedition, [nor indeed were they now thoroughly easy in theirminds, ] 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 washimself very courageous, and ready to proceed to fighting. Accordinglyhe encouraged the soldiers; and he desired of them that they would takethe pleasure of fighting, now God gave them leave so to do. They then, upon the receipt of this permission, which they so much longed for, put on their whole armor, and set about the work without delay. But theAmorite king was not now like to himself when the Hebrews were ready toattack him; but both he himself was affrighted at the Hebrews, and hisarmy, which before had showed themselves to be of good courage, werethen found to be timorous: so they could not sustain the first onset, nor bear up against the Hebrews, but fled away, as thinking this wouldafford them a more likely way for their escape than fighting, for theydepended upon their cities, which were strong, from which yet theyreaped no advantage when they were forced to fly to them; for as soon asthe Hebrews saw them giving ground, they immediately pursued them close;and when they had broken their ranks, they greatly terrified them, andsome of them broke off from the rest, and ran away to the cities. Nowthe Hebrews pursued them briskly, and obstinately persevered in thelabors they had already undergone; and being very skillful in slinging, and very dexterous in throwing of darts, or any thing else of that kind, and also having nothing but light armor, which made them quick in thepursuit, they overtook their enemies; and for those that were mostremote, and could not be overtaken, they reached them by their slingsand their bows, so that many were slain; and those that escaped theslaughter were sorely wounded, and these were more distressed withthirst than with any of those that fought against them, for it was thesummer season; and when the greatest number of them were brought downto the river out of a desire to drink, as also when others fled awayby troops, the Hebrews came round them, and shot at them; so that, whatwith darts and what 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 abundanceof fruits, and the army went all over it without fear, and fed theircattle upon it; and they took the enemies prisoners, for they could noway put a stop to them, since all the fighting men were destroyed. Such was the destruction which overtook the Amorites, who were neithersagacious in counsel, nor courageous in action. Hereupon the Hebrewstook possession of their land, which is a country situate between threerivers, and naturally resembled an island: the river Arnon being itssouthern; the river Jabbok determining its northern side, which runninginto Jordan loses its own name, and takes the other; while Jordan itselfruns along by it, on its western coast. 3. When matters were come to this state, Og, the king of Gilead andGaulanitis, fell upon the Israelites. He brought an army with him, andin haste to the assistance of his friend Sihon: but though he found himalready slain, yet did he resolve still to come and fight the Hebrews, supposing he should be too hard for them, and being desirous to trytheir valor; but failing of his hope, he was both himself slain in thebattle, and all his army was destroyed. So Moses passed over the riverJabbok, and overran the kingdom of Og. He overthrew their cities, andslew all their inhabitants, who yet exceeded in riches all the men inthat part of the continent, on account of the goodness of the soil, andthe great quantity of their wealth. Now Og had very few equals, eitherin the largeness of his body, or handsomeness of his appearance. Hewas also a man of great activity in the use of his hands, so that hisactions were not unequal to the vast largeness and handsome appearanceof his body. And men could easily guess at his strength and magnitudewhen they took his bed at Rabbath, the royal city of the Ammonites; itsstructure was of iron, its breadth four cubits, and its length a cubitmore than double thereto. However, his fall did not only improve thecircumstances of the Hebrews for the present, but by his death he wasthe occasion of further good success to them; for they presently tookthose sixty cities, which were encompassed with excellent walls, andhad been subject to him, and all got both in general and in particular agreat prey. CHAPTER 6. Concerning Balaam The Prophet And What Kind Of Man He Was. 1. Now Moses, when he had brought his army to Jordan; pitched his campin the great plain over against Jericho. This city is a very happysituation, and very fit for producing palm-trees and balsam. And now theIsraelites began to be very proud of themselves, and were very eager forfighting. Moses then, after he had offered for a few days sacrifices ofthanksgiving to God, and feasted the people, sent a party of armed mento 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 thatfollows:-- 2. When Balak, the king of the Moabites, who had from his ancestors afriendship and league with the Midianites, saw how great the Israeliteswere grown, he was much affrighted on account of his own and hiskingdom's danger; for he was not acquainted with this, that the Hebrewswould not meddle with any other country, but were to be contented withthe possession of the land of Canaan, God having forbidden them to goany farther [7] So he, with more haste than wisdom, resolved to makean attempt upon them by words; but he did not judge it prudent to fightagainst them, after they had such prosperous successes, and even becameout of ill successes more happy than before, but he thought to hinderthem, if he could, from growing greater, and so he resolved to sendambassadors to the Midianites about them. Now these Midianites knowingthere was one Balaam, who lived by Euphrates, and was the greatest ofthe prophets at that time, and one that was in friendship with them, sent some of their honorable princes along with the ambassadors ofBalak, to entreat the prophet to come to them, that he might imprecatecurses to the destruction of the Israelites. So Balsam received theambassadors, and treated them very kindly; and when he had supped, heinquired what was God's will, and what this matter was for which theMidianites entreated him to come to them. But when God opposed hisgoing, he came to the ambassadors, and told them that he was himselfvery willing and desirous to comply with their request, but informedthem that God was opposite to his intentions, even that God whohad raised him to great reputation on account of the truth of hispredictions; for that this army, which they entreated him to come andcurse, was in the favor of God; on which account he advised them to gohome again, and not to persist in their enmity against the Israelites;and when he had given them that answer, he dismissed the ambassadors. 3. Now the Midianites, at the earnest request and fervent entreaties ofBalak, sent other ambassadors to Balaam, who, desiring to gratify themen, inquired again of God; but he was displeased at [second] trial [8]and bid him by no means to contradict the ambassadors. Now Balsam didnot imagine that God gave this injunction in order to deceive him, sohe went along with the ambassadors; but when the divine angel met him inthe way, when he was in a narrow passage, and hedged in with a wall onboth sides, the ass on which Balaam rode understood that it was a divinespirit that met him, and thrust Balaam to one of the walls, withoutregard to the stripes which Balaam, when he was hurt by the wall, gaveher; but when the ass, upon the angel's continuing to distress her, andupon the stripes which were given her, fell down, by the will of God, she made use of the voice of a man, and complained of Balaam as actingunjustly to her; that whereas he had no fault find with her in herformer service to him, he now inflicted stripes upon her, as notunderstanding that she was hindered from serving him in what he wasnow going about, by the providence of God. And when he was disturbedby reason of the voice of the ass, which was that of a man, the angelplainly appeared to him, and blamed him for the stripes he had given hisass; and informed him that the brute creature was not in fault, but thathe was himself come to obstruct his journey, as being contrary to thewill of God. Upon which Balaam was afraid, and was preparing to returnback again: yet did God excite him to go on his intended journey, but added this injunction, that he should declare nothing but what hehimself should suggest to his mind. 4. When God had given him this charge, he came to Balak; and when theking had entertained him in a magnificent manner, he desired him to goto one of the mountains to take a view of the state of the camp ofthe Hebrews. Balak himself also came to the mountain, and brought theprophet along with him, with a royal attendance. This mountain lay overtheir heads, and was distant sixty furlongs from the camp. Now when hesaw them, he desired the king to build him seven altars, and to bringhim as many bulls and rams; to which desire the king did presentlyconform. He then slew the sacrifices, and offered them asburnt-offerings, that he might observe some signal of the flight of theHebrews. Then said he, "Happy is this people, on whom God bestowsthe possession of innumerable good things, and grants them his ownprovidence to be their assistant and their guide; so that there is notany nation among mankind but you will be esteemed superior to them invirtue, and in the earnest prosecution of the best rules of life, andof such as are pure from wickedness, and will leave those rules to yourexcellent children; and this out of the regard that God bears to you, and the provision of such things for you as may render you happier thanany other people under the sun. You shall retain that land to which hehath sent you, and it shall ever be under the command of your children;and both all the earth, as well as the seas, shall be filled with yourglory: and you shall be sufficiently numerous to supply the world ingeneral, and every region of it in particular, with inhabitants out ofyour stock. However, O blessed army! wonder that you are become so manyfrom one father: and truly, the land of Canaan can now hold you, as being yet comparatively few; but know ye that the whole world isproposed to be your place of habitation for ever. The multitude of yourposterity also shall live as well in the islands as on the continent, and that more in number than are the stars of heaven. And when you arebecome so many, God will not relinquish the care of you, but will affordyou an abundance of all good things in times of peace, with victoryand dominion in times of war. May the children of your enemies have aninclination to fight against you; and may they be so hardy as to cometo arms, and to assault you in battle, for they will not return withvictory, nor will their return be agreeable to their children and wives. To so great a degree of valor will you be raised by the providence ofGod, who is able to diminish the affluence of some, and to supply thewants of others. " 5. Thus did Balaam speak by inspiration, as not being in his own power, but moved to say what he did by the Divine Spirit. But then Balak wasdispleased, and said he had broken the contract he had made, whereby hewas to come, as he and his confederates had invited him, by the promiseof great presents: for whereas he came to curse their enemies, he hadmade an encomium upon them, and had declared that they were the happiestof men. To which Balaam replied, "O Balak, if thou rightly considerestthis whole matter, canst thou suppose that it is in our power to besilent, or to say any thing, when the Spirit of God seizes upon us?--forhe puts such words as he pleases in our mouths, and such discourses aswe are not ourselves conscious of. I well remember by what entreatiesboth you and the Midianites so joyfully brought me hither, and on thataccount I took this journey. It was my prayer, that I might not put anyaffront upon you, as to what you desired of me; but God is more powerfulthan the purposes I had made to serve you; for those that take upon themto foretell the affairs of mankind, as from their own abilities, areentirely unable to do it, or to forbear to utter what God suggests tothem, or to offer violence to his will; for when he prevents us andenters into us, nothing that we say is our own. I then did not intendto praise this army, nor to go over the several good things which Godintended to do to their race; but since he was so favorable to them, and so ready to bestow upon them a happy life and eternal glory, hesuggested the declaration of those things to me: but now, because itis my desire to oblige thee thyself, as well as the Midianites, whoseentreaties it is not decent for me to reject, go to, let us again rearother altars, and offer the like sacrifices that we did before, that Imay see whether I can persuade God to permit me to bind these men withcurses. " Which, when Balak had agreed to, God would not, even uponsecond sacrifices, consent to his cursing the Israelites. [9] Then fellBalaam upon his face, and foretold what calamities would befall theseveral kings of the nations, and the most eminent cities, some of whichof old were not so much as inhabited; which events have come to passamong the several people concerned, both in the foregoing ages, and inthis, till my own memory, both by sea and by land. From which completionof all these predictions that he made, one may easily guess that therest will have their completion in time to come. 6. But Balak being very angry that the Israelites were not cursed, sentaway Balaam without thinking him worthy of any honor. Whereupon, when hewas just upon his journey, in order to pass the Euphrates, he sentfor Balak, and for the princes of the Midianites, and spake thus tothem:--"O Balak, and you Midianites that are here present, [for I amobliged even without the will of God to gratify you, ] it is true noentire destruction can seize upon the nation of the Hebrews, neither bywar, nor by plague, nor by scarcity of the fruits of the earth, nor canany other unexpected accident be their entire ruin; for the providenceof God is concerned to preserve them from such a misfortune; nor will itpermit any such calamity to come upon them whereby they may all perish;but some small misfortunes, and those for a short time, whereby theymay appear to be brought low, may still befall them; but after that theywill flourish again, to the terror of those that brought those mischiefsupon them. So that if you have a mind to gain a victory over them for ashort space of time, you will obtain it by following my directions:--Doyou therefore set out the handsomest of such of your daughters asare most eminent for beauty, [10] and proper to force and conquer themodesty of those that behold them, and these decked and trimmed to thehighest degree able. Then do you send them to be near camp, and givethem in charge, that the young men of the Hebrews desire their allow itthem; and when they see they are enamored of them, let them take leaves;and if they entreat them to stay, let give their consent till they havepersuaded leave off their obedience to their own laws, the worship ofthat God who established them to worship the gods of the Midianitesand for by this means God will be angry at them [11]. " Accordingly, whenBalaam had suggested counsel to them, he went his way. 7. So when the Midianites had sent their daughters, as Balaam hadexhorted them, the Hebrew men were allured by their beauty, and camewith them, and besought them not to grudge them the enjoyment oftheir beauty, nor to deny them their conversation. These daughters ofMidianites received their words gladly, and consented to it, and staidwith them; but when they brought them to be enamored of them, and theirinclinations to them were grown to ripeness, they began to thinkof departing from them: then it was that these men became greatlydisconsolate at the women's departure, and they were urgent with themnot to leave them, but begged they would continue there, and becometheir wives; and they promised them they should be owned as mistressesall they had. This they said with an oath, and called God for thearbitrator of what they promised; and this with tears in their eyes, and all such marks of concern, as might shew how miserable they thoughtthemselves without them, and so might move their compassion for them. Sothe women, as soon as they perceived they had made their slaves, and hadcaught them with their conservation began to speak thus to them:-- 8. "O you illustrious young men! we have of our own at home, and greatplenty of good things there, together with the natural, affectionateparents and friends; nor is it out of our want of any such things thatwe came to discourse with you; nor did we admit of your invitation withdesign to prostitute the beauty of our bodies for gain; but taking youfor brave and worthy men, we agreed to your request, that we might treatyou with such honors as hospitality required: and now seeing you saythat you have a great affection for us, and are troubled when you thinkwe are departing, we are not averse to your entreaties; and if wemay receive such assurance of your good-will as we think can be alonesufficient, we will be glad to lead our lives with you as your wives;but we are afraid that you will in time be weary of our company, and will then abuse us, and send us back to our parents, after anignominious manner. " And they desired that they would excuse them intheir guarding against that danger. But the young men professed theywould give them any assurance they should desire; nor did they at allcontradict what they requested, so great was the passion they had forthem. "If then, " said they, "this be your resolution, since you make useof such customs and conduct of life as are entirely different fromall other men, [12] insomuch that your kinds of food are peculiar toyourselves, and your kinds of drink not common to others, it will beabsolutely necessary, if you would have us for your wives, that you dowithal worship our gods. Nor can there be any other demonstration of thekindness which you say you already have, and promise to have hereafterto us, than this, that you worship the same gods that we do. For hasany one reason to complain, that now you are come into this country, youshould worship the proper gods of the same country? especially while ourgods are common to all men, and yours such as belong to nobody else butyourselves. " So they said they must either come into such methods ofdivine worship as all others came into, or else they must look out foranother world, wherein they may live by themselves, according to theirown laws. 9. Now the young men were induced by the fondness they had for thesewomen to think they spake very well; so they gave themselves up to whatthey persuaded them, and transgressed their own laws, and supposingthere were many gods, and resolving that they would sacrifice to themaccording to the laws of that country which ordained them, they bothwere delighted with their strange food, and went on to do every thingthat the women would have them do, though in contradiction to their ownlaws; so far indeed that this transgression was already gone through thewhole army of the young men, and they fell into a sedition that was muchworse than the former, and into danger of the entire abolition of theirown institutions; for when once the youth had tasted of these strangecustoms, they went with insatiable inclinations into them; and evenwhere some of the principal men were illustrious on account of thevirtues of their fathers, they also were corrupted together with therest. 10. Even Zimri, the head of the tribe of Simeon accompanied with Cozbi, a Midianitish women, who was the daughter of Sur, a man of authorityin that country; and being desired by his wife to disregard the laws ofMoses, and to follow those she was used to, he complied with her, andthis both by sacrificing after a manner different from his own, and bytaking a stranger to wife. When things were thus, Moses was afraid thatmatters should grow worse, and called the people to a congregation, butthen accused nobody by name, as unwilling to drive those into despairwho, by lying concealed, might come to repentance; but he said that theydid not do what was either worthy of themselves, or of their fathers, by preferring pleasure to God, and to the living according to his will;that it was fit they should change their courses while their affairswere still in a good state, and think that to be true fortitude whichoffers not violence to their laws, but that which resists their lusts. And besides that, he said it was not a reasonable thing, when they hadlived soberly in the wilderness, to act madly now when they were inprosperity; and that they ought not to lose, now they have abundance, what they had gained when they had little:--and so did he endeavor, bysaying this, to correct the young inert, and to bring them to repentancefor what they had done. 11. But Zimri arose up after him, and said, "Yes, indeed, Moses, thouart at liberty to make use of such laws as thou art so fond of, andhast, by accustoming thyself to them, made them firm; otherwise, ifthings had not been thus, thou hadst often been punished before now, andhadst known that the Hebrews are not easily put upon; but thou shalt nothave me one of thy followers in thy tyrannical commands, for thou dostnothing else hitherto, but, under pretense of laws, and of God, wickedlyimpose on us slavery, and gain dominion to thyself, while thou deprivestus of the sweetness of life, which consists in acting according to ourown wills, and is the right of free-men, and of those that have no lordover them. Nay, indeed, this man is harder upon the Hebrews then werethe Egyptians themselves, as pretending to punish, according to hislaws, every one's acting what is most agreeable to himself; but thouthyself better deservest to suffer punishment, who presumest to abolishwhat every one acknowledges to be what is good for him, and aimest tomake 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 denyto be according to my own sentiments. I have married, as thou sayestrightly, a strange woman, and thou hearest what I do from myself as fromone that is free, for truly I did not intend to conceal myself. I alsoown that I sacrificed to those gods to whom you do not think it fit tosacrifice; and I think it right to come at truth by inquiring of manypeople, and not like one that lives under tyranny, to suffer the wholehope of my life to depend upon one man; nor shall any one find cause torejoice who declares himself to have more authority over my actions thanmyself. " 12. Now when Zimri had said these things, about what he and some othershad wickedly done, the people held their peace, both out of fear of whatmight come upon them, and because they saw that their legislator was notwilling to bring his insolence before the public any further, or openlyto contend with him; for he avoided that, lest many should imitate theimpudence of his language, and thereby disturb the multitude. Uponthis the assembly was dissolved. However, the mischievous attempt hadproceeded further, if Zimri had not been first slain, which came to passon the following occasion:--Phineas, a man in other respects betterthan the rest of the young men, and also one that surpassed hiscontemporaries in the dignity of his father, [for he was the son ofEleazar the high priest, and the grandson of [Aaron] Moses's brother, ]who was greatly troubled at what was done by Zimri, he resolved inearnest to inflict punishment on him, before his unworthy behaviorshould grow stronger by impunity, and in order to prevent thistransgression from proceeding further, which would happen if theringleaders were not punished. He was of so great magnanimity, both instrength of mind and body, that when he undertook any very dangerousattempt, he did not leave it off till he overcame it, and got an entirevictory. So he came into Zimri's tent, and slew him with his javelin, and with it he slew Cozbi also, Upon which all those young men thathad a regard to virtue, and aimed to do a glorious action, imitatedPhineas's boldness, and slew those that were found to be guilty of thesame crime with Zimri. Accordingly many of those that had transgressedperished by the magnanimous valor of these young men; and the rest allperished by a plague, which distemper God himself inflicted upon them;so that all those their kindred, who, instead of hindering them fromsuch wicked actions, as they ought to have done, had persuaded them togo on, were esteemed by God as partners in their wickedness, and died. Accordingly there perished out of the army no fewer than fourteen [13][twenty-four] thousand at this time. 13. This was the cause why Moses was provoked to send an army to destroythe Midianites, concerning which expedition we shall speak presently, when we have first related what we have omitted; for it is but just notto pass over our legislator's due encomium, on account of his conducthere, because, although this Balaam, who was sent for by the Midianitesto curse the Hebrews, and when he was hindered from doing it by DivineProvidence, did still suggest that advice to them, by making use ofwhich our enemies had well nigh corrupted the whole multitude of theHebrews with their wiles, till some of them were deeply infected withtheir opinions; yet did he do him great honor, by setting down hisprophecies in writing. And while it was in his power to claim this gloryto himself, and make men believe they were his own predictions, therebeing no one that could be a witness against him, and accuse him for sodoing, he still gave his attestation to him, and did him the honor tomake mention of him on this account. But let every one think of thesematters as he pleases. CHAPTER 7. How The Hebrews Fought With The Midianites, And OvercameThem. 1. Now Moses sent an army against the land of Midian, for the causesforementioned, in all twelve thousand, taking an equal number out ofevery tribe, and appointed Phineas for their commander; of which Phineaswe made mention a little before, as he that had guarded the laws of theHebrews, and had inflicted punishment on Zimri when he had transgressedthem. Now the Midianites perceived beforehand how the Hebrews werecoming, and would suddenly be upon them: so they assembled their armytogether, and fortified the entrances into their country, and thereawaited the enemy's coming. When they were come, and they had joinedbattle with them, an immense multitude of the Midianites fell; nor couldthey be numbered, they were so very many: and among them fell all theirkings, five in number, viz. Evi, Zur, Reba, Hur, and Rekem, who was ofthe same name with a city, the chief and capital of all Arabia, which isstill now so called by the whole Arabian nation, Arecem, from the nameof the king that built it; but is by the Greeks called--Petra. Now whenthe enemies were discomfited, the Hebrews spoiled their country, andtook a great prey, and destroyed the men that were its inhabitants, together with the women; only they let the virgins alone, as Moses hadcommanded Phineas to do, who indeed came back, bringing with him an armythat had received no harm, and a great deal of prey; fifty-two thousandbeeves, seventy-five thousand six hundred sheep, sixty thousand asses, with an immense quantity of gold and silver furniture, which theMidianites made use of in their houses; for they were so wealthy, thatthey were very luxurious. There were also led captive about thirty-twothousand virgins. [14] So Moses parted the prey into parts, and gave onefiftieth part to Eleazar and the two priests, and another fiftieth partto the Levites; and distributed the rest of the prey among the people. After which they lived happily, as having obtained an abundance of goodthings by their valor, and there being no misfortune that attended them, or hindered their enjoyment of that happiness. 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 commanderof the army, if they should at any time stand in need of such a one; andthis was done by the command of God, that to him the care of the publicshould be committed. Now Joshua had been instructed in all those kindsof learning which concerned the laws and God himself, and Moses had beenhis instructor. 3. At this time it was that the two tribes of Gad and Reuben, and thehalf tribe of Manasseh, abounded in a multitude of cattle, as well as inall other kinds of prosperity; whence they had a meeting, and in a bodycame and besought Moses to give them, as their peculiar portion, thatland of the Amorites which they had taken by right of war, because itwas fruitful, and good for feeding of cattle; but Moses, supposing thatthey were afraid of fighting with the Canaanites, and invented thisprovision for their cattle as a handsome excuse for avoiding that war, he called them arrant cowards, and said they had only contrived a decentexcuse for that cowardice; and that they had a mind to live in luxuryand ease, while all the rest were laboring with great pains to obtainthe land they were desirous to have; and that they were not willing tomarch along, and undergo the remaining hard service, whereby they were, under the Divine promise, to pass over Jordan, and overcome those ourenemies which God had shown them, and so obtain their land. But thesetribes, when they saw that Moses was angry with them, and when theycould not deny but he had a just cause to be displeased at theirpetition, made an apology for themselves; and said, that it was not onaccount of their fear of dangers, nor on account of their laziness, thatthey made this request to him, but that they might leave the prey theyhad gotten in places of safety, and thereby might be more expedite, andready to undergo difficulties, and to fight battles. They added thisalso, that when they had built cities, wherein they might preserve theirchildren, and wives, and possessions, if he would bestow them uponthem, they would go along with the rest of the army. Hereupon Moses waspleased with what they said; so he called for Eleazar the high priest, and Joshua, and the chief of the tribes, and permitted these tribes topossess the land of the Amorites; but upon this condition, that theyshould join with their kinsmen in the war until all things were settled. Upon which condition they took possession of the country, and built themstrong cities, and put into them their children and their wives, andwhatsoever else they had that might be an impediment to the labors oftheir future marches. 4. Moses also now built those ten cities which were to be of the numberof the forty-eight [for the Levites;]; three of which he allotted tothose that slew any person involuntarily, and fled to them; and heassigned the same time for their banishment with that of the life ofthat high priest under whom the slaughter and flight happened; afterwhich death of the high priest he permitted the slayer to return home. During the time of his exile, the relations of him that was slain may, by this law, kill the manslayer, if they caught him without the boundsof the city to which he fled, though this permission was not granted toany other person. Now the cities which were set apart for this flightwere these: Bezer, at the borders of Arabia; Ramoth, of the land ofGilead; and Golan, in the land of Bashan. There were to be also, byMoses's command, three other cities allotted for the habitation of thesefugitives out of the cities of the Levites, but not till after theyshould 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 children, but leftdaughters; and asked him whether these daughters might inherit his landor not. He made this answer, That if they shall marry into their owntribe, they shall carry their estate along with them; but if theydispose of themselves in marriage to men of another tribe, they shallleave their inheritance in their father's tribe. And then it was thatMoses ordained, that every one's inheritance should continue in his owntribe. CHAPTER 8. The Polity Settled By Moses; And How He Disappeared FromAmong Mankind. 1. When forty years were completed, within thirty days, Moses gatheredthe congregation together near Jordan, where the city Abila now stands, a place full of palm-trees; and all the people being come together, hespake thus to them:-- 2. "O you Israelites and fellow soldiers, who have been partners withme in this long and uneasy journey; since it is now the will of God, and the course of old age, at a hundred and twenty, requires it that Ishould depart out of this life; and since God has forbidden me to be apatron or an assistant to you in what remains to be done beyond Jordan;I thought it reasonable not to leave off my endeavors even now for yourhappiness, but to do my utmost to procure for you the eternal enjoymentof good things, and a memorial for myself, when you shall be in thefruition of great plenty and prosperity. Come, therefore, let mesuggest to you by what means you may be happy, and may leave an eternalprosperous possession thereof to your children after you, and then letme thus go out of the world; and I cannot but deserve to be believed byyou, 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 withthe sincerest freedom. O children of Israel! there is but one source ofhappiness for all mankind, the favor of God [15] for he alone is ableto give good things to those that deserve them, and to deprive thoseof them that sin against him; towards whom, if you behave yourselvesaccording to his will, and according to what I, who well understand hismind, do exhort you to, you will both be esteemed blessed, and will beadmired by all men; and will never come into misfortunes, nor cease tobe happy: you will then preserve the possession of the good things youalready have, and will quickly obtain those that you are at present inwant of, --only do you be obedient to those whom God would have you tofollow. Nor do you prefer any other constitution of government beforethe laws now given you; neither do you disregard that way of Divineworship which you now have, nor change it for any other form: and if youdo this, you will be the most courageous of all men, in undergoingthe fatigues of war, and will not be easily conquered by any of yourenemies; for while God is present with you to assist you, it is to beexpected that you will be able to despise the opposition of all mankind;and great rewards of virtue are proposed for you, if you preserve thatvirtue through your whole lives. Virtue itself is indeed the principaland the first reward, and after that it bestows abundance of others; sothat your exercise of virtue towards other men will make your own liveshappy, and render you more glorious than foreigners can be, and procureyou an undisputed reputation with posterity. These blessings you will beable to obtain, in case you hearken to and observe those laws which, byDivine revelation, I have ordained for you; that is, in case you withalmeditate 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 wiseconduct of your law, to the becoming order of your polity, and to thevirtues of your commanders, who will take care of what is for youradvantage. And that God, who has been till now your Leader, and by whosegoodwill I have myself been useful to you, will not put a period nowto his providence over you, but as long as you desire to have him yourProtector in your pursuits after virtue, so long will you enjoy his careover you. Your high priest also Eleazar, as well as Joshua, with thesenate, and chief of your tribes, will go before you, and suggest thebest advices to you; by following which advices you will continue to behappy: to whom do you give ear without reluctance, as sensible that allsuch as know well how to be governed, will also know how to govern, ifthey be promoted to that authority themselves. And do not you esteemliberty to consist in opposing such directions as your governors thinkfit to give you for your practice, --as at present indeed you place yourliberty in nothing else but abusing your benefactors; which error ifyou can avoid for the time to come, your affairs will be in a bettercondition than they have hitherto been. Nor do you ever indulge such adegree of passion in these matters, as you have oftentimes done whenyou have been very angry at me; for you know that I have been oftenerin danger of death from you than from our enemies. What I now put youin mind of, is not done in order to reproach you; for I do not thinkit proper, now I am going out of the world, to bring this to yourremembrance, in order to leave you offended at me, since, at the timewhen I underwent those hardships from you, I was not angry at you; butI do it in order to make you wiser hereafter, and to teach you that thiswill be for your security; I mean, that you never be injurious to thosethat preside over you, even when you are become rich, as you will be toa great degree when you have passed over Jordan, and are in possessionof the land of Canaan. Since, when you shall have once proceeded so farby your wealth, as to a contempt and disregard of virtue, you will alsoforfeit the favor of God; and when you have made him your enemy, youwill be beaten in war, and will have the land which you possess takenaway again from you by your enemies, and this with great reproaches uponyour conduct. You will be scattered over the whole world, and will, asslaves, entirely fill both sea and land; and when once you have had theexperience of what I now say, you will repent, and remember the lawsyou have broken, when it is too late. Whence I would advise you, if youintend to preserve these laws, to leave none of your enemies alive whenyou have conquered them, but to look upon it as for your advantage todestroy them all, lest, if you permit them to live, you taste of theirmanners, and thereby corrupt your own proper institutions. I also dofurther exhort you, to overthrow their altars, and their groves, andwhatsoever temples they have among them, and to burn all such, theirnation, and their very memory with fire; for by this means alone thesafety of your own happy constitution can be firmly secured to you. Andin order to prevent your ignorance of virtue, and the degeneracy of yournature into vice, I have also ordained you laws, by Divine suggestion, and a form of government, which are so good, that if you regularlyobserve them, you will be esteemed of all men the most happy. " 3. When he had spoken thus, he gave them the laws and the constitutionof government written in a book. Upon which the people fell into tears, and appeared already touched with the sense that they should have agreat want of their conductor, because they remembered what a numberof dangers he had passed through, and what care he had taken of theirpreservation: they desponded about what would come upon them after hewas dead, and thought they should never have another governor like him;and feared that God would then take less care of them when Moses wasgone, who used to intercede for them. They also repented of what theyhad said to him in the wilderness when they were angry, and were ingrief on those accounts, insomuch that the whole body of the people fellinto tears with such bitterness, that it was past the power of wordsto comfort them in their affliction. However, Moses gave them someconsolation; and by calling them off the thought how worthy he wasof their weeping for him, he exhorted them to keep to that form ofgovernment he had given them; and then the congregation was dissolved atthat time. 4. Accordingly, I shall now first describe this form of government whichwas agreeable to the dignity and virtue of Moses; and shall therebyinform those that read these Antiquities, what our original settlementswere, and shall then proceed to the remaining histories. Now thosesettlements are all still in writing, as he left them; and we shall addnothing by way of ornament, nor any thing besides what Moses left us;only we shall so far innovate, as to digest the several kinds of lawsinto a regular system; for they were by him left in writing as they wereaccidentally scattered in their delivery, and as he upon inquiry hadlearned them of God. On which account I have thought it necessary topremise this observation beforehand, lest any of my own countrymenshould blame me, as having been guilty of an offense herein. Now partof our constitution will include the laws that belong to our politicalstate. As for those laws which Moses left concerning our commonconversation and intercourse one with another, I have reserved that fora discourse concerning our manner of life, and the occasions of thoselaws; which I propose to myself, with God's assistance, to write, afterI have finished the work I am now upon. 5. When you have possessed yourselves of the land of Canaan, and haveleisure to enjoy the good things of it, and when you have afterwarddetermined to build cities, if you will do what is pleasing to God, youwill have a secure state of happiness. Let there be then one city ofthe land of Canaan, and this situate in the most agreeable place for itsgoodness, and very eminent in itself, and let it be that which God shallchoose for himself by prophetic revelation. Let there also be one templetherein, and one altar, not reared of hewn stones, but of such as yougather together at random; which stones, when they are whited over withmortar, will have a handsome appearance, and be beautiful to the sight. Let the ascent to it be not by steps [16] but by an acclivity of raisedearth. 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 let him hang upona tree all that day, and then let him be buried in an ignominious andobscure manner. 7. Let those that live as remote as the bounds of the land which theHebrews shall possess, come to that city where the temple shall be, andthis three times in a year, that they may give thanks to God forhis former benefits, and may entreat him for those they shallwant hereafter; and let them, by this means, maintain a friendlycorrespondence with one another by such meetings and feastings together, for it is a good thing for those that are of the same stock, and underthe same institution of laws, not to be unacquainted with each other;which acquaintance will be maintained by thus conversing together, andby seeing and talking with one another, and so renewing the memorials ofthis union; for if they do not thus converse together continually, theywill appear like mere strangers to one another. 8. Let there be taken out of your fruits a tenth, besides that which youhave allotted to give to the priests and Levites. This you may indeedsell in the country, but it is to be used in those feasts and sacrificesthat are to be celebrated in the holy city; for it is fit that youshould enjoy those fruits of the earth which God gives you to possess, so as may be to the honor of the donor. 9. You are not to offer sacrifices out of the hire of a woman who is aharlot [17] for the Deity is not pleased with any thing that arisesfrom such abuses of nature; of which sort none can be worse than thisprostitution of the body. In like manner no one may take the price ofthe covering of a bitch, either of one that is used in hunting, or inkeeping of sheep, and thence sacrifice to God. 10. Let no one blaspheme those gods which other cities esteem such; [18]nor may any one steal what belongs to strange temples, nor take away thegifts that are dedicated to any god. 11. Let not any one of you wear a garment made of woolen and linen, forthat is appointed to be for the priests alone. 12. When the multitude are assembled together unto the holy city forsacrificing every seventh year, at the feast of tabernacles, let thehigh priest stand upon a high desk, whence he may be heard, and lethim read the laws to all the people; and let neither the women nor thechildren be hindered from hearing, no, nor the servants neither; for itis a good thing that those laws should be engraven in their souls, andpreserved in their memories, that so it may not be possible to blot themout; for by this means they will not be guilty of sin, when they cannotplead ignorance of what the laws have enjoined them. The laws alsowill have a greater authority among them, as foretelling what they willsuffer if they break them; and imprinting in their souls by this hearingwhat they command them to do, that so there may always be within theirminds that intention of the laws which they have despised and broken, and have thereby been the causes of their own mischief. Let the childrenalso learn the laws, as the first thing they are taught, which will bethe best thing they can be taught, and will be the cause of their futurefelicity. 13. Let every one commemorate before God the benefits which he bestowedupon them at their deliverance out of the land of Egypt, and this twiceevery day, both when the day begins and when the hour of sleep comes on, gratitude being in its own nature a just thing, and serving not only byway of return for past, but also by way of invitation of future favors. They are also to inscribe the principal blessings they have receivedfrom God upon their doors, and show the same remembrance of them upontheir arms; as also they are to bear on their forehead and their armthose wonders which declare the power of God, and his good-willtowards them, that God's readiness to bless them may appear every whereconspicuous about them. [19] 14. Let there be seven men to judge in every city, [20] and thesesuch as have been before most zealous in the exercise of virtue andrighteousness. Let every judge have two officers allotted him out of thetribe of Levi. Let those that are chosen to judge in the several citiesbe had in great honor; and let none be permitted to revile any otherswhen these are present, nor to carry themselves in an insolent mannerto them; it being natural that reverence towards those in high officesamong men should procure men's fear and reverence towards God. Letthose that judge be permitted to determine according as they think tobe right, unless any one can show that they have taken bribes, to theperversion of justice, or can allege any other accusation against them, whereby it may appear that they have passed an unjust sentence; forit is not fit that causes should be openly determined out of regardto gain, or to the dignity of the suitors, but that the judges shouldesteem what is right before all other things, otherwise God will by thatmeans be despised, and esteemed inferior to those, the dread of whosepower has occasioned the unjust sentence; for justice is the power ofGod. He therefore that gratifies those in great dignity, supposes themmore potent than God himself. But if these judges be unable to give ajust sentence about the causes that come before them, [which case is notunfrequent in human affairs, ] let them send the cause undeterminedto the holy city, and there let the high priest, the prophet, and thesanhedrim, determine as it shall seem good to them. 15. But let not a single witness be credited, but three, or two at theleast, and those such whose testimony is confirmed by their good lives. But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levityand boldness of their sex [21] Nor let servants be admitted to givetestimony, on account of the ignobility of their soul; since it isprobable 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 falsewitness, let him, when he is convicted, suffer all the very samepunishments which he against whom he bore witness was to have suffered. 16. If a murder be committed in any place, and he that did it be notfound, nor is there any suspicion upon one as if he had hated the man, and so had killed him, let there be a very diligent inquiry made afterthe man, and rewards proposed to any one who will discover him; but ifstill no information can be procured, let the magistrates and senate ofthose cities that lie near the place in which the murder was committed, assemble together, and measure the distance from the place where thedead body lies; then let the magistrates of the nearest city theretopurchase a heifer, and bring it to a valley, and to a place thereinwhere there is no land ploughed or trees planted, and let them cut thesinews of the heifer; then the priests and Levites, and the senate ofthat city, shall take water and wash their hands over the head of theheifer; and they shall openly declare that their hands are innocent ofthis murder, and that they have neither done it themselves, nor beenassisting to any that did it. They shall also beseech God to be mercifulto them, that no such horrid act may any more be done in that land. 17. Aristocracy, and the way of living under it, is the bestconstitution: and may you never have any inclination to any other formof government; and may you always love that form, and have the laws foryour governors, and govern all your actions according to them; for youneed no supreme governor but God. But if you shall desire a king, lethim be one of your own nation; let him be always careful of justice andother virtues perpetually; let him submit to the laws, and esteem God'scommands to be his highest wisdom; but let him do nothing without thehigh priest and the votes of the senators: let him not have a greatnumber of wives, nor pursue after abundance of riches, nor a multitudeof horses, whereby he may grow too proud to submit to the laws. Andif he affect any such things, let him be restrained, lest he become sopotent that his state be inconsistent with your welfare. 18. Let it not be esteemed lawful to remove boundaries, neither ourown, nor of those with whom we are at peace. Have a care you do nottake those landmarks away which are, as it were, a divine and unshakenlimitation of rights made by God himself, to last for ever; since thisgoing beyond limits, and gaining ground upon others, is the occasion ofwars and seditions; for those that remove boundaries are not far off anattempt to subvert the laws. 19. He that plants a piece of land, the trees of which produce fruitsbefore the fourth year, is not to bring thence any first-fruits to God, nor is he to make use of that fruit himself, for it is not producedin its proper season; for when nature has a force put upon her at anunseasonable time, the fruit is not proper for God, nor for the master'suse; but let the owner gather all that is grown on the fourth year, forthen it is in its proper season. And let him that has gathered it carryit to the holy city, and spend that, together with the tithe of hisother fruits, in feasting with his friends, with the orphans, and thewidows. But on the fifth year the fruit is his own, and he may use it ashe pleases. 20. You are not to sow with seed a piece of land which is planted withvines, for it is enough that it supply nourishment to that plant, and benot harassed by ploughing also. You are to plough your land with oxen, and not to oblige other animals to come under the same yoke with them;but to till your land with those beasts that are of the same kind witheach other. The seeds are also to be pure, and without mixture, and notto be compounded of two or three sorts, since nature does not rejoice inthe union of things that are not in their own nature alike; nor are youto permit beasts of different kinds to gender together, for there isreason to fear that this unnatural abuse may extend from beasts ofdifferent kinds to men, though it takes its first rise from evilpractices about such smaller things. Nor is any thing to be allowed, by imitation whereof any degree of subversion may creep into theconstitution. Nor do the laws neglect small matters, but provide thateven those may be managed after an unblamable manner. 21. Let not those that reap, and gather in the corn that is reaped, gather in the gleanings also; but let them rather leave some handfulsfor those that are in want of the necessaries of life, that it may bea support and a supply to them, in order to their subsistence. Inlike manner when they gather their grapes, let them leave some smallerbunches for the poor, and let them pass over some of the fruits of theolive-trees, when they gather them, and leave them to be partaken of bythose that have none of their own; for the advantage arising from theexact collection of all, will not be so considerable to the owners aswill arise from the gratitude of the poor. And God will provide that theland shall more willingly produce what shall be for the nourishment ofits fruits, in case you do not merely take care of your own advantage, but have regard to the support of others also. Nor are you to muzzlethe mouths of the oxen when they tread the ears of corn in thethrashing-floor; for it is not just to restrain our fellow-laboringanimals, and those that work in order to its production, of this fruitof their labors. Nor are you to prohibit those that pass by at the timewhen your fruits are ripe to touch them, but to give them leave to fillthemselves full of what you have; and this whether they be of your owncountry or strangers, --as being glad of the opportunity of giving themsome part of your fruits when they are ripe; but let it not be esteemedlawful 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 fromeating of them; for it is unjust, out of envy, to hinder those thatdesire it, to partake of the good things that come into the worldaccording to God's will, and this while the season is at the height, andis hastening away as it pleases God. Nay, if some, out of bashfulness, are unwilling to touch these fruits, let them be encouraged to take ofthem [I mean, those that are Israelites] as if they were themselves theowners and lords, on account of the kindred there is between them. Nay, let them desire men that come from other countries, to partake of thesetokens of friendship which God has given in their proper season; forthat is not to be deemed as idly spent, which any one out of kindnesscommunicates to another, since God bestows plenty of good things onmen, not only for themselves to reap the advantage, but also to giveto others in a way of generosity; and he is desirous, by this means, tomake known to others his peculiar kindness to the people of Israel, and how freely he communicates happiness to them, while they abundantlycommunicate out of their great superfluities to even these foreignersalso. But for him that acts contrary to this law, let him be beaten withforty stripes save one [22] by the public executioner; let him undergothis punishment, which is a most ignominious one for a free-man, andthis because he was such a slave to gain as to lay a blot upon hisdignity; for it is proper for you who have had the experience of theafflictions in Egypt, and of those in the wilderness, to make provisionfor those that are in the like circumstances; and while you have nowobtained plenty yourselves, through the mercy and providence of God, todistribute of the same plenty, by the like sympathy, to such as stand inneed of it. 22. Besides those two tithes, which I have already said you are to payevery year, the one for the Levites, the other for the festivals, youare to bring every third year a third tithe to be distributed to thosethat want; [23] to women also that are widows, and to children that areorphans. But as to the ripe fruits, let them carry that which is ripefirst of all into the temple; and when they have blessed God for thatland which bare them, and which he had given them for a possession, whenthey have also offered those sacrifices which the law has commanded themto bring, let them give the first-fruits to the priests. But when anyone 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 thefestivals, and when he is about to go home, let him stand before theholy house, and return thanks to God, that he hath delivered them fromthe injurious treatment they had in Egypt, and hath given them a goodland, and a large, and lets them enjoy the fruits thereof; and whenhe hath openly testified that he hath fully paid the tithes [and otherdues] according to the laws of Moses, let him entreat God that he willbe ever merciful and gracious to him, and continue so to be to all theHebrews, both by preserving the good things which he hath already giventhem, 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 himnot corrupt another man's wife, and marry her, nor grieve her formerhusband. Nor let free men marry slaves, although their affectionsshould strongly bias any of them so to do; for it is decent, and for thedignity of the persons themselves, to govern those their affections. Andfurther, no one ought to marry a harlot, whose matrimonial oblations, arising from the prostitution of her body, God will not receive; forby these means the dispositions of the children will be liberal andvirtuous; I mean, when they are not born of base parents, and of thelustful conjunction of such as marry women that are not free. If any onehas been espoused to a woman as to a virgin, and does not afterward findher so to be, let him bring his action, and accuse her, and let him makeuse of such indications [24] to prove his accusation as he is furnishedwithal; and let the father or the brother of the damsel, or some onethat is after them nearest of kin to her, defend her If the damselobtain a sentence in her favor, that she had not been guilty, let herlive with her husband that accused her; and let him not have any furtherpower at all to put her away, unless she give him very great occasionsof suspicion, and such as can be no way contradicted. But for him thatbrings an accusation and calumny against his wife in an impudent andrash manner, let him be punished by receiving forty stripes save one, and let him pay fifty shekels to her father: but if the damsel beconvicted, as having been corrupted, and is one of the common people, let her be stoned, because she did not preserve her virginity till shewere lawfully married; but if she were the daughter of a priest, let herbe burnt alive. If any one has two wives, and if he greatly respect andbe kind to one of them, either out of his affection to her, or for herbeauty, or for some other reason, while the other is of less esteem withhim; and if the son of her that is beloved be the younger by birth thananother born of the other wife, but endeavors to obtain the rightof primogeniture from his father's kindness to his mother, and wouldthereby obtain a double portion of his father's substance, for thatdouble portion is what I have allotted him in the laws, --let not this bepermitted; for it is unjust that he who is the elder by birth shouldbe deprived of what is due to him, on the father's disposition of hisestate, because his mother was not equally regarded by him. He that hathcorrupted 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;the man, because he persuaded the woman willingly to submit to a mostimpure action, and to prefer it to lawful wedlock; the woman, becauseshe was persuaded to yield herself to be corrupted, either for pleasureor for gain. However, if a man light on a woman when she is alone, andforces her, where nobody was present to come to her assistance, lethim only be put to death. Let him that hath corrupted a virgin not yetespoused marry her; but if the father of the damsel be not willing thatshe should be his wife, let him pay fifty shekels as the price of herprostitution. He that desires to be divorced from his wife for any cause[25] whatsoever, [and many such causes happen among men, ] let him inwriting give assurance that he will never use her as his wife anymore; for by this means she may be at liberty to marry another husband, although before this bill of divorce be given, she is not to bepermitted so to do: but if she be misused by him also, or if, when heis dead, her first husband would marry her again, it shall not belawful for her to return to him. If a woman's husband die, and leave herwithout children, let his brother marry her, and let him call the sonthat is born to him by his brother's name, and educate him as the heirof his inheritance, for this procedure will be for the benefit of thepublic, because thereby families will not fail, and the estate willcontinue among the kindred; and this will be for the solace of wivesunder their affliction, that they are to be married to the next relationof their former husbands. But if the brother will not marry her, let thewoman come before the senate, and protest openly that this brother willnot admit her for his wife, but will injure the memory of his deceasedbrother, while she is willing to continue in the family, and to hear himchildren. And when the senate have inquired of him for what reason itis that he is averse to this marriage, whether he gives a bad or a goodreason, the matter must come to this issue, That the woman shall loosethe sandals of the brother, and shall spit in his face, and say, Hedeserves this reproachful treatment from her, as having injured thememory of the deceased. And then let him go away out of the senate, andbear this reproach upon him all his life long; and let her marry to whomshe pleases, of such as seek her in marriage. But now, if any man takecaptive, either a virgin, or one that hath been married, [26] and has amind to marry her, let him not be allowed to bring her to bed to him, orto live with her as his wife, before she hath her head shaven, and hathput on her mourning habit, and lamented her relations and friends thatwere slain in the battle, that by this means she may give vent to hersorrow for them, and after that may betake herself to feasting andmatrimony; for it is good for him that takes a woman, in order to havechildren by her, to be complaisant to her inclinations, and not merelyto pursue his own pleasure, while he hath no regard to what is agreeableto her. But when thirty days are past, as the time of mourning, forso many are sufficient to prudent persons for lamenting the dearestfriends, then let them proceed to the marriage; but in case when he hathsatisfied his lust, he be too proud to retain her for his wife, lethim not have it in his power to make her a slave, but let her go awaywhither she pleases, and have that privilege of a free woman. 24. As to those young men that despise their parents, and do not paythem honor, but offer them affronts, either because they are ashamed ofthem or think themselves wiser than they, --in the first place, let theirparents admonish them in words, [for they are by nature of authoritysufficient for becoming their judges, ] and let them say thus tothem:--That they cohabited together, not for the sake of pleasure, nor for the augmentation of their riches, by joining both their stockstogether, but that they might have children to take care of them intheir old age, and might by them have what they then should want. Andsay further to him, "That when thou wast born, we took thee up withgladness, and gave God the greatest thanks for thee, and brought timeup with great care, and spared for nothing that appeared useful for thypreservation, and for thy instruction in what was most excellent. Andnow, 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 contemptof us; reform thyself, and act more wisely for the time to come;considering that God is displeased with those that are insolent towardstheir parents, because he is himself the Father of the whole race ofmankind, and seems to bear part of that dishonor which falls upon thosethat have the same name, when they do not meet with dire returns fromtheir children. And on such the law inflicts inexorable punishment;of which punishment mayst thou never have the experience. " Now if theinsolence of young men be thus cured, let them escape the reproach whichtheir former errors deserved; for by this means the lawgiver will appearto be good, and parents happy, while they never behold either a son ora daughter brought to punishment. But if it happen that these words andinstructions, conveyed by them in order to reclaim the man, appear tobe useless, then the offender renders the laws implacable enemies to theinsolence he has offered his parents; let him therefore be brought forth[27] by these very parents out of the city, with a multitude followinghim, and there let him be stoned; and when he has continued there forone whole day, that all the people may see him, let him be buried inthe night. And thus it is that we bury all whom the laws condemn to die, upon any account whatsoever. Let our enemies that fall in battle bealso buried; nor let any one dead body lie above the ground, or suffer apunishment beyond what justice requires. 25. Let no one lend to any one of the Hebrews upon usury, neitherusury of what is eaten or what is drunken, for it is not just to makeadvantage of the misfortunes of one of thy own countrymen; but whenthou hast been assistant to his necessities, think it thy gain if thouobtainest their gratitude to thee; and withal that reward which willcome to thee from God, for thy humanity towards him. 26. Those who have borrowed either silver or any sort of fruits, whetherdry or wet, [I mean this, when the Jewish affairs shall, by the blessingof God, be to their own mind, ] let the borrowers bring them again, andrestore them with pleasure to those who lent them, laying them up, asit were, in their own treasuries, and justly expecting to receive themthence, if they shall want them again. But if they be without shame, anddo not restore it, let not the lender go to the borrower's house, andtake a pledge himself, before judgment be given concerning it; but lethim require the pledge, and let the debtor bring it of himself, withoutthe least opposition to him that comes upon him under the protection ofthe law. And if he that gave the pledge be rich, let the creditor retainit till what he lent be paid him again; but if he be poor, let him thattakes it return it before the going down of the sun, especially if thepledge be a garment, that the debtor may have it for a covering in hissleep, God himself naturally showing mercy to the poor. It is also notlawful to take a millstone, nor any utensil thereto belonging, for apledge, that the debtor, may not be deprived of instruments to get theirfood withal, and lest they be undone by their necessity. 27. Let death be the punishment for stealing a man; but he that hathpurloined gold or silver, let him pay double. If any one kill a man thatis stealing something out of his house, let him be esteemed guiltless, although the man were only breaking in at the wall. Let him that hathstolen cattle pay fourfold what is lost, excepting the case of an ox, for which let the thief pay fivefold. Let him that is so poor that hecannot pay what mulet is laid upon him, be his servant to whom he wasadjudged to pay it. 28. If any one be sold to one of his own nation, let him serve him sixyears, and on the seventh let him go free. But if he have a son bya woman servant in his purchaser's house, and if, on account of hisgood-will to his master, and his natural affection to his wife andchildren, he will be his servant still, let him be set free only at thecoming of the year of jubilee, which is the fiftieth year, and let himthen take away with him his children and wife, and let them be freealso. 29. If any one find gold or silver on the road, let him inquire afterhim 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 hisown profit by the loss of another. And the same rule is to be observedin cattle found to have wandered away into a lonely place. If the ownerbe not presently discovered, let him that is the finder keep it withhimself, and appeal to God that he has not purloined what belongs toanother. 30. It is not lawful to pass by any beast that is in distress, when in astorm it is fallen down in the mire, but to endeavor to preserve it, ashaving a sympathy with it in its pain. 31. It is also a duty to show the roads to those who do not knowthem, 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 person blind or dumb. 33. If men strive together, and there be no instrument of iron, lethim that is smitten be avenged immediately, by inflicting the samepunishment on him that smote him: but if when he is carried home helie sick many days, and then die, let him that smote him not escapepunishment; but if he that is smitten escape death, and yet be atgreat expense for his cure, the smiter shall pay for all that has beenexpended during the time of his sickness, and for all that he has paidthe physician. He that kicks a woman with child, so that the womanmiscarry, [28] let him pay a fine in money, as the judges shalldetermine, as having diminished the multitude by the destruction of whatwas in her womb; and let money also be given the woman's husband by himthat kicked her; but if she die of the stroke, let him also be put todeath, the law judging it equitable that life should go for life. 34. Let no one of the Israelites keep any poison [29] that may causedeath, or any other harm; but if he be caught with it, let him be put todeath, and suffer the very same mischief that he would have brought uponthem for whom the poison was prepared. 35. He that maimeth any one, let him undergo the like himself, and bedeprived of the same member of which he hath deprived the other, unlesshe that is maimed will accept of money instead of it [30] for the lawmakes the sufferer the judge of the value of what he hath suffered, andpermits him to estimate it, unless he will be more severe. 36. Let him that is the owner of an ox which pusheth with his horn, killhim: but if he pushes and gores any one in the thrashing-floor, let himbe put to death by stoning, and let him not be thought fit for food: butif his owner be convicted as having known what his nature was, and hathnot kept him up, let him also be put to death, as being the occasion ofthe 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 owner of the ox paythirty shekels [31] to the master of him that was slain; but if it be anox that is thus smitten and killed, let both the oxen, that which smotethe other and that which was killed, be sold, and let the owners of themdivide their price between them. 37. Let those that dig a well or a pit be careful to lay planks overthem, and so keep them shut up, not in order to hinder any persons fromdrawing 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, andnot shut up, and perish, let the owner pay its price to the owner of thebeast. Let there be a battlement round the tops of your houses insteadof a wall, that may prevent any persons from rolling down and perishing. 38. Let him that has received any thing in trust for another, takecare to keep it as a sacred and divine thing; and let no one invent anycontrivance whereby to deprive him that hath intrusted it with him ofthe same, and this whether he be a man or a woman; no, not although heor she were to gain an immense sum of gold, and this where he cannot beconvicted of it by any body; for it is fit that a man's own conscience, which knows what he hath, should in all cases oblige him to do well. Let this conscience be his witness, and make him always act so as mayprocure him commendation from others; but let him chiefly have regardto God, from whom no wicked man can lie concealed: but if he in whomthe trust was reposed, without any deceit of his own, lose what he wasintrusted withal, let him come before the seven judges, and swear by Godthat nothing hath been lost willingly, or with a wicked intention, andthat he hath not made use of any part thereof, and so let him departwithout blame; but if he hath made use of the least part of what wascommitted to him, and it be lost, let him be condemned to repay all thathe had received. After the same manner as in these trusts it is to be, if any one defraud those that undergo bodily labor for him. And letit be always remembered, that we are not to defraud a poor man ofhis wages, as being sensible that God has allotted these wages to himinstead of land and other possessions; nay, this payment is not at allto be delayed, but to be made that very day, since God is not willing todeprive the laborer of the immediate use of what he hath labored for. 39. You are not to punish children for the faults of their parents, buton account of their own virtue rather to vouchsafe them commiseration, because they were born of wicked parents, than hatred, because they wereborn of bad ones. Nor indeed ought we to impute the sin of children totheir fathers, while young persons indulge themselves in many practicesdifferent from what they have been instructed in, and this by theirproud refusal of such instruction. 40. Let those that have made themselves eunuchs be had in detestation;and do you avoid any conversation with them who have deprived themselvesof their manhood, and of that fruit of generation which God has given tomen for the increase of their kind: let such be driven away, as if theyhad killed their children, since they beforehand have lost what shouldprocure them; for evident it is, that while their soul is becomeeffeminate, they have withal transfused that effeminacy to their bodyalso. In like manner do you treat all that is of a monstrous nature whenit is looked on; nor is it lawful to geld men or any other animals. [32] 41. Let this be the constitution of your political laws in time ofpeace, and God will be so merciful as to preserve this excellentsettlement free from disturbance: and may that time never come which mayinnovate any thing, and change it for the contrary. But since itmust needs happen that mankind fall into troubles and dangers, eitherundesignedly or intentionally, come let us make a few constitutionsconcerning them, that so being apprised beforehand what ought to bedone, you may have salutary counsels ready when you want them, andmay not then be obliged to go to seek what is to be done, and sobe unprovided, and fall into dangerous circumstances. May you be alaborious people, and exercise your souls in virtuous actions, andthereby possess and inherit the land without wars; while neither anyforeigners make war upon it, and so afflict you, nor any internalsedition seize upon it, whereby you may do things that are contrary toyour fathers, and so lose the laws which they have established. And mayyou continue in the observation of those laws which God hath approvedof, and hath delivered to you. Let all sort of warlike operations, whether they befall you now in your own time, or hereafter in the timesof your posterity, be done out of your own borders: but when you areabout to go to war, send embassages and heralds to those who are yourvoluntary enemies, for it is a right thing to make use of words to thembefore you come to your weapons of war; and assure them thereby, thatalthough you have a numerous army, with horses and weapons, and, abovethese, a God merciful to you, and ready to assist you, you do howeverdesire them not to compel you to fight against them, nor to take fromthem what they have, which will indeed be our gain, but what they willhave no reason to wish we should take to ourselves. And if they hearkento you, it will be proper for you to keep peace with them; but if theytrust in their own strength, as superior to yours, and will not do youjustice, lead your army against them, making use of God as your supremeCommander, but ordaining for a lieutenant under him one that is of thegreatest courage among you; for these different commanders, besidestheir being an obstacle to actions that are to be done on the sudden, are a disadvantage to those that make use of them. Lead an army pure, and of chosen men, composed of all such as have extraordinary strengthof body and hardiness of soul; but do you send away the timorous part, lest they run away in the time of action, and so afford an advantageto your enemies. Do you also give leave to those that have lately builtthem houses, and have not yet lived in them a year's time; and to thosethat have planted them vineyards, and have not yet been partakers oftheir fruits, --to continue in their own country; as well as those alsowho have betrothed, or lately married them wives, lest they have such anaffection for these things that they be too sparing of their lives, and, by reserving themselves for these enjoyments, they become voluntarycowards, on account of their wives. 42. When you have pitched your camp, take care that you do nothing thatis cruel. And when you are engaged in a siege; and want timber for themaking of warlike engines, do not you render the land naked by cuttingdown trees that bear fruit, but spare them, as considering that theywere made for the benefit of men; and that if they could speak, theywould have a just plea against you, because, though they are notoccasions of the war, they are unjustly treated, and suffer in it, andwould, if they were able, remove themselves into another land. When youhave beaten your enemies in battle, slay those that have fought againstyou; but preserve the others alive, that they may pay you tribute, excepting the nation of the Canaanites; for as to that people, you mustentirely destroy them. 43, Take care, especially in your battles, that no woman use the habitof a man, nor man the garment of a woman. 44. This was the form of political government which was left us byMoses. Moreover, he had already delivered laws in writing [33] in thefortieth year [after they came out of Egypt], concerning which we willdiscourse in another book. But now on the following days [for he calledthem to assemble continually] he delivered blessings to them, andcurses upon those that should not live according to the laws, but shouldtransgress the duties that were determined for them to observe. Afterthis, he read to them a poetic song, which was composed in hexameterverse, and left it to them in the holy book: it contained a predictionof what was to come to pass afterward; agreeably whereto all things havehappened all along, and do still happen to us; and wherein he has notat all deviated from the truth. Accordingly, he delivered these booksto the priest, [34] with the ark; into which he also put the tencommandments, written on two tables. He delivered to them the tabernaclealso, and exhorted the people, that when they had conquered the land, and were settled in it, they should not forget the injuries of theAmalekites, but make war against them, and inflict punishment upon themfor what mischief they did them when they were in the wilderness; andthat when they had got possession of the land of the Canaanites, andwhen they had destroyed the whole multitude of its inhabitants, as theyought to do, they should erect an altar that should face the rising sun, not far from the city of Shechem, between the two mountains, that ofGerizzim, situate on the right hand, and that called Ebal, on the left;and that the army should be so divided, that six tribes should standupon each of the two mountains, and with them the Levites and thepriests. And that first, those that were upon Mount Gerizzim should prayfor the best blessings upon those who were diligent about the worship ofGod, and the observation of his laws, and who did not reject what Moseshad said to them; while the other wished them all manner of happinessalso; and when these last put up the like prayers, the former praisedthem. After this, curses were denounced upon those that shouldtransgress those laws, they, answering one another alternately, by wayof confirmation of what had been said. Moses also wrote their blessingsand their curses, that they might learn them so thoroughly, that theymight never be forgotten by length of time. And when he was ready todie, he wrote these blessings and curses upon the altar, on each side ofit; where he says also the people stood, and then sacrificed and offeredburnt-offerings, though after that day they never offered upon itany other sacrifice, for it was not lawful so to do. These are theconstitutions of Moses; and the Hebrew nation still live according tothem. 45. On the next day, Moses called the people together, with the womenand children, to a congregation, so as the very slaves were presentalso, that they might engage themselves to the observation of these lawsby oath; and that, duly considering the meaning of God in them, theymight not, either for favor of their kindred, or out of fear of anyone, or indeed for any motive whatsoever, think any thing ought to bepreferred to these laws, and so might transgress them. That in caseany one of their own blood, or any city, should attempt to confound ordissolve their constitution of government, they should take vengeanceupon them, both all in general, and each person in particular; andwhen they had conquered them, should overturn their city to the veryfoundations, and, if possible, should not leave the least footsteps ofsuch madness: but that if they were not able to take such vengeance, they should still demonstrate that what was done was contrary to theirwills. So the multitude bound themselves by oath so to do. 46. Moses taught them also by what means their sacrifices might be themost acceptable to God; and how they should go forth to war, making useof the stones [in the high priest's breastplate] for their direction, [35] as I have before signified. Joshua also prophesied while Moses waspresent. And when Moses had recapitulated whatsoever he had done forthe preservation of the people, both in their wars and in peace, andhad composed them a body of laws, and procured them an excellent formof government, he foretold, as God had declared to him that if theytransgressed that institution for the worship of God, they shouldexperience the following miseries:--Their land should be full of weaponsof war from their enemies, and their cities should be overthrown, andtheir temple should be burnt that they should be sold for slaves, tosuch men as would have no pity on them in their afflictions; that theywould then repent, when that repentance would no way profit them undertheir sufferings. "Yet, " said he, "will that God who founded yournation, restore your cities to your citizens, with their temple also;and you shall lose these advantages not once only, but often. " 47. Now when Moses had encouraged Joshua to lead out the army againstthe Canaanites, by telling him that God would assist him in all hisundertakings, and had blessed the whole multitude, he said, "Since I amgoing to my forefathers, and God has determined that this should be theday of my departure to them, I return him thanks while I am still aliveand present with you, for that providence he hath exercised over you, which hath not only delivered us from the miseries we lay under, buthath bestowed a state of prosperity upon us; as also, that he hathassisted me in the pains I took, and in all the contrivances I had inmy care about you, in order to better your condition, and hath on alloccasions showed himself favorable to us; or rather he it was who firstconducted our affairs, and brought them to a happy conclusion, by makinguse of me as a vicarious general under him, and as a minister in thosematters wherein he was willing to do you good: on which account I thinkit proper to bless that Divine Power which will take care of you for thetime to come, and this in order to repay that debt which I owe him, andto leave behind me a memorial that we are obliged to worship and honorhim, and to keep those laws which are the most excellent gift ofall those he hath already bestowed upon us, or which, if he continuefavorable to us, he will bestow upon us hereafter. Certainly a humanlegislator is a terrible enemy when his laws are affronted, and aremade to no purpose. And may you never experience that displeasure of Godwhich will be the consequence of the neglect of these his laws, whichhe, who is your Creator, hath given you. " 48. When Moses had spoken thus at the end of his life, and had foretoldwhat would befall to every one of their tribes [36] afterward, with theaddition of a blessing to them, the multitude fell into tears, insomuchthat even the women, by beating their breasts, made manifest the deepconcern they had when he was about to die. The children also lamentedstill more, as not able to contain their grief; and thereby declared, that even at their age they were sensible of his virtue and mightydeeds; and truly there seemed to be a strife betwixt the young and theold who should most grieve for him. The old grieved because they knewwhat a careful protector they were to be deprived of, and so lamentedtheir future state; but the young grieved, not only for that, but alsobecause it so happened that they were to be left by him before they hadwell tasted of his virtue. Now one may make a guess at the excess ofthis sorrow and lamentation of the multitude, from what happened to thelegislator himself; for although he was always persuaded that he oughtnot to be cast down at the approach of death, since the undergoing itwas agreeable to the will of God and the law of nature, yet what thepeople did so overbore him, that he wept himself. Now as he wentthence to the place where he was to vanish out of their sight, they allfollowed after him weeping; but Moses beckoned with his hand to thosethat were remote from him, and bade them stay behind in quiet, whilehe exhorted those that were near to him that they would not render hisdeparture so lamentable. Whereupon they thought they ought to grant himthat favor, to let him depart according as he himself desired; so theyrestrained themselves, though weeping still towards one another. Allthose who accompanied him were the senate, and Eleazar the high priest, and Joshua their commander. Now as soon as they were come to themountain called Abarim, [which is a very high mountain, situate overagainst Jericho, and one that affords, to such as are upon it, aprospect of the greatest part of the excellent land of Canaan, ] hedismissed the senate; and as he was going to embrace Eleazar and Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, a cloud stood over him on thesudden, and he disappeared in a certain valley, although he wrote in theholy books that he died, which was done out of fear, lest they shouldventure to say that, because of his extraordinary virtue, he went toGod. 49. Now Moses lived in all one hundred and twenty years; a third part ofwhich time, abating one month, he was the people's ruler; and he died onthe last month of the year, which is called by the Macedonians Dystrus, but by us Adar, on the first day of the month. He was one that exceededall men that ever were in understanding, and made the best use of whatthat understanding suggested to him. He had a very graceful way ofspeaking and addressing himself to the multitude; and as to his otherqualifications, he had such a full command of his passions, as if hehardly had any such in his soul, and only knew them by their names, asrather perceiving them in other men than in himself. He was also such ageneral of an army as is seldom seen, as well as such a prophet as wasnever known, and this to such a degree, that whatsoever he pronounced, you would think you heard the voice of God himself. So the peoplemourned for him thirty days: nor did ever any grief so deeply affectthe Hebrews as did this upon the death of Moses: nor were those thathad experienced his conduct the only persons that desired him, but thosealso that perused the laws he left behind him had a strong desire afterhim, and by them gathered the extraordinary virtue he was master of. And this shall suffice for the declaration of the manner of the death ofMoses. BOOK V. Containing The Interval Of Four Hundred And Seventy-Six Years. From The Death Of Moses To The Death Of Eli. CHAPTER 1. How Joshua, The Commander Of The Hebrews, Made War With TheCanaanites, And Overcame Them, And Destroyed Them, And Divided TheirLand By Lot To The Tribes Of Israel. 1. When Moses was taken away from among men, in the manner alreadydescribed, and when all the solemnities belonging to the mourning forhim were finished, and the sorrow for him was over, Joshua commanded themultitude to get themselves ready for an expedition. He also sentspies to Jericho to discover what forces they had, and what were theirintentions; but he put his camp in order, as intending soon to pass overJordan at a proper season. And calling to him the rulers of the tribe ofReuben, and the governors of the tribe of Gad, and [the half tribeof] Manasseh, for half of this tribe had been permitted to have theirhabitation in the country of the Amorites, which was the seventh partof the land of Canaan, [1] he put them in mind what they had promisedMoses; and he exhorted them that, for the sake of the care that Moseshad taken of them who had never been weary of taking pains for themno, not when he was dying, and for the sake of the public welfare, theywould prepare themselves, and readily perform what they had promised;so he took fifty thousand of them who followed him, and he marched fromAbila to Jordan, sixty furlongs. 2. Now when he had pitched his camp, the spies came to him immediately, well acquainted with the whole state of the Canaanites; for at first, before they were at all discovered, they took a full view of the cityof Jericho without disturbance, and saw which parts of the walls werestrong, and which parts were otherwise, and indeed insecure, and whichof the gates were so weak as might afford an entrance to their army. Now those that met them took no notice of them when they saw them, and supposed they were only strangers, who used to be very curious inobserving everything in the city, and did not take them for enemies; butat even they retired to a certain inn that was near to the wall, whitherthey went to eat their supper; which supper when they had done, and wereconsidering how to get away, information was given to the king as he wasat supper, that there were some persons come from the Hebrews' camp toview 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 sentimmediately some to them, and commanded to catch them, and bring themto him, that he might examine them by torture, and learn what theirbusiness was there. As soon as Rahab understood that these messengerswere coming, she hid the spies under stalks of flax, which were laid todry on the top of her house; and said to the messengers that were sentby the king, that certain unknown strangers had supped with her a littlebefore sun-setting, and were gone away, who might easily be taken, ifthey were any terror to the city, or likely to bring any danger tothe king. So these messengers being thus deluded by the woman, [2] andsuspecting no imposition, went their ways, without so much as searchingthe inn; but they immediately pursued them along those roads which theymost probably supposed them to have gone, and those particularly whichled to the river, but could hear no tidings of them; so they left offthe pains of any further pursuit. But when the tumult was over, Rahabbrought the men down, and desired them as soon as they should haveobtained possession of the land of Canaan, when it would be in theirpower to make her amends for her preservation of them, to rememberwhat danger she had undergone for their sakes; for that if she hadbeen caught concealing them, she could not have escaped a terribledestruction, she and all her family with her, and so bid them go home;and desired them to swear to her to preserve her and her family whenthey should take the city, and destroy all its inhabitants, as they haddecreed to do; for so far she said she had been assured by those Divinemiracles of which she had been informed. So these spies acknowledgedthat they owed her thanks for what she had done already, and withalswore to requite her kindness, not only in words, but in deeds. But theygave her this advice, That when she should perceive that the city wasabout to be taken, she should put her goods, and all her family, byway of security, in her inn, and to hang out scarlet threads before herdoors, [or windows, ] that the commander of the Hebrews might know herhouse, and take care to do her no harm; for, said they, we will informhim of this matter, because of the concern thou hast had to preserve us:but if any one of thy family fall in the battle, do not thou blameus; and we beseech that God, by whom we have sworn, not then to bedispleased with us, as though we had broken our oaths. So these men, when they had made this agreement, went away, letting themselves downby a rope from the wall, and escaped, and came and told their own peoplewhatsoever they had done in their journey to this city. Joshua also toldEleazar the high priest, and the senate, what the spies had sworn toRahab, who continued what had been sworn. 3. Now while Joshua, the commander, was in fear about their passing overJordan, for the river ran with a strong current, and could not bepassed over with bridges, for there never had been bridges laid over ithitherto; and while he suspected, that if he should attempt to make abridge, that their enemies would not afford him thee to perfect it, andfor ferry-boats they had none, -God promised so to dispose of the river, that they might pass over it, and that by taking away the main part ofits waters. So Joshua, after two days, caused the army and the wholemultitude to pass over in the manner following:--The priests went firstof all, having the ark with them; then went the Levites bearing thetabernacle and the vessels which belonged to the sacrifices; after whichthe entire multitude followed, according to their tribes, having theirchildren and their wives in the midst of them, as being afraid for them, lest they should be borne away by the stream. But as soon as the priestshad entered the river first, it appeared fordable, the depth of thewater being restrained and the sand appearing at the bottom, because thecurrent was neither so strong nor so swift as to carry it away by itsforce; so they all passed over the river without fear, finding it to bein the very same state as God had foretold he would put it in; but thepriests stood still in the midst of the river till the multitude shouldbe passed over, and should get to the shore in safety; and when all weregone over, the priests came out also, and permitted the current to runfreely as it used to do before. Accordingly the river, as soon as theHebrews were come out of it, arose again presently, and came to its ownproper magnitude as before. 4. So the Hebrews went on farther fifty furlongs, and pitched their campat the distance of ten furlongs from Jericho; but Joshua built an altarof those stones which all the heads of the tribes, at the command of theprophets, had taken out of the deep, to be afterwards a memorial of thedivision of the stream of this river, and upon it offered sacrifice toGod; and in that place celebrated the passover, and had great plenty ofall the things which they wanted hitherto; for they reaped the corn ofthe Canaanites, which was now ripe, and took other things as prey; forthen it was that their former food, which was manna, and of which theyhad eaten forty years, failed them. 5. Now while the Israelites did this, and the Canaanites did not attackthem, but kept themselves quiet within their own walls, Joshua resolvedto besiege them; so on the first day of the feast [of the passover], thepriests carried the ark round about, with some part of the armed men tobe a guard to it. These priests went forward, blowing with their seventrumpets; and exhorted the army to be of good courage, and went roundabout the city, with the senate following them; and when the priestshad only blown with the trumpets, for they did nothing more at all, theyreturned to the camp. And when they had done this for six days, on theseventh Joshua gathered the armed men and all the people together, andtold them these good tidings, That the city should now be taken, sinceGod would on that day give it them, by the falling down of the walls, and this of their own accord, and without their labor. However, hecharged them to kill every one they should take, and not to abstain fromthe slaughter of their enemies, either for weariness or for pity, andnot to fall on the spoil, and be thereby diverted from pursuing theirenemies as they ran away; but to destroy all the animals, and to takenothing for their own peculiar advantage. He commanded them also tobring together all the silver and gold, that it might be set apart asfirst-fruits unto God out of this glorious exploit, as having gottenthem from the city they first took; only that they should save Rahab andher 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 broughtit against the city: so they went round the city again, the ark goingbefore them, and the priests encouraging the people to be zealous in thework; and when they had gone round it seven times, and had stood stilla little, the wall fell down, while no instruments of war, nor any otherforce, was applied to it by the Hebrews. 7. So they entered into Jericho, and slew all the men that were therein, while they were aftrighted at the surprising overthrow of the walls, and their courage was become useless, and they were not able to defendthemselves; 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 children; and the citywas filled with dead bodies, and not one person escaped. They also burntthe whole city, and the country about it; but they saved alive Rahab, with her family, who had fled to her inn. And when she was brought tohim, Joshua owned to her that they owed her thanks for her preservationof the spies: so he said he would not appear to be behind her in hisbenefaction to her; whereupon he gave her certain lands immediately, andhad her in great esteem ever afterwards. 8. And if any part of the city escaped the fire, he overthrew it fromthe foundation; and he denounced a curse [3]against its inhabitants, ifany should desire to rebuild it; how, upon his laying the foundation ofthe walls, he should be deprived of his eldest son; and upon finishingit, he should lose his youngest son. But what happened hereupon we shallspeak of hereafter. 9. Now there was an immense quantity of silver and gold, and besidesthose of brass also, that was heaped together out of the city when itwas taken, no one transgressing the decree, nor purloining for their ownpeculiar advantage; which spoils Joshua delivered to the priests, to belaid up among their treasures. And thus did Jericho perish. 10. But there was one Achar, [4] the son [of Charmi, the son] ofZebedias, of the tribe of Judah, who finding a royal garment wovenentirely of gold, and a piece of gold that weighed two hundred shekels;[5] and thinking it a very hard case, that what spoils he, by runningsome hazard, had found, he must give away, and offer it to God, who stood in no need of it, while he that wanted it must go withoutit, --made a deep ditch in his own tent, and laid them up therein, assupposing he should not only be concealed from his fellow soldiers, butfrom God himself also. 11. Now the place where Joshua pitched his camp was called Gilgal, whichdenotes liberty; [6] for since now they had passed over Jordan, theylooked on themselves as freed from the miseries which they had undergonefrom the Egyptians, and in the wilderness. 12. Now, a few days after the calamity that befell Jericho, Joshua sentthree 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, andlost thirty-six of their men. When this was told the Israelites, it madethem very sad, and exceeding disconsolate, not so much because of therelation the men that were destroyed bare to them, though those thatwere destroyed were all good men, and deserved their esteem, as by thedespair it occasioned; for while they believed that they were already, in effect, in possession of the land, and should bring back the army outof the battles without loss, as God had promised beforehand, they nowsaw unexpectedly their enemies bold with success; so they put sackclothover their garments, and continued in tears and lamentation all the day, without the least inquiry after food, but laid what had happened greatlyto heart. 13. When Joshua saw the army so much afflicted, and possessed withforebodings of evil as to their whole expedition, he used freedom withGod, and said, "We are not come thus far out of any rashness of our own, as though we thought ourselves able to subdue this land with our ownweapons, but at the instigation of Moses thy servant for this purpose, because thou hast promised us, by many signs, that thou wouldst give usthis land for a possession, and that thou wouldst make our army alwayssuperior in war to our enemies, and accordingly some success has alreadyattended upon us agreeably to thy promises; but because we have nowunexpectedly been foiled, and have lost some men out of our army, weare grieved at it, as fearing what thou hast promised us, and what Mosesforetold us, cannot be depended on by us; and our future expectationtroubles us the more, because we have met with such a disaster in thisour first attempt. But do thou, O Lord, free us from these suspicions, for thou art able to find a cure for these disorders, by giving usvictory, which will both take away the grief we are in at present, andprevent our distrust as to what is to come. " 14. These intercessions Joshua put up to God, as he lay prostrate on hisface: whereupon God answered him, That he should rise up, and purify hishost from the pollution that had got into it; that "things consecratedto me have been impudently stolen from me, " and that "this has beenthe occasion why this defeat had happened to them;" and that when theyshould search out and punish the offender, he would ever take care theyshould have the victory over their enemies. This Joshua told the people;and calling for Eleazar the high priest, and the men in authority, hecast lots, tribe by tribe; and when the lot showed that this wickedaction was done by one of the tribe of Judah, he then again proposedthe lot to the several families thereto belonging; so the truth of thiswicked action was found to belong to the family of Zachar; and when theinquiry was made man by man, they took Achar, who, upon God's reducinghim to a terrible extremity, could not deny the fact: so he confessedthe theft, and produced what he had taken in the midst of them, whereupon he was immediately put to death; and attained no more than tobe buried in the night in a disgraceful manner, and such as was suitableto a condemned malefactor. 15. When Joshua had thus purified the host, he led them against Ai: andhaving by night laid an ambush round about the city, he attacked theenemies as soon as it was day; but as they advanced boldly against theIsraelites, because of their former victory, he made them believe heretired, and by that means drew them a great way from the city, theystill supposing that they were pursuing their enemies, and despisedthem, as though the case had been the same with that in the formerbattle; after which Joshua ordered his forces to turn about, and placedthem against their front. He then made the signals agreed upon to thosethat lay in ambush, and so excited them to fight; so they ran suddenlyinto the city, the inhabitants being upon the walls, nay, others ofthem being in perplexity, and coming to see those that were without thegates. Accordingly, these men took the city, and slew all that they metwith; but Joshua forced those that came against him to come to a closefight, and discomfited them, and made them run away; and when they weredriven towards the city, and thought it had not been touched, as soon asthey saw it was taken, and perceived it was burnt, with their wives andchildren, they wandered about in the fields in a scattered condition, and were no way able to defend themselves, because they had none tosupport them. Now when this calamity was come upon the men of Ai, therewere a great number of children, and women, and servants, and an immensequantity of other furniture. The Hebrews also took herds of cattle, anda great deal of money, for this was a rich country. So when Joshua cameto Gilgal, he divided all these spoils among the soldiers. 16. But the Gibeonites, who inhabited very near to Jerusalem, when theysaw what miseries had happened to the inhabitants of Jericho; and tothose of Ai, and suspected that the like sore calamity would come as faras themselves, they did not think fit to ask for mercy of Joshua; forthey supposed they should find little mercy from him, who made war thathe might entirely destroy the nation of the Canaanites; but they invitedthe people of Cephirah and Kiriathjearim, who were their neighbors, to join in league with them; and told them that neither could theythemselves avoid the danger they were all in, if the Israelites shouldprevent them, and seize upon them: so when they had persuaded them, they resolved to endeavor to escape the forces of the Israelites. Accordingly, upon their agreement to what they proposed, they sentambassadors to Joshua to make a league of friendship with him, and thosesuch of the citizens as were best approved of, and most capable ofdoing what was most advantageous to the multitude. Now these ambassadorsthought it dangerous to confess themselves to be Canaanites, but thoughtthey might by this contrivance avoid the danger, namely, by saying thatthey bare no relation to the Canaanites at all, but dwelt at a verygreat distance from them: and they said further, that they came a longway, on account of the reputation he had gained for his virtue; and as amark of the truth of what they said, they showed him the habit they werein, for that their clothes were new when they came out, but were greatlyworn by the length of thee they had been on their journey; for indeedthey took torn garments, on purpose that they might make him believe so. So they stood in the midst of the people, and said that they were sentby the people of Gibeon, and of the circumjacent cities, which werevery remote from the land where they now were, to make such a leagueof friendship with them, and this on such conditions as were customaryamong their forefathers; for when they understood that, by the favor ofGod, and his gift to them, they were to have the possession of the landof Canaan bestowed upon them, they said that they were very glad to hearit, and desired to be admitted into the number of their citizens. Thusdid these ambassadors speak; and showing them the marks of their longjourney, they entreated the Hebrews to make a league of friendship withthem. Accordingly Joshua, believing what they said, that they were notof the nation of the Canaanites, entered into friendship with them; andEleazar the high priest, with the senate, sware to them that they wouldesteem them their friends and associates, and would attempt nothing thatshould be unfair against them, the multitude also assenting to the oathsthat were made to them. So these men, having obtained what they desired, by deceiving the Israelites, went home: but when Joshua led his army tothe country at the bottom of the mountains of this part of Canaan, heunderstood that the Gibeonites dwelt not far from Jerusalem, andthat they were of the stock of the Canaanites; so he sent for theirgovernors, and reproached them with the cheat they had put upon him; butthey alleged, on their own behalf, that they had no other way to savethemselves but that, and were therefore forced to have recourse toit. So he called for Eleazar the high priest, and for the senate, whothought it right to make them public servants, that they might not breakthe oath they had made to them; and they ordained them to be so. Andthis was the method by which these men found safety and security underthe calamity that was ready to overtake them. 17. But the king of Jerusalem took it to heart that the Gibeonites hadgone over to Joshua; so he called upon the kings of the neighboringnations to join together, and make war against them. Now when theGibeonites saw these kings, which were four, besides the king ofJerusalem, and perceived that they had pitched their camp at a certainfountain not far from their city, and were getting ready for the siegeof it, they called upon Joshua to assist them; for such was their case, as to expect to be destroyed by these Canaanites, but to supposethey should be saved by those that came for the destruction of theCanaanites, because of the league of friendship that was between them. Accordingly, Joshua made haste with his whole army to assist them, andmarching day and night, in the morning he fell upon the enemies asthey were going up to the siege; and when he had discomfited them, hefollowed them, and pursued them down the descent of the hills. The placeis called Bethhoron; where he also understood that God assisted him, which he declared by thunder and thunderbolts, as also by the fallingof hail larger than usual. Moreover, it happened that the day waslengthened [7] that the night might not come on too soon, and be anobstruction to the zeal of the Hebrews in pursuing their enemies;insomuch that Joshua took the kings, who were hidden in a certain caveat Makkedah, and put them to death. Now, that the day was lengthened atthis thee, and was longer than ordinary, is expressed in the books laidup in the temple. [8] 18. These kings which made war with, and were ready to fight theGibeonites, being thus overthrown, Joshua returned again to themountainous parts of Canaan; and when he had made a great slaughter ofthe people there, and took their prey, he came to the camp at Gilgal. And now there went a great fame abroad among the neighboring people ofthe courage of the Hebrews; and those that heard what a number of menwere destroyed, were greatly aftrighted at it: so the kings that livedabout Mount Libanus, who were Canaanites, and those Canaanites thatdwelt in the plain country, with auxiliaries out of the land of thePhilistines, pitched their camp at Beroth, a city of the Upper Galilee, not far from Cadesh, which is itself also a place in Galilee. Now thenumber of the whole army was three hundred thousand armed footmen, and ten thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand chariots; so thatthe multitude of the enemies aftrighted both Joshua himself and theIsraelites; and they, instead of being full of hopes of good success, were superstitiously timorous, with the great terror with which theywere stricken. Whereupon God upbraided them with the fear they were in, and asked them whether they desired a greater help than he could affordthem; and promised them that they should overcome their enemies; andwithal charged them to make their enemies' horses useless, and to burntheir chariots. So Joshua became full of courage upon these promisesof 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 aterrible fight, and such a number were slain as could not be believedby those that heard it. He also went on in the pursuit a great way, anddestroyed the entire army of the enemies, few only excepted, and allthe kings fell in the battle; insomuch, that when there wanted men tobe killed, Joshua slew their horses, and burnt their chariots and passedall over their country without opposition, no one daring to meet him inbattle; but he still went on, taking their cities by siege, and againkilling whatever he took. 19. The fifth year was now past, and there was not one of the Canaanitesremained any longer, excepting some that had retired to places of greatstrength. So Joshua removed his camp to the mountainous country, andplaced the tabernacle in the city of Shiloh, for that seemed a fit placefor it, because of the beauty of its situation, until such thee as theiraffairs would permit them to build a temple; and from thence he went toShechem, together with all the people, and raised an altar where Moseshad beforehand directed; then did he divide the army, and placed onehalf of them on Mount Gerizzim, and the other half on Mount Ebal, onwhich mountain the altar was; he also placed there the tribe of Levi, and the priests. And when they had sacrificed, 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 the Canaaniteswere not easily to be taken, not only because they were situate in suchstrong places, but because of the strength of the walls themselves, which being built round about, the natural strength of the places onwhich the cities stood, seemed capable of repelling their enemies frombesieging them, and of making those enemies despair of taking them; forwhen the Canaanites had learned that the Israelites came out of Egyptin order to destroy them, they were busy all that time in making theircities strong. So he gathered the people together to a congregation atShiloh; and when they, with great zeal and haste, were come thither, he observed to them what prosperous successes they had already had, andwhat glorious things had been done, and those such as were worthy ofthat God who enabled them to do those things, and worthy of the virtueof those laws which they followed. He took notice also, that thirty-oneof those kings that ventured to give them battle were overcome, andevery 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 anyof their posterity remained. And as for the cities, since some of themwere taken, but the others must be taken in length of thee, by longsieges, both on account of the strength of their walls, and of theconfidence the inhabitants had in them thereby, he thought it reasonablethat those tribes that came along with them from beyond Jordan, and hadpartaken of the dangers they had undergone, being their own kindred, should now be dismissed and sent home, and should have thanks forthe pains they had taken together with them. As also, he thought itreasonable that they should send one man out of every tribe, and he suchas had the testimony of extraordinary virtue, who should measure theland faithfully, and without any fallacy or deceit should inform them ofits real magnitude. 21. Now Joshua, when he had thus spoken to them, found that themultitude approved of his proposal. So he sent men to measure theircountry, and sent with them some geometricians, who could not easilyfail of knowing the truth, on account of their skill in that art. Healso gave them a charge to estimate the measure of that part of the landthat was most fruitful, and what was not so good: for such is the natureof the land of Canaan, that one may see large plains, and such as areexceeding fit to produce fruit, which yet, if they were compared toother parts of the country, might be reckoned exceedingly fruitful;yet, if it be compared with the fields about Jericho, and to thosethat belong to Jerusalem, will appear to be of no account at all; andalthough it so falls out that these people have but a very little ofthis sort of land, and that it is, for the main, mountainous also, yet does it not come behind other parts, on account of its exceedinggoodness and beauty; for which reason Joshua thought the land for thetribes should be divided by estimation of its goodness, rather than thelargeness of its measure, it often happening that one acre of some sortof land was equivalent to a thousand other acres. Now the men thatwere sent, which were in number ten, traveled all about, and made anestimation of the land, and in the seventh month came to him to the cityof Shiloh, where they had set up the tabernacle. 22. So Joshua took both Eleazar and the senate, and with them the headsof the tribes, and distributed the land to the nine tribes, and to thehalf-tribe of Manasseh, appointing the dimensions to be according to thelargeness of each tribe. So when he had cast lots, Judah had assignedhim by lot the upper part of Judea, reaching as far as Jerusalem, andits breadth extended to the Lake of Sodom. Now in the lot of this tribethere were the cities of Askelon and Gaza. The lot of Simeon, which wasthe second, included that part of Idumea which bordered upon Egypt andArabia. As to the Benjamites, their lot fell so, that its length reachedfrom the river Jordan to the sea, but in breadth it was bounded byJerusalem and Bethel; and this lot was the narrowest of all, by reasonof the goodness of the land, for it included Jericho and the city ofJerusalem. The tribe of Ephraim had by lot the land that extended inlength from the river Jordan to Gezer; but in breadth as far as fromBethel, till it ended at the Great Plain. The half-tribe of Manassehhad the land from Jordan to the city of Dora; but its breadth was atBethsham, which is now called Scythopolis. And after these was Issachar, which had its limits in length, Mount Carmel and the river, but itslimit in breadth was Mount Tabor. The tribe of Zebulon's lot includedthe land which lay as far as the Lake of Genesareth, and that whichbelonged to Carmel and the sea. The tribe of Aser had that part whichwas called the Valley, for such it was, and all that part which layover-against Sidon. The city Arce belonged to their share, which is alsonamed Actipus. The Naphthalites received the eastern parts, as far asthe city of Damascus and the Upper Galilee, unto Mount Libanus, and theFountains of Jordan, which rise out of that mountain; that is, out ofthat part of it whose limits belong to the neighboring city of Arce. The Danites' lot included all that part of the valley which respects thesun-setting, and were bounded by Azotus and Dora; as also they had allJamnia and Gath, from Ekron to that mountain where the tribe of Judahbegins. 23. After this manner did Joshua divide the six nations that bear thename of the sons of Canaan, with their land, to be possessed by thenine tribes and a half; for Moses had prevented him, and had alreadydistributed the land of the Amorites, which itself was so called alsofrom one of the sons of Canaan, to the two tribes and a half, as we haveshown already. But the parts about Sidon, as also those that belonged tothe Arkites, and the Amathites, and the Aradians, were not yet regularlydisposed of. 24. But now was Joshua hindered by his age from executing what heintended to do [as did those that succeeded him in the government, takelittle care of what was for the advantage of the public]; so he gaveit in charge to every tribe to leave no remainder of the race of theCanaanites in the land that had been divided to them by lot; that Moseshad assured them beforehand, and they might rest fully satisfied aboutit, that their own security and their observation of their own lawsdepended wholly upon it. Moreover, he enjoined them to give thirty-eightcities to the Levites, for they had already received ten in the countryof the Amorites; and three of these he assigned to those that fled fromthe man-slayers, who were to inhabit there; for he was very solicitousthat nothing should be neglected which Moses had ordained. These citieswere, of the tribe of Judah, Hebron; of that of Ephraim, Shechem; andof that of Naphthali, Cadesh, which is a place of the Upper Galilee. Healso distributed among them the rest of the prey not yet distributed, which was very great; whereby they had an affluence of great riches, both all in general, and every one in particular; and this of gold andof vestments, and of other furniture, besides a multitude of cattle, whose number could not be told. 25. After this was over, he gathered the army together to acongregation, and spake thus to those tribes that had their settlementin the land of the Amorites beyond Jordan, --for fifty thousand of themhad armed themselves, and had gone to the war along with them:--"Sincethat God, who is the Father and Lord of the Hebrew nation, has nowgiven us this land for a possession, and promised to preserve us in theenjoyment of it as our own for ever; and since you have with alacrityoffered yourselves to assist us when we wanted that assistance onall occasions, according to his command; it is but just, now all ourdifficulties are over, that you should be permitted to enjoy rest, andthat 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 anyfuture emergency, and not tire you out so much now as may make youslower in assisting us another thee. We, therefore, return you ourthanks for the dangers you have undergone with us, and we do it not atthis thee only, but we shall always be thus disposed; and be so good asto remember our friends, and to preserve in mind what advantages wehave had from them; and how you have put off the enjoyments of your ownhappiness for our sakes, and have labored for what we have now, by thegoodwill of God, obtained, and resolved not to enjoy your own prosperitytill you had afforded us that assistance. However, you have, by joiningyour labor with ours, gotten great plenty of riches, and will carry homewith you much prey, with gold and silver, and, what is more than allthese, our good-will towards you, and a mind willingly disposed to makea requital of your kindness to us, in what case soever you shall desireit, for you have not omitted any thing which Moses beforehand requiredof you, nor have you despised him because he was dead and gone from you, so that there is nothing to diminish that gratitude which we owe to you. We therefore dismiss you joyful to your own inheritances; and weentreat you to suppose, that there is no limit to be set to the intimaterelation that is between us; and that you will not imagine, because thisriver is interposed between us, that you are of a different race fromus, and not Hebrews; for we are all the posterity of Abraham, both wethat inhabit here, and you that inhabit there; and it is the same Godthat brought our forefathers and yours into the world, whose worship andform of government we are to take care of, which he has ordained, andare most carefully to observe; because while you continue in those laws, God will also show himself merciful and assisting to you; but if youimitate the other nations, and forsake those laws, he will reject yournation. " When Joshua had spoken thus, and saluted them all, both thosein authority one by one, and the whole multitude in common, he himselfstaid where he was; but the people conducted those tribes on theirjourney, and that not without tears in their eyes; and indeed theyhardly knew how to part one from the other. 26. Now when the tribe of Reuben, and that of Gad, and as many of theManassites as followed them, were passed over the river, they built analtar on the banks of Jordan, as a monument to posterity, and a sign oftheir relation to those that should inhabit on the other side. But whenthose on the other side heard that those who had been dismissed hadbuilt an altar, but did not hear with what intention they built it, but supposed it to be by way of innovation, and for the introduction ofstrange gods, they did not incline to disbelieve it; but thinking thisdefamatory report, as if it were built for divine worship, was credible, they appeared in arms, as though they would avenge themselves on thosethat built the altar; and they were about to pass over the river, and topunish them for their subversion of the laws of their country; for theydid not think it fit to regard them on account of their kindred or thedignity of those that had given the occasion, but to regard the will ofGod, and the manner wherein he desired to be worshipped; so thesemen put themselves in array for war. But Joshua, and Eleazar the highpriest, and the senate, restrained them; and persuaded them first tomake trial by words of their intention, and afterwards, if they foundthat their intention was evil, then only to proceed to make war uponthem. Accordingly, they sent as ambassadors to them Phineas the son ofEleazar, and ten more persons that were in esteem among the Hebrews, tolearn of them what was in their mind, when, upon passing over the river, they had built an altar upon its banks. And as soon as these ambassadorswere passed over, and were come to them, and a congregation wasassembled, Phineas stood up and said, That the offense they had beenguilty of was of too heinous a nature to be punished by words alone, orby them only to be amended for the future; yet that they did not so lookat the heinousness of their transgression as to have recourse to arms, and to a battle for their punishment immediately, but that, on accountof their kindred, and the probability there was that they might bereclaimed, they took this method of sending an ambassage to them: "Thatwhen we have learned the true reasons by which you have been movedto build this altar, we may neither seem to have been too rash inassaulting you by our weapons of war, if it prove that you made thealtar for justifiable reasons, and may then justly punish you if theaccusation prove true; for we can hardly hardly suppose that you, havebeen acquainted with the will of God and have been hearers of those lawswhich he himself hath given us, now you are separated from us, and goneto that patrimony of yours, which you, through the grace of God, andthat providence which he exercises over you, have obtained by lot, canforget him, and can leave that ark and that altar which is peculiar tous, and can introduce strange gods, and imitate the wicked practices ofthe Canaanites. Now this will appear to have been a small crime ifyou repent now, and proceed no further in your madness, but pay a duereverence to, and keep in mind the laws of your country; but if youpersist in your sins, we will not grudge our pains to preserve our laws;but we will pass over Jordan and defend them, and defend God also, andshall esteem of you as of men no way differing from the Canaanites, butshall destroy you in the like manner as we destroyed them; for do notyou imagine that, because you are got over the river, you are got out ofthe reach of God's power; you are every where in places that belong tohim, and impossible it is to overrun his power, and the punishment hewill bring on men thereby: but if you think that your settlement herewill be any obstruction to your conversion to what is good, nothing needhinder us from dividing the land anew, and leaving this old land to befor the feeding of sheep; but you will do well to return to your duty, and to leave off these new crimes; and we beseech you, by your childrenand wives, not to force us to punish you. Take therefore such measuresin this assembly, as supposing that your own safety, and the safety ofthose that are dearest to you, is therein concerned, and believe thatit is better for you to be conquered by words, than to continue in yourpurpose, and to experience deeds and war therefore. " 27. When Phineas had discoursed thus, the governors of the assembly, andthe whole multitude, began to make an apology for themselves, concerningwhat they were accused of; and they said, That they neither would departfrom the relation they bare to them, nor had they built the altar by wayof innovation; that they owned one and the same common God with all theHebrews, and that brazen altar which was before the tabernacle, on whichthey would offer their sacrifices; that as to the altar they had raised, on account of which they were thus suspected, it was not built forworship, "but that it might be a sign and a monument of our relationto you for ever, and a necessary caution to us to act wisely, and tocontinue in the laws of our country, but not a handle for transgressingthem, as you suspect: and let God be our authentic witness, that thiswas the occasion of our building this altar: whence we beg you will havea better opinion of us, and do not impute such a thing to us as wouldrender any of the posterity of Abraham well worthy of perdition, in casethey attempt to bring in new rites, and such as are different from ourusual practices. " 28. When they had made this answer, and Phineas had commended them forit, he came to Joshua, and explained before the people what answer theyhad received. Now Joshua was glad that he was under no necessity ofsetting them in array, or of leading them to shed blood, and make waragainst men of their own kindred; and accordingly he offered sacrificesof thanksgiving to God for the same. So Joshua after that dissolved thisgreat assembly of the people, and sent them to their own inheritances, while he himself lived in Shechem. But in the twentieth year after this, when he was very old, he sent for those of the greatest dignity in theseveral cities, with those in authority, and the senate, and as many ofthe common people as could be present; and when they were come, he putthem in mind of all the benefits God had bestowed on them, which couldnot but be a great many, since from a low estate they were advanced toso great a degree of glory and plenty; and exhorted them to take noticeof the intentions of God, which had been so gracious towards them; andtold them that the Deity would continue their friend by nothing else buttheir piety; and that it was proper for him, now that he was about todepart out of this life, to leave such an admonition to them; and hedesired that they would keep in memory this his exhortation to them. 29. So Joshua, when he had thus discoursed to them, died, having liveda hundred and ten years; forty of which he lived with Moses, in order tolearn what might be for his advantage afterwards. He also became theircommander after his death for twenty-five years. He was a man thatwanted not wisdom nor eloquence to declare his intentions to thepeople, but very eminent on both accounts. He was of great courage andmagnanimity in action and in dangers, and very sagacious in procuringthe peace of the people, and of great virtue at all proper seasons. Hewas buried in the city of Timnab, of the tribe of Ephraim [9] About thesame time died Eleazar the high priest, leaving the high priesthood tohis son Phineas. His monument also, and sepulcher, are in the city ofGabatha. CHAPTER 2. How, After The Death Of Joshua Their Commander, TheIsraelites Transgressed The Laws Of Their Country, And Experienced GreatAfflictions; And When There Was A Sedition Arisen, The Tribe Of BenjaminWas Destroyed Excepting Only Six Hundred Men. 1. After the death of Joshua and Eleazar, Phineas prophesied, [10] thataccording to God's will they should commit the government to the tribeof Judah, and that this tribe should destroy the race of the Canaanites;for then the people were concerned to learn what was the will of God. They also took to their assistance the tribe of Simeon; but upon thiscondition, that when those that had been tributary to the tribe of Judahshould be slain, they should do the like for the tribe of Simeon. 2. But the affairs of the Canaanites were at this thee in a flourishingcondition, and they expected the Israelites with a great army at thecity Bezek, having put the government into the hands of Adonibezek, which name denotes the Lord of Bezek, for Adoni in the Hebrew tonguesignifies Lord. Now they hoped to have been too hard for the Israelites, because Joshua was dead; but when the Israelites had joined battle withthem, I mean the two tribes before mentioned, they fought gloriously, and slew above ten thousand of them, and put the rest to flight; and inthe pursuit they took Adonibezek, who, when his fingers and toes werecut off by them, said, "Nay, indeed, I was not always to lie concealedfrom God, as I find by what I now endure, while I have not been ashamedto do the same to seventy-two kings. " [11] So they carried him alive asfar 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 thegreatest part of them, they besieged Jerusalem; and when they had takenthe lower city, which was not under a considerable time, they slew allthe inhabitants; but the upper city was not to be taken without greatdifficulty, through the strength of its walls, and the nature of theplace. 3. For which reason they removed their camp to Hebron; and when they hadtaken it, they slew all the inhabitants. There were till then left therace of giants, who had bodies so large, and countenances so entirelydifferent from other men, that they were surprising to the sight, andterrible to the hearing. The bones of these men are still shown to thisvery day, unlike to any credible relations of other men. Now they gavethis city to the Levites as an extraordinary reward, with the suburbs oftwo thousand cities; but the land thereto belonging they gave as a freegift to Caleb, according to the injunctions of Moses. This Caleb was oneof the spies which Moses sent into the land of Canaan. They also gaveland for habitation to the posterity of Jethro, the Midianite, who wasthe father-in-law to Moses; for they had left their own country, andfollowed them, and accompanied them in the wilderness. 4. Now the tribes of Judah and Simeon took the cities which were in themountainous part of Canaan, as also Askelon and Ashdod, of those thatlay near the sea; but Gaza and Ekron escaped them, for they, lying in aflat country, and having a great number of chariots, sorely galled thosethat attacked them. So these tribes, when they were grown very rich bythis war, retired to their own cities, and laid aside their weapons ofwar. 5. But the Benjamites, to whom belonged Jerusalem, permitted itsinhabitants to pay tribute. So they all left off, the one to kill, andthe other to expose themselves to danger, and had time to cultivate theground. The rest of the tribes imitated that of Benjamin, and did thesame; and, contenting themselves with the tributes that were paid them, permitted the Canaanites to live in peace. 6. However, the tribe of Ephraim, when they besieged Bethel, made noadvance, nor performed any thing worthy of the time they spent, and ofthe pains they took about that siege; yet did they persist in it, stillsitting down before the city, though they endured great trouble thereby:but, after some time, they caught one of the citizens that came to themto get necessaries, and they gave him some assurances that, if he woulddeliver up the city to them, they would preserve him and his kindred; sohe aware that, upon those terms, he would put the city into their hands. Accordingly, he that, thus betrayed the city was preserved with hisfamily; and the Israelites slew all the inhabitants, and retained thecity for themselves. 7. After this, the Israelites grew effeminate as to fighting any moreagainst their enemies, but applied themselves to the cultivation of theland, which producing them great plenty and riches, they neglected theregular disposition of their settlement, and indulged themselves inluxury and pleasures; nor were they any longer careful to hear the lawsthat belonged to their political government: whereupon God was provokedto anger, and put them in mind, first, how, contrary to his directions, they had spared the Canaanites; and, after that, how those Canaanites, as opportunity served, used them very barbarously. But the Israelites, though they were in heaviness at these admonitions from God, yetwere they still very unwilling to go to war; and since they got largetributes from the Canaanites, and were indisposed for taking pains bytheir luxury, they suffered their aristocracy to be corrupted also, anddid not ordain themselves a senate, nor any other such magistratesas their laws had formerly required, but they were very much given tocultivating their fields, in order to get wealth; which great indolenceof theirs brought a terrible sedition upon them, and they proceeded sofar as to fight one against another, from the following occasion:-- 8. There was a Levite [12] a man of a vulgar family, that belonged tothe tribe of Ephraim, and dwelt therein: this man married a wife fromBethlehem, which is a place belonging to the tribe of Judah. Now he wasvery fond of his wife, and overcome with her beauty; but he was unhappyin this, that he did not meet with the like return of affection fromher, for she was averse to him, which did more inflame his passion forher, so that they quarreled one with another perpetually; and at lastthe woman was so disgusted at these quarrels, that she left her husband, and went to her parents in the fourth month. The husband being veryuneasy at this her departure, and that out of his fondness for her, cameto his father and mother-in-law, and made up their quarrels, and wasreconciled to her, and lived with them there four days, as being kindlytreated by her parents. On the fifth day he resolved to go home, andwent away in the evening; for his wife's parents were loath to part withtheir daughter, and delayed the time till the day was gone. Now they hadone servant that followed them, and an ass on which the woman rode; andwhen they were near Jerusalem, having gone already thirty furlongs, theservant advised them to take up their lodgings some where, lest somemisfortune should befall them if they traveled in the night, especiallysince they were not far off enemies, that season often giving reason forsuspicion of dangers from even such as are friends; but the husband wasnot pleased with this advice, nor was he willing to take up his lodgingamong strangers, for the city belonged to the Canaanites, but desiredrather to go twenty furlongs farther, and so to take their lodgings insome Israelite city. Accordingly, he obtained his purpose, and cameto Gibeah, a city of the tribe of Benjamin, when it was just dark; andwhile no one that lived in the market-place invited him to lodge withhim, there came an old man out of the field, one that was indeed of thetribe of Ephraim, but resided in Gibeah, and met him, and asked himwho he was, and for what reason he came thither so late, and why hewas looking out for provisions for supper when it was dark? To whichhe replied, that he was a Levite, and was bringing his wife from herparents, and was going home; but he told him his habitation was in thetribe of Ephraim: so the old man, as well because of their kindred asbecause they lived in the same tribe, and also because they had thusaccidentally met together, took him in to lodge with him. Now certainyoung men of the inhabitants of Gibeah, having seen the woman in themarket-place, and admiring her beauty, when they understood that shelodged with the old man, came to the doors, as contemning the weaknessand fewness of the old man's family; and when the old man desired themto go away, and not to offer any violence or abuse there, they desiredhim to yield them up the strange woman, and then he should have no harmdone to him: and when the old man alleged that the Levite was of hiskindred, and that they would be guilty of horrid wickedness if theysuffered themselves to be overcome by their pleasures, and so offendagainst their laws, they despised his righteous admonition, and laughedhim to scorn. They also threatened to kill him if he became an obstacleto their inclinations; whereupon, when he found himself in greatdistress, and yet was not willing to overlook his guests, and see themabused, he produced his own daughter to them; and told them that itwas a smaller breach of the law to satisfy their lust upon her, than toabuse his guests, supposing that he himself should by this means preventany injury to be done to those guests. When they no way abated of theirearnestness for the strange woman, but insisted absolutely on theirdesires to have her, he entreated them not to perpetrate any such act ofinjustice; but they proceeded to take her away by force, and indulgingstill more the violence of their inclinations, they took the woman awayto their house, and when they had satisfied their lust upon her thewhole night, they let her go about daybreak. So she came to the placewhere she had been entertained, under great affliction at what hadhappened; and was very sorrowful upon occasion of what she had suffered, and durst not look her husband in the face for shame, for she concludedthat 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 onlyfast asleep, and, thinking nothing of a more melancholy nature hadhappened, endeavored to raise her up, resolving to speak comfortably toher, since she did not voluntarily expose herself to these men's lust, but was forced away to their house; but as soon as he perceived she wasdead, he acted as prudently as the greatness of his misfortunes wouldadmit, and laid his dead wife upon the beast, and carried her home; andcutting her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, he sent them to everytribe, and gave it in charge to those that carried them, to inform thetribes of those that were the causes of his wife's death, and of theviolence they had offered to her. 9. Upon this the people were greatly disturbed at what they saw, andat what they heard, as never having had the experience of such a thingbefore; so they gathered themselves to Shiloh, out of a prodigious anda just anger, and assembling in a great congregation before thetabernacle, they immediately resolved to take arms, and to treat theinhabitants of Gibeah as enemies; but the senate restrained them fromdoing so, and persuaded them, that they ought not so hastily to make warupon people of the same nation with them, before they discoursed themby words concerning the accusation laid against them; it being partof their law, that they should not bring an army against foreignersthemselves, when they appear to have been injurious, without sending anambassage first, and trying thereby whether they will repent or not: andaccordingly they exhorted them to do what they ought to do in obedienceto their laws, that is, to send to the inhabitants of Gibeah, to knowwhether they would deliver up the offenders to them, and if they deliverthem up, to rest satisfied with the punishment of those offenders;but if they despised the message that was sent them, to punish them bytaking, up arms against them. Accordingly they sent to the inhabitantsof Gibeah, and accused the young men of the crimes committed in theaffair of the Levite's wife, and required of them those that had donewhat was contrary to the law, that they might be punished, as havingjustly deserved to die for what they had done; but the inhabitantsof Gibeah would not deliver up the young men, and thought it tooreproachful to them, out of fear of war, to submit to other men'sdemands upon them; vaunting themselves to be no way inferior to any inwar, neither in their number nor in courage. The rest of their tribewere also making great preparation for war, for they were so insolentlymad as also to resolve to repel force by force. 10. When it was related to the Israelites what the inhabitants of Gibeahhad resolved upon, they took their oath that no one of them would givehis daughter in marriage to a Benjamite, but make war with greater furyagainst them than we have learned our forefathers made war against theCanaanites; and sent out presently an army of four hundred thousandagainst them, while the Benjamites' army-was twenty-five thousand andsix hundred; five hundred of whom were excellent at slinging stones withtheir left hands, insomuch that when the battle was joined at Gibeah theBenjamites beat the Israelites, and of them there fell two thousandmen; and probably more had been destroyed had not the night came on andprevented it, and broken off the fight; so the Benjamites returned tothe city with joy, and the Israelites returned to their camp in a greatfright at what had happened. On the next day, when they fought again, the Benjamites beat them; and eighteen thousand of the Israeliteswere slain, and the rest deserted their camp out of fear of a greaterslaughter. So they came to Bethel, [13] a city that was near theircamp, and fasted on the next day; and besought God, by Phineas the highpriest, that his wrath against them might cease, and that he would besatisfied with these two defeats, and give them the victory and powerover their enemies. Accordingly God promised them so to do, by theprophesying of Phineas. 11. When therefore they had divided the army into two parts, they laidthe one half of them in ambush about the city Gibeah by night, while theother half attacked the Benjamites, who retiring upon the assault, theBenjamites pursued them, while the Hebrews retired by slow degrees, as very desirous to draw them entirely from the city; and the otherfollowed them as they retired, till both the old men and the youngmen that were left in the city, as too weak to fight, came running outtogether with them, as willing to bring their enemies under. However, when they were a great way from the city the Hebrews ran away no longer, but turned back to fight them, and lifted up the signal they had agreedon to those that lay in ambush, who rose up, and with a great noise fellupon the enemy. Now, as soon as ever they perceived themselves to bedeceived, they knew not what to do; and when they were driven into acertain hollow place which was in a valley, they were shot at by thosethat encompassed them, till they were all destroyed, excepting sixhundred, which formed themselves into a close body of men, and forcedtheir passage through the midst of their enemies, and fled to theneighboring mountains, and, seizing upon them, remained there; but therest of them, being about twenty-five thousand, were slain. Then didthe Israelites burn Gibeah, and slew the women, and the males that wereunder age; and did the same also to the other cities of the Benjamites;and, indeed, they were enraged to that degree, that they sent twelvethousand men out of the army, and gave them orders to destroy JabeshGilead, because it did not join with them in fighting against theBenjamites. Accordingly, those that were sent slew the men of war, withtheir children and wives, excepting four hundred virgins. To such adegree had they proceeded in their anger, because they not only had thesuffering of the Levite's wife to avenge, but the slaughter of their ownsoldiers. 12. However, they afterward were sorry for the calamity they had broughtupon the Benjamites, and appointed a fast on that account, although theysupposed those men had suffered justly for their offense against thelaws; so they recalled by their ambassadors those six hundred which hadescaped. These had seated themselves on a certain rock called Rimmon, which was in the wilderness. So the ambassadors lamented not only thedisaster that had befallen the Benjamites, but themselves also, by thisdestruction of their kindred; and persuaded them to take it patiently;and to come and unite with them, and not, so far as in them lay, to givetheir suffrage to the utter destruction of the tribe of Benjamin; andsaid to them, "We give you leave to take the whole land of Benjamin toyourselves, and as much prey as you are able to carry away with you. " Sothese men with sorrow confessed, that what had been done was accordingto the decree of God, and had happened for their own wickedness; andassented to those that invited them, and came down to their own tribe. The Israelites also gave them the four hundred virgins of Jabesh Gileadfor wives; but as to the remaining two hundred, they deliberated aboutit how they might compass wives enough for them, and that they mighthave children by them; and whereas they had, before the war began, takenan oath, that no one would give his daughter to wife to a Benjamite, some advised them to have no regard to what they had sworn, because theoath had not been taken advisedly and judiciously, but in a passion, andthought that they should do nothing against God, if they were able tosave a whole tribe which was in danger of perishing; and that perjurywas then a sad and dangerous thing, not when it is done out ofnecessity, but when it is done with a wicked intention. But when thesenate were affrighted at the very name of perjury, a certain persontold them that he could show them a way whereby they might procure theBenjamites wives enough, and yet keep their oath. They asked him whathis proposal was. He said, "That three times in a year, when we meetin Shiloh, our wives and our daughters accompany us: let then theBenjamites be allowed to steal away, and marry such women as they cancatch, while we will neither incite them nor forbid them; and when theirparents take it ill, and desire us to inflict punishment upon them, we will tell them, that they were themselves the cause of what hadhappened, by neglecting to guard their daughters, and that they oughtnot to be over angry at the Benjamites, since that anger was permittedto rise too high already. " So the Israelites were persuaded to followthis advice, and decreed, That the Benjamites should be allowed thus tosteal themselves wives. So when the festival was coming on, these twohundred Benjamites lay in ambush before the city, by two and threetogether, and waited for the coming of the virgins, in the vineyardsand other places where they could lie concealed. Accordingly the virginscame along playing, and suspected nothing of what was coming upon them, and walked after an unguarded manner, so those that laid scatteredin the road, rose up, and caught hold of them: by this means theseBenjamites got them wives, and fell to agriculture, and took good careto recover their former happy state. And thus was this tribe of theBenjamites, after they had been in danger of entirely perishing, savedin the manner forementioned, by the wisdom of the Israelites; andaccordingly it presently flourished, and soon increased to be amultitude, and came to enjoy all other degrees of happiness. And suchwas the conclusion of this war. CHAPTER 3. How The Israelites After This Misfortune Grew Wicked AndServed The Assyrians; And How God Delivered Them By Othniel, Who RuledOver The Forty Years. 1. Now it happened that the tribe of Dan suffered in like mannerwith the tribe of Benjamin; and it came to do so on the occasionfollowing:--When the Israelites had already left off the exercise oftheir arms for war, and were intent upon their husbandry, the Canaanitesdespised them, and brought together an army, not because they expectedto suffer by them, but because they had a mind to have a sure prospectof treating the Hebrews ill when they pleased, and might thereby for thetime to come dwell in their own cities the more securely; they preparedtherefore their chariots, and gathered their soldiery together, theircities also combined together, and drew over to them Askelon and Ekron, which were within the tribe of Judah, and many more of those that layin the plain. They also forced the Danites to fly into the mountainouscountry, and left them not the least portion of the plain country to settheir foot on. Since then these Danites were not able to fight them, andhad not land enough to sustain them, they sent five of their men intothe midland country, to seek for a land to which they might removetheir habitation. So these men went as far as the neighborhood of MountLibanus, and the fountains of the Lesser Jordan, at the great plain ofSidon, a day's journey from the city; and when they had taken a viewof the land, and found it to be good and exceeding fruitful, theyacquainted their tribe with it, whereupon they made an expedition withthe army, and built there the city Dan, of the same name with the son ofJacob, and of the same name with their own tribe. 2. The Israelites grew so indolent, and unready of taking pains, thatmisfortunes came heavier upon them, which also proceeded in part fromtheir contempt of the Divine worship; for when they had once fallenoff from the regularity of their political government, they indulgedthemselves further in living according to their own pleasure, andaccording to their own will, till they were full of the evil doings thatwere common among the Canaanites. God therefore was angry with them, andthey lost that their happy state which they had obtained by innumerablelabors, by their luxury; for when Chushan, king of the Assyrians, hadmade war against them, they lost many of their soldiers in the battle, and when they were besieged, they were taken by force; nay, there weresome who, out of fear, voluntarily submitted to him, and though thetribute laid upon them was more than they could bear, yet did they payit, and underwent all sort of oppression for eight years; after whichthee they were freed from them in the following manner:-- 3. There was one whose name was Othniel, the son of Kenaz, of the tribeof Judah, an active man and of great courage. He had an admonition fromGod not to overlook the Israelites in such a distress as they were nowin, but to endeavor boldly to gain them their liberty; so when he hadprocured some to assist him in this dangerous undertaking, [and few theywere, who, either out of shame at their present circumstances, or outof a desire of changing them, could be prevailed on to assist him, ] hefirst of all destroyed that garrison which 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 withthe Assyrians, and drove them entirely before them, and compelled themto pass over Euphrates. Hereupon Othniel, who had given such proofs ofhis valor, received from the multitude authority to judge the people; andwhen he had ruled over them forty years, he died. CHAPTER 4. How Our People Served The Moabites Eighteen Years, And WereThen Delivered From Slavery By One Ehud Who Retained The Dominion EightyYears. 1. When Othniel was dead, the affairs of the Israelites fell again intodisorder: and while they neither paid to God the honor due to him, norwere obedient to the laws, their afflictions increased, till Eglon, kingof the Moabites, did so greatly despise them on account of the disordersof their political government, that he made war upon them, and overcamethem in several battles, and made the most courageous to submit, andentirely subdued their army, and ordered them to pay him tribute. Andwhen he had built him a royal palace at Jericho, [14] he omitted nomethod whereby he might distress them; and indeed he reduced them topoverty for eighteen years. But when God had once taken pity of theIsraelites, on account of their afflictions, and was moved to compassionby their supplications put up to him, he freed them from the hard usagethey had met with under the Moabites. This liberty he procured for themin the following manner;-- 2. There was a young man of the tribe of Benjamin, whose name was Ehud, the son of Gera, a man of very great courage in bold undertakings, andof a very strong body, fit for hard labor, but best skilled in usinghis left hand, in which was his whole strength; and he also dwelt atJericho. Now this man became familiar with Eglon, and that by means ofpresents, with which he obtained his favor, and insinuated himself intohis good opinion; whereby he was also beloved of those that were aboutthe king. Now, when on a time he was bringing presents to the king, andhad two servants with him, he put a dagger on his right thigh secretly, and went in to him: it was then summer thee, and the middle of the day, when the guards were not strictly on their watch, both because of theheat, and because they were gone to dinner. So the young man, when hehad offered his presents to the king, who then resided in a small parlorthat stood conveniently to avoid the heat, fell into discourse with him, for they were now alone, the king having bid his servants that attendedhim to go their ways, because he had a mind to talk with Ehud. He wasnow sitting on his throne; and fear seized upon Ehud lest he should misshis stroke, and not give him a deadly wound; so he raised himself up, and said he had a dream to impart to him by the command of God; uponwhich the king leaped out of his throne for joy of the dream; so Ehudsmote him to the heart, and leaving his dagger in his body, he went outand shut the door after him. Now the king's servants were very still, assupposing that the king had composed himself to sleep. 3. Hereupon Ehud informed the people of Jericho privately of what he haddone, and exhorted them to recover their liberty; who heard him gladly, and went to their arms, and sent messengers over the country, thatshould sound trumpets of rams' horns; for it was our custom to call thepeople together by them. Now the attendants of Eglon were ignorant ofwhat misfortune had befallen him for a great while; but, towards theevening, fearing some uncommon accident had happened, they entered intohis parlor, and when they found him dead, they were in great disorder, and knew not what to do; and before the guards could be got together, the multitude of the Israelites came upon them, so that some of themwere slain immediately, and some were put to flight, and ran away towardthe country of Moab, in order to save themselves. Their number was aboveten thousand. The Israelites seized upon the ford of Jordan, and pursuedthem, and slew them, and many of them they killed at the ford, nor didone of them escape out of their hands; and by this means it was that theHebrews freed themselves from slavery under the Moabites. Ehud also wason this account dignified with the government over all the multitude, and died after he had held the government eighty years [15] He was aman worthy of commendation, even besides what he deserved for theforementioned act of his. After him Shamgat, the son of Anath, was elected for their governor, but died in the first year of hisgovernment. CHAPTER 5. How The Canaanites Brought The Israelites Under Slavery ForTwenty Years; After Which They Were Delivered By Barak And Deborah, WhoRuled Over Them For Forty Years. 1. And now it was that the Israelites, taking no warning by their formermisfortunes to amend their manners, and neither worshipping God norsubmitting to the laws, were brought under slavery by Jabin, the kingof the Canaanites, and that before they had a short breathing time afterthe slavery under the Moabites; for this Jabin out of Hazor, a city thatwas situate over the Semechonitis, and had in pay three hundred footmen, and ten thousand horsemen, with fewer than three thousand chariots. Sisera was commander of all his army, and was the principal person inthe king's favor. He so sorely beat the Israelites when they fought withhim, that he ordered them to pay tribute. 2. So they continued to that hardship for twenty years, as not goodenough of themselves to grow wise by their misfortunes. God was willingalso hereby the more to subdue their obstinacy and ingratitude towardshimself: so when at length they were become penitent, and were so wiseas to learn that their calamities arose from their contempt of the laws, they besought Deborah, a certain prophetess among them, [which name inthe Hebrew tongue signifies a Bee, ] to pray to God to take pity on them, and not to overlook them, now they were ruined by the Canaanites. So Godgranted them deliverance, and chose them a general, Barak, one that wasof the tribe of Naphtali. Now Barak, in the Hebrew tongue, signifiesLightning. 3. So Deborah sent for Barak, and bade him choose out ten thousand youngmen to go against the enemy, because God had said that that number wassufficient, and promised them victory. But when Barak said that he wouldnot be the general unless she would also go as a general with him, shehad indignation at what he said "Thou, O Barak, deliverest up meanlythat authority which God hath given thee into the hand of a woman, and Ido not reject it!" So they collected ten thousand men, and pitched theircamp at Mount Tabor, where, at the king's command, Sisera met them, andpitched his camp not far from the enemy; whereupon the Israelites, andBarak himself, were so aftrighted at the multitude of those enemies, that they were resolved to march off, had not Deborah retained them, andcommanded them to fight the enemy that very day, for that they shouldconquer them, and God would be their assistance. 4. So the battle began; and when they were come to a close fight, therecame down from heaven a great storm, with a vast quantity of rain andhail, and the wind blew the rain in the face of the Canaanites, and sodarkened their eyes, that their arrows and slings were of no advantageto them, nor would the coldness of the air permit the soldiers to makeuse of their swords; while this storm did not so much incommode theIsraelites, because it came in their backs. They also took such courage, upon the apprehension that God was assisting them, that they fell uponthe very midst of their enemies, and slew a great number of them; sothat some of them fell by the Israelites, some fell by their own horses, which were put into disorder, and not a few were killed by their ownchariots. At last Sisera, as soon as he saw himself beaten, fled away, and came to a woman whose name was Jael, a Kenite, who received him, when he desired to be concealed; and when he asked for somewhat todrink, she gave him sour milk, of which he drank so unmeasurably that hefell asleep; but when he was asleep, Jael took an iron nail, and with ahammer drove it through his temples into the floor; and when Barak camea little afterward, she showed Sisera nailed to the ground: and thuswas this victory gained by a woman, as Deborah had foretold. Barak alsofought with Jabin at Hazor; and when he met with him, he slew him: andwhen the general was fallen, Barak overthrew the city to the foundation, and was the commander of the Israelites for forty years. CHAPTER 6. How The Midianites And Other Nations Fought Against TheIsraelites And Beat Them, And Afflicted Their Country For Seven Years, How They Were Delivered By Gideon, Who Ruled Over The Multitude ForForty Years. 1. Now when Barak and Deborah were dead, whose deaths happened about thesame time, afterwards the Midianites called the Amalekites and Arabiansto their assistance, and made war against the Israelites, and were toohard for those that fought against them; and when they had burnt thefruits of the earth, they carried off the prey. Now when they had donethis for three years, the multitude of the Israelites retired to themountains, and forsook the plain country. They also made themselveshollows under ground, and caverns, and preserved therein whatsoeverhad escaped their enemies; for the Midianites made expeditions inharvest-time, but permitted them to plough the land in winter, that so, when the others had taken the pains, they might have fruits for them tocarry away. Indeed, there ensued a famine and a scarcity of food; uponwhich they betook themselves to their supplications to God, and besoughthim to save them. 2. Gideon also, the son of Joash, one of the principal persons of thetribe of Manasseh, brought his sheaves of corn privately, and thrashedthem at the wine-press; for he was too fearful of their enemies tothrash them openly in the thrashing-floor. At this time somewhatappeared to him in the shape of a young man, and told him that he wasa happy man, and beloved of God. To which he immediately replied, "Amighty indication of God's favor to me, that I am forced to use thiswine-press instead of a thrashing-floor!" But the appearance exhortedhim to be of good courage, and to make an attempt for the recovery oftheir liberty. He answered, that it was impossible for him to recoverit, because the tribe to which he belonged was by no means numerous;and because he was but young himself, and too inconsiderable to thinkof such great actions. But the other promised him, that God would supplywhat he was defective in, and would afford the Israelites victory underhis conduct. 3. Now, therefore, as Gideon was relating this to some young men, theybelieved him, and immediately there was an army of ten thousand men gotready for fighting. But God stood by Gideon in his sleep, and told himthat mankind were too fond of themselves, and were enemies to such asexcelled in virtue. Now that they might not pass God over, but ascribethe victory to him, and might not fancy it obtained by their own power, because they were a great many, and able of themselves to fight theirenemies, but might confess that it was owing to his assistance, headvised 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 sodrank, 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 oftheir enemies. And when Gideon had done as God had suggested to him, there were found three hundred men that took water with their handstumultuously; so God bid him take these men, and attack the enemy. Accordingly they pitched their camp at the river Jordan, as ready thenext day to pass over it. 4. But Gideon was in great fear, for God had told him beforehand that heshould set upon his enemies in the night-time; but God, being willing tofree him from his fear, bid him take one of his soldiers, and go near tothe Midianites' tents, for that he should from that very place havehis courage raised, and grow bold. So he obeyed, and went and took hisservant Phurah with him; and as he came near to one of the tents, hediscovered that those that were in it were awake, and that one ofthem was telling to his fellow soldier a dream of his own, and that soplainly that Gideon could hear him. The dream was this:--He thought hesaw a barley-cake, such a one as could hardly be eaten by men, it was sovile, rolling through the camp, and overthrowing the royal tent, and thetents of all the soldiers. Now the other soldier explained this visionto mean the destruction of the army; and told them what his reason waswhich made him so conjecture, viz. That the seed called barley was allof it allowed to be of the vilest sort of seed, and that the Israeliteswere known to be the vilest of all the people of Asia, agreeably to theseed of barley, and that what seemed to look big among the Israeliteswas this Gideon and the army that was with him; "and since thou sayestthou didst see the cake overturning our tents, I am afraid lest God hathgranted the victory over us to Gideon. " 5. When Gideon had heard this dream, good hope and courage came uponhim; and he commanded his soldiers to arm themselves, and told them ofthis vision of their enemies. They also took courage at what was toldthem, and were ready to perform what he should enjoin them. So Gideondivided his army into three parts, and brought it out about the fourthwatch of the night, each part containing a hundred men: they all bareempty pitchers and lighted lamps in their hands, that their onset mightnot be discovered by their enemies. They had also each of them a ram'shorn in his right hand, which he used instead of a trumpet. The enemy'scamp took up a large space of ground, for it happened that they had agreat many camels; and as they were divided into different nations, sothey were all contained in one circle. Now when the Hebrews did as theywere ordered beforehand, upon their approach to their enemies, and, on the signal given, sounded with their rams' horns, and brake theirpitchers, and set upon their enemies with their lamps, and a greatshout, and cried, "Victory to Gideon, by God's assistance, " a disorderand 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 wereslain by their enemies, but the greatest part by their own soldiers, onaccount of the diversity of their language; and when they were once putinto disorder, they killed all that they met with, as thinking themto be enemies also. Thus there was a great slaughter made. And as thereport of Gideon's victory came to the Israelites, they took theirweapons and pursued their enemies, and overtook them in a certain valleyencompassed with torrents, a place which these could not get over; sothey encompassed them, and slew them all, with their kings, Oreb andZeeb. But the remaining captains led those soldiers that were left, which were about eighteen thousand, and pitched their camp a greatway off the Israelites. However, Gideon did not grudge his pains, butpursued them with all his army, and joining battle with them, cut offthe whole enemies' army, and took the other leaders, Zeba and Zalmuna, and made them captives. Now there were slain in this battle of theMidianites, and of their auxiliaries the Arabians, about a hundred andtwenty thousand; and the Hebrews took a great prey, gold, and silver, and garments, and camels, and asses. And when Gideon was come to his owncountry of Ophrah, he slew the kings of the Midianites. 6. However, the tribe of Ephraim was so displeased at the good successof Gideon, that they resolved to make war against him, accusing himbecause he did not tell them of his expedition against their enemies. But Gideon, as a man of temper, and that excelled in every virtue, pleaded, that it was not the result of his own authority or reasoning, that made him attack the enemy without them; but that it was the commandof God, and still the victory belonged to them as well as those in thearmy. And by this method of cooling their passions, he brought moreadvantage to the Hebrews, than by the success he had against theseenemies, for he thereby delivered them from a sedition which was arisingamong them; yet did this tribe afterwards suffer the punishment of thistheir injurious treatment of Gideon, of which we will give an account indue time. 7. Hereupon Gideon would have laid down the government, but wasover-persuaded to take it, which he enjoyed forty years, and distributedjustice to them, as the people came to him in their differences; andwhat he determined was esteemed valid by all. And when he died, he wasburied in his own country of Ophrah. CHAPTER 7. That The Judges Who Succeeded Gideon Made War With TheAdjoining Nations For A Long Time. 1. Now Gideon had seventy sons that were legitimate, for he had manywives; but he had also one that was spurious, by his concubine Drumah, whose name was Abimelech, who, after his father's death, retired toShechem to his mother's relations, for they were of that place: and whenhe had got money of such of them as were eminent for many instances ofinjustice, he came with them to his father's house, and slew all hisbrethren, except Jotham, for he had the good fortune to escape and bepreserved; but Abimelech made the government tyrannical, and constitutedhimself a lord, to do what he pleased, instead of obeying the laws; andhe acted most rigidly against those that were the patrons of justice. 2. Now when, on a certain time, there was a public festival at Shechem, and all the multitude was there gathered together, Jotham his brother, whose escape we before related, went up to Mount Gerizzim, which hangsover 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 wasgoing to say to them: so when silence was made, he said, That when thetrees had a human voice, and there was an assembly of them gatheredtogether, they desired that the fig-tree would rule over them; but whenthat tree refused so to do, because it was contented to enjoy thathonor which belonged peculiarly to the fruit it bare, and not that whichshould be derived to it from abroad, the trees did not leave off theirintentions to have a ruler, so they thought proper to make the offer ofthat honor to the vine; but when the vine was chosen, it made use of thesame words which the fig-tree had used before, and excused itself fromaccepting the government: and when the olive-tree had done the same, thebrier, whom the trees had desired to take the kingdom, [it is a sortof wood good for firing, ] it promised to take the government, and to bezealous in the exercise of it; but that then they must sit down underits shadow, and if they should plot against it to destroy it, theprinciple 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 hadexperienced many blessings from Gideon, they overlooked Abimelech, whenhe overruled all, and had joined with him in slaying his brethren; andthat he was no better than a fire himself. So when he had said this, hewent away, and lived privately in the mountains for three years, out offear of Abimelech. 3. A little while after this festival, the Shechemites, who had nowrepented themselves of having slain the sons of Gideon, drove Abimelechaway, both from their city and their tribe; whereupon he contrived howhe might distress their city. Now at the season of vintage, the peoplewere afraid to go out and gather their fruits, for fear Abimelech shoulddo them some mischief. Now it happened that there had come to them a manof authority, one Gaal, that sojourned with them, having his armed menand his kinsmen with him; so the Shechemites desired that he wouldallow them a guard during their vintage; whereupon he accepted of theirdesires, and so the people went out, and Gaal with them at the head ofhis soldiery. So they gathered their fruit with safety; and whenthey were at supper in several companies, they then ventured to curseAbimelech openly; and the magistrates laid ambushes in places about thecity, and caught many of Abimelech's followers, and destroyed them. 4. Now there was one Zebul, a magistrate of the Shechemites, that hadentertained Abimelech. He sent messengers, and informed him how muchGaal had irritated the people against him, and excited him to layambushes before the city, for that he would persuade Gaal to go outagainst 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 thecity. So Abimelech laid ambushes, and himself lay with them. Now Gaalabode in the suburbs, taking little care of himself; and Zebul was withhim. Now as Gaal saw the armed men coming on, he said to Zebul, Thatsome armed men were coming; but the other replied, They were onlyshadows of huge stones: and when they were come nearer, Gaal perceivedwhat was the reality, and said, They were not shadows, but men lyingin ambush. Then said Zebul, "Didst not thou reproach Abimelech forcowardice? why dost thou not then show how very courageous thou artthyself, and go and fight him?" So Gaal, being in disorder, joinedbattle with Abimelech, and some of his men fell; whereupon he fled intothe city, and took his men with him. But Zebul managed his matters so inthe city, that he procured them to expel Gaal out of the city, andthis by accusing him of cowardice in this action with the soldiers ofAhimelech. But Abimelech, when he had learned that the Shechemites wereagain coming out to gather their grapes, placed ambushes before thecity, and when they were coming out, the third part of his army tookpossession of the gates, to hinder the citizens from returning in again, while the rest pursued those that were scattered abroad, and so therewas slaughter every where; and when he had overthrown the city to thevery foundations, for it was not able to bear a siege, and had sown itsruins with salt, he proceeded on with his army till all the Shechemiteswere slain. As for those that were scattered about the country, and soescaped the danger, they were gathered together unto a certain strongrock, and settled themselves upon it, and prepared to build a wall aboutit: and when Abimelech knew their intentions, he prevented them, andcame upon them with his forces, and laid faggots of dry wood round theplace, he himself bringing some of them, and by his example encouragingthe soldiers to do the same. And when the rock was encompassed roundabout with these faggots, they set them on fire, and threw in whatsoeverby nature caught fire the most easily: so a mighty flame was raised, andnobody could fly away from the rock, but every man perished, with theirwives and children, in all about fifteen hundred men, and the restwere a great number also. And such was the calamity which fell upon theShechemites; and men's grief on their account had been greater than itwas, had they not brought so much mischief on a person who had sowell deserved of them, and had they not themselves esteemed this as apunishment for the same. 5. Now Abimelech, when he had aftrighted the Israelites with themiseries he had brought upon the Shechemites, seemed openly to affectgreater authority than he now had, and appeared to set no bounds to hisviolence, unless it were with the destruction of all. Accordingly hemarched to Thebes, and took the city on the sudden; and there beinga great tower therein, whereunto the whole multitude fled, he madepreparation to besiege it. Now as he was rushing with violence near thegates, a woman threw a piece of a millstone upon his head, upon whichAbimelech fell down, and desired his armor-bearer to kill him lest hisdeath should be thought to be the work of a woman:--who did what he wasbid to do. So he underwent this death as a punishment for the wickednesshe had perpetrated against his brethren, and his insolent barbarity tothe Shechemites. Now the calamity that happened to those Shechemites wasaccording to the prediction of Jotham, However, the army that was withAbimelech, upon his fall, was scattered abroad, and went to their ownhomes. 6. Now it was that Jair the Gileadite, [16] of the tribe of Manasseh, took the government. He was a man happy in other respects also, butparticularly in his children, who were of a good character. They werethirty in number, and very skillful in riding on horses, and wereintrusted with the government of the cities of Gilead. He kept thegovernment twenty-two years, and died an old man; and he was buried inCamon, a city of Gilead. 7. And now all the affairs of the Hebrews were managed uncertainly, andtended to disorder, and to the contempt of God and of the laws. Sothe Ammonites and Philistines had them in contempt, and laid waste thecountry with a great army; and when they had taken all Perea, they wereso insolent as to attempt to gain the possession of all the rest. Butthe Hebrews, being now amended by the calamities they had undergone, betook themselves to supplications to God; and brought sacrifices tohim, beseeching him not to be too severe upon them, but to be moved bytheir prayers to leave off his anger against them. So God became moremerciful to them, and was ready to assist them. 8. When the Ammonites had made an expedition into the land of Gilead, the inhabitants of the country met them at a certain mountain, butwanted a commander. Now there was one whose name was Jephtha, who, bothon account of his father's virtue, and on account of that army whichhe maintained at his own expenses, was a potent man: the Israelitestherefore sent to him, and entreated him to come to their assistance, and promised him the dominion over them all his lifetime. But he did notadmit of their entreaty; and accused them, that they did not come to hisassistance when he was unjustly treated, and this in an open manner byhis brethren; for they cast him off, as not having the same mother withthe rest, but born of a strange mother, that was introduced among themby his father's fondness; and this they did out of a contempt of hisinability [to vindicate himself]. So he dwelt in the country of Gilead, as it is called, and received all that came to him, let them come fromwhat place soever, and paid them wages. However, when they pressed himto accept the dominion, and sware they would grant him the governmentover them all his life, he led them to the war. 9. And when Jephtha had taken immediate care of their affairs, he placedhis army at the city Mizpeh, and sent a message to the Ammonite [king], complaining of his unjust possession of their land. But that king sent acontrary message; and complained of the exodus of the Israelites out ofEgypt, and desired him to go out of the land of the Amorites, and yieldit up to him, as at first his paternal inheritance. But Jephtha returnedthis answer: That he did not justly complain of his ancestors about theland of the Amorites, and ought rather to thank them that they left theland of the Ammonites to them, since Moses could have taken it also; andthat neither would he recede from that land of their own, which Godhad obtained for them, and they had now inhabited [above] three hundredyears, but would fight with them about it. 10. And when he had given them this answer, he sent the ambassadorsaway. And when he had prayed for victory, and had vowed to performsacred offices, and if he came home in safety, to offer in sacrificewhat living creature soever should first meet him, [17] he joined battlewith the enemy, and gained a great victory, and in his pursuit slew theenemies all along as far as the city of Minnith. He then passed over tothe land of the Ammonites, and overthrew many of their cities, and tooktheir prey, and freed his own people from that slavery which theyhad undergone for eighteen years. But as he came back, he fell into acalamity no way correspondent to the great actions he had done; for itwas his daughter that came to meet him; she was also an only child anda virgin: upon this Jephtha heavily lamented the greatness of hisaffliction, and blamed his daughter for being so forward in meeting him, for he had vowed to sacrifice her to God. However, this action thatwas to befall her was not ungrateful to her, since she should dieupon occasion of her father's victory, and the liberty of her fellowcitizens: she only desired her father to give her leave, for two months, to bewail her youth with her fellow citizens; and then she agreed, thatat the forementioned thee he might do with her according to his vow. Accordingly, when that time was over, he sacrificed his daughter as aburnt-offering, offering such an oblation as was neither conformable tothe law nor acceptable to God, not weighing with himself what opinionthe hearers would have of such a practice. 11. Now the tribe of Ephraim fought against him, because he did not takethem along with him in his expedition against the Ammonites, but becausehe alone had the prey, and the glory of what was done to himself. As towhich he said, first, that they were not ignorant how his kindred hadfought against him, and that when they were invited, they did not cometo his assistance, whereas they ought to have come quickly, even beforethey were invited. And in the next place, that they were going to actunjustly; for while they had not courage enough to fight their enemies, they came hastily against their own kindred: and he threatened themthat, with God's assistance, he would inflict a punishment upon them, unless they would grow wiser. But when he could not persuade them, hefought with them with those forces which he sent for out of Gilead, and he made a great slaughter among them; and when they were beaten, hepursued them, and seized on the passages of Jordan by a part of his armywhich he had sent before, and slew about forty-two thousand of them. 12. So when Jephtha had ruled six years, he died, and was buried in hisown country, Sebee, which is a place in the land of Gilead. 13. Now when Jephtha was dead, Ibzan took the government, being of thetribe of Judah, and of the city of Bethlehem. He had sixty children, thirty of them sons, and the rest daughters; all whom he left alivebehind him, giving the daughters in marriage to husbands, andtaking wives for his sons. He did nothing in the seven years of hisadministration that was worth recording, or deserved a memorial. So hedied an old man, and was buried in his own country. 14. When Ibzan was dead after this manner, neither did Helon, whosucceeded him in the government, and kept it ten years, do any thingremarkable: he was of the tribe of Zebulon. 15. Abdon also, the son of Hilel, of the tribe of Ephraim, and born atthe city Pyrathon, was ordained their supreme governor after Helon. He is only recorded to have been happy in his children; for the publicaffairs were then so peaceable, and in such security, that neither didhe perform any glorious action. He had forty sons, and by them leftthirty grandchildren; and he marched in state with these seventy, whowere all very skillful in riding horses; and he left them all aliveafter him. He died an old man, and obtained a magnificent burial inPyrathon. CHAPTER 8. Concerning The Fortitude Of Samson, And What Mischiefs HeBrought Upon The Philistines. 1. After Abdon was dead, the Philistines overcame the Israelites, andreceived tribute of them for forty years; from which distress they weredelivered after this manner:-- 2. There was one Manoah, a person of such great virtue, that he had fewmen his equals, and without dispute the principal person of hiscountry. He had a wife celebrated for her beauty, and excelling hercontemporaries. He had no children; and, being uneasy at his want ofposterity, he entreated God to give them seed of their own bodies tosucceed them; and with that intent he came constantly into the suburbs[18] together with his wife; which suburbs were in the Great Plain. Nowhe was fond of his wife to a degree of madness, and on that accountwas unmeasurably jealous of her. Now, when his wife was once alone, an apparition was seen by her: it was an angel of God, and resembleda young man beautiful and tall, and brought her the good news that sheshould have a son, born by God's providence, that should be a goodlychild, of great strength; by whom, when he was grown up to man's estate, the Philistines should be afflicted. He exhorted her also not to pollhis hair, and that he should avoid all other kinds of drink, [for so hadGod commanded, ] and be entirely contented with water. So the angel, whenhe had delivered that message, went his way, his coming having been bythe will of God. 3. Now the wife informed her husband when he came home of what the angelhad said, who showed so great an admiration of the beauty and tallnessof the young man that had appeared to her, that her husband wasastonished, and out of himself for jealousy, and such suspicions as areexcited by that passion: but she was desirous of having her husband'sunreasonable sorrow taken away; accordingly she entreated God to sendthe angel again, that he might be seen by her husband. So the angel cameagain by the favor of God, while they were in the suburbs, and appearedto her when she was alone without her husband. She desired the angel tostay so long till she might bring her husband; and that request beinggranted, she goes to call Manoah. When he saw the angel he was not yetfree from suspicion, and he desired him to inform him of all that he hadtold his wife; but when he said it was sufficient that she alone knewwhat he had said, he then requested of him to tell who he was, that whenthe child was born they might return him thanks, and give him a present. He replied that he did not want any present, for that he did not bringthem the good news of the birth of a son out of the want of anything. And when Manoah had entreated him to stay, and partake of hishospitality, he did not give his consent. However he was persuaded, atthe earnest request of Manoah to stay so long as while he brought himone mark of his hospitality; so he slew a kid of the goats, and bidhis wife boil it. When all was ready, the angel enjoined him to set theloaves and the flesh, but without the vessels, upon the rock; which whenthey had done, he touched the flesh with the rod which he had in hishand, which, upon the breaking out of a flame, was consumed, togetherwith the loaves; and the angel ascended openly, in their sight, up toheaven, by means of the smoke, as by a vehicle. Now Manoah was afraidthat some danger would come to them from this sight of God; but his wifebade him be of good courage, for that God appeared to them for theirbenefit. 4. So the woman proved with child, and was careful to observe theinjunctions that were given her; and they called the child, when he wasborn, Samson, which name signifies one that is strong. So the child grewapace; and it appeared evidently that he would be a prophet, [19] bothby the moderation of his diet, and the permission of his hair to grow. 5. Now when he once came with his parents to Timhath, a city of thePhilistines, when there was a great festival, he fell in love with amaid of that country, and he desired of his parents that they wouldprocure him the damsel for his wife: but they refused so to do, becauseshe was not of the stock of Israel; yet because this marriage wasof God, who intended to convert it to the benefit of the Hebrews, heover-persuaded them to procure her to be espoused to him. And as hewas continually coming to her parents, he met a lion, and though he wasnaked, he received his onset, and strangled him with his hands, and castthe 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 swarmof bees making their combs in the breast of that lion; and taking threehoney-combs away, he gave them, together with the rest of his presents, to the damsel. Now the people of Timhath, out of a dread of the youngman's strength, gave him during the time of the wedding-feast [forhe then feasted them all] thirty of the most stout of their youth, inpretense 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 weredrinking merrily and playing, Samson said, as was usual at such times, "Come, if I propose you a riddle, and you can expound it in these sevendays' thee, I will give you every one a linen shirt and a garment, asthe reward of your wisdom. " So they being very ambitious to obtain theglory of wisdom, together with the gains, desired him to propose hisriddle. He, "That a devourer produced sweet food out of itself, thoughitself were very disagreeable. " And when they were not able, in threedays' time, to find out the meaning of the riddle, they desired thedamsel to discover it by the means of her husband, and tell it them;and they threatened to burn her if she did not tell it them. So when thedamsel 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 refusalto tell it a sign of his unkindness to her, he informed her of hisslaughter of a lion, and how he found bees in his breast, and carriedaway three honey-combs, and brought them to her. Thus he, suspectingnothing of deceit, informed her of all, and she revealed it to thosethat desired to know it. Then on the seventh day, whereon they wereto expound the riddle proposed to them, they met together beforesun-setting, and said, "Nothing is more disagreeable than a lion tothose that light on it, and nothing is sweeter than honey to those thatmake use of it. " To which Samson made this rejoinder: "Nothing ismore deceitful than a woman for such was the person that discovered myinterpretation to you. " Accordingly he gave them the presents he hadpromised them, making such Askelonites as met him upon the road hisprey, who were themselves Philistines also. But he divorced this hiswife; and the girl despised his anger, and was married to his companion, who made the former match between them. 7. At this injurious treatment Samson was so provoked, that he resolvedto punish all the Philistines, as well as her: so it being thensummer-time, and the fruits of the land being almost ripe enough forreaping, he caught three hundred foxes, and joining lighted torches totheir tails, he sent them into the fields of the Philistines, by whichmeans the fruits of the fields perished. Now when the Philistines knewthat this was Samson's doing, and knew also for what cause he did it, they sent their rulers to Timhath, and burnt his former wife, and herrelations, who had been the occasion of their misfortunes. 8. Now when Samson had slain many of the Philistines in the plaincountry, 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, ininflicting punishments upon them while they paid their tribute, and thisonly on account of Samson's offenses. They answered, that in case theywould not be blamed themselves, they must deliver up Samson, and put himinto their power. So they being desirous not to be blamed themselves, came to the rock with three thousand armed men, and complained to Samsonof the bold insults he had made upon the Philistines, who were men ableto bring calamity upon the whole nation of the Hebrews; and they toldhim they were come to take him, and to deliver him up to them, andput him into their power; so they desired him to bear this willingly. Accordingly, when he had received assurance from them upon oath, thatthey would do him no other harm than only to deliver him into hisenemies' hands, he came down from the rock, and put himself into thepower of his countrymen. Then did they bind him with two cords, and leadhim on, in order to deliver him to the Philistines; and when they cameto a certain place, which is now called the Jaw-bone, on account ofthe great action there performed by Samson, though of old it had noparticular name at all, the Philistines, who had pitched their camp notfar off, came to meet them with joy and shouting, as having done a greatthing, and gained what they desired; but Samson broke his bonds asunder, and catching up the jaw-bone of an ass that lay down at his feet, fellupon his enemies, and smiting them with his jaw-bone, slew a thousand ofthem, and put the rest to flight and into great disorder. 9. Upon this slaughter Samson was too proud of what he had performed, and said that this did not come to pass by the assistance of God, butthat his success was to be ascribed to his own courage; and vauntedhimself, that it was out of a dread of him that some of his enemies felland the rest ran away upon his use of the jaw-bone; but when a greatthirst came upon him, he considered that human courage is nothing, andbare his testimony that all is to be ascribed to God, and besought himthat he would not be angry at any thing he had said, nor give him upinto the hands of his enemies, but afford him help under his affliction, and deliver him from the misfortune he was under. Accordingly God wasmoved with his entreaties, and raised him up a plentiful fountain ofsweet water at a certain rock whence it was that Samson called the placethe Jaw-bone, [20] and so it is called to this day. 10. After this fight Samson held the Philistines in contempt, and cameto Gaza, and took up his lodgings in a certain inn. When the rulers ofGaza were informed of his coming thither, they seized upon the gates, and placed men in ambush about them, that he might not escape withoutbeing perceived; but Samson, who was acquainted with their contrivancesagainst him, arose about midnight, and ran by force upon the gates, with their posts and beams, and the rest of their wooden furniture, andcarried them away on his shoulders, and bare them to the mountain thatis over Hebron, and there laid them down. 11. However, he at length [21] transgressed the laws of his country, andaltered his own regular way of living, and imitated the strange customsof foreigners, which thing was the beginning of his miseries; for hefell in love with a woman that was a harlot among the Philistines: hername was Delilah, and he lived with her. So those that administeredthe public affairs of the Philistines came to her, and, with promises, induced her to get out of Samson what was the cause of that hisstrength, by which he became unconquerable to his enemies. Accordingly, when they were drinking, and had the like conversation together, shepretended to admire the actions he had done, and contrived to get out ofhim by subtlety, by what means he so much excelled others in strength. Samson, in order to delude Delilah, for he had not yet lost his senses, replied, that if he were bound with seven such green withs of a vineas might still be wreathed, he should be weaker than any other man. Thewoman 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 hewas disordered in drink and asleep, she bound him as fast as possiblewith the withs; and then upon her awakening him, she told him some ofthe people were upon him; but he broke the withs, and endeavored todefend himself, as though some of the people were upon him. Now thiswoman, in the constant conversation Samson had with her, pretendedthat she took it very ill that he had such little confidence in heraffections to him, that he would not tell her what she desired, as ifshe would not conceal what she knew it was for his interest to haveconcealed. However, he deluded her again, and told her, that if theybound him with seven cords, he should lose his strength. And when, upondoing this, she gained nothing, he told her the third thee, that hishair should be woven into a web; but when, upon doing this, the truthwas not yet discovered, at length Samson, upon Delilah's prayer, [forhe was doomed to fall into some affliction, ] was desirous to pleaseher, and told her that God took care of him, and that he was born by hisprovidence, and that "thence it is that I suffer my hair to grow, Godhaving charged me never to poll my head, and thence my strength isaccording to the increase and continuance of my hair. " When she hadlearned thus much, and had deprived him of his hair, she delivered himup to his enemies, when he was not strong enough to defend himself fromtheir attempts upon him; so they put out his eyes, and bound him, andhad him led about among them. 12. But in process of time Samson's hair grew again. And there was apublic festival among the Philistines, when the rulers, and those of themost eminent character, were feasting together; [now the room whereinthey were had its roof supported by two pillars;] so they sent forSamson, and he was brought to their feast, that they might insult him intheir cups. Hereupon he, thinking it one of the greatest misfortunes, if he should not be able to revenge himself when he was thus insulted, persuaded the boy that led him by the hand, that he was weary and wantedto rest himself, and desired he would bring him near the pillars; andas soon as he came to them, he rushed with force against them, andoverthrew the house, by overthrowing its pillars, with three thousandmen in it, who were all slain, and Samson with them. And such was theend of this man, when he had ruled over the Israelites twenty years. Andindeed this man deserves to be admired for his courage and strength, andmagnanimity at his death, and that his wrath against his enemies wentso far as to die himself with them. But as for his being ensnared bya woman, that is to be ascribed to human nature, which is too weak toresist the temptations to that sin; but we ought to bear him witness, that in all other respects he was one of extraordinary virtue. But hiskindred took away his body, and buried it in Sarasat his own country, with the rest of his family. CHAPTER 9. How Under Eli's Government Of The Israelites Booz MarriedRuth, From Whom Came Obed The Grandfather Of David. 1. Now after the death of Samson, Eli the high priest was governor ofthe Israelites. Under him, when the country was afflicted with a famine, Elimelech of Bethlehem, which is a city of the tribe of Judah, being notable to support his family under so sore a distress, took with him Naomihis wife, and the children that were born to him by her, Chillon andMahlon, and removed his habitation into the land of Moab; and upon thehappy prosperity of his affairs there, he took for his sons wives of theMoabites, Orpah for Chillon, and Ruth for Mahlon. But in the compass often years, both Elimelech, and a little while after him, the sons, died;and Naomi being very uneasy at these accidents, and not being able tobear her lonesome condition, now those that were dearest to her weredead, on whose account it was that she had gone away from her owncountry, she returned to it again, for she had been informed it was nowin a flourishing condition. However, her daughters-in-law were not ableto think of parting with her; and when they had a mind to go out of thecountry with her, she could not dissuade them from it; but when theyinsisted upon it, she wished them a more happy wedlock than they hadwith her sons, and that they might have prosperity in other respectsalso; and seeing her own affairs were so low, she exhorted them to staywhere they were, and not to think of leaving their own country, andpartaking with her of that uncertainty under which she must return. Accordingly Orpah staid behind; but she took Ruth along with her, as notto be persuaded to stay behind her, but would take her fortune with her, whatsoever it should prove. 2. When Ruth was come with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem, Booz, who wasnear of kin to Elimelech, entertained her; and when Naomi was so calledby her fellow citizens, according to her true name, she said, "Youmight more truly call me Mara. " Now Naomi signifies in the Hebrew tonguehappiness, and Mara, sorrow. It was now reaping thee; and Ruth, by theleave of her mother-in-law, went out to glean, that they might get astock of corn for their food. Now it happened that she came into Booz'sfield; and after some thee Booz came thither, and when he saw thedamsel, he inquired of his servant that was set over the reapersconcerning the girl. The servant had a little before inquired about allher circumstances, and told them to his master, who kindly embracedher, both on account of her affection to her mother-in-law, and herremembrance of that son of hers to whom she had been married, and wishedthat she might experience a prosperous condition; so he desired her notto glean, but to reap what she was able, and gave her leave to carryit home. He also gave it in charge to that servant who was over thereapers, not to hinder her when she took it away, and bade him give herher dinner, and make her drink when he did the like to the reapers. Nowwhat corn Ruth received of him she kept for her mother-in-law, and cameto her in the evening, and brought the ears of corn with her; and Naomihad kept for her a part of such food as her neighbors had plentifullybestowed upon her. Ruth also told her mother-in-law what Booz had saidto her; and when the other had informed her that he was near of kin tothem, 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 withBooz's maidservants. 3. It was not many days before Booz, after the barley was winnowed, slept in his thrashing-floor. When Naomi was informed of thiscircumstance she contrived it so that Ruth should lie down by him, forshe thought it might be for their advantage that he should discoursewith the girl. Accordingly she sent the damsel to sleep at his feet; whowent as she bade her, for she did not think it consistent with her dutyto contradict any command of her mother-in-law. And at first she layconcealed from Booz, as he was fast asleep; but when he awaked aboutmidnight, and perceived a woman lying by him, he asked who she was;--andwhen she told him her name, and desired that he whom she owned for herlord would excuse her, he then said no more; but in the morning, beforethe servants began to set about their work, he awaked her, and bidher take as much barley as she was able to carry, and go to hermother-in-law before any body there should see that she had lain down byhim, because it was but prudent to avoid any reproach that might ariseon that account, especially when there had been nothing done that wasill. But as to the main point she aimed at, the matter should resthere, --"He that is nearer of kin than I am, shall be asked whether hewants to take thee to wife: if he says he does, thou shalt follow him;but if he refuse it, I will marry thee, according to the law. " 4. When she had informed her mother-in-law of this, they were very gladof it, out of the hope they had that Booz would make provision for them. Now about noon Booz went down into the city, and gathered the senatetogether, 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 ofElimelech and his sons?" He confessed that he did retain it, and that hedid as he was permitted to do by the laws, because he was their nearestkinsman. Then said Booz, "Thou must not remember the laws by halves, butdo 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 retaintheir fields. " So the man yielded up both the field and the wife toBooz, who was himself of kin to those that were dead, as alleging thathe had a wife already, and children also; so Booz called the senateto witness, and bid the woman to loose his shoe, and spit in his face, according to the law; and when this was done, Booz married Ruth, andthey had a son within a year's time. Naomi was herself a nurse to thischild; and by the advice of the women, called him Obed, as being to bebrought up in order to be subservient to her in her old age, for Obed inthe Hebrew dialect signifies a servant. The son of Obed was Jesse, andDavid was his son, who was king, and left his dominions to his sonsfor one and twenty generations. I was therefore obliged to relate thishistory of Ruth, because I had a mind to demonstrate the power of God, who, without difficulty, can raise those that are of ordinary parentageto dignity and splendor, to which he advanced David, though he were bornof such mean parents. CHAPTER 10. Concerning The Birth Of Samuel; And How He Foretold TheCalamity That Befell The Sons Of Eli. 1. And now upon the ill state of the affairs of the Hebrews, they madewar again upon the Philistines. The occasion was this: Eli, the highpriest, had two sons, Hophni and Phineas. These sons of Eli were guiltyof injustice towards men, and of impiety towards God, and abstainedfrom no sort of wickedness. Some of their gifts they carried off, asbelonging to the honorable employment they had; others of them they tookaway by violence. They also were guilty of impurity with the women thatcame to worship God at the tabernacle, obliging some to submit to theirlust by force, and enticing others by bribes; nay, the whole course oftheir lives was no better than tyranny. Their father therefore was angryat them for such their wickedness, and expected that God would suddenlyinflict his punishments upon them for what they had done. The multitudetook it heinously also. And as soon as God had foretold what calamitywould befall Eli's sons, which he did both to Eli himself and to Samuelthe prophet, who was yet but a child, he openly showed his sorrow forhis sons' destruction. 2. I will first despatch what I have to say about the prophet Samuel, and after that will proceed to speak of the sons of Eli, and themiseries they brought on the whole people of the Hebrews. Elcanah, aLevite, one of a middle condition among his fellow citizens, and onethat dwelt at Ramathaim, a city of the tribe of Ephraim, married twowives, Hannah and Peninnah. He had children by the latter; but he lovedthe other best, although she was barren. Now Elcanah came with his wivesto the city Shiloh to sacrifice, for there it was that the tabernacleof God was fixed, as we have formerly said. Now when, after he hadsacrificed, he distributed at that festival portions of the flesh tohis wives and children, and when Hannah saw the other wife's childrensitting round about their mother, she fell into tears, and lamentedherself on account of her barrenness and lonesomeness; and suffering hergrief to prevail over her husband's consolations to her, she went to thetabernacle to beseech God to give her seed, and to make her a mother;and to vow to consecrate the first son she should bear to the serviceof God, and this in such a way, that his manner of living should not belike that of ordinary men. And as she continued at her prayers a longtime, Eli, the high priest, for he sat there before the tabernacle, bidher go away, thinking she had been disordered with wine; but when shesaid she had drank water, but was in sorrow for want of children, andwas beseeching God for them, he bid her be of good cheer, and told herthat God would send her children. 3. So she came to her husband full of hope, and ate her meal withgladness. And when they had returned to their own country she foundherself with child, and they had a son born to them, to whom they gavethe name of Samuel, which may be styled one that was asked of God. Theytherefore came to the tabernacle to offer sacrifice for the birth of thechild, and brought their tithes with them; but the woman rememberedthe vows she had made concerning her son, and delivered him to Eli, dedicating him to God, that he might become a prophet. Accordingly hishair was suffered to grow long, and his drink was water. So Samuel dweltand 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 oncewhen he was asleep, God called to him by his name; and he, supposinghe had been called by the high priest, came to him: but when the highpriest said he did not call him, God did so thrice. Eli was then so farilluminated, that he said to him, "Indeed, Samuel, I was silent now aswell as before: it is God that calls thee; do thou therefore signify itto him, and say, I am here ready. " So when he heard God speak again, hedesired him to speak, and to deliver what oracles he pleased to him, forhe would not fail to perform any ministration whatsoever he should makeuse of him in;--to which God replied, "Since thou art here ready, learnwhat miseries are coming upon the Israelites, --such indeed as wordscannot declare, nor faith believe; for the sons of Eli shall die on oneday, 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 tosuch a degree as is not for their advantage. " Which message Eli obligedthe prophet by oath to tell him, for otherwise he had no inclination toafflict him by telling it. And now Eli had a far more sure expectationof the perdition of his sons; but the glory of Samuel increased more andmore, it being found by experience that whatsoever he prophesied came topass accordingly. [22] CHAPTER 11. Herein Is Declared What Befell The Sons Of Eli, The Ark, AndThe People And How Eli Himself Died Miserably. 1. About this time it was that the Philistines made war against theIsraelites, and pitched their camp at the city Aphek. Now when theIsraelites had expected them a little while, the very next day theyjoined battle, and the Philistines were conquerors, and slew above fourthousand of the Hebrews, and pursued the rest of their multitude totheir camp. 2. So the Hebrews being afraid of the worst, sent to the senate, and tothe high priest, and desired that they would bring the ark of God, thatby putting themselves in array, when it was present with them, theymight be too hard for their enemies, as not reflecting that he who hadcondemned them to endure these calamities was greater than the ark, andfor whose sake it was that this ark came to be honored. So the ark came, and the sons of the high priest with it, having received a charge fromtheir father, that if they pretended to survive the taking of the ark, they should come no more into his presence, for Phineas officiatedalready as high priest, his father having resigned his office to him, by reason of his great age. So the Hebrews were full of courage, assupposing that, by the coming of the ark, they should be too hard fortheir enemies: their enemies also were greatly concerned, and wereafraid of the ark's coming to the Israelites: however, the upshot didnot prove agreeable to the expectation of both sides, but when thebattle was joined, that victory which the Hebrews expected was gained bythe Philistines, and that defeat the Philistines were afraid of fellto the lot of the Israelites, and thereby they found that they had puttheir trust in the ark in vain, for they were presently beaten as soonas they came to a close fight with their enemies, and lost about thirtythousand men, among whom were the sons of the high priest; but the arkwas carried away by the enemies. 3. When the news of this defeat came to Shiloh, with that of thecaptivity of the ark, [for a certain young man, a Benjamite, who wasin the action, came as a messenger thither, ] the whole city was full oflamentations. And Eli, the high priest, who sat upon a high throne atone of the gates, heard their mournful cries, and supposed that somestrange 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 muchuneasy as to his sons, or what was told him withal about the army, ashaving beforehand known by Divine revelation that those things wouldhappen, and having himself declared them beforehand, --for what sadthings come unexpectedly they distress men the most; but as soon as [heheard] the ark was carried captive by their enemies, he was very muchgrieved at it, because it fell out quite differently from what heexpected; so he fell down from his throne and died, having in all livedninety-eight years, and of them retained the government forty. 4. On the same day his son Phineas's wife died also, as not ableto survive the misfortune of her husband; for they told her of herhusband's death as she was in labor. However, she bare a son at sevenmonths, who lived, and to whom they gave the name of Icabod, which namesignifies disgrace, --and this because the army received a disgrace atthis thee. 5. Now Eli was the first of the family of Ithamar, the other son ofAaron, that had the government; for the family of Eleazar officiated ashigh priest at first, the son still receiving that honor from the fatherwhich Eleazar bequeathed to his son Phineas; after whom Abiezer his sontook the honor, and delivered it to his son, whose name was Bukki, from whom his son Ozi received it; after whom Eli, of whom we have beenspeaking, had the priesthood, and so he and his posterity until the theeof Solomon's reign; but 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 1. The Destruction That Came Upon The Philistines, And UponTheir Land, By The Wrath Of Go On Account Of Their Having CarriedThe Ark Away Captive; And After What Manner They Sent It Back To TheHebrews. 1. When the Philistines had taken the ark of the Hebrews captive, as Isaid a little before, they carried it to the city of Ashdod, and put itby their own god, who was called Dagon, [1] as one of their spoils; butwhen they went into his temple the next morning to worship their god, they found him paying the same worship to the ark, for he lay along, ashaving fallen down from the basis whereon he had stood: so they took himup, and set him on his basis again, and were much troubled at what hadhappened; and as they frequently came to Dagon and found him still lyingalong, in a posture of adoration to the ark, they were in very greatdistress and confusion. At length God sent a very destructive diseaseupon the city and country of Ashdod, for they died of the dysentery orflux, a sore distemper, that brought death upon them very suddenly; forbefore the soul could, as usual in easy deaths, be well loosed fromthe body, they brought up their entrails, and vomited up what they hadeaten, and what was entirely corrupted by the disease. And as to thefruits of their country, a great multitude of mice arose out of theearth and hurt them, and spared neither the plants nor the fruits. Nowwhile the people of Ashdod were under these misfortunes, and were notable to support themselves under their calamities, they perceived thatthey suffered thus because of the ark, and that the victory they hadgotten, and their having taken the ark captive, had not happened fortheir good; they therefore sent to the people of Askelon, and desiredthat they would receive the ark among them. This desire of the peopleof Ashdod was not disagreeable to those of Askelon, so they grantedthem that favor. But when they had gotten the ark, they were in the samemiserable condition; for the ark carried along with it the disastersthat the people of Ashdod had suffered, to those who received it fromthem. Those of Askelon also sent it away from themselves to others: nordid it stay among those others neither; for since they were pursued bythe same disasters, they still sent it to the neighboring cities; sothat the ark went round, after this manner, to the five cities of thePhilistines, as though it exacted these disasters as a tribute to bepaid it for its coming among them. 2. When those that had experienced these miseries were tired out withthem, and when those that heard of them were taught thereby not to admitthe ark among them, since they paid so dear a tribute for it, at lengththey sought for some contrivance and method how they might get free fromit: so the governors of the five cities, Gath, and Ekron, and Askelon, as also of Gaza, and Ashclod, met together, and considered what was fitto be done; and at first they thought proper to send the ark back toits own people, as allowing that God had avenged its cause; that themiseries they had undergone came along with it, and that these were senton their cities upon its account, and together with it. However, therewere those that said they should not do so, nor suffer themselves tobe deluded, as ascribing the cause of their miseries to it, because itcould not have such power and force upon them; for, had God had such aregard to it, it would not have been delivered into the hands of men. Sothey exhorted them to be quiet, and to take patiently what had befallenthem, and to suppose there was no other cause of it but nature, which, at certain revolutions of time, produces such mutations in the bodiesof men, in the earth, in plants, and in all things that grow out of theearth. But the counsel that prevailed over those already described, wasthat of certain men, who were believed to have distinguished themselvesin former times for their understanding and prudence, and who, in theirpresent circumstances, seemed above all the rest to speak properly. These men said it was not right either to send the ark away, or toretain it, but to dedicate five golden images, one for every city, asa thank-offering to God, on account of his having taken care of theirpreservation, and having kept them alive when their lives were likelyto be taken away by such distempers as they were not able to bear upagainst. They also would have them make five golden mice like to thosethat devoured and destroyed their country [2] to put them in a bag, andlay them upon the ark; to make them a new cart also for it, and to yokemilch kine to it [3] but to shut up their calves, and keep them fromthem, lest, by following after them, they should prove a hinderance totheir dams, and that the dams might return the faster out of a desire ofthose calves; then to drive these milch kine that carried the ark, andleave it at a place where three ways met, and So leave it to the kineto go along which of those ways they pleased; that in case they went theway to the Hebrews, and ascended to their country, they should supposethat the ark was the cause of their misfortunes; but if they turned intoanother road, they said, "We will pursue after it, and conclude that ithas no such force in it. " 3. So they determined that these men spake well; and they immediatelyconfirmed their opinion by doing accordingly. And when they had done ashas been already described, they brought the cart to a place where threeways met, and left it there and went their ways; but the kine went theright way, and as if some persons had driven them, while the rulersof the Philistines followed after them, as desirous to know where theywould stand still, and to whom they would go. Now there was a certainvillage of the tribe of Judah, the name of which was Bethshemesh, andto that village did the kine go; and though there was a great and goodplain before them to proceed in, they went no farther, but stopped thecart there. This was a sight to those of that village, and they werevery glad; for it being then summer-time, and all the inhabitants beingthen in the fields gathering in their fruits, they left off the laborsof their hands for joy, as soon as they saw the ark, and ran to thecart, and taking the ark down, and the vessel that had the images in it, and the mice, they set them upon a certain rock which was in the plain;and when they had offered a splendid sacrifice to God, and feasted, theyoffered the cart and the kine as a burnt-offering: and when the lords ofthe Philistines saw this, they returned back. 4. But now it was that the wrath of God overtook them, and struckseventy persons of the village of Bethshemesh dead, who, not beingpriests, and so not worthy to touch the ark, had approached to it. Thoseof that village wept for these that had thus suffered, and made sucha lamentation as was naturally to be expected on so great a misfortunethat was sent from God; and every one mourned for his own relation. And since they acknowledged themselves unworthy of the ark's abode withthem, they sent to the public senate of the Israelites, and informedthem that the ark was restored by the Philistines; which when they knew, they brought it away to Kirjathjearim, a city in the neighborhood ofBethshemesh. In this city lived one Abinadab, by birth a Levite, and whowas greatly commended for his righteous and religious course of life; sothey brought the ark to his house, as to a place fit for God himselfto abide in, since therein did inhabit a righteous man. His sons alsoministered to the Divine service at the ark, and were the principalcurators of it for twenty years; for so many years it continued inKirjathjearim, having been but four months with the Philistines. CHAPTER 2. The Expedition Of The Philistines Against The Hebrews And TheHebrews' Victory Under The Conduct Of Samuel The Prophet, Who Was TheirGeneral. 1. Now while the city of Kirjathjearim had the ark with them, the wholebody of the people betook themselves all that time to offer prayers andsacrifices to God, and appeared greatly concerned and zealous about hisworship. So Samuel the prophet, seeing how ready they were to do theirduty, thought this a proper time to speak to them, while they were inthis good disposition, about the recovery of their liberty, and of theblessings that accompanied the same. Accordingly he used such words tothem as he thought were most likely to excite that inclination, and topersuade them to attempt it: "O you Israelites, " said he, "to whom thePhilistines are still grievous enemies, but to whom God begins to begracious, it behooves you not only to be desirous of liberty, but totake the proper methods to obtain it. Nor are you to be contented withan inclination to get clear of your lords and masters, while you stilldo what will procure your continuance under them. Be righteous then, andcast wickedness out of your souls, and by your worship supplicate theDivine Majesty with all your hearts, and persevere in the honor youpay to him; for if you act thus, you will enjoy prosperity; you willbe freed from your slavery, and will get the victory over your enemies:which blessings it is not possible you should attain, either by weaponsof war, or by the strength of your bodies, or by the multitude of yourassistants; for God has not promised to grant these blessings by thosemeans, but by being good and righteous men; and if you will be such, I will be security to you for the performance of God's promises. " WhenSamuel had said thus, the multitude applauded his discourse, and werepleased with his exhortation to them, and gave their consent to resignthemselves up to do what was pleasing to God. So Samuel gathered themtogether to a certain city called Mizpeh, which, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies a watch-tower; there they drew water, and poured it out toGod, 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 together, theyfell upon the Hebrews with a great army and mighty forces, as hoping toassault them when they did not expect it, nor were prepared for it. Thisthing affrighted the Hebrews, and put them into disorder and terror;so they came running to Samuel, and said that their souls were sunkby their fears, and by the former defeat they had received, and "thatthence it was that we lay still, lest we should excite the power of ourenemies against us. Now while thou hast brought us hither to offer upour prayers and sacrifices, and take oaths [to be obedient], our enemiesare 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 afford us upon thy prayers to him, weshall obtain deliverance from the Philistines. " Hereupon Samuel badethem be of good cheer, and promised them that God would assist them; andtaking a sucking lamb, he sacrificed it for the multitude, and besoughtGod to hold his protecting hand over them when they should fight withthe Philistines, and not to overlook them, nor suffer them to comeunder a second misfortune. Accordingly God hearkened to his prayers, and accepting their sacrifice with a gracious intention, and such as wasdisposed to assist them, he granted them victory and power over theirenemies. Now while the altar had the sacrifice of God upon it, and hadnot yet consumed it wholly by its sacred fire, the enemy's army marchedout of their camp, and was put in order of battle, and this in hope thatthey should be conquerors, since the Jews [5] were caught in distressedcircumstances, as neither having their weapons with them, nor beingassembled there in order to fight. But things so fell out, that theywould hardly have been credited though they had been foretold byanybody: for, in the first place, God disturbed their enemies with anearthquake, and moved the ground under them to such a degree, thathe caused it to tremble, and made them to shake, insomuch that by itstrembling, he made some unable to keep their feet, and made them falldown, and by opening its chasms, he caused that others should be hurrieddown into them; after which he caused such a noise of thunder to comeamong them, and made fiery lightning shine so terribly round about them, that it was ready to burn their faces; and he so suddenly shook theirweapons out of their hands, that he made them fly and return home naked. So Samuel with the multitude pursued them to Bethcar, a place so called;and there he set up a stone as a boundary of their victory and theirenemies' flight, and called it the Stone of Power, as a signal of thatpower God had given them against their enemies. 3. So the Philistines, after this stroke, made no more expeditionsagainst the Israelites, but lay still out of fear, and out ofremembrance of what had befallen them; and what courage the Philistineshad formerly against the Hebrews, that, after this victory, wastransferred to the Hebrews. Samuel also made an expedition against thePhilistines, and slew many of them, and entirely humbled their proudhearts, and took from them that country, which, when they were formerlyconquerors in battle, they had cut off from the Jews, which was thecountry that extended from the borders of Gath to the city of Ekron: butthe remains of the Canaanites were at this time in friendship with theIsraelites. CHAPTER 3. How Samuel When He Was So Infirm With Old Age That He CouldNot Take Care Of The Public Affairs Intrusted Them To His Sons; And HowUpon The Evil Administration Of The Government By Them The MultitudeWere So Angry, That They Required To Have A King To Govern Them, Although Samuel Was Much Displeased Thereat. 1. But Samuel the prophet, when he had ordered the affairs of the peopleafter a convenient manner, and had appointed a city for every districtof them, he commanded them to come to such cities, to have thecontroversies that they had one with another determined in them, hehimself going over those cities twice in a year, and doing them justice;and by that means he kept them in very good order for a long time. 2. But afterwards he found himself oppressed with old age, and not ableto do what he used to do, so he committed the government and the care ofthe multitude to his sons, --the elder of whom was called Joel, and thename of the younger was Abiah. He also enjoined them to reside and judgethe people, the one at the city of Bethel, and the other at Beersheba, and divided the people into districts that should be under thejurisdiction of each of them. Now these men afford us an evident exampleand demonstration how some children are not of the like dispositionswith their parents; but sometimes perhaps good and moderate, though bornof wicked parents; and sometimes showing themselves to be wicked, thoughborn of good parents: for these men turning aside from their father'sgood courses, and taking a course that was contrary to them, pervertedjustice for the 'filthy lucre of gifts and bribes, and made theirdeterminations not according to truth, but according to bribery, andturned aside to luxury, and a costly way of living; so that as, in thefirst place, they practiced what was contrary to the will of God, so didthey, in the second place, what was contrary to the will of the prophettheir father, who had taken a great deal of care, and made a verycareful provision that the multitude should be righteous. 3. But the people, upon these injuries offered to their formerconstitution and government by the prophet's sons, were very uneasy attheir actions, and came running to the prophet, who then lived at thecity Ramah, and informed him of the transgressions of his sons; andsaid, That as he was himself old already, and too infirm by that age ofhis to oversee their affairs in the manner he used to do, so they beggedof 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, whoought to be punished for their former oppressions. These words greatlyafflicted Samuel, on account of his innate love of justice, and hishatred to kingly government, for he was very fond of an aristocracy, aswhat made the men that used it of a divine and happy disposition; norcould he either think of eating or sleeping, out of his concern andtorment of mind at what they had said, but all the night long did hecontinue awake and revolved these notions in his mind. 4. While he was thus disposed, God appeared to him, and comforted him, 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 contrivingthese things from the very day that they came out of Egypt; thathowever in no long time they would sorely repent of what they did, whichrepentance yet could not undo what was thus done for futurity; that theywould be sufficiently rebuked for their contempt, and the ungratefulconduct they have used towards me, and towards thy prophetic office. "SoI command thee to ordain them such a one as I shall name beforehandto be their king, when thou hast first described what mischiefs kinglygovernment will bring upon them, and openly testified before them intowhat 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 saidthat he was first to describe to them what would follow, what treatmentthey would receive from their kings, and with how many mischiefs theymust struggle. "For know ye, " said he, "that, in the first place, theywill take your sons away from you, and they will command some of themto be drivers of their chariots, and some to be their horsemen, and theguards of their body, and others of them to be runners before them, andcaptains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; they will alsomake them their artificers, makers of armor, and of chariots, and ofinstruments; they will make them their husbandmen also, and the curatorsof their own fields, and the diggers of their own vineyards; nor willthere be any thing which they will not do at their commands, as if theywere slaves bought with money. They will also appoint your daughters tobe confectioners, and cooks, and bakers; and these will be obliged todo all sorts of work which women slaves, that are in fear of stripesand torments, submit to. They will, besides this, take away yourpossessions, and bestow them upon their eunuchs, and the guards of theirbodies, 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 beservants 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 nowsay. And when you repent of what you have done, you will beseech Godto have mercy upon you, and to grant you a quick deliverance from yourkings; but he will not accept your prayers, but will neglect you, andpermit you to suffer the punishment your evil conduct has deserved. " 6. But the multitude was still so foolish as to be deaf to thesepredictions of what would befall them; and too peevish to suffer adetermination which they had injudiciously once made, to be taken outof their mind; for they could not be turned from their purpose, nordid they regard the words of Samuel, but peremptorily insisted on theirresolution, and desired him to ordain them a king immediately, and nottrouble himself with fears of what would happen hereafter, for that itwas necessary they should have with them one to fight their battles, and to avenge them of their enemies, and that it was no way absurd, whentheir neighbors were under kingly government, that they should have thesame form of government also. So when Samuel saw that what he hadsaid had not diverted them from their purpose, but that they continuedresolute, he said, "Go you every one home for the present; when it isfit I will send for you, as soon as I shall have learned from God who itis that he will give you for your king. " CHAPTER 4. The Appointment Of A King Over The Israelites, Whose Name WasSaul; And This By The Command Of God. 1. Ther was one of the tribe of Benjamin, a man of a good family, and ofa virtuous disposition; his name was Kish. He had a son, a young man ofa comely countenance, and of a tall body, but his understanding and hismind were preferable to what was visible in him: they called him Saul. Now this Kish had some fine she-asses that were wandered out of thepasture wherein they fed, for he was more delighted with these than withany other cattle he had; so he sent out his son, and one servant withhim, to search for the beasts; but when he had gone over his own tribein search after the asses, he went to other tribes, and when he foundthem not there neither, he determined to go his way home, lest he shouldoccasion any concern to his father about himself. But when his servantthat followed him told him as they were near the city of Ramah, thatthere was a true prophet in that city, and advised him to go to him, forthat by him they should know the upshot of the affair of their asses, hereplied, That if they should go to him, they had nothing to give him asa reward for his prophecy, for their subsistence money was spent. Theservant answered, that he had still the fourth part of a shekel, and hewould present him with that; for they were mistaken out of ignorance, asnot knowing that the prophet received no such reward [6] So they went tohim; and when they were before the gates, they lit upon certain maidensthat were going to fetch water, and they asked them which was theprophet's house. They showed them which it was; and bid them make hastebefore he sat down to supper, for he had invited many guests to a feast, and that he used to sit down before those that were invited. Now Samuelhad then gathered many together to feast with him on this very account;for while he every day prayed to God to tell him beforehand whom hewould make king, he had informed him of this man the day before, forthat he would send him a certain young man out of the tribe of Benjaminabout this hour of the day; and he sat on the top of the house inexpectation of that time's being come. And when the time was completed, he came down and went to supper; so he met with Saul, and God discoveredto him that this was he who should rule over them. Then Saul went upto Samuel and saluted him, and desired him to inform him which was theprophet's house; for he said he was a stranger and did not know it. WhenSamuel had told him that he himself was the person, he led him in tosupper, and assured him that the asses were found which he had beento seek, and that the greatest of good things were assured to him: hereplied, "I am too inconsiderable to hope for any such thing, and ofa tribe to small to have kings made out of it, and of a family smallerthan several other families; but thou tellest me this in jest, andmakest me an object of laughter, when thou discoursest with me ofgreater matters than what I stand in need of. " However, the prophet ledhim in to the feast, and made him sit down, him and his servant thatfollowed him, above the other guests that were invited, which wereseventy in number [7] and he gave orders to the servants to set theroyal 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 withthe prophet, he and his servant, and slept with him. 2. Now as soon as it was day, Samuel raised up Saul out of his bed, andconducted him homeward; and when he was out of the city, he desired himto cause his servant to go before, but to stay behind himself, for thathe had somewhat to say to him when nobody else was present. Accordingly, Saul sent away his servant that followed him; then did the prophettake a vessel of oil, and poured it upon the head of the young man, andkissed him, and said, "Be thou a king, by the ordination of God, against the Philistines, and for avenging the Hebrews for what they havesuffered by them; of this thou shalt have a sign, which I would havethee take notice of:--As soon as thou art departed hence, thou will findthree men upon the road, going to worship God at Bethel; the first ofwhom thou wilt see carrying three loaves of bread, the second carryinga kid of the goats, and the third will follow them carrying a bottle ofwine. These three men will salute thee, and speak kindly to thee, andwill give thee two of their loaves, which thou shalt accept of. Andthence thou shalt come to a place called Rachel's Monument, where thoushalt meet with those that will tell thee thy asses are found; afterthis, when thou comest to Gabatha, thou shalt overtake a company ofprophets, and thou shalt be seized with the Divine Spirit, [8] andprophesy along with them, till every one that sees thee shall beastonished, and wonder, and say, Whence is it that the son of Kish hasarrived at this degree of happiness? And when these signs have happenedto thee, know that God is with thee; then do thou salute thy father andthy kindred. Thou shalt also come when I send for thee to Gilgal, thatwe may offer thank-offerings to God for these blessings. " When Samuelhad said this, and foretold these things, he sent the young man away. Now all things fell out to Saul according to the prophecy of Samuel. 3. But as soon as Saul came into the house of his kinsman Abner, whomindeed he loved better than the rest of his relations, he was asked byhim concerning his journey, and what accidents happened to him therein;and he concealed none of the other things from him, no, not his comingto Samuel the prophet, nor how he told him the asses were found; but hesaid nothing to him about the kingdom, and what belonged thereto, whichhe thought would procure him envy, and when such things are heard, they are not easily believed; nor did he think it prudent to tell thosethings to him, although he appeared very friendly to him, and one whomhe loved above the rest of his relations, considering, I suppose, whathuman nature really is, that no one is a firm friend, neither amongour intimates, nor of our kindred; nor do they preserve that kinddisposition when God advances men to great prosperity, but they arestill ill-natured and envious at those that are in eminent stations. 4. Then Samuel called the people together to the city Mizpeh, and spaketo them in the words following, which he said he was to speak by thecommand of God:--That when he had granted them a state of liberty, andbrought their enemies into subjection, they were become unmindful ofhis benefits, and rejected God that he should not be their King, as notconsidering that it would be most for their advantage to be presidedover by the best of beings, for God is the best of beings, and theychose to have a man for their king; while kings will use theirsubjects as beasts, according to the violence of their own wills andinclinations, and other passions, as wholly carried away with the lustof power, but will not endeavor so to preserve the race of mankind ashis own workmanship and creation, which, for that very reason, God wouldtake cake of. "But since you have come to a fixed resolution, andthis injurious treatment of God has quite prevailed over you, disposeyourselves by your tribes and scepters, and cast lots. " 5. When the Hebrews had so done, the lot fell upon the tribe ofBenjamin; and when the lot was cast for the families of this tribe, that which was called Matri was taken; and when the lot was cast forthe single persons of that family, Saul, the son of Kish, was taken fortheir king. When the young man knew this, he prevented [their sendingfor him], and immediately went away and hid himself. I suppose thatit was because he would not have it thought that he willingly tookthe government upon him; nay, he showed such a degree of command overhimself, and of modesty, that while the greatest part are not ableto contain their joy, even in the gaining of small advantages, butpresently show themselves publicly to all men, this man did not onlyshow nothing of that nature, when he was appointed to be the lord of somany and so great tribes, but crept away and concealed himself out ofthe sight of those he was to reign over, and made them seek him, andthat with a good deal of trouble. So when the people were at a loss, andsolicitous, because Saul disappeared, the prophet besought God to showwhere the young man was, and to produce him before them. So when theyhad learned of God the place where Saul was hidden, they sent mento bring him; and when he was come, they set him in the midst of themultitude. Now he was taller than any of them, and his stature was verymajestic. 6. Then said the prophet, "God gives you this man to be your king: seehow he is higher than any of the people, and worthy of this dominion. "So as soon as the people had made acclamation, God save the king, theprophet wrote down what would come to pass in a book, and read it in thehearing of the king, and laid up the book in the tabernacle of God, to be a witness to future generations of what he had foretold. So whenSamuel had finished this matter, he dismissed the multitude, and camehimself to the city Rainah, for it was his own country. Saul also wentaway to Gibeah, where he was born; and many good men there were who paidhim the respect that was due to him; but the greater part were illmen, who despised him and derided the others, who neither did bring himpresents, nor did they in affection, or even in words, regard to pleasehim. CHAPTER 5. Saul's Expedition Against The Nation Of The Ammonites AndVictory Over Them And The Spoils He Took From Them. 1. After one month, the war which Saul had with Nahash, the king of theAmmonites, obtained him respect from all the people; for this Nahash haddone a great deal of mischief to the Jews that lived beyond Jordan bythe expedition he had made against them with a great and warlike army. He also reduced their cities into slavery, and that not only by subduingthem for the present, which he did by force and violence, but byweakening them by subtlety and cunning, that they might not be ableafterward to get clear of the slavery they were under to him; for he putout the right eyes [9] of those that either delivered themselves tohim upon terms, or were taken by him in war; and this he did, that whentheir left eyes were covered by their shields, they might be whollyuseless in war. Now when the king of the Ammonites had served thosebeyond Jordan in this manner, he led his army against those that werecalled Gileadites, and having pitched his camp at the metropolis ofhis enemies, which was the city of Jabesh, he sent ambassadors to them, commanding them either to deliver themselves up, on condition to havetheir right eyes plucked out, or to undergo a siege, and to have theircities overthrown. He gave them their choice, whether they would cutoff a small member of their body, or universally perish. However, theGileadites were so affrighted at these offers, that they had not courageto say any thing to either of them, neither that they would deliverthemselves up, nor that they would fight him. But they desired that hewould give them seven days' respite, that they might send ambassadorsto their countrymen, and entreat their assistance; and if they came toassist them, they would fight; but if that assistance were impossibleto be obtained from them, they said they would deliver themselves up tosuffer whatever he pleased to inflict upon them. 2. So Nabash, contemning the multitude of the Gileadites and the answerthey gave, allowed them a respite, and gave them leave to send towhomsoever they pleased for assistance. So they immediately sent to theIsraelites, city by city, and informed them what Nabash had threatenedto do to them, and what great distress they were in. Now the people fellinto tears and grief at the hearing of what the ambassadors from Jabeshsaid; and the terror they were in permitted them to do nothing more. Butwhen the messengers were come to the city of king Saul, and declared thedangers in which the inhabitants of Jabesh were, the people were inthe same affliction as those in the other cities, for they lamented thecalamity of those related to them. And when Saul was returned from hishusbandry into the city, he found his fellow citizens weeping; and when, upon inquiry, he had learned the cause of the confusion and sadness theywere in, he was seized with a divine fury, and sent away the ambassadorsfrom the inhabitants of Jabesh, and promised them to come to theirassistance on the third day, and to beat their enemies beforesun-rising, that the sun upon its rising might see that they had alreadyconquered, and were freed from the fears they were under: but he bidsome of them stay to conduct them the right way to Jabesh. 3. So being desirous to turn the people to this war against theAmmonites by fear of the losses they should otherwise undergo, and thatthey might the more suddenly be gathered together, he cut the sinews ofhis oxen, and threatened to do the same to all such as did not comewith their armor to Jordan the next day, and follow him and Samuel theprophet whithersoever they should lead them. So they came together, outof fear of the losses they were threatened with, at the appointed time. And the multitude were numbered at the city Bezek. And he found thenumber of those that were gathered together, besides that of the tribeof Judah, to be seven hundred thousand, while those of that tribe wereseventy thousand. So he passed over Jordan, and proceeded in marchingall that night, thirty furlongs, and came to Jabesh before sun-rising. So he divided the army into three companies; and fell upon their enemieson every side on the sudden, and when they expected no such thing; andjoining battle with them, they slew a great many of the Ammonites, asalso their king Nabash. This glorious action was done by Saul, and wasrelated with great commendation of him to all the Hebrews; and he thencegained a wonderful reputation for his valor: for although there weresome of them that contemned him before, they now changed their minds, and honored him, and esteemed him as the best of men: for he did notcontent himself with having saved the inhabitants of Jabesh only, buthe made an expedition into the country of the Ammonites, and laid it allwaste, and took a large prey, and so returned to his own country mostgloriously. So the people were greatly pleased at these excellentperformances of Saul, and rejoiced that they had constituted him theirking. They also made a clamor against those that pretended he would beof no advantage to their affairs; and they said, Where now are thesemen?--let them be brought to punishment, with all the like things thatmultitudes usually say when they are elevated with prosperity, againstthose that lately had despised the authors of it. But Saul, although hetook the good-will and the affection of these men very kindly, yet didhe swear that he would not see any of his countrymen slain that day, since it was absurd to mix this victory, which God had given them, withthe blood and slaughter of those that were of the same lineage withthemselves; and that it was more agreeable to be men of a friendlydisposition, and so to betake themselves to feasting. 4. And when Samuel had told them that he ought to confirm the kingdom toSaul by a second ordination of him, they all came together to the cityof Gilgal, for thither did he command them to come. So the prophetanointed Saul with the holy oil in the sight of the multitude, anddeclared him to be king the second time. And so the government of theHebrews was changed into a regal government; for in the days of Moses, and his disciple Joshua, who was their general, they continued under anaristocracy; but after the death of Joshua, for eighteen years in all, the multitude had no settled form of government, but were in ananarchy; after which they returned to their former government, they thenpermitting themselves to be judged by him who appeared to be thebest warrior and most courageous, whence it was that they called thisinterval of their government the Judges. 5. Then did Samuel the prophet call another assembly also, and saidto them, "I solemnly adjure you by God Almighty, who brought thoseexcellent brethren, I mean Moses and Aaron, into the world, anddelivered our fathers from the Egyptians, and from the slavery theyendured 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 otherpassion, but say, What have I ever done that was cruel or unjust? orwhat have I done out of lucre or covetousness, or to gratify others?Bear witness against me, if I have taken an ox or a sheep, or any suchthing, which yet when they are taken to support men, it is esteemedblameless; or have I taken an ass for mine own use of any one to hisgrief?--lay some one such crime to my charge, now we are in your king'spresence. " But they cried out, that no such thing had been done by him, but that he had presided over the nation after a holy and righteousmanner. 6. Hereupon Samuel, when such a testimony had been given him by themall, said, "Since you grant that you are not able to lay any ill thingto my charge hitherto, come on now, and do you hearken while I speakwith great freedom to you. You have been guilty of great impietyagainst God, in asking you a king. It behoves you to remember that ourgrandfather Jacob came down into Egypt, by reason of a famine, withseventy souls only of our family, and that their posterity multipliedthere to many ten thousands, whom the Egyptians brought into slavery andhard oppression; that God himself, upon the prayers of our fathers, sentMoses and Aaron, who were brethren, and gave them power to deliver themultitude out of their distress, and this without a king. These broughtus into this very land which you now possess: and when you enjoyedthese advantages from God, you betrayed his worship and religion; nay, moreover, when you were brought under the hands of your enemies, hedelivered you, first by rendering you superior to the Assyrians andtheir forces, he then made you to overcome the Ammonites and theMoabites, and last of all the Philistines; and these things have beenachieved under the conduct of Jephtha and Gideon. What madness thereforepossessed you to fly from God, and to desire to be under a king?--yethave I ordained him for king whom he chose for you. However, that I maymake it plain to you that God is angry and displeased at your choice ofkingly government, I will so dispose him that he shall declare this veryplainly to you by strange signals; for what none of you ever saw herebefore, I mean a winter storm in the midst of harvest, [10] I willentreat of God, and will make it visible to you. " Now, as soon as he hadsaid this, God gave such great signals by thunder and lightning, and thedescent of hail, as attested the truth of all that the prophet had said, insomuch that they were amazed and terrified, and confessed they hadsinned, and had fallen into that sin through ignorance; and besought theprophet, as one that was a tender and gentle father to them, to renderGod so merciful as to forgive this their sin, which they had added tothose other offenses whereby they had affronted him and transgressedagainst him. So he promised them that he would beseech God, and persuadehim to forgive them these their sins. However, he advised them to berighteous, and to be good, and ever to remember the miseries that hadbefallen them on account of their departure from virtue: as also toremember the strange signs God had shown them, and the body of laws thatMoses had given them, if they had any desire of being preserved and madehappy with their king. But he said, that if they should grow carelessof these things, great judgments would come from God upon them, andupon their king. And when Samuel had thus prophesied to the Hebrews, hedismissed them to their own homes, having confirmed the kingdom to Saulthe second time. CHAPTER 6. How The Philistines Made Another Expedition Against TheHebrews And Were Beaten. 1. Now Saul chose out of the multitude about three thousand men, and hetook two thousand of them to be the guards of his own body, and abode inthe city Bethel, but he gave the rest of them to Jonathan his son, tobe the guards of his body; and sent him to Gibeah, where he besieged andtook a certain garrison of the Philistines, not far from Gilgal; for thePhilistines of Gibeah had beaten the Jews, and taken their weapons away, and had put garrisons into the strongest places of the country, and hadforbidden them to carry any instrument of iron, or at all to make use ofany iron in any case whatsoever. And on account of this prohibition itwas that the husbandmen, if they had occasion to sharpen any of theirtools, whether it were the coulter or the spade, or any instrument ofhusbandry, they came to the Philistines to do it. Now as soon as thePhilistines heard of this slaughter of their garrison, they were ina rage about it, and, looking on this contempt as a terrible affrontoffered them, they made war against the Jews, with three hundredthousand footmen, and thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horses;and they pitched their camp at the city Michmash. When Saul, the king ofthe Hebrews, was informed of this, he went down to the city Gilgal, andmade proclamation over all the country, that they should try to regaintheir 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 whenthe people about Saul observed how numerous the Philistines were, theywere under a great consternation; and some of them hid themselves incaves and in dens under ground, but the greater part fled into the landbeyond Jordan, which belonged to Gad and Reuben. 2. But Saul sent to the prophet, and called him to consult with himabout the war and the public affairs; so he commanded him to stay therefor him, and to prepare sacrifices, for he would come to him withinseven days, that they might offer sacrifices on the seventh day, andmight then join battle with their enemies. So he waited [11] as theprophet sent to him to do; yet did not he, however, observe the commandthat was given him, but when he saw that the prophet tarried longerthan he expected, and that he was deserted by the soldiers, he took thesacrifices 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 indisobeying the injunctions he had sent to him, and had not staid tillhis coming, which being appointed according to the will of God, he hadprevented him in offering up those prayers and those sacrifices that heshould have made for the multitude, and that he therefore had performedDivine offices in an ill manner, and had been rash in performing them. Hereupon Saul made an apology for himself, and said that he had waitedas many days as Samuel had appointed him; that he had been so quick inoffering his sacrifices, upon account of the necessity he was in, andbecause his soldiers were departing from him, out of their fear of theenemy's camp at Michmash, the report being gone abroad that theywere coming down upon him of Gilgal. To which Samuel replied, "Nay, certainly, if thou hadst been a righteous man, [12] and hadst notdisobeyed me, nor slighted the commands which God suggested to meconcerning the present state of affairs, and hadst not acted morehastily than the present circumstances required, thou wouldst havebeen permitted to reign a long time, and thy posterity after thee. " SoSamuel, being grieved at what happened, returned home; but Saul came tothe city Gibeah, with his son Jonathan, having only six hundred menwith him; and of these the greater part had no weapons, because of thescarcity of iron in that country, as well as of those that could makesuch weapons; for, as we showed a little before, the Philistines hadnot suffered them to have such iron or such workmen. Now the Philistinesdivided their army into three companies, and took as many roads, andlaid waste the country of the Hebrews, while king Saul and his sonJonathan saw what was done, but were not able to defend the land, havingno more than six hundred men with them. But as he, and his son, andAbiah 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 hisarmor-bearer, that they would go privately to the enemy's camp, and makea tumult and a disturbance among them. And when the armor-bearer hadreadily promised to follow him whithersoever he should lead him, thoughhe should be obliged to die in the attempt, Jonathan made use of theyoung man's assistance, and descended from the hill, and went to theirenemies. Now the enemy's camp was upon a precipice which had three tops, that ended in a small but sharp and long extremity, while there was arock that surrounded them, like lines made to prevent the attacks ofan enemy. There it so happened, that the out-guards of the camp wereneglected, because of the security that here arose from the situation ofthe place, and because they thought it altogether impossible, not onlyto ascend up to the camp on that quarter, but so much as to come nearit. As soon, therefore, as they came to the camp, Jonathan encouragedhis armor-bearer, and said to him, "Let us attack our enemies; and if, when they see us, they bid us come up to them, take that for a signal ofvictory; but if they say nothing, as not intending to invite us to comeup, let us return back again. " So when they were approaching to theenemy's camp, just after break of day, and the Philistines saw them, they said one to another, "The Hebrews come out of their dens andcaves:" and they said to Jonathan and to his armor-bearer, "Come on, ascend up to us, that we may inflict a just punishment upon you, foryour rash attempt upon us. " So Saul's son accepted of that invitation, as what signified to him victory, and he immediately came out of theplace 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 ownstrength; from thence they crept up with great labor and difficulty, andso far overcame by force the nature of the place, till they were ableto fight with their enemies. So they fell upon them as they were asleep, and slew about twenty of them, and thereby filled them with disorder andsurprise, insomuch that some of them threw away their entire armor andfled; but the greatest part, not knowing one another, because they wereof different nations, suspected one another to be enemies, [for theydid not imagine there were only two of the Hebrews that came up, ] andso they fought one against another; and some of them died in the battle, and some, as they were flying away, were thrown down from the rockheadlong. 3. Now Saul's watchmen told the king that the camp of the Philistineswas in confusion; then he inquired whether any body was gone away fromthe army; and when he heard that his son, and with him his armor-bearer, were absent, he bade the high priest take the garments of his highpriesthood, and prophesy to him what success they should have; who saidthat they should get the victory, and prevail against their enemies. So he went out after the Philistines, and set upon them as they wereslaying one another. Those also who had fled to dens and caves, uponhearing that Saul was gaining a victory, came running to him. When, therefore, the number of the Hebrews that came to Saul amounted to aboutten thousand, he pursued the enemy, who were scattered all over thecountry; but then he fell into an action, which was a very unhappy one, and liable to be very much blamed; for, whether out of ignorance orwhether out of joy for a victory gained so strangely, [for it frequentlyhappens that persons so fortunate are not then able to use their reasonconsistently, ] as he was desirous to avenge himself, and to exact adue punishment of the Philistines, he denounced a curse [13] upon theHebrews: That if any one put a stop to his slaughter of the enemy, andfell on eating, and left off the slaughter or the pursuit before thenight came on, and obliged them so to do, he should be accursed. Nowafter Saul had denounced this curse, since they were now in a woodbelonging to the tribe of Ephraim, which was thick and full of bees, Saul's son, who did not hear his father denounce that curse, nor hearof the approbation the multitude gave to it, broke off a piece of ahoney-comb, and ate part of it. But, in the mean time, he was informedwith what a curse his father had forbidden them to taste any thingbefore sun-setting: so he left off eating, and said his father had notdone well in this prohibition, because, had they taken some food, theyhad pursued the enemy with greater rigor and alacrity, and had bothtaken and slain many more of their enemies. 4. When, therefore, they had slain many ten thousands of thePhilistines, they fell upon spoiling the camp of the Philistines, butnot till late in the evening. They also took a great deal of prey andcattle, and killed them, and ate them with their blood. This was told tothe king by the scribes, that the multitude were sinning against God asthey sacrificed, and were eating before the blood was well washed away, and the flesh was made clean. Then did Saul give order that a greatstone should be rolled into the midst of them, and he made proclamationthat they should kill their sacrifices upon it, and not feed upon theflesh with the blood, for that was not acceptable to God. And when allthe people did as the king commanded them, Saul erected an altar there, and offered burnt-offerings upon it to God [14] This was the first altarthat Saul built. 5. So when Saul was desirous of leading his men to the enemy's campbefore it was day, in order to plunder it, and when the soldiers werenot unwilling to follow him, but indeed showed great readiness to do ashe commanded them, the king called Ahitub the high priest, and enjoinedhim to know of God whether he would grant them the favor and permissionto go against the enemy's camp, in order to destroy those that werein it. And when the priest said that God did not give any answer, Saulreplied, "And not without some cause does God refuse to answer what weinquire of him, while yet a little while ago he declared to us all thatwe desired beforehand, and even prevented us in his answer. To be surethere is some sin against him that is concealed from us, which is theoccasion of his silence. Now I swear by him himself, that though he thathath committed this sin should prove to be my own son Jonathan, I willslay 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 offense. " So when themultitude cried out to him so to do, he presently set all the rest onone side, and he and his son stood on the other side, and he sought todiscover the offender by lot. Now the lot appeared to fall upon Jonathanhimself. So when he was asked by his father what sin he had been guiltyof, and what he was conscious of in the course of his life that mightbe esteemed instances of guilt or profaneness, his answer was this, "Ofather, I have done nothing more than that yesterday, without knowing ofthe curse and oath thou hadst denounced, while I was in pursuit of theenemy, I tasted of a honey-comb. " But Saul sware that he would slay him, and prefer the observation of his oath before all the ties of birth andof nature. And Jonathan was not dismayed at this threatening of death, but, offering himself to it generously and undauntedly, he said, "Nor doI desire you, father, to spare me: death will be to me very acceptable, when it proceeds from thy piety, and after a glorious victory; for it isthe greatest consolation to me that I leave the Hebrews victorious overthe Philistines. " Hereupon all the people were very sorry, and greatlyafflicted for Jonathan; and they sware that they would not overlookJonathan, and see him die, who was the author of their victory. By whichmeans they snatched him out of the danger he was in from his father'scurse, while they made their prayers to God also for the young man, thathe would remit his sin. 6. So Saul, having slain about sixty thousand of the enemy, returnedhome to his own city, and reigned happily: and he also fought againstthe neighboring nations, and subdued the Ammonites, and Moabites, andPhilistines, and Edomites, and Amalekites, as also the king of Zobah. Hehad three male children, Jonathan, and Isui, and Melchishua; with Meraband Michal his daughters. He had also Abner, his uncle's son, for thecaptain of his host: that uncle's name was Ner. Now Ner, and Kish thefather of Saul, were brothers. Saul had also a great many chariots andhorsemen, and against whomsoever he made war he returned conqueror, andadvanced the affairs of the Hebrews to a great degree of success andprosperity, and made them superior to other nations; and he made such ofthe young men as were remarkable for tallness and comeliness the guardsof his body. CHAPTER 7. Saul's War With The Amalekites, And Conquest Of Them. 1. Now Samuel came unto Saul, and said to him, that he was sent by Godto put him in mind that God had preferred him before all others, andordained him king; that he therefore ought to be obedient to him, and tosubmit to his authority, as considering, that though he had the dominionover the other tribes, yet that God had the dominion over him, andover all things. That accordingly God said to him, that "because theAmalekites did the Hebrews a great deal of mischief while they werein the wilderness, and when, upon their coming out of Egypt, they weremaking their way to that country which is now their own, I enjoin theeto punish the Amalekites, by making war upon them; and when thou hastsubdued them, to leave none of them alive, but to pursue them throughevery age, and to slay them, beginning with the women and the infants, and to require this as a punishment to be inflicted upon them for themischief they did to our forefathers; to spare nothing, neither assesnor other beasts, nor to reserve any of them for your own advantage andpossession, but to devote them universally to God, and, in obedience tothe commands of Moses, to blot out the name of Amalek entirely. " [15] 2. So Saul promised to do what he was commanded; and supposing thathis obedience to God would be shown, not only in making war againstthe Amalekites, but more fully in the readiness and quickness of hisproceedings, he made no delay, but immediately gathered together allhis forces; and when he had numbered them in Gilgal, he found them tobe about four hundred thousand of the Israelites, besides the tribe ofJudah, for that tribe contained by itself thirty thousand. Accordingly, Saul made an irruption into the country of the Amalekites, and set manymen in several parties in ambush at the river, that so he might notonly do them a mischief by open fighting, but might fall upon themunexpectedly in the ways, and might thereby compass them round about, and kill them. And when he had joined battle with the enemy, he beatthem; and pursuing them as they fled, he destroyed them all. And whenthat undertaking had succeeded, according as God had foretold, he setupon the cities of the Amalekites; he besieged them, and took them byforce, partly by warlike machines, partly by mines dug under ground, and partly by building walls on the outsides. Some they starved out withfamine, and some they gained by other methods; and after all, he betookhimself to slay the women and the children, and thought he did notact therein either barbarously or inhumanly; first, because they wereenemies whom he thus treated, and, in the next place, because it wasdone by the command of God, whom it was dangerous not to obey. He alsotook Agag, the enemies' king, captive, --the beauty and tallness of whosebody he admired so much, that he thought him worthy of preservation. Yetwas not this done however according to the will of God, but by givingway to human passions, and suffering himself to be moved with anunseasonable commiseration, in a point where it was not safe for him toindulge it; for God hated the nation of the Amalekites to such a degree, that he commanded Saul to have no pity on even those infants which we bynature chiefly compassionate; but Saul preserved their king and governorfrom the miseries which the Hebrews brought on the people, as if hepreferred the fine appearance of the enemy to the memory of what God hadsent him about. The multitude were also guilty, together with Saul; forthey spared the herds and the flocks, and took them for a prey, whenGod had commanded they should not spare them. They also carried off withthem the rest of their wealth and riches; but if there were any thingthat was not worthy of regard, that they destroyed. 3. But when Saul had conquered all these Amalekites that reached fromPelusium of Egypt to the Red Sea, he laid waste all the rest of theenemy's country: but for the nation of the Shechemites, he did not touchthem, although they dwelt in the very middle of the country of Midian;for before the battle, Saul had sent to them, and charged them to departthence, lest they should be partakers of the miseries of the Amalekites;for he had a just occasion for saving them, since they were of thekindred of Raguel, Moses's father-in-law. 4. Hereupon Saul returned home with joy, for the glorious things hehad done, and for the conquest of his enemies, as though he had notneglected any thing which the prophet had enjoined him to do when hewas going to make war with the Amalekites, and as though he had exactlyobserved all that he ought to have done. But God was grieved that theking of the Amalekites was preserved alive, and that the multitude hadseized on the cattle for a prey, because these things were done withouthis permission; for he thought it an intolerable thing that they shouldconquer and overcome their enemies by that power which he gave them, and then that he himself should be so grossly despised and disobeyed bythem, that a mere man that was a king would not bear it. He thereforetold Samuel the prophet, that he repented that he had made Saul king, while he did nothing that he had commanded him, but indulged his owninclinations. When Samuel heard that, he was in confusion, and began tobeseech God all that night to be reconciled to Saul, and not to beangry with him; but he did not grant that forgiveness to Saul which theprophet asked for, as not deeming it a fit thing to grant forgiveness of[such] sins at his entreaties, since injuries do not otherwise grow sogreat as by the easy tempers of those that are injured; or while theyhunt after the glory of being thought gentle and good-natured, beforethey are aware they produce other sins. As soon therefore as God hadrejected the intercession of the prophet, and it plainly appearedhe would not change his mind, at break of day Samuel came to Saul atGilgal. When the king saw him, he ran to him, and embraced him, andsaid, "I return thanks to God, who hath given me the victory, for Ihave performed every thing that he hath commanded me. " To which Samuelreplied, "How is it then that I hear the bleating of the sheep and thelowing of the greater cattle in the camp?" Saul made answer, That thepeople had reserved them for sacrifices; but that, as to the nationof the Amalekites, it was entirely destroyed, as he had received it incommand to see done, and that no one man was left; but that he had savedalive the king alone, and brought him to him, concerning whom, hesaid, they would advise together what should be done with him. But theprophet said, "God is not delighted with sacrifices, but with good andwith righteous men, who are such as follow his will and his laws, andnever think that any thing is well done by them but when they do it asGod had commanded them; that he then looks upon himself as affronted, not when any one does not sacrifice, but when any one appears to bedisobedient to him. But that from those who do not obey him, nor pay himthat duty which is the alone true and acceptable worship, he will notkindly accept their oblations, be those they offer ever so many and sofat, and be the presents they make him ever so ornamental, nay, thoughthey were made of gold and silver themselves, but he will reject them, and esteem them instances of wickedness, and not of piety. And that heis delighted with those that still bear in mind this one thing, and thisonly, how to do that, whatsoever it be, which God pronounces or commandsfor them to do, and to choose rather to die than to transgress any ofthose commands; nor does he require so much as a sacrifice from them. And when these do sacrifice, though it be a mean oblation, he betteraccepts of it as the honor of poverty, than such oblations as come fromthe richest men that offer them to him. Wherefore take notice, that thouart under the wrath of God, for thou hast despised and neglected whathe commanded thee. How dost thou then suppose that he will respect asacrifice out of such things as he hath doomed to destruction? unlessperhaps thou dost imagine that it is almost all one to offer it insacrifice to God as to destroy it. Do thou therefore expect that thykingdom will be taken from thee, and that authority which thou hastabused by such insolent behavior, as to neglect that God who bestowedit upon thee. " Then did Saul confess that he had acted unjustly, and didnot deny that he had sinned, because he had transgressed the injunctionsof the prophet; but he said that it was out of a dread and fear of thesoldiers, that he did not prohibit and restrain them when they seized onthe prey. "But forgive me, " said he, "and be merciful to me, for I willbe cautious how I offend for the time to come. " He also entreated theprophet to go back with him, that he might offer his thank-offeringsto God; but Samuel went home, because he saw that God would not bereconciled to him. 5. But then Saul was so desirous to retain Samuel, that he took holdof his cloak, and because the vehemence of Samuel's departure made themotion to be violent, the cloak was rent. Upon which the prophet said, that after the same manner should the kingdom be rent from him, and thata good and a just man should take it; that God persevered in what hehad decreed about him; that to be mutable and changeable in what isdetermined, is agreeable to human passions only, but is not agreeable tothe Divine Power. Hereupon Saul said that he had been wicked, but thatwhat was done could not be undone: he therefore desired him to honorhim so far, that the multitude might see that he would accompany him inworshipping God. So Samuel granted him that favor, and went with him andworshipped God. Agag also, the king of the Amalekites, was brought tohim; and when the king asked, How bitter death was? Samuel said, "Asthou hast made many of the Hebrew mothers to lament and bewail the lossof their children, so shalt thou, by thy death, cause thy mother tolament thee also. " Accordingly, he gave order to slay him immediately atGilgal, and then went away to the city Ramah. CHAPTER 8. How, Upon Saul's Transgression Of The Prophet's Commands, Samuel Ordained Another Person To Be King Privately, Whose Name WasDavid, As God Commanded Him. 1. Now Saul being sensible of the miserable condition he had broughthimself into, and that he had made God to be his enemy, he went up tohis royal palace at Gibeah, which name denotes a hill, and after thatday he came no more into the presence of the prophet. And when Samuelmourned for him, God bid him leave off his concern for him, and to takethe holy oil, and go to Bethlehem, to Jesse the son of Obed, and toanoint such of his sons as he should show him for their future king. ButSamuel said, he was afraid lest Saul, when he came to know of it, shouldkill him, either by some private method or even openly. But uponGod's suggesting to him a safe way of going thither, he came to theforementioned city; and when they all saluted him, and asked what wasthe occasion of his coming, he told them he came to sacrifice to God. When, therefore, he had gotten the sacrifice ready, he called Jesse andhis sons to partake of those sacrifices; and when he saw his eldest sonto be a tall and handsome man, he guessed by his comeliness that hewas the person who was to be their future king. But he was mistaken injudging about God's providence; for when Samuel inquired of God whetherhe should anoint this youth, whom he so admired, and esteemed worthy ofthe kingdom, God said, "Men do not see as God seeth. Thou indeed hastrespect to the fine appearance of this youth, and thence esteemest himworthy of the kingdom, while I propose the kingdom as a reward, not ofthe beauty of bodies, but of the virtue of souls, and I inquireafter one that is perfectly comely in that respect; I mean one who isbeautiful in piety, and righteousness, and fortitude, and obedience, forin them consists the comeliness of the soul. " When God had said this, Samuel bade Jesse to show him all his sons. So he made five others ofhis sons to come to him; of all of whom Eliab was the eldest, Aminadabthe second, Shammall the third, Nathaniel the fourth, Rael the fifth, and Asam the sixth. And when the prophet saw that these were no wayinferior to the eldest in their countenances, he inquired of God whichof them it was whom he chose for their king. And when God said it wasnone of them, he asked Jesse whether he had not some other sons besidesthese; and when he said that he had one more, named David, but that hewas a shepherd, and took care of the flocks, Samuel bade them call himimmediately, for that till he was come they could not possibly sit downto the feast. Now, as soon as his father had sent for David, and he wascome, he appeared to be of a yellow complexion, of a sharp sight, and acomely person in other respects also. This is he, said Samuel privatelyto himself, whom it pleases God to make our king. So he sat down to thefeast, and placed the youth under him, and Jesse also, with his othersons; after which he took oil in the presence of David, and anointedhim, and whispered him in the ear, and acquainted him that God chose himto be their king; and exhorted him to be righteous, and obedient to hiscommands, for that by this means his kingdom would continue for a longtime, and that his house should be of great splendor, and celebrated inthe world; that he should overthrow the Philistines; and that againstwhat nations soever he should make war, he should be the conqueror, andsurvive the fight; and that while he lived he should enjoy a gloriousname, and leave such a name to his posterity also. 2. So Samuel, when he had given him these admonitions, went away. Butthe Divine Power departed from Saul, and removed to David; who, uponthis removal of the Divine Spirit to him, began to prophesy. But as forSaul, some strange and demoniacal disorders came upon him, and broughtupon him such suffocations as were ready to choke him; for which thephysicians could find no other remedy but this, That if any person couldcharm those passions by singing, and playing upon the harp, they advisedthem to inquire for such a one, and to observe when these demons cameupon him and disturbed him, and to take care that such a person mightstand over him, and play upon the harp, and recite hymns to him. [16]Accordingly Saul did not delay, but commanded them to seek out such aman. And when a certain stander-by said that he had seen in the city ofBethlehem a son of Jesse, who was yet no more than a child in age, butcomely and beautiful, and in other respects one that was deserving ofgreat regard, who was skillful in playing on the harp, and in singing ofhymns, [and an excellent soldier in war, ] he sent to Jesse, and desiredhim to take David away from the flocks, and send him to him, for hehad a mind to see him, as having heard an advantageous character of hiscomeliness and his valor. So Jesse sent his son, and gave him presentsto carry to Saul. And when he was come, Saul was pleased with him, andmade him his armor-bearer, and had him in very great esteem; for hecharmed his passion, and was the only physician against the trouble hehad from the demons, whensoever it was that it came upon him, and thisby reciting of hymns, and playing upon the harp, and bringing Saulto his right mind again. However, he sent to Jesse, the father of thechild, and desired him to permit David to stay with him, for that hewas delighted with his sight and company; which stay, that he might notcontradict Saul, he granted. CHAPTER 9. How The Philistines Made Another Expedition Against TheHebrews Under The Reign Of Saul; And How They Were Overcome By David'sSlaying Goliath In Single Combat. 1. Now the Philistines gathered themselves together again no very longtime afterward; and having gotten together a great army, they made waragainst the Israelites; and having seized a place between Shochoh andAzekah, they there pitched their camp. Saul also drew out his army tooppose them; and by pitching his own camp on a certain hill, he forcedthe Philistines to leave their former camp, and to encamp themselvesupon such another hill, over-against that on which Saul's army lay, so that a valley, which was between the two hills on which they lay, divided their camps asunder. Now there came down a man out of the campof the Philistines, whose name was Goliath, of the city of Gath, a manof vast bulk, for he was of four cubits and a span in tallness, and hadabout him weapons suitable to the largeness of his body, for he had abreastplate on that weighed five thousand shekels: he had also a helmetand greaves of brass, as large as you would naturally suppose mightcover the limbs of so vast a body. His spear was also such as was notcarried like a light thing in his right hand, but he carried it as lyingon his shoulders. He had also a lance of six hundred shekels; and manyfollowed him to carry his armor. Wherefore this Goliath stood betweenthe two armies, as they were in battle array, and sent out aloud voice, and said to Saul and the Hebrews, "I will free you from fighting andfrom dangers; for what necessity is there that your army should fall andbe afflicted? Give me a man of you that will fight with me, and he thatconquers shall have the reward of the conqueror and determine the war;for these shall serve those others to whom the conqueror shall belong;and certainly it is much better, and more prudent, to gain what youdesire by the hazard of one man than of all. " When he had said this, heretired to his own camp; but the next day he came again, and used thesame words, and did not leave off for forty days together, to challengethe enemy in the same words, till Saul and his army were therewithterrified, while they put themselves in array as if they would fight, but did not come to a close battle. 2. Now while this war between the Hebrews and the Philistines was goingon, Saul sent away David to his father Jesse, and contented himself withthose three sons of his whom he had sent to his assistance, and to bepartners in the dangers of the war: and at first David returned to feedhis sheep and his flocks; but after no long time he came to the camp ofthe Hebrews, as sent by his father, to carry provisions to his brethren, and to know what they were doing. While Goliath came again, andchallenged them, and reproached them, that they had no man of valoramong them that durst come down to fight him; and as David was talkingwith his brethren about the business for which his father had senthim, he heard the Philistine reproaching and abusing the army, and hadindignation at it, and said to his brethren, "I am ready to fight asingle combat with this adversary. " Whereupon Eliab, his eldest brother, reproved him, and said that he spoke too rashly and improperly for oneof his age, and bid him go to his flocks, and to his father. So he wasabashed at his brother's words, and went away, but still he spaketo some of the soldiers that he was willing to fight with him thatchallenged them. And when they had informed Saul what was the resolutionof the young man, the king sent for him to come to him: and when theking 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 willgo down and fight with him, and will bring him under me, as tall and asgreat as he is, till he shall be sufficiently laughed at, and thy armyshall get great glory, when he shall be slain by one that is not yet ofman's estate, neither fit for fighting, nor capable of being intrustedwith the marshalling an army, or ordering a battle, but by one thatlooks like a child, and is really no elder in age than a child. " 3. Now Saul wondered at the boldness and alacrity of David, but durstnot presume on his ability, by reason of his age; but said he must onthat account be too weak to fight with one that was skilled in the artof war. "I undertake this enterprise, " said David, "in dependenceon God's being with me, for I have had experience already of hisassistance; for I once pursued after and caught a lion that assaulted myflocks, and took away a lamb from them; and I snatched the lamb out ofthe wild beast's mouth, and when he leaped upon me with violence, I tookhim by the tail, and dashed him against the ground. In the same mannerdid I avenge myself on a bear also; and let this adversary of oursbe esteemed like one of these wild beasts, since he has a long whilereproached our army, and blasphemed our God, who yet will reduce himunder my power. " 4. However, Saul prayed that the end might be, by God's assistance, notdisagreeable to the alacrity and boldness of the child; and said, "Gothy way to the fight. " So he put about him his breastplate, and girdedon his sword, and fitted the helmet to his head, and sent him away. ButDavid was burdened with his armor, for he had not been exercised toit, nor had he learned to walk with it; so he said, "Let this armor bethine, O king, who art able to bear it; but give me leave to fight asthy servant, and as I myself desire. " Accordingly he laid by the armor, and taking his staff with him, and putting five stones out of the brookinto a shepherd's bag, and having a sling in his right hand, he wenttowards Goliath. But the adversary seeing him come in such a manner, disdained him, and jested upon him, as if he had not such weapons withhim as are usual when one man fights against another, but such as areused in driving away and avoiding of dogs; and said, "Dost thou take menot for a man, but a dog?" To which he replied, "No, not for a dog, butfor a creature worse than a dog. " This provoked Goliath to anger, whothereupon cursed him by the name of God, and threatened to give hisflesh to the beasts of the earth, and to the fowls of the air, to betorn in pieces by them. To whom David answered, "Thou comest to me witha sword, and with a spear, and with a breastplate; but I have God for myarmor in coming against thee, who will destroy thee and all thy army bymy hands for I will this day cut off thy head, and cast the otherparts of thy body to the dogs, and all men shall learn that God is theprotector of the Hebrews, and that our armor and our strength is inhis providence; and that without God's assistance, all other warlikepreparations and power are useless. " So the Philistine being retarded bythe weight of his armor, when he attempted to meet David in haste, cameon but slowly, as despising him, and depending upon it that he shouldslay him, who was both unarmed and a child also, without any trouble atall. 5. But the youth met his antagonist, being accompanied with an invisibleassistant, who was no other than God himself. And taking one of thestones that he had out of the brook, and had put into his shepherd'sbag, and fitting it to his sling, he slang it against the Philistine. This stone fell upon his forehead, and sank into his brain, insomuchthat Goliath was stunned, and fell upon his face. So David ran, andstood upon his adversary as he lay down, and cut off his head with hisown sword; for he had no sword himself. And upon the fall of Goliaththe Philistines were beaten, and fled; for when they saw their championprostrate on the ground, they were afraid of the entire issue of theiraffairs, and resolved not to stay any longer, but committed themselvesto an ignominious and indecent flight, and thereby endeavored to savethemselves from the dangers they were in. But Saul and the entire armyof the Hebrews made a shout, and rushed upon them, and slew a greatnumber of them, and pursued the rest to the borders of Garb, and tothe gates of Ekron; so that there were slain of the Philistines thirtythousand, and twice as many wounded. But Saul returned to their camp, and pulled their fortification to pieces, and burnt it; but Davidcarried the head of Goliath into his own tent, but dedicated his swordto God [at the tabernacle]. CHAPTER 10. Saul Envies David For His Glorious Success, And Takes AnOccasion Of Entrapping Him, From The Promise He Made Him Of Giving HimHis Daughter In Marriage; But This Upon Condition Of His Bringing HimSix 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 cymbals, and drums, andall demonstrations of joy, and sang thus: The wives said, that "Saul hadslain his many thousands of the Philistines. " The virgins replied, that "David had slain his ten thousands. " Now, when the king heardthem singing thus, and that he had himself the smallest share in theircommendations, and the greater number, the ten thousands, were ascribedto the young man; and when he considered with himself that there wasnothing more wanting to David, after such a mighty applause, but thekingdom; he began to be afraid and suspicious of David. Accordinglyhe removed him from the station he was in before, for he was hisarmor-bearer, which, out of fear, seemed to him much too near a stationfor him; and so he made him captain over a thousand, and bestowed onhim a post better indeed in itself, but, as he thought, more for hisown security; for he had a mind to send him against the enemy, and intobattles, as hoping he would be slain in such dangerous conflicts. 2. But David had God going along with him whithersoever he went, andaccordingly he greatly prospered in his undertakings, and it was visiblethat he had mighty success, insomuch that Saul's daughter, who was stilla virgin, fell in love with him; and her affection so far prevailed overher, that it could not be concealed, and her father became acquaintedwith it. Now Saul heard this gladly, as intending to make use of it fora snare against David, and he hoped that it would prove the cause ofdestruction and of hazard to him; so he told those that informed him ofhis daughter's affection, that he would willingly give David the virginin marriage, and said, "I engage myself to marry my daughter to him ifhe will bring me six hundred heads of my enemies [17] supposing thatwhen a reward so ample was proposed to him, and when he should aim toget him great glory, by undertaking a thing so dangerous and incredible, he would immediately set about it, and so perish by the Philistines;and my designs about him will succeed finely to my mind, for I shall befreed 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 thisproposal of marrying the damsel. Accordingly, they began to speak thusto him: That king Saul loved him, as well as did all the people, andthat he was desirous of his affinity by the marriage of this damsel. Towhich he gave this answer:--"Seemeth it to you a light thing to be madethe king's son-in-law? It does not seem so to me, especially when I amone of a family that is low, and without any glory or honor. " Nowwhen Saul was informed by his servants what answer David had made, hesaid, --"Tell him that I do not want any money nor dowry from him, whichwould 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 fortitude, and allother kinds of virtue, " of which he saw David was possessed, andthat his desire was to receive of him, on account of his marrying hisdaughter, neither gold nor silver, nor that he should bring such wealthout of his father's house, but only some revenge on the Philistines, andindeed six hundred of their heads, than which a more desirable or a moreglorious present could not be brought him, and that he had much ratherobtain this, than any of the accustomed dowries for his daughter, viz. That she should be married to a man of that character, and to one whohad a testimony as having conquered his enemies. 3. When these words of Saul were brought to David, he was pleased withthem, and supposed that Saul was really desirous of this affinity withhim; so that without bearing to deliberate any longer, or casting aboutin his mind whether what was proposed was possible, or was difficultor not, he and his companions immediately set upon the enemy, andwent about doing what was proposed as the condition of the marriage. Accordingly, because it was God who made all things easy and possible toDavid, he slew many [of the Philistines], and cut off the heads of sixhundred of them, and came to the king, and by showing him these heads ofthe Philistines, required that he might have his daughter in marriage. Accordingly, Saul having no way of getting off his engagements, asthinking it a base thing either to seem a liar when he promised him thismarriage, or to appear to have acted treacherously by him, in puttinghim upon what was in a manner impossible, in order to have him slain, hegave him his daughter in marriage: her name was Michal. CHAPTER 11. How David, Upon Saul's Laying Snares For Him, Did Yet EscapeThe Dangers He Was In By The Affection And Care Of Jonathan And TheContrivances Of His Wife Michal: And How He Came To Samuel The Prophet. 1. However, Saul was not disposed to persevere long in the state whereinhe was, for when he saw that David was in great esteem, both with Godand with the multitude, he was afraid; and being not able to concealhis fear as concerning great things, his kingdom and his life, to bedeprived of either of which was a very great calamity, he resolved tohave David slain, and commanded his son Jonathan and his most faithfulservants to kill him: but Jonathan wondered at his father's change withrelation to David, that it should be made to so great a degree, fromshowing him no small good-will, to contrive how to have him killed. Now, because he loved the young man, and reverenced him for his virtue, heinformed him of the secret charge his father had given, and what hisintentions were concerning him. However, he advised him to take care andbe absent the next day, for that he would salute his father, and, if hemet with a favorable opportunity, he would discourse with him about him, and learn the cause of his disgust, and show how little ground there wasfor it, and that for it he ought not to kill a man that had done so manygood things to the multitude, and had been a benefactor to himself, onaccount of which he ought in reason to obtain pardon, had he been guiltyof the greatest crimes; and "I will then inform thee of my father'sresolution. " Accordingly David complied with such an advantageousadvice, and kept himself then out of the king's sight. 2. On the next day Jonathan came to Saul, as soon as he saw him in acheerful and joyful disposition, and began to introduce a discourseabout David: "What unjust action, O father, either little or great, hastthou found so exceptionable in David, as to induce thee to order us toslay a man who hath been of great advantage to thy own preservation, andof still greater to the punishment of the Philistines? A man who hathdelivered the people of the Hebrews from reproach and derision, whichthey underwent for forty days together, when he alone had courage enoughto sustain the challenge of the adversary, and after that brought asmany heads of our enemies as he was appointed to bring, and had, asa reward for the same, my sister in marriage; insomuch that his deathwould be very sorrowful to us, not only on account of his virtue, buton account of the nearness of our relation; for thy daughter mustbe injured at the same time that he is slain, and must be obliged toexperience widowhood, before she can come to enjoy any advantage fromtheir mutual conversation. Consider these things, and change your mindto a more merciful temper, and do no mischief to a man, who, in thefirst place, hath done us the greatest kindness of preserving thee; forwhen an evil spirit and demons had seized upon thee, he cast them out, and procured rest to thy soul from their incursions: and, in the secondplace, hath avenged us of our enemies; for it is a base thing to forgetsuch benefits. " So Saul was pacified with these words, and sware to hisson that he would do David no harm, for a righteous discourse provedtoo hard for the king's anger and fear. So Jonathan sent for David, andbrought him good news from his father, that he was to be preserved. Healso brought him to his father; and David continued with the king asformerly. 3. About this time it was that, upon the Philistines making a newexpedition against the Hebrews, Saul sent David with an army to fightwith them; and joining battle with them he slew many of them, and afterhis victory he returned to the king. But his reception by Saul was notas he expected upon such success, for he was grieved at his prosperity, because he thought he would be more dangerous to him by having acted sogloriously: but when the demoniacal spirit came upon him, and puthim into disorder, and disturbed him, he called for David into hisbed-chamber wherein he lay, and having a spear in his hand, he orderedhim to charm him with playing on his harp, and with singing hymns; whichwhen David did at his command, he with great force threw the spear athim; but David was aware of it before it came, and avoided it, and fledto his own house, and abode there all that day. 4. But at night the king sent officers, and commanded that he should bewatched till the morning, lest he should get quite away, that he mightcome into the judgment-hall, and so might be delivered up, andcondemned and slain. But when Michal, David's wife, the king's daughter, understood what her father designed, she came to her husband, as havingsmall hopes of his deliverance, and as greatly concerned about her ownlife also, for she could not bear to live in case she were deprived ofhim; and she said, "Let not the sun find thee here when it rises, for ifit do, that will be the last time it will see thee: fly away then whilethe night may afford thee opportunity, and may God lengthen it for thysake; for know this, that if my father find thee, thou art a dead man. "So she let him down by a cord out of the window, and saved him: andafter she had done so, she fitted up a bed for him as if he were sick, and put under the bed-clothes a goat's liver [18] and when her father, as soon as it was day, sent to seize David, she said to those that werethere, That he had not been well that night, and showed them the bedcovered, and made them believe, by the leaping of the liver, whichcaused the bed-clothes to move also, that David breathed like one thatwas asthmatic. So when those that were sent told Saul that David had notbeen well in the night he ordered him to be brought in that condition, for he intended to kill him. Now when they came and uncovered the bed, and found out the woman's contrivance, they told it to the king; andwhen her father complained of her that she had saved his enemy, andhad put a trick upon himself, she invented this plausible defense forherself, and said, That when he had threatened to kill her, she lenthim her assistance for his preservation, out of fear; for which herassistance she ought to be forgiven, because it was not done of her ownfree choice, but out of necessity: "For, " said she, "I do not supposethat thou wast so zealous to kill thy enemy, as thou wast that I shouldbe saved. " Accordingly Saul forgave the damsel; but David, when he hadescaped this danger, came to the prophet Samuel to Ramah, and told himwhat snares the king had laid for him, and how he was very near to deathby Saul's throwing a spear at him, although he had been no way guiltywith relation to him, nor had he been cowardly in his battles with hisenemies, but had succeeded well in them all, by God's assistance; whichthing was indeed the cause of Saul's hatred to David. 5. When the prophet was made acquainted with the unjust proceedings ofthe king, he left the city Ramah, and took David with him, to a certainplace called Naioth, and there he abode with him. But when it was toldSaul that David was with the prophet, he sent soldiers to him, andordered them to take him, and bring him to him: and when they cameto Samuel, and found there a congregation of prophets, they becamepartakers of the Divine Spirit, and began to prophesy; which when Saulheard of, he sent others to David, who prophesying in like manner as didthe first, he again sent others; which third sort prophesying also, atlast he was angry, and went thither in great haste himself; and whenhe was just by the place, Samuel, before he saw him, made him prophesyalso. And when Saul came to him, he was disordered in mind [19] andunder the vehement agitation of a spirit; and, putting off his garments, [20] he fell down, and lay on the ground all that day and night, in thepresence of Samuel and David. 6. And David went thence, and came to Jonathan, the son of Saul, andlamented to him what snares were laid for him by his father; and said, that though he had been guilty of no evil, nor had offended against him, yet he was very zealous to get him killed. Hereupon Jonathan exhortedhim not to give credit to such his own suspicions, nor to the calumniesof those that raised those reports, if there were any that did so, butto depend on him, and take courage; for that his father had no suchintention, since he would have acquainted him with that matter, andhave taken his advice, had it been so, as he used to consult with him incommon when he acted in other affairs. But David sware to him that soit was; and he desired him rather to believe him, and to provide for hissafety, than to despise what he, with great sincerity, told him: thathe would believe what he said, when he should either see him killedhimself, or learn it upon inquiry from others: and that the reason whyhis father did not tell him of these things, was this, that he knew ofthe friendship and affection that he bore towards him. 7. Hereupon, when Jonathan found that this intention of Saul was so wellattested, he asked him what he would have him do for him. To which Davidreplied, "I am sensible that thou art willing to gratify me in everything, and procure me what I desire. Now tomorrow is the new moon, and Iwas accustomed to sit down then with the king at supper: now, if it seemgood to thee, I will go out of the city, and conceal myself privatelythere; and if Saul inquire why I am absent, tell him that I am gone tomy own city Bethlehem, to keep a festival with my own tribe; and addthis also, that thou gavest me leave so to do. And if he say, as isusually said in the case of friends that are gone abroad, It is wellthat he went, then assure thyself that no latent mischief or enmity maybe feared at his hand; but if he answer otherwise, that will be a suresign that he hath some designs against me, Accordingly thou shalt informme of thy father's inclinations; and that out of pity to my case andout of thy friendship for me, as instances of which friendship thou hastvouchsafed to accept of the assurances of my love to thee, and to givethe like assurances to me, that is, those of a master to his servant;but if thou discoverest any wickedness in me, do thou prevent thyfather, and kill me thyself. " 8. But Jonathan heard these last words with indignation, and promisedto do what he desired of him, and to inform him if his father's answersimplied any thing of a melancholy nature, and any enmity against him. And that he might the more firmly depend upon him, he took him outinto the open field, into the pure air, and sware that he would neglectnothing that might tend to the preservation of David; and he said, "Iappeal to that God, who, as thou seest, is diffused every where, andknoweth this intention of mine, before I explain it in words, as thewitness of this my covenant with thee, that I will not leave off to makefrequent trims of the purpose of my father till I learn whether there beany lurking distemper in the most secret parts of his soul; and when Ihave learnt it, I will not conceal it from thee, but will discover it tothee, whether he be gently or peevishly disposed; for this God himselfknows, that I pray he may always be with thee, for he is with thee now, and will not forsake thee, and will make thee superior to thine enemies, whether my father be one of them, or whether I myself be such. Do thouonly remember what we now do; and if it fall out that I die, preservemy children alive, and requite what kindness thou hast now received tothem. " When he had thus sworn, he dismissed David, bidding him go to acertain place of that plain wherein he used to perform his exercises;for that, as soon as he knew the mind of his father, he would comethither to him, with one servant only; "and if, " says he, "I shoot threedarts at the mark, and then bid my servant to carry these three dartsaway, for they are before him, know thou that there is no mischief to befeared from my father; but if thou hearest me say the contrary, expectthe contrary from the king. However, thou shalt gain security by mymeans, and shalt by no means suffer any harm; but see thou dost notforget what I have desired of thee in the time of thy prosperity, andbe serviceable to my children. " Now David, when he had received theseassurances from Jonathan, went his way to the place appointed. 9. But on the next day, which was the new moon, the king, when he hadpurified himself, as the custom was, came to supper; and when there satby him his son Jonathan on his right hand, and Abner, the captain ofhis host, on the other hand, he saw David's seat was empty, but saidnothing, supposing that he had not purified himself since he hadaccompanied with his wife, and so could not be present; but when he sawthat he was not there the second day of the month neither, he inquiredof his son Jonathan why the son of Jesse did not come to the supper andthe feast, neither the day before nor that day. So Jonathan said, Thathe was gone, according to the agreement between them, to his own city, where his tribe kept a festival, and that by his permission: that healso invited him to come to their sacrifice; "and, " says Jonathan, "if thou wilt give me leave, I Will go thither, for thou knowest thegood-will that I bear him. " And then it was that Jonathan understood hisfather's hatred to David, and plainly saw his entire disposition; forSaul could not restrain his anger, but reproached Jonathan, and calledhim the son of a runagate, and an enemy; and said he was a partner withDavid, and his assistant, and that by his behavior he showed he hadno regard to himself, or to his mother, and would not be persuaded ofthis, --that while David is alive, their kingdom was not secure to them;yet did he bid him send for him, that he might be punished. And whenJonathan said, in answer, "What hath he done that thou wilt punish him?"Saul no longer contented himself to express his anger in bare words, but snatched up his spear, and leaped upon him, and was desirous to killhim. He did not indeed do what he intended, because he was hindered byhis friends; but it appeared plainly to his son that he hated David, andgreatly desired to despatch him, insomuch that he had almost slain hisson with his own hands on his account. 10. And then it was that the king's son rose hastily from supper; andbeing unable to admit any thing into his mouth for grief, he wept allnight, both because he had himself been near destruction, and becausethe death of David was determined: but as soon as it was day, he wentout into the plain that was before the city, as going to perform hisexercises, but in reality to inform his friend what disposition hisfather was in towards him, as he had agreed with him to do; and whenJonathan had done what had been thus agreed, he dismissed his servantthat followed him, to return to the city; but he himself went into thedesert, and came into his presence, and communed with him. So Davidappeared and fell at Jonathan's feet, and bowed down to him, and calledhim the preserver of his soul; but he lifted him up from the earth, andthey mutually embraced one another, and made a long greeting, and thatnot without tears. They also lamented their age, and that familiaritywhich envy would deprive them of, and that separation which must nowbe expected, which seemed to them no better than death itself. Sorecollecting themselves at length from their lamentation, and exhortingone another to be mindful of the oaths they had sworn to each other, they parted asunder. CHAPTER 12. How David Fled To Ahimelech And Afterwards To The Kings OfThe Philistines And Of The Moabites, And How Saul Slew Ahimelech And HisFamily. 1. But David fled from the king, and that death he was in danger of byhim, and came to the city Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, who, when he sawhim coming all alone, and neither a friend nor a servant with him, hewondered at it, and desired to learn of him the cause why there wasnobody with him. To which David answered, That the king had commandedhim to do a certain thing that was to be kept secret, to which, if hehad a mind to know so much, he had no occasion for any one to accompanyhim; "however, I have ordered my servants to meet me at such and such aplace. " So he desired him to let him have somewhat to eat; and thatin case he would supply him, he would act the part of a friend, and beassisting to the business he was now about: and when he had obtainedwhat he desired, he also asked him whether he had any weapons with him, either sword or spear. Now there was at Nob a servant of Saul, by birtha Syrian, whose name was Doeg, one that kept the king's mules. The highpriest said that he had no such weapons; but, he added, "Here is thesword of Goliath, which, when thou hadst slain the Philistine, thoudidst dedicate to God. " 2. When David had received the sword, he fled out of the country of theHebrews into that of the Philistines, over which Achish reigned; andwhen the king's servants knew him, and he was made known to the kinghimself, the servants informing him that he was that David who hadkilled many ten thousands of the Philistines, David was afraid lest theking should put him to death, and that he should experience thatdanger from him which he had escaped from Saul; so he pretended to bedistracted and mad, so that his spittle ran out of his mouth; and hedid other the like actions before the king of Gath, which might make himbelieve that they proceeded from such a distemper. Accordingly the kingwas very angry at his servants that they had brought him a madman, andhe gave orders that they should eject David immediately [out of thecity]. 3. So when David had escaped in this manner out of Gath, he came to thetribe of Judah, and abode in a cave by the city of Adullam. Then it wasthat he sent to his brethren, and informed them where he was, who thencame to him with all their kindred, and as many others as were eitherin want or in fear of king Saul, came and made a body together, andtold him they were ready to obey his orders; they were in all about fourhundred. Whereupon he took courage, now such a force and assistance wascome 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 issueof his affairs were in such an uncertain condition. The king granted himthis favor, and paid great respect to David's parents all the time theywere with him. 4. As for himself, upon the prophet's commanding him to leave thedesert, and to go into the portion of the tribe of Judah, and abidethere, he complied therewith; and coming to the city Hareth, which wasin that tribe, he remained there. Now when Saul heard that David hadbeen seen with a multitude about him, he fell into no small disturbanceand trouble; but as he knew that David was a bold and courageous man, he suspected that somewhat extraordinary would appear from him, and thatopenly also, which would make him weep and put him into distress; so hecalled together to him his friends, and his commanders, and the tribefrom which he was himself derived, to the hill where his palace was;and sitting upon a place called Aroura, his courtiers that were indignities, and the guards of his body, being with him, he spake thus tothem:--"You that are men of my own tribe, I conclude that you rememberthe benefits that I have bestowed upon you, and that I have made some ofyou owners of land, and made you commanders, and bestowed posts of honorupon you, and set some of you over the common people, and others overthe soldiers; I ask you, therefore, whether you expect greater and moredonations from the son of Jesse? for I know that you are all inclinableto him; [even my own son Jonathan himself is of that opinion, andpersuades you to be of the same]; for I am not unacquainted withthe oaths and the covenants that are between him and David, and thatJonathan is a counselor and an assistant to those that conspire againstme, and none of you are concerned about these things, but you keepsilence and watch, to see what will be the upshot of these things. " Whenthe king had made this speech, not one of the rest of those that werepresent 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 highpriest, and that he learned future events by his prophesying; that hereceived food from him, and the sword of Goliath, and was conducted byhim 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 tiring hast thou sufferedfrom me, that thou hast received the son of Jesse, and hast bestowed onhim both food and weapons, when he was contriving to get the kingdom?And further, why didst thou deliver oracles to him concerningfuturities? For thou couldst not be unacquainted that he was fled awayfrom me, and that he hated my family. " But the high priest did notbetake himself to deny what he had done, but confessed boldly thathe had supplied him with these things, not to gratify David, but Saulhimself: and he said, "I did not know that he was thy adversary, but aservant of thine, who was very faithful to thee, and a captain over athousand of thy soldiers, and, what is more than these, thy son-in-law, and kinsman. Men do not choose to confer such favors on theiradversaries, but on those who are esteemed to bear the highest good-willand respect to them. Nor is this the first time that I prophesied forhim, but I have done it often, and at other times as well as now. Andwhen he told me that he was sent by thee in great haste to do somewhat, if I had furnished him with nothing that he desired I should havethought that it was rather in contradiction to thee than to him;wherefore do not thou entertain any ill opinion of me, nor do thou havea suspicion of what I then thought an act of humanity, from what is nowtold thee of David's attempts against thee, for I did then to him asto thy friend and son-in-law, and captain of a thousand, and not as tothine adversary. " 6. When the high priest had spoken thus, he did not persuade Saul, hisfear was so prevalent, that he could not give credit to an apology thatwas very just. So he commanded his armed men that stood about him tokill him, and all his kindred; but as they durst not touch the highpriest, but were more afraid of disobeying God than the king, he orderedDoeg the Syrian to kill them. Accordingly, he took to his assistancesuch wicked men as were like himself, and slew Ahimelech and all hisfamily, who were in all three hundred and eighty-five. Saul also sent toNob, [21] the city of the priests, and slew all that were there, withoutsparing either women or children, or any other age, and burnt it; onlythere was one son of Ahimelech, whose name was Abiathar, who escaped. However, these things came to pass as God had foretold to Eli the highpriest, when he said that his posterity should be destroyed, on accountof the transgression of his two sons. 7. [22] Now this king Saul, by perpetrating so barbarous a crime, andmurdering the whole family of the high-priestly dignity, by having nopity of the infants, nor reverence for the aged, and by overthrowing thecity which God had chosen for the property, and for the support of thepriests and prophets which were there, and had ordained as the onlycity allotted for the education of such men, gives all to understand andconsider the disposition of men, that while they are private persons, and in a low condition, because it is not in their power to indulgenature, nor to venture upon what they wish for, they are equitable andmoderate, and pursue nothing but what is just, and bend their wholeminds and labors that way; then it is that they have this belief aboutGod, that he is present to all the actions of their lives, and that hedoes not only see the actions that are done, but clearly knows thosetheir thoughts also, whence those actions do arise. But when oncethey are advanced into power and authority, then they put off all suchnotions, and, as if they were no other than actors upon a theater, they lay aside their disguised parts and manners, and take up boldness, insolence, and a contempt of both human and Divine laws, and this ata time when they especially stand in need of piety and righteousness, because they are then most of all exposed to envy, and all they think, and all they say, are in the view of all men; then it is that theybecome so insolent in their actions, as though God saw them no longer, or were afraid of them because of their power: and whatsoever it isthat they either are afraid of by the rumors they hear, or they hateby inclination, or they love without reason, these seem to them to beauthentic, and firm, and true, and pleasing both to men and to God; butas to what will come hereafter, they have not the least regard to it. They raise those to honor indeed who have been at a great deal ofpains for them, and after that honor they envy them; and when they havebrought them into high dignity, they do not only deprive them of whatthey had obtained, but also, on that very account, of their livesalso, and that on wicked accusations, and such as on account of theirextravagant nature, are incredible. They also punish men for theiractions, not such as deserve condemnation, but from calumnies andaccusations without examination; and this extends not only to such asdeserve to be punished, but to as many as they are able to kill. Thisreflection is openly confirmed to us from the example of Saul, the sonof Kish, who was the first king who reigned after our aristocracy andgovernment under the judges were over; and that by his slaughter ofthree hundred priests and prophets, on occasion of his suspicion aboutAhimelech, and by the additional wickedness of the overthrow of theircity, and this is as he were endeavoring in some sort to render thetemple [tabernacle] destitute both of priests and prophets, whichendeavor he showed by slaying so many of them, and not suffering thevery city belonging to them to remain, that so others might succeedthem. 8. But Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, who alone could be saved out ofthe family of priests slain by Saul, fled to David, and informed him ofthe calamity that had befallen their family, and of the slaughter of hisfather; who hereupon said, He was not unapprised of what would followwith relation to them when he saw Doeg there; for he had then asuspicion that the high priest would be falsely accused by him to theking, and he blamed himself as having been the cause of this misfortune. But he desired him to stay there, and abide with him, as in a placewhere he might be better concealed than any where else. CHAPTER 13. How David, When He Had Twice The Opportunity Of Killing SaulDid Not Kill Him. Also Concerning The Death Of Samuel And Nabal. 1. About this time it was that David heard how the Philistines hadmade an inroad into the country of Keilah, and robbed it; so he offeredhimself to fight against them, if God, when he should be consulted bythe prophet, would grant him the victory. And when the prophet saidthat God gave a signal of victory, he made a sudden onset upon thePhilistines with his companions, and he shed a great deal of theirblood, and carried off their prey, and staid with the inhabitants ofKeilah till they had securely gathered in their corn and their fruits. However, it was told Saul the king that David was with the men ofKeilah; for what had been done and the great success that had attendedhim, were not confined among the people where the things were done, butthe fame of it went all abroad, and came to the hearing of others, andboth the fact as it stood, and the author of the fact, were carried tothe king's ears. Then was Saul glad when he heard David was in Keilah;and he said, "God hath now put him into my hands, since he hath obligedhim to come into a city that hath walls, and gates, and bars. " So hecommanded all the people suddenly, and when they had besieged and takenit to kill David. But when David perceived this, and learned of God thatif he staid there the men of Keilah would deliver him up to Saul, he took his four hundred men and retired into a desert that was overagainst a city called Engedi. So that when the king heard he was fledaway from the men of Keilah, he left off his expedition against him. 2. Then David removed thence, and came to a certain place called the NewPlace, belonging to Ziph; where Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to him, and saluted him, and exhorted him to be of good courage, and to hopewell as to his condition hereafter, and not to despond at his presentcircumstances, for that he should be king, and have all the forces ofthe Hebrews under him: he told him that such happiness uses to come withgreat labor and pains: they also took oaths, that they would, all theirlives long, continue in good-will and fidelity one to another; and hecalled God to witness, as to what execrations he had made upon himselfif he should transgress his covenant, and should change to a contrarybehavior. So Jonathan left him there, having rendered his cares andfears somewhat lighter, and returned home. Now the men of Ziph, togratify Saul, informed him that David abode with them, and [assured him]that if he would come to them, they would deliver him up, for that ifthe king would seize on the Straits of Ziph, David would not escape toany other people. So the king commended them, and confessed that hehad reason to thank them, because they had given him information of hisenemy; and he promised them, that it should not be long ere he wouldrequite their kindness. He also sent men to seek for David, and tosearch the wilderness wherein he was; and he promised that he himselfwould follow them. Accordingly they went before the king, to hunt forand to catch David, and used endeavors, not only to show their good-willto Saul, by informing him where his enemy was, but to evidence the samemore plainly by delivering him up into his power. But these men failedof those their unjust and wicked desires, who, while they underwent nohazard by not discovering such an ambition of revealing this to Saul, yet did they falsely accuse and promise to deliver up a man beloved ofGod, and one that was unjustly sought after to be put to death, and onethat might otherwise have lain concealed, and this out of flattery, andexpectation of gain from the king; for when David was apprized of themalignant intentions of the men of Ziph, and the approach of Saul, heleft the Straits of that country, and fled to the great rock that was inthe wilderness of Maon. 3. Hereupon Saul made haste to pursue him thither; for, as he wasmarching, 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 thePhilistines had again made an incursion into the country of the Hebrews, called Saul another way from the pursuit of David, when he was ready tobe caught; for he returned back again to oppose those Philistines, whowere naturally their enemies, as judging it more necessary to avengehimself of them, than to take a great deal of pains to catch an enemy ofhis own, and to overlook the ravage that was made in the land. 4. And by this means David unexpectedly escaped out of the danger hewas in, and came to the Straits of Engedi; and when Saul had driven thePhilistines out of the land, there came some messengers, who told himthat David abode within the bounds of Engedi: so he took three thousandchosen men that were armed, and made haste to him; and when he was notfar from those places, he saw a deep and hollow cave by the way-side; itwas open to a great length and breadth, and there it was that David withhis four hundred men were concealed. When therefore he had occasion toease nature, he entered into it by himself alone; and being seen by oneof David's companions, and he that saw him saying to him, that he hadnow, by God's providence, an opportunity of avenging himself of hisadversary; and advising him to cut off his head, and so deliver himselfout of that tedious, wandering condition, and the distress he was in; herose up, and only cut off the skirt of that garment which Saul had on:but he soon repented of what he had done; and said it was not right tokill him that was his master, and one whom God had thought worthy of thekingdom; "for that although he were wickedly disposed towards us, yetdoes it not behoove me to be so disposed towards him. " But when Saul hadleft the cave, David came near and cried out aloud, and desired Saul tohear him; whereupon the king turned his face back, and David, accordingto custom, fell down on his face before the king, and bowed to him; andsaid, "O king, thou oughtest not to hearken to wicked men, nor to suchas forge calumnies, nor to gratify them so far as to believe what theysay, nor to entertain suspicions of such as are your best friends, butto judge of the dispositions of all men by their actions; for calumnydeludes men, but men's own actions are a clear demonstration of theirkindness. Words indeed, in their own nature, may be either true orfalse, but men's actions expose their intentions nakedly to our view. Bythese, therefore it will be well for thee to believe me, as to my regardto thee and to thy house, and not to believe those that frame suchaccusations against me as never came into my mind, nor are possible tobe executed, and do this further by pursuing after my life, and have noconcern either day or night, but how to compass my life and to murderme, which thing I think thou dost unjustly prosecute; for how comes itabout, that thou hast embraced this false opinion about me, as if I hada desire to kill thee? Or how canst thou escape the crime of impietytowards God, when thou wishest thou couldst kill, and deemest thineadversary, a man who had it in his power this day to avenge himself, and to punish thee, but would not do it? nor make use of such anopportunity, which, if it had fallen out to thee against me, thou hadstnot let it slip, for when I cut off the skirt of thy garment, I couldhave done the same to thy head. " So he showed him the piece of hisgarment, and thereby made him agree to what he said to be true; andadded, "I, for certain, have abstained from taking a just revenge uponthee, yet art thou not ashamed to prosecute me with unjust hatred. [23]May God do justice, and determine about each of our dispositions. "--ButSaul was amazed at the strange delivery he had received; and beinggreatly affected with the moderation and the disposition of the youngman, he groaned; and when David had done the same, the king answeredthat he had the justest occasion to groan, "for thou hast been theauthor of good to me, as I have been the author of calamity to thee; andthou hast demonstrated this day, that thou possessest the righteousnessof the ancients, who determined that men ought to save their enemies, though they caught them in a desert place. I am now persuaded that Godreserves the kingdom for thee, and that thou wilt obtain the dominionover all the Hebrews. Give me then assurances upon oath, That thou wiltnot root out my family, nor, out of remembrance of what evil I have donethee, destroy my posterity, but save and preserve my house. " So Davidsware as he desired, and sent back Saul to his own kingdom; but he, andthose that were with him, went up the Straits of Mastheroth. 5. About this time Samuel the prophet died. He was a man whom theHebrews honored in an extraordinary degree: for that lamentation whichthe people made for him, and this during a long time, manifested hisvirtue, and the affection which the people bore for him; as also didthe solemnity and concern that appeared about his funeral, and about thecomplete observation of all his funeral rites. They buried him in hisown city of Ramah; and wept for him a very great number of days, notlooking on it as a sorrow for the death of another man, but as that inwhich 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 people alone, after the death ofEli the high priest, twelve years, and eighteen years together with Saulthe 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 wasrich, and had a vast number of cattle; for he fed a flock of threethousand sheep, and another flock of a thousand goats. Now David hadcharged his associates to keep these flocks without hurt and withoutdamage, and to do them no mischief, neither out of covetousness, norbecause they were in want, nor because they were in the wilderness, andso could not easily be discovered, but to esteem freedom from injusticeabove all other motives, and to look upon the touching of what belongedto another man as a horrible crime, and contrary to the will of God. These were the instructions he gave, thinking that the favors he grantedthis man were granted to a good man, and one that deserved to have suchcare taken of his affairs. This man was Nabal, for that was his name, --aharsh man, and of a very wicked life, being like a cynic in the courseof his behavior, but still had obtained for his wife a woman of a goodcharacter, wise and handsome. To this Nabal, therefore, David sent tenmen of his attendants at the time when he sheared his sheep, and by themsaluted him; and also wished he might do what he now did for many yearsto come, but desired him to make him a present of what he was able togive him, since he had, to be sure, learned from his shepherds thatwe had done them no injury, but had been their guardians a long timetogether, while we continued in the wilderness; and he assured him heshould never repent of giving any thing to David. When the messengershad carried this message to Nabal, he accosted them after an inhuman andrough manner; for he asked them who David was? and when he heard thathe was the son of Jesse, he said, "Now is the time that fugitives growinsolent, and make a figure, and leave their masters. " When they toldDavid this, he was wroth, and commanded four hundred armed men to followhim, and left two hundred to take care of the stuff, [for he had alreadysix hundred, [24]] and went against Nabal: he also swore that he wouldthat night utterly destroy the whole house and possessions of Nabal;for that he was grieved, not only that he had proved ungrateful to them, without making any return for the humanity they had shown him, but thathe had also reproached them, and used ill language to them, when he hadreceived no cause of disgust from them. 7. Hereupon one of those that kept the flocks of Nabal, said to hismistress, Nabal's wife, that when David sent to her husband he hadreceived no civil answer at all from him; but that her husband hadmoreover added very reproachful language, while yet David had takenextraordinary care to keep his flocks from harm, and that what hadpassed would prove very pernicious to his master. When the servant hadsaid this, Abigail, for that was his wife's name, saddled her asses, andloaded them with all sorts of presents; and, without telling her husbandany thing of what she was about, [for he was not sensible on account ofhis drunkenness, ] she went to David. She was then met by David as shewas descending a hill, who was coming against Nabal with four hundredmen. When the woman saw David, she leaped down from her ass, and fell onher face, and bowed down to the ground; and entreated him not to bear inmind the words of Nabal, since he knew that he resembled his name. NowNabal, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies folly. 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 thee fromshedding human blood; for so long as thou keepest thyself innocent, hewill avenge thee of wicked men, [25] for what miseries await Nabal, theywill fall upon the heads of thine enemies. Be thou gracious to me, andthink me so far worthy as to accept of these presents from me; and, outof regard to me, remit that wrath and that anger which thou hastagainst my husband and his house, for mildness and humanity become thee, especially as thou art to be our king. " Accordingly, David accepted herpresents, and said, "Nay, but, O woman, it was no other than God's mercywhich brought thee to us today, for, otherwise, thou hadst never seenanother day, I having sworn to destroy Nabal's house this very night, and to leave alive not one of you who belonged to a man that was wickedand ungrateful to me and my companions; but now hast thou prevented me, and seasonably mollified my anger, as being thyself under the care ofGod's providence: but as for Nabal, although for thy sake he now escapepunishment, he will not always avoid justice; for his evil conduct, onsome other occasion, will be his ruin. " 8. When David had said this, he dismissed the woman. But when she camehome and found her husband feasting with a great company, and oppressedwith wine, she said nothing to him then about what had happened; but onthe next day, when he was sober, she told him all the particulars, andmade his whole body to appear like that of a dead man by her words, andby that grief which arose from them; so Nabal survived ten days, and nomore, and then died. And when David heard of his death, he said that Godhad justly avenged him of this man, for that Nabal had died by his ownwickedness, and had suffered punishment on his account, while he hadkept his own hands clean. At which time he understood that the wickedare prosecuted by God; that he does not overlook any man, but bestows onthe good what is suitable to them, and inflicts a deserved punishment onthe 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 thosethat came, that she was not worthy to touch his feet; however, she came, with all her servants, and became his wife, having received that honoron account of her wise and righteous course of life. She also obtainedthe same honor partly on account of her beauty. Now David had a wifebefore, whom he married from the city Abesar; for as to Michal, thedaughter of king Saul, who had been David's wife, her father had givenher in marriage to Phalti, the son of Laish, who was of the city ofGallim. 9. After this came certain of the Ziphites, and told Saul that Davidwas come again into their country, and if he would afford them hisassistance, they could catch him. So he came to them with three thousandarmed men; and upon the approach of night, he pitched his camp at acertain place called Hachilah. But when David heard that Saul was comingagainst him, he sent spies, and bid them let him know to what place ofthe country Saul was already come; and when they told him that he was atHachilah, he concealed his going away from his companions, and came toSaul's camp, having taken with him Abishai, his sister Zeruiah's son, and Ahimelech the Hittite. Now Saul was asleep, and the armed men, withAbner their commander, lay round about him in a circle. Hereupon Davidentered into the king's tent; but he did neither kill Saul, though heknew where he lay, by the spear that was stuck down by him, nor did hegive leave to Abishai, who would have killed him, and was earnestly bentupon it so to do; for he said it was a horrid crime to kill one that wasordained king by God, although he was a wicked man; for that he whogave him the dominion would in time inflict punishment upon him. So herestrained his eagerness; but that it might appear to have been in hispower to have killed him when he refrained from it, he took his spear, and the cruse of water which stood by Saul as he lay asleep, withoutbeing perceived by any in the camp, who were all asleep, and wentsecurely away, having performed every thing among the king's attendantsthat the opportunity afforded, and his boldness encouraged him to do. Sowhen he had passed over a brook, and was gotten up to the top of ahill, whence he might be sufficiently heard, he cried aloud to Saul'ssoldiers, and to Abner their commander, and awaked them out of theirsleep, and called both to him and to the people. Hereupon the commanderheard him, and asked who it was that called him. To whom David replied, "It is I, the son of Jesse, whom you make a vagabond. But what is thematter? Dost thou, that art a man of so great dignity, and of the firstrank in the king's court, take so little care of thy master's body? andis sleep of more consequence to thee than his preservation, and thy careof him? This negligence of yours deserves death, and punishment to beinflicted on you, who never perceived when, a little while ago, some ofus entered into your camp, nay, as far as to the king himself, and toall the rest of you. If thou look for the king's spear and his cruse ofwater, thou wilt learn what a mighty misfortune was ready to overtakeyou in your very camp without your knowing it. " Now when Saul knewDavid's voice, and understood that when he had him in his power while hewas 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 heowed him thanks for his preservation; and exhorted him to be of goodcourage, and not be afraid of suffering any mischief from him any more, and to return to his own home, for he was now persuaded that he did notlove himself so well as he was loved by him: that he had driven away himthat could guard him, and had given many demonstrations of his good-willto 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 hiskindred, while still he was often saved by him, and frequently receivedhis life again when it was evidently in danger of perishing. So Davidbade them send for the spear and the cruse of water, and take themback; adding this withal, That God would be the judge of both theirdispositions, and of the actions that flowed from the same, "who knowsthat then it was this day in my power to have killed thee I abstainedfrom it. " 10. Thus Saul having escaped the hands of David twice, he went his wayto his royal palace, and his own city: but David was afraid, that if hestaid there he should be caught by Saul; so he thought it better to goup into the land of the Philistines, and abide there. Accordingly, hecame with the six hundred men that were with him to Achish, the king ofGath, which was one of their five cities. Now the king received both himand his men, and gave them a place to inhabit in. He had with him alsohis two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, and he dwelt in Gath. But when Saulheard this, he took no further care about sending to him, or going afterhim, because he had been twice, in a manner, caught by him, while he washimself endeavoring to catch him. However, David had no mind to continuein the city of Gath, but desired the king, that since he had receivedhim with such humanity, that he would grant him another favor, andbestow upon him some place of that country for his habitation, for hewas ashamed, by living in the city, to be grievous and burdensome tohim. So Achish gave him a certain village called Ziklag; which placeDavid and his sons were fond of when he was king, and reckoned it to betheir peculiar inheritance. But about those matters we shall give thereader further information elsewhere. Now the time that David dwelt inZiklag, in the land of the Philistines, was four months and twenty days. And now he privately attacked those Geshurites and Amalekites that wereneighbors to the Philistines, and laid waste their country, and tookmuch prey of their beasts and camels, and then returned home; but Davidabstained from the men, as fearing they should discover him to kingAchish; yet did he send part of the prey to him as a free gift. Andwhen the king inquired whom they had attacked when they brought away theprey, he said, those that lay to the south of the Jews, and inhabited inthe plain; whereby he persuaded Achish to approve of what he had done, for he hoped that David had fought against his own nation, and that nowhe should have him for his servant all his life long, and that he wouldstay in his country. CHAPTER 14. Now Saul Upon God's Not Answering Him Concerning The FightWith The Philistines Desired A Necromantic Woman To Raise Up The Soul OfSamuel To Him; And How He Died, With His Sons Upon The Overthrow Of TheHebrews In Battle. 1. About the same time the Philistines resolved to make war against theIsraelites, and sent to all their confederates that they would go alongwith them to the war to Reggan, [near the city Shunem, ] whence theymight gather themselves together, and suddenly attack the Hebrews. Thendid Achish, the king of Gath, desire David to assist them with his armedmen against the Hebrews. This he readily promised; and said that thetime was now come wherein he might requite him for his kindness andhospitality. So the king promised to make him the keeper of his body, after the victory, supposing that the battle with the enemy succeeded totheir mind; which promise of honor and confidence he made on purpose toincrease his zeal for his service. 2. Now Saul, the king of the Hebrews, had cast out of the country thefortune-tellers, and the necromancers, and all such as exercisedthe like arts, excepting the prophets. But when he heard that thePhilistines were already come, and had pitched their camp near the cityShunem, situate in the plain, he made haste to oppose them with hisforces; and when he was come to a certain mountain called Gilboa, hepitched his camp over-against the enemy; but when he saw the enemy'sarmy he was greatly troubled, because it appeared to him to be numerous, and superior to his own; and he inquired of God by the prophetsconcerning the battle, that he might know beforehand what would be theevent of it. And when God did not answer him, Saul was under a stillgreater dread, and his courage fell, foreseeing, as was but reasonableto suppose, that mischief would befall him, now God was not there toassist him; yet did he bid his servants to inquire out for him somewoman that was a necromancer and called up the souls of the dead, thatSo he might know whether his affairs would succeed to his mind; for thissort of necromantic women that bring up the souls of the dead, do bythem foretell future events to such as desire them. And one of hisservants told him that there was such a woman in the city Endor, but wasknown to nobody in the camp; hereupon Saul put off his royal apparel, and took two of those his servants with him, whom he knew to be mostfaithful to him, and came to Endor to the woman, and entreated her toact the part of a fortune-teller, and to bring up such a soul to him ashe should name to her. But when the woman opposed his motion, andsaid she did not despise the king, who had banished this sort offortune-tellers, and that he did not do well himself, when she had donehim no harm, to endeavor to lay a snare for her, and to discover thatshe 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 nottell any one else what she foretold, but that she should incur nodanger. As soon as he had induced her by this oath to fear no harm, hebid her bring up to him the soul of Samuel. She, not knowing who Samuelwas, called him out of Hades. When he appeared, and the woman saw onethat was venerable, and of a divine form, she was in disorder; and beingastonished at the sight, she said, "Art not thou king Saul?" for Samuelhad informed her who he was. When he had owned that to be true, and hadasked her whence her disorder arose, she said that she saw a certainperson ascend, who in his form was like to a god. And when he bid hertell him what he resembled, in what habit he appeared, and of whatage he was, she told him he was an old man already, and of a gloriouspersonage, and had on a sacerdotal mantle. So the king discovered bythese signs that he was Samuel; and he fell down upon the ground, andsaluted and worshipped him. And when the soul of Samuel asked him whyhe had disturbed him, and caused him to be brought up, he lamented thenecessity he was under; for he said, that his enemies pressedheavily upon him; that he was in distress what to do in his presentcircumstances; that he was forsaken of God, and could obtain noprediction of what was coming, neither by prophets nor by dreams; andthat "these were the reasons why I have recourse to time, who alwaystook great care of me. " But [27] Samuel, seeing that the end of Saul'slife was come, said, "It is in vain for thee to desire to learn of meany thing future, when God hath forsaken thee: however, hear what I say, that David is to be king, and to finish this war with good success; andthou art to lose thy dominion and thy life, because thou didst not obeyGod in the war with the Amalekites, and hast not kept his commandments, as I foretold thee while I was alive. Know, therefore, that the peopleshall be made subject to their enemies, and that thou, with thy sons, shall fall in the battle tomorrow, and thou shalt then be with me [inHades]. " 3. When Saul heard this, he could not speak for grief, and fell down onthe floor, whether it were from the sorrow that arose upon what Samuelhad said, or from his emptiness, for he had taken no food the foregoingday nor night, he easily fell quite down: and when with difficulty hehad recovered himself, the woman would force him to eat, begging this ofhim as a favor on account of her concern in that dangerous instance offortune-telling, which it was not lawful for her to have done, becauseof the fear she was under of the king, while she knew not who he was, yet did she undertake it, and go through with it; on which account sheentreated him to admit that a table and food might be set before him, that he might recover his strength, and so get safe to his own camp. Andwhen he opposed her motion, and entirely rejected it, by reason of hisanxiety, she forced him, and at last persuaded him to it. Now she hadone calf that she was very fond of, and one that she took a great dealof care of, and fed it herself; for she was a woman that got her livingby the labor of her own hands, and had no other possession but that onecalf; this she killed, and made ready its flesh, and set it before hisservants and himself. So Saul came to the camp while it was yet night. 4. Now it is but just to recommend the generosity of this woman, [28]because when the king had forbidden her to use that art whence hercircumstances were bettered and improved, and when she had never seenthe king before, she still did not remember to his disadvantage thathe had condemned her sort of learning, and did not refuse him as astranger, and one that she had had no acquaintance with; but she hadcompassion upon him, and comforted him, and exhorted him to do what hewas greatly averse to, and offered him the only creature she had, as apoor woman, and that earnestly, and with great humanity, while she hadno requital made her for her kindness, nor hunted after any future favorfrom him, for she knew he was to die; whereas men are naturally eitherambitious to please those that bestow benefits upon them, or are veryready to serve those from whom they may receive some advantage. It wouldbe well therefore to imitate the example and to do kindnesses to allsuch as are in want and to think that nothing is better, nor morebecoming mankind, than such a general beneficence, nor what will soonerrender God favorable, and ready to bestow good things upon us. And sofar may suffice to have spoken concerning this woman. But I shall speakfurther upon another subject, which will afford me all opportunity ofdiscoursing on what is for the advantage of cities, and people, andnations, and suited to the taste of good men, and will encourage themall in the prosecution of virtue; and is capable of showing them the ofacquiring glory, and an everlasting fame; and of imprinting in the kingsof nations, and the rulers of cities, great inclination and diligence ofdoing well; as also of encouraging them to undergo dangers, and to diefor their countries, and of instructing them how to despise all the mostterrible adversities: and I have a fair occasion offered me to enter onsuch a discourse by Saul the king of the Hebrews; for although he knewwhat was coming upon him, and that he was to die immediately, by theprediction of the prophet, he did not resolve to fly from death, norso far to indulge the love of life as to betray his own people tothe enemy, or to bring a disgrace on his royal dignity; but exposinghimself, as well as all his family and children, to dangers, he thoughtit a brave thing to fall together with them, as he was fighting for hissubjects, and that it was better his sons should die thus, showing theircourage, than to leave them to their uncertain conduct afterward, while, instead of succession and posterity, they gained commendation and alasting name. Such a one alone seems to me to be a just, a courageous, and a prudent man; and when any one has arrived at these dispositions, or shall hereafter arrive at them, he is the man that ought to be by allhonored with the testimony of a virtuous or courageous man: for as tothose that go out to war with hopes of success, and that they shallreturn safe, supposing they should have performed some glorious action, I think those do not do well who call these valiant men, as so manyhistorians and other writers who treat of them are wont to do, althoughI confess those do justly deserve some commendation also; but those onlymay be styled courageous and bold in great undertakings, and despisersof adversities, who imitate Saul: for as for those that do not know whatthe event of war will be as to themselves, and though they do not faintin it, but deliver themselves up to uncertain futurity, and are tossedthis way and that way, this is not so very eminent an instance of agenerous mind, although they happen to perform many great exploits; butwhen men's minds expect no good event, but they know beforehand theymust die, and that they must undergo that death in the battle also, after this neither to be aftrighted, nor to be astonished at theterrible fate that is coming, but to go directly upon it, when they knowit beforehand, this it is that I esteem the character of a man trulycourageous. Accordingly this Saul did, and thereby demonstrated that allmen who desire fame after they are dead are so to act as they may obtainthe same: this especially concerns kings, who ought not to think itenough in their high stations that they are not wicked in the governmentof their subjects, but to be no more than moderately good to them. I could say more than this about Saul and his courage, the subjectaffording matter sufficient; but that I may not appear to run outimproperly in his commendation, I return again to that history fromwhich I made this digression. 5. Now when the Philistines, as I said before, had pitched their camp, and had taken an account of their forces, according to their nations, and kingdoms, and governments, king Achish came last of all with his ownarmy; after whom came David with his six hundred armed men. And when thecommanders of the Philistines saw him, they asked the king whence theseHebrews came, and at whose invitation. He answered that it was David, who was fled away from his master Saul, and that he had entertainedhim when he came to him, and that now he was willing to make him thisrequital for his favors, and to avenge himself upon Saul, and so wasbecome his confederate. The commanders complained of this, that he hadtaken him for a confederate who was an enemy; and gave him counsel tosend him away, lest he should unawares do his friends a great deal ofmischief by entertaining him, for that he afforded him an opportunityof being reconciled to his master by doing a mischief to our army. Theythereupon desired him, out of a prudent foresight of this, to send himaway, with his six hundred armed men, to the place he had given him forhis habitation; for that this was that David whom the virginscelebrated in their hymns, as having destroyed many ten thousands ofthe Philistines. When the king of Gath heard this, he thought they spakewell; so he called David, and said to him, "As for myself, I can bearwitness that thou hast shown great diligence and kindness about me, andon that account it was that I took thee for my confederate; however, what I have done does not please the commanders of the Philistines; gotherefore within a day's time to the place I have given thee, withoutsuspecting any harm, and there keep my country, lest any of our enemiesshould make an incursion upon it, which will be one part of thatassistance which I expect from thee. " So David came to Ziklag, as theking of Gath bade him; but it happened, that while he was gone to theassistance of the Philistines, the Amalekites had made an incursion, andtaken Ziklag before, and had burnt it; and when they had taken a greatdeal of other prey out of that place, and out of the other parts of thePhilistines' country, they departed. 6. Now when David found that Ziklag was laid waste, and that it was allspoiled, and that as well his own wives, who were two, as the wives ofhis companions, with their children, were made captives, he presentlyrent his clothes, weeping and lamenting, together with his friends; andindeed he was so cast down with these misfortunes, that at length tearsthemselves failed him. He was also in danger of being stoned to deathby his companions, who were greatly afflicted at the captivity oftheir wives and children, for they laid the blame upon him of what hadhappened. But when he had recovered himself out of his grief, and hadraised up his mind to God, he desired the high priest Abiathar to put onhis sacerdotal garments, and to inquire of God, and to prophesy to him, whether God would grant; that if he pursued after the Amalekites, heshould overtake them, and save their wives and their children, andavenge himself on the enemies. And when the high priest bade him topursue after them, he marched apace, with his four hundred men, afterthe enemy; and when he was come to a certain brook called Besor, and hadlighted upon one that was wandering about, an Egyptian by birth, who wasalmost dead with want and famine, [for he had continued wandering aboutwithout food in the wilderness three days, ] he first of all gave himsustenance, both meat and drink, and thereby refreshed him. He thenasked him to whom he belonged, and whence he came. Whereupon the mantold him he was an Egyptian by birth, and was left behind by his master, because he was so sick and weak that he could not follow him. He alsoinformed him that he was one of those who had burnt and plundered, notonly other parts of Judea, but Ziklag itself also. So David made useof him as a guide to find oat the Amalekites; and when he had overtakenthem, as they lay scattered about on the ground, some at dinner, somedisordered, and entirely drunk with wine, and in the fruition of theirspoils and their prey, he fell upon them on the sudden, and made a greatslaughter among them; for they were naked, and expected no such thing, but had betaken themselves to drinking and feasting; and so they wereall easily destroyed. Now some of them that were overtaken as they layat the table were slain in that posture, and their blood brought up withit their meat and their drink. They slew others of them as they weredrinking to one another in their cups, and some of them when their fullbellies had made them fall asleep; and for so many as had time to put ontheir armor, they slew them with the sword, with no less case thanthey did those that were naked; and for the partisans of David, theycontinued also the slaughter from the first hour of the day to theevening, so that there were, not above four hundred of the Amalekitesleft; and they only escaped by getting upon their dromedaries andcamels. Accordingly David recovered not only all the other spoils whichthe enemy had carried away, but his wives also, and the wives of hiscompanions. But when they were come to the place where they had left thetwo hundred men, which were not able to follow them, but were left totake care of the stuff, the four hundred men did not think fit to divideamong them any other parts of what they had gotten, or of the prey, since they did not accompany them, but pretended to be feeble, anddid not follow them in pursuit of the enemy, but said they should becontented to have safely recovered their wives; yet did David pronouncethat this opinion of theirs was evil and unjust, and that when God hadgranted them such a favor, that they had avenged themselves on theirenemies, and had recovered all that belonged to themselves, they shouldmake an equal distribution of what they had gotten to all, because therest had tarried behind to guard their stuff; and from that time thislaw obtained among them, that those who guarded the stuff, shouldreceive an equal share with those that fought in the battle. Now whenDavid was come to Ziklag, he sent portions of the spoils to all that hadbeen familiar with him, and to his friends in the tribe of Judah. Andthus ended the affairs of the plundering of Ziklag, and of the slaughterof the Amalekites. 7. Now upon the Philistines joining battle, there followed a sharpengagement, and the Philistine, became the conquerors, and slew a greatnumber of their enemies; but Saul the king of Israel, and his sons, fought courageously, and with the utmost alacrity, as knowing thattheir entire glory lay in nothing else but dying honorably, and exposingthemselves to the utmost danger from the enemy [for they had nothingelse to hope for]; so they brought upon themselves the whole power ofthe enemy, till they were encompassed round and slain, but not beforethey had killed many of the Philistines Now the sons of Saul wereJonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchisua; and when these were slain themultitude of the Hebrews were put to flight, and all was disorder, andconfusion, and slaughter, upon the Philistines pressing in upon them. But Saul himself fled, having a strong body of soldiers about him; andupon the Philistines sending after them those that threw javelins andshot arrows, he lost all his company except a few. As for himself, hefought with great bravery; and when he had received so many wounds, thathe was not able to bear up nor to oppose any longer, and yet was notable to kill himself, he bade his armor-bearer draw his sword, andrun him through, before the enemy should take him alive. But hisarmor-bearer not daring to kill his master, he drew his own sword, andplacing himself over against its point, he threw himself upon it; andwhen he could neither run it through him, nor, by leaning againstit, make the sword pass through him, he turned him round, and asked acertain young man that stood by who he was; and when he understood thathe was an Amalekite, he desired him to force the sword through him, because he was not able to do it with his own hands, and therebyto procure him such a death as he desired. This the young man didaccordingly; and he took the golden bracelet that was on Saul's arm, and his royal crown that was on his head, and ran away. And when Saul'sarmor-bearer saw that he was slain, he killed himself; nor did any ofthe king's guards escape, but they all fell upon the mountain calledGilboa. But when those Hebrews that dwelt in the valley beyond Jordan, and those who had their cities in the plain, heard that Saul and hissons were fallen, and that the multitude about them were destroyed, theyleft their own cities, and fled to such as were the best fortified andfenced; and the Philistines, finding those cities deserted, came anddwelt in them. 8. On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip their enemiesthat were slain, they got the bodies of Saul and of his sons, andstripped them, and cut off their heads; and they sent messengers allabout their country, to acquaint them that their enemies were fallen;and they dedicated their armor in the temple of Astarte, but hung theirbodies on crosses at the walls of the city Bethshun, which is now calledScythepolls. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard that theyhad dismembered the dead bodies of Saul and of his sons, they deemed itso horrid a thing to overlook this barbarity, and to suffer them to bewithout funeral rites, that the most courageous and hardy among them[and indeed that city had in it men that were very stout both in bodyand mind] journeyed all night, and came to Bethshun, and approached tothe enemy's wall, and taking down the bodies of Saul and of his sons, they carried them to Jabesh, while the enemy were not able enough norbold enough to hinder them, because of their great courage. So thepeople of Jabesh wept all in general, and buried their bodies in thebest place of their country, which was named Areurn; and they observeda public mourning for them seven days, with their wives and children, beating their breasts, and lamenting the king and his sons, withouteither tasting meat or drink [29] [till the evening. ] 9. To this his end did Saul come, according to the prophecy of Samuel, because he disobeyed the commands of God about the Amalekites, and onthe account of his destroying the family of Ahimelech the high priest, with Ahimelech himself, and the city of the high priests. Now Saul, when he had reigned eighteen years while Samuel was alive, and after hisdeath two [and twenty], ended his life in this manner. BOOK VII. Containing The Interval Of Forty Years. From The Death Of Saul To The Death Of David. CHAPTER 1. How David Reigned Over One Tribe At Hebron While The Son OfSaul Reigned Over The Rest Of The Multitude; And How, In The Civil WarWhich Then Arose Asahel And Abner Were Slain. 1. This fight proved to be on the same day whereon David was come backto Ziklag, after he had overcome the Amalekites. Now when he had beenalready two days at Ziklag, there came to him the man who slew Saul, which was the third day after the fight. He had escaped out of thebattle which the Israelites had with the Philistines, and had hisclothes rent, and ashes upon his head. And when he made his obeisance toDavid, he inquired of him whence he came. He replied, from the battle ofthe Israelites; and he informed him that the end of it was unfortunate, many ten thousands of the Israelites having been cut off, and Saul, together with his sons, slain. He also said that he could well give himthis information, because he was present at the victory gained over theHebrews, and was with the king when he fled. Nor did he deny that he hadhimself slain the king, when he was ready to be taken by the enemy, andhe himself exhorted him to do it, because, when he was fallen on hissword, his great wounds had made him so weak that he was not able tokill 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 hadbrought them to him. So David having no longer any room to call inquestion the truth of what he said, but seeing most evident marks thatSaul was dead, he rent his garments, and continued all that day with hiscompanions in weeping and lamentation. This grief was augmented bythe consideration of Jonathan; the son of Saul, who had been his mostfaithful friend, and the occasion of his own deliverance. He alsodemonstrated himself to have such great virtue, and such great kindnessfor Saul, as not only to take his death to heart, though he had beenfrequently in danger of losing his life by his means, but to punish himthat slew him; for when David had said to him that he was become hisown accuser, as the very man who had slain the king, and when he hadunderstood that he was the son of an Amalekite, he commanded him tobe slain. He also committed to writing some lamentations and funeralcommendations of Saul and Jonathan, which have continued to my own age. 2. Now when David had paid these honors to the king, he left off hismourning, and inquired of God by the prophet which of the cities of thetribe of Judah he would bestow upon him to dwell in; who answered thathe bestowed upon him Hebron. So he left Ziklag, and came to Hebron, and took with him his wives, who were in number two, and his armed men;whereupon all the people of the forementioned tribe came to him, andordained him their king. But when he heard that the inhabitants ofJabesh-gilead had buried Saul and his sons [honorably], he sent to themand commended them, and took what they had done kindly, and promised tomake them amends for their care of those that were dead; and at the sametime he informed them that the tribe of Judah had chosen him for theirking. 3. But as soon as Abner, the son of Ner, who was general of Saul'sarmy, and a very active man, and good-natured, knew that the king, andJonathan, and his two other sons, were fallen in the battle, he madehaste into the camp; and taking away with him the remaining son of Saul, whose name was Ishbosheth, he passed over to the land beyond Jordan, and ordained him the king of the whole multitude, excepting the tribeof Judah; and made his royal seat in a place called in our own languageMahanaim, but in the language of the Grecians, The Camps; from whenceAbner made haste with a select body of soldiers, to fight with such ofthe tribe of Judah as were disposed to it, for he was angry that thistribe had set up David for their king. But Joab, whose father was Suri, and his mother Zeruiah, David's sister, who was general of David's army, met him, according to David's appointment. He had with him his brethren, Abistiai and Asahel, as also all David's armed men. Now when he metAbner at a certain fountain, in the city of Gibeon, he prepared tofight. And when Abner said to him, that he had a mind to know whichof them had the more valiant soldiers, it was agreed between them thattwelve soldiers of each side should fight together. So those that werechosen out by both the generals for this fight came between the twoarmies, and throwing their lances one against the other, they drew theirswords, and catching one another by the head, they held one anotherfast, and ran each other's swords into their sides and groins, untilthey all, as it were by mutual agreement, perished together. When thesewere fallen down dead, the rest of the army came to a sore battle, andAbner's men were beaten; and when they were beaten, Joab did not leaveoff pursuing them, but he pressed upon them, and excited the soldiers tofollow them close, and not to grow weary of killing them. His brethrenalso pursued them with great alacrity, especially the younger, Asahel, who was the most eminent of them. He was very famous for his swiftnessof foot, for he could not only be too hard for men, but is reported tohave overrun a horse, when they had a race together. This Asahel ranviolently after Abner, and would not turn in the least out of thestraight way, either to the one side or to the other. Hereupon Abnerturned back, and attempted artfully to avoid his violence. Sometimeshe bade him leave off the pursuit, and take the armor of one of hissoldiers; and sometimes, when he could not persuade him so to do, heexhorted him to restrain himself, and not to pursue him any longer, lesthe should force him to kill him, and he should then not be able tolook his brother in the face: but when Asahel would not admit of anypersuasions, but still continued to pursue him, Abner smote him with hisspear, as he held it in his flight, and that by a back-stroke, and gavehim a deadly wound, so that he died immediately; but those that werewith 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 theenemy. However, both Joab [1] himself, and his brother Abishai, ranpast the dead corpse, and making their anger at the death of Asahel anoccasion of greater zeal against Abner, they went on with incrediblehaste 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 stoodat that place, having the tribe of Benjamin with him, whence he took aview of them, and of Abner also. Hereupon Abner cried aloud, and saidthat it was not fit that they should irritate men of the same nation tofight so bitterly one against another; that as for Asahel his brother, he was himself in the wrong, when he would not be advised by him notto pursue him any farther, which was the occasion of his wounding anddeath. So Joab consented to what he said, and accepted these his wordsas an excuse [about Asahel], and called the soldiers back with the soundof the trumpet, as a signal for their retreat, and thereby put a stop toany further pursuit. After which Joab pitched his camp there that night;but Abner marched all that night, and passed over the river Jordan, and came to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, to Mahanaim. On the next day Joabcounted the dead men, and took care of all their funerals. Now therewere slain of Abner's soldiers about three hundred and sixty; but ofthose of David nineteen, and Asahel, whose body Joab and Abishai carriedto Bethlehem; and when they had buried him in the sepulcher of theirfathers, they came to David to Hebron. From this time therefore therebegan an intestine war, which lasted a great while, in which thefollowers of David grew stronger in the dangers they underwent, and theservants and subjects of Saul's sons did almost every day become weaker. 4. About this time David was become the father of six sons, born of asmany mothers. The eldest was by Ahinoam, and he was called Arenon;the second was Daniel, by his wife Abigail; the name of the third wasAbsalom, by Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourthhe named Adonijah, by his wife Haggith; the fifth was Shephatiah, byAbital; the sixth he called Ithream, by Eglah. Now while this intestinewar went on, and the subjects of the two kings came frequently to actionand to fighting, it was Abner, the general of the host of Saul's son, who, by his prudence, and the great interest he had among the multitude, made them all continue with Ishbosheth; and indeed it was a considerabletime that they continued of his party; but afterwards Abner was blamed, and an accusation was laid against him, that he went in unto Saul'sconcubine: her name was Rispah, the daughter of Aiah. So when he wascomplained of by Ishbosheth, he was very uneasy and angry at it, becausehe had not justice done him by Ishbosheth, to whom he had shown thegreatest kindness; whereupon he threatened to transfer the kingdomto David, and demonstrate that he did not rule over the people beyondJordan by his own abilities and wisdom, but by his warlike conduct andfidelity in leading his army. So he sent ambassadors to Hebron to David, and desired that he would give him security upon oath that he wouldesteem him his companion and his friend, upon condition that he shouldpersuade the people to leave Saul's son, and choose him king of thewhole country; and when David had made that league with Abner, for hewas pleased with his message to him, he desired that he would give thisas the first mark of performance of the present league, that he mighthave his wife Michal restored to him, as her whom he had purchased withgreat hazards, and with those six hundred heads of the Philistines whichhe had brought to Saul her father. So Abner took Michal from Phaltiel, who was then her husband, and sent her to David, Ishbosheth himselfaffording him his assistance, for David had written to him that ofright he ought to have this his wife restored to him. Abner also calledtogether the elders of the multitude, the commanders and captains ofthousands, and spake thus to them: That he had formerly dissuaded themfrom their own resolution, when they were ready to forsake Ishbosheth, and to join themselves to David; that, however, he now gave them leaveso to do, if they had a mind to it, for they knew that God had appointedDavid to be king of all the Hebrews by Samuel the prophet; and hadforetold that he should punish the Philistines, and overcome them, and bring them under. Now when the elders and rulers heard this, andunderstood that Abner was come over to those sentiments about the publicaffairs which they were of before, they changed their measures, and camein to David. When these men had agreed to Abner's proposal, he calledtogether the tribe of Benjamin, for all of that tribe were the guards ofIshbosheth's body, and he spake to them to the same purpose. And whenhe saw that they did not in the least oppose what he said, but resignedthemselves up to his opinion, he took about twenty of his friends andcame to David, in order to receive himself security upon oath from him;for we may justly esteem those things to be firmer which every one of usdo by ourselves, than those which we do by another. He also gave himan account of what he had said to the rulers, and to the whole tribe ofBenjamin; and when David had received him in a courteous manner, andhad treated him with great hospitality for many days, Abner, when he wasdismissed, desired him to bring the multitude with him, that he mightdeliver up the government to him, when David himself was present, and aspectator of what was done. 5. When David had sent Abner away, Joab, the of his army, cameimmediately to Hebron; he had understood that Abner had been with David, and had parted with him a little before under leagues and agreementsthat the government should be delivered up to David, he feared lestDavid should place Abner, who had assisted him to gain the kingdom, inthe first rank of dignity, especially since he was a shrewd man in otherrespects, in understanding affairs, and in managing them artfully, asproper seasons should require, and that he should himself be put lower, and be deprived of the command of the army; so he took a knavish and awicked course. In the first place, he endeavored to calumniate Abner tothe king, exhorting him to have a care of him, and not to give attentionto what he had engaged to do for him, because all he did tended toconfirm the government to Saul's son; that he came to him deceitfullyand with guile, and was gone away in hopes of gaining his purpose bythis management: but when he could not thus persuade David, nor sawhim at all exasperated, he betook himself to a project bolder than theformer:--he determined to kill Abner; and in order thereto, he sent somemessengers after him, to whom he gave in charge, that when they shouldovertake him they should recall him in David's name, and tell himthat he had somewhat to say to him about his affairs, which he had notremembered to speak of when he was with him. Now when Abner heard whatthe messengers said, [for they overtook him in a certain place calledBesira, which was distant from Hebron twenty furlongs, ] he suspectednone of the mischief which was befalling him, and came back. HereuponJoab met him in the gate, and received him in the kindest manner, asif he were Abner's most benevolent acquaintance and friend; for such asundertake the vilest actions, in order to prevent the suspicion of anyprivate mischief intended, do frequently make the greatest pretensesto what really good men sincerely do. So he took him aside from his ownfollowers, as if he would speak with him in private, and brought himinto a void place of the gate, having himself nobody with him but hisbrother Abishai; then he drew his sword, and smote him in the groin;upon which Abner died by this treachery of Joab, which, as he saidhimself, was in the way of punishment for his brother Asahel, whom Abnersmote and slew as he was pursuing after him in the battle of Hebron, butas the truth was, out of his fear of losing his command of the army, and his dignity with the king, and lest he should be deprived of thoseadvantages, and Abner should obtain the first rank in David's court. By these examples any one may learn how many and how great instancesof wickedness men will venture upon for the sake of getting money andauthority, and that they may not fail of either of them; for as whenthey are desirous of obtaining the same, they acquire them by tenthousand evil practices; so when they are afraid of losing them, theyget them confirmed to them by practices much worse than the former, asif no other calamity so terrible could befall them as the failure ofacquiring so exalted an authority; and when they have acquired it, andby long custom found the sweetness of it, the losing it again: and sincethis last would be the heaviest of all afflictions they all of themcontrive and venture upon the most difficult actions, out of the fearof losing the same. But let it suffice that I have made these shortreflections upon that subject. 6. When David heard that Abner was slain, it grieved his soul; and hecalled all men to witness, with stretching out his hands to God, andcrying out that he was not a partaker in the murder of Abner, and thathis death was not procured by his command or approbation. He also wishedthe heaviest curses might light upon him that slew him and upon hiswhole house; and he devoted those that had assisted him in this murderto the same penalties on its account; for he took care not to appearto have had any hand in this murder, contrary to the assurances he hadgiven and the oaths he had taken to Abner. However, he commanded all thepeople to weep and lament this man, and to honor his dead body with theusual solemnities; that is, by rending their garments, and putting onsackcloth, and that things should be the habit in which they should gobefore the bier; after which he followed it himself, with the elders andthose that were rulers, lamenting Abner, and by his tears demonstratinghis good-will to him while he was alive, and his sorrow for him now hewas dead, and that he was not taken off with his consent. So he buriedhim at Hebron in a magnificent manner, and indited funeral elegies forhim; he also stood first over the monument weeping, and caused othersto do the same; nay, so deeply did the death of Abner disorder him, that his companions could by no means force him to take any food, but heaffirmed 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 ashad an affection for Abner were mightily satisfied with the respecthe paid him when he was dead, and the observation of that faith he hadplighted to him, which was shown in his vouchsafing him all the usualceremonies, as if he had been his kinsman and his friend, and notsuffering him to be neglected and injured with a dishonorable burial, as if he had been his enemy; insomuch that the entire nation rejoiced atthe king's gentleness and mildness of disposition, every one being readyto suppose that the king would have taken the same care of them in thelike circumstances, which they saw be showed in the burial of the deadbody of Abner. And indeed David principally intended to gain a goodreputation, and therefore he took care to do what was proper in thiscase, whence none had any suspicion that he was the author of Abner'sdeath. He also said this to the multitude, that he was greatly troubledat the death of so good a man; and that the affairs of the Hebrews hadsuffered great detriment by being deprived of him, who was of so greatabilities to preserve them by his excellent advice, and by the strengthof his hands in war. But he added, that "God, who hath a regard to allmen's actions, will not suffer this man [Joab] to go off unrevenged; butknow ye, that I am not able to do any thing to these sons of Zeruiah, Joab and Abishai, who have more power than I have; but God will requitetheir insolent attempts upon their own heads. " And this was the fatalconclusion of the life of Abner. CHAPTER 2. That Upon The Slaughter Of Ishbosheth By The Treachery Of HisFriends, David Received The Whole Kingdom. 1. When Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, had heard of the death of Abner, he took it to heart to be deprived of a man that was of his kindred, andhad indeed given him the kingdom, but was greatly afflicted, and Abner'sdeath very much troubled him; nor did he himself outlive any long time, but was treacherously set upon by the sons of Rimmon, [Baanah and Rechabwere their names, ] and was slain by them; for these being of a family ofthe Benjamites, and of the first rank among them, thought that if theyshould slay Ishbosheth, they should obtain large presents from David, and be made commanders by him, or, however, should have some other trustcommitted to them. So when they once found him alone, and asleep atnoon, in an upper room, when none of his guards were there, and when thewoman that kept the door was not watching, but was fallen asleep also, partly on account of the labor she had undergone, and partly onaccount of the heat of the day, these men went into the room in whichIshbosheth, Saul's son, lay asleep, and slew him; they also cut offhis head, and took their journey all that night, and the next day, assupposing themselves flying away from those they had injured, to onethat would accept of this action as a favor, and would afford themsecurity. So they came to Hebron, and showed David the head ofIshbosheth, and presented themselves to him as his well-wishers, andsuch as had killed one that was his enemy and antagonist. Yet David didnot relish what they had done as they expected, but said to them, "Youvile wretches, you shall immediately receive the punishment you deserve. Did not you know what vengeance I executed on him that murdered Saul, and brought me his crown of gold, and this while he who made thisslaughter did it as a favor to him, that he might not be caught by hisenemies? Or do you imagine that I am altered in my disposition, andsuppose that I am not the same man I then was, but am pleased with menthat are wicked doers, and esteem your vile actions, when you are becomemurderers of your master, as grateful to me, when you have slain arighteous man upon his bed, who never did evil to any body, and treatedyou with great good-will and respect? Wherefore you shall suffer thepunishment due on his account, and the vengeance I ought to inflict uponyou for killing Ishbosheth, and for supposing that I should take hisdeath kindly at your hands; for you could not lay a greater blot on myhonor, than by making such a supposal. " When David had said this, hetormented them with all sorts of torments, and then put them to death;and he bestowed all accustomed rites on the burial of the head ofIshbosheth, and laid it in the grave of Abner. 2. When these things were brought to this conclusion, all the principalmen of the Hebrew people came to David to Hebron, with the heads ofthousands, and other rulers, and delivered themselves up to him, puttinghim in mind of the good-will they had borne to him in Saul's lifetime, and the respect they then had not ceased to pay him when he was captainof a thousand, as also that he was chosen of God by Samuel the prophet, he and his sons; [2] and declaring besides, how God had given himpower to save the land of the Hebrews, and to overcome the Philistines. Whereupon he received kindly this their alacrity on his account; andexhorted them to continue in it, for that they should have no reason torepent of being thus disposed to him. So when he had feasted them, andtreated them kindly, he sent them out to bring all the people to him;upon which came to him about six thousand and eight hundred armed men ofthe tribe of Judah, who bare shields and spears for their weapons, forthese had [till now] continued with Saul's son, when the rest of thetribe of Judah had ordained David for their king. There came also seventhousand and one hundred out of the tribe of Simeon. Out of the tribeof Levi came four thousand and seven hundred, having Jehoiada for theirleader. After these came Zadok the high priest, with twenty-two captainsof his kindred. Out of the tribe of Benjamin the armed men were fourthousand; but the rest of the tribe continued, still expecting that someone of the house of Saul should reign over them. Those of the tribe ofEphraim were twenty thousand and eight hundred, and these mighty men ofvalor, and eminent for their strength. Out of the half tribe of Manassehcame eighteen thousand, of the most potent men. Out of the tribe ofIssachar came two hundred, who foreknew what was to come hereafter, [3]but of armed men twenty thousand. Of the tribe of Zebulon fifty thousandchosen 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 thetribe of Naphtali the eminent men and rulers were one thousand, whoseweapons were shields and spears, and the tribe itself followed after, being [in a manner] innumerable [thirty-seven thousand]. Out of thetribe of Dan there were of chosen men twenty-seven thousand and sixhundred. Out of the tribe of Asher were forty thousand. Out of the twotribes that were beyond Jordan, and the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, such as used shields, and spears, and head-pieces, and swords, were ahundred and twenty thousand. The rest of the tribes also made use ofswords. This multitude came together to Hebron to David, with a greatquantity of corn, and wine, and all other sorts of food, and establishedDavid in his kingdom with one consent. And when the people had rejoicedfor three days in Hebron, David and all the people removed and came toJerusalem. CHAPTER 3. How David Laid Siege To Jerusalem; And When He Had TakenThe City, He Cast The Canaanites Out Of It, And Brought In The Jews ToInhabit Therein. 1. Now the Jebusites, who were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and were byextraction Canaanites, shut their gates, and placed the blind, and thelame, and all their maimed persons, upon the wall, in way of derisionof the king, and said that the very lame themselves would hinder hisentrance into it. This they did out of contempt of his power, and asdepending on the strength of their walls. David was hereby enraged, and began the siege of Jerusalem, and employed his utmost diligenceand alacrity therein, as intending by the taking of this place todemonstrate his power, and to intimidate all others that might be of thelike [evil] disposition towards him. So he took the lower city by force, but the citadel held out still; [4] whence it was that the king, knowingthat the proposal of dignities and rewards would encourage the soldiersto greater actions, promised that he who should first go over theditches that were beneath the citadel, and should ascend to the citadelitself and take it, should have the command of the entire peopleconferred upon him. So they all were ambitious to ascend, and thought nopains too great in order to ascend thither, out of their desire of thechief command. However, Joab, the son of Zeruiah, prevented the rest;and as soon as he was got up to the citadel, cried out to the king, andclaimed the chief command. 2. When David had cast the Jebusites out of the citadel, he also rebuiltJerusalem, and named it The City of David, and abode there all the timeof his reign; but for the time that he reigned over the tribe of Judahonly in Hebron, it was seven years and six months. Now when he hadchosen Jerusalem to be his royal city, his affairs did more and moreprosper, by the providence of God, who took care that they shouldimprove and be augmented. Hiram also, the king of the Tyrians, sent ambassadors to him, and made a league of mutual friendship andassistance with him. He also sent him presents, cedar-trees, andmechanics, and men skillful in building and architecture, that theymight build him a royal palace at Jerusalem. Now David made buildingsround about the lower city: he also joined the citadel to it, and madeit one body; and when he had encompassed all with walls, he appointedJoab to take care of them. It was David, therefore, who first cast theJebusites out of Jerusalem, and called it by his own name, The Cityof David: for under our forefather Abraham it was called [Salem, or]Solyma; [5] but after that time, some say that Homer mentions it by thatname of Solyma, [for he named the temple Solyma, according to the Hebrewlanguage, which denotes security. ] Now the whole time from the warfareunder Joshua our general against the Canaanites, and from that war inwhich he overcame them, and distributed the land among the Hebrews, [norcould the Israelites ever cast the Canaanites out of Jerusalem untilthis time, when David took it by siege, ] this whole time was fivehundred and fifteen years. 3. I shall now make mention of Araunah, who was a wealthy man among theJebusites, but was not slain by David in the siege of Jerusalem, becauseof the good-will he bore to the Hebrews, and a particular benignity andaffection which he had to the king himself; which I shall take a moreseasonable opportunity to speak of a little afterwards. Now Davidmarried other wives over and above those which he had before: he hadalso concubines. The sons whom he had were in number eleven, whosenames were Amnon, Emnos, Eban, Nathan, Solomon, Jeban, Elien, Phalna, Ennaphen, Jenae, Eliphale; and a daughter, Tamar. Nine of these wereborn of legitimate wives, but the two last-named of concubines; andTamar had the same mother with Absalom. CHAPTER 4. That When David Had Conquered The Philistines Who Made WarAgainst Him At Jerusalem, He Removed The Ark To Jerusalem And Had A MindTo Build A Temple. 1. When the Philistines understood that David was made king of theHebrews, they made war against him at Jerusalem; and when they hadseized upon that valley which is called The Valley of the Giants, and isa place not far from the city, they pitched their camp therein; but theking of the Jews, who never permitted himself to do any thing withoutprophecy, [6] and the command of God and without depending on him as asecurity for the time to come, bade the high priest to foretell to himwhat was the will of God, and what would be the event of this battle. And when he foretold that he should gain the victory and the dominion, he led out his army against the Philistines; and when the battle wasjoined, 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 onesuppose that it was a small army of the Philistines that came againstthe Hebrews, as guessing so from the suddenness of their defeat, and from their having performed no great action, or that was worthrecording, from the slowness of their march, and want of courage; butlet him know that all Syria and Phoenicia, with many other nationsbesides them, and those warlike nations also, came to their assistance, and had a share in this war, which thing was the only cause why, whenthey had been so often conquered, and had lost so many ten thousands oftheir men, they still came upon the Hebrews with greater armies; nay, indeed, when they had so often failed of their purpose in these battles, they came upon David with an army three times as numerous as before, and pitched their camp on the same spot of ground as before. The kingof Israel therefore inquired of God again concerning the event of thebattle; and the high priest prophesied to him, that he should keep hisarmy in the groves, called the Groves of Weeping, which were not farfrom the enemy's camp, and that he should not move, nor begin to fight, till the trees of the grove should be in motion without the wind'sblowing; but as soon as these trees moved, and the time foretold to himby God was come, he should, without delay, go out to gain what wasan already prepared and evident victory; for the several ranks of theenemy's army did not sustain him, but retreated at the first onset, whomhe closely followed, and slew them as he went along, and pursued themto the city Gaza [which is the limit of their country]: after this hespoiled their camp, in which he found great riches; and he destroyedtheir gods. 2. When this had proved the event of the battle, David thought itproper, upon a consultation with the elders, and rulers, and captains ofthousands, to send for those that were in the flower of their age outof all his countrymen, and out of the whole land, and withal for thepriests and the Levites, in order to their going to Kirjathjearim, tobring up the ark of God out of that city, and to carry it to Jerusalem, and there to keep it, and offer before it those sacrifices and thoseother honors with which God used to be well-pleased; for had they donethus in the reign of Saul, they had not undergone any great misfortunesat all. So when the whole body of the people were come together, as theyhad resolved to do, the king came to the ark, which the priest broughtout of the house of Aminadab, and laid it upon a new cart, and permittedtheir brethren and their children to draw it, together with the oxen. Before it went the king, and the whole multitude of the people with him, singing hymns to God, and making use of all sorts of songs usual amongthem, with variety of the sounds of musical instruments, and withdancing and singing of psalms, as also with the sounds of trumpets andof cymbals, and so brought the ark to Jerusalem. But as they were cometo the threshing-floor of Chidon, a place so called, Uzzah was slain bythe anger of God; for as the oxen shook the ark, he stretched out hishand, and would needs take hold of it. Now, because he was not a priest[7] and yet touched the ark, God struck him dead. Hereupon both theking and the people were displeased at the death of Uzzah; and the placewhere he died is still called the Breach of Uzzah unto this day. SoDavid was afraid; and supposing that if he received the ark to himselfinto the city, he might suffer in the like manner as Uzzah had suffered, who, upon his bare putting out his hand to the ark, died in the manneralready mentioned, he did not receive it to himself into the city, buthe took it aside unto a certain place belonging to a righteous man, whose name was Obededom, who was by his family a Levite, and depositedthe ark with him; and it remained there three entire months. Thisaugmented the house of Obededom, and conferred many blessings upon it. And when the king heard what had befallen Obededom, how he was become, of a poor man in a low estate, exceeding happy, and the object of envyto all those that saw or inquired after his house, he took courage, and, hoping that he should meet with no misfortune thereby, he transferredthe ark to his own house; the priests carrying it, while seven companiesof 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 Michel, the daughter of Saul, who was ourfirst king, saw him so doing, she laughed at him. But when they hadbrought in the ark, they placed it under the tabernacle which David hadpitched for it, and he offered costly sacrifices and peace-offerings, and treated the whole multitude, and dealt both to the women, and themen, and the infants a loaf of bread and a cake, and another cake bakedin a pan, with the portion of the sacrifice. So when he had thus feastedthe 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 byhim, she wished him all other happiness, and entreated that whatsoeverhe should further desire, to the utmost possibility, might be given himby God, and that he might be favorable 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 thehandmaidens. But he replied, that he was not ashamed to do what wasacceptable to God, who had preferred him before her father, and beforeall others; that he would play frequently, and dance, without any regardto what the handmaidens and she herself thought of it. So this Michal, who was David's wife, had no children; however, when she was afterwardmarried to him to whom Saul her father had given her, [for at this timeDavid had taken her away from him, and had her himself, ] she bare fivechildren. But concerning those matters I shall discourse in a properplace. 4. Now when the king saw that his affairs grew better almost everyday, by the will of God, he thought he should offend him, if, whilehe himself continued in houses made of cedar, such as were of a greatheight, and had the most curious works of architecture in them, heshould overlook the ark while it was laid in a tabernacle, and wasdesirous to build a temple to God, as Moses had predicted such a templeshould be built. [8] And when he had discoursed with Nathan the prophetabout these things, and had been encouraged by him to do whatsoever hehad 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 Godappeared to Nathan that very night, and commanded him to say to David, [9] that he took his purpose and his desires kindly, since nobody hadbefore now taken it into their head to build him a temple, althoughupon his having such a notion he would not permit him to build himthat temple, because he had made many wars, and was defiled with theslaughter of his enemies; that, however, after his death, in his oldage, and when he had lived a long life, there should be a temple builtby a son of his, who should take the kingdom after him, and should becalled Solomon, whom he promised to provide for, as a father providesfor his son, by preserving the kingdom for his son's posterity, anddelivering it to them; but that he would still punish him, if he sinned, with diseases and barrenness of land. When David understood thisfrom the prophet, and was overjoyful at this knowledge of the surecontinuance of the dominion to his posterity, and that his house shouldbe splendid, and very famous, he came to the ark, and fell down on hisface, and began to adore God, and to return thanks to him for all hisbenefits, as well for those that he had already bestowed upon him inraising him from a low state, and from the employment of a shepherd, toso great dignity of dominion and glory; as for those also which he hadpromised to his posterity; and besides, for that providence which he hadexercised over the Hebrews in procuring them the liberty they enjoyed. And when he had said thus, and had sung a hymn of praise to God, he wenthis way. CHAPTER 5. How David Brought Under The Philistines, And The Moabites, And The Kings Of Sophene And Of Damascus, And Of The Syrians As Also TheIdumeans, In War; And How He Made A League With The King Of Hamath; AndWas Mindful Of The Friendship That Jonathan, The Son Of Saul, Had BorneHim. 1. A Litlle while after this, he considered that he ought to makewar against the Philistines, and not to see any idleness or lazinesspermitted in his management, that so it might prove, as God had foretoldto him, that when he had overthrown his enemies, he should leave hisposterity to reign in peace afterward: so he called together his armyagain, and when he had charged them to be ready and prepared for war, and when he thought that all things in his army were in a good state, he removed from Jerusalem, and came against the Philistines; and whenhe had overcome them in battle, and had cut off a great part of theircountry, and adjoined it to the country of the Hebrews, he transferredthe war to the Moabites; and when he had overcome two parts of theirarmy in battle, he took the remaining part captive, and imposed tributeupon them, to be paid annually. He then made war against Iadadezer, theson of Rehob, king of Sophene; [10] and when he had joined battlewith him at 'the river Euphrates, he destroyed twenty thousand ofhis footmen, and about seven thousand of his horsemen. He also took athousand of his chariots, and destroyed the greatest part of them, andordered that no more than one hundred should be kept. [11] 2. Now when Hadad, king of Damascus and of Syria, heard that Davidfought against Hadadezer, who was his friend, he came to his assistancewith a powerful army, in hopes to rescue him; and when he had joinedbattle with David at the river Euphrates, he failed of his purpose, andlost in the battle a great number of his soldiers; for there were slainof the army of Hadad twenty thousand, and all the rest fled. Nicelensalso [of Damascus] makes mention of this king in the fourth book of hishistories; where he speaks thus: "A great while after these things hadhappened, there was one of that country whose name was Hadad, who wasbecome very potent; he reigned over Damascus, and, the other partsof Syria, excepting Phoenicia. He made war against David, the king ofJudea, and tried his fortune in many battles, and particularly in thelast battle at Euphrates, wherein he was beaten. He seemed to have beenthe most excellent of all their kings in strength and manhood, " Nay, besides this, he says of his posterity, that "they succeeded one anotherin his kingdom, and in his name;" where he thus speaks: "When Hadad wasdead, his posterity reigned for ten generations, each of his successorsreceiving from his father that his dominion, and this his name; as didthe 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 hemade an expedition against the Jews, and laid waste the city which isnow called Samaria. " Nor did he err from the truth; for this is thatHadad who made the expedition against Samaria, in the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, concerning whom we shall speak in due place hereafter. 3. Now when David had made an expedition against Damascus, and the otherparts of Syria, and had brought it all into subjection, and had placedgarrisons in the country, and appointed that they should pay tribute, hereturned home. He also dedicated to God at Jerusalem the golden quivers, the entire armor which the guards of Hadad used to wear; which Shishak, the king of Egypt, took away when he fought with David's grandson, Rehoboam, with a great deal of other wealth which he carried out ofJerusalem. However, these things will come to be explained in theirproper places hereafter. Now as for the king of the Hebrews, he wasassisted by God, who gave him great success in his wars, and he made allexpedition against the best cities of Hadadezer, Betah and Machen; so hetook them by force, and laid them waste. Therein was found a very greatquantity of gold and silver, besides that sort of brass which is saidto be more valuable than gold; of which brass Solomon made that largevessel which was called The [Brazen] Sea, and those most curious lavers, when he built the temple for God. 4. But when the king of Hamath was informed of the ill success ofHadadezer, and had heard of the ruin of his army, he was afraid on hisown account, and resolved to make a league of friendship and fidelitywith David before he should come against him; so he sent to him hisson Joram, and professed that he owed him thanks for fighting againstHadadezer, who was his enemy, and made a league with him of mutualassistance and friendship. He also sent him presents, vessels of ancientworkmanship, both of gold, of silver, and of brass. So when David hadmade this league of mutual assistance with Toi, [for that was the nameof the king of Hamath, ] and had received the presents he sent him, hedismissed his son with that respect which was due on both sides; butthen David brought those presents that were sent by him, as also therest of the gold and silver which he had taken of the cities whom hehad conquered, and dedicated them to God. Nor did God give victory andsuccess to him only when he went to the battle himself, and led his ownarmy, but he gave victory to Abishai, the brother of Joab, general ofhis forces, over the Idumeans, [12] and by him to David, when he senthim with an army into Idumea: for Abishai destroyed eighteen thousandof them in the battle; whereupon the king [of Israel] placed garrisonsthrough all Idumea, and received the tribute of the country, and ofevery head among them. Now David was in his nature just, and made hisdetermination with regard to truth. He had for the general of his wholearmy Joab; and he made Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, recorder. He alsoappointed Zadok, of the family of Phinehas, to be high priest, togetherwith Abiathar, for he was his friend. He also made Seisan the scribe, and committed the command over the guards of his body to Benaiah; theson of Jehoiada. His elder sons were near his body, and had the care ofit also. 5. He also called to mind the covenants and the oaths he had made withJonathan, the son of Saul, and the friendship and affection Jonathan hadfor him; for besides all the rest of his excellent qualities with whichhe was endowed, he was also exceeding mindful of such as had at othertimes bestowed benefits upon him. He therefore gave order that inquiryshould be made, whether any of Jonathan's lineage were living, to whomhe might make return of that familiar acquaintance which Jonathan hadhad with him, and for which he was still debtor. And when one of Saul'sfreed men was brought to him, who was acquainted with those of hisfamily that were still living, he asked him whether he could tell himof any one belonging to Jonathan that was now alive, and capable of arequital of the benefits which he had received from Jonathan. And hesaid, that a son of his was remaining, whose name was Mephibosheth, butthat he was lame of his feet; for that when his nurse heard that thefather and grandfather of the child were fallen in the battle, shesnatched him up, and fled away, and let him fall from her shoulders, and his feet were lamed. So when he had learned where and by whom he wasbrought up, he sent messengers to Machir, to the city of Lodebar, forwith him was the son of Jonathan brought up, and sent for him to cometo him. So when Mephibosheth came to the king, he fell on his face andworshipped him; but David encouraged him, bade him be of good cheer, and expect better times. So he gave him his father's house, and all theestate which his grandfather Saul was in possession of, and bade himcome and diet with him at his own table, and never to be absent one dayfrom that table. And when the youth had worshipped him on account of hiswords and gifts given to him, he called for Ziba, and told him that hehad given the youth his father's house, and all Saul's estate. He alsoordered that Ziba should cultivate his land, and take care of it, andbring him the profits of all to Jerusalem. Accordingly, David broughthim to his table every day, and bestowed upon the youth, Ziba and hissons, who were in number fifteen, and his servants, who were innumber twenty. When the king had made these appointments, and Ziba hadworshipped him, and promised to do all that he had bidden him, he wenthis way; so that this son of Jonathan dwelt at Jerusalem, and dieted atthe king's table, and had the same care that a son could claim taken ofhim. He also had himself a son, whom he named Micha. CHAPTER 6. How The War Was Waged Against The Ammonites And HappilyConcluded. 1. This were the honors that such as were left of Saul's and Jonathan'slineage received from David. About this time died Nahash, the kingof the Ammonites, who was a friend of David's; and when his son hadsucceeded his father in the kingdom, David sent ambassadors to him tocomfort him; and exhorted him to take his father's death patiently, andto expect that he would continue the same kindness to himself whichhe had shown to his father. But the princes of the Ammonites took thismessage in evil part, and not as David's kind dispositions gave reasonto take it; and they excited the king to resent it; and said that Davidhad sent men to spy out the country, and what strength it had, under thepretense of humanity and kindness. They further advised him to have acare, and not to give heed to David's words, lest he should be deludedby him, and so fall into an inconsolable calamity. Accordingly Nahash's[son], the king of the Ammonites, thought these princes spake what wasmore probable than the truth would admit, and so abused the ambassadorsafter a very harsh manner; for he shaved the one half of their beards, and cut off one half of their garments, and sent his answer, notin words, but in deeds. When the king of Israel saw this, he hadindignation at it, and showed openly that he would not overlook thisinjurious and contumelious treatment, but would make war with theAmmonites, and would avenge this wicked treatment of his ambassadorson their king. So that king's intimate friends and commanders, understanding that they had violated their league, and were liable tobe punished for the same, made preparations for war; they also sent athousand talents to the Syrian king of Mesopotamia, and endeavored toprevail with him to assist them for that pay, and Shobach. Now thesekings had twenty thousand footmen. They also hired the king of thecountry called Maacah, and a fourth king, by name Ishtob; which last hadtwelve thousand armed men. 2. But David was under no consternation at this confederacy, nor at theforces of the Ammonites; and putting his trust in God, because he wasgoing to war in a just cause, on account of the injurious treatment hehad met with, he immediately sent Joab, the captain of his host, againstthem, and gave him the flower of his army, who pitched his camp byRabbah, the metropolis of the Ammonites; whereupon the enemy cameout, and set themselves in array, not all of them together, but intwo bodies; for the auxiliaries were set in array in the plain bythemselves, but the army of the Ammonites at the gates over against theHebrews. When Joab saw this, he opposed one stratagem against another, and chose out the most hardy part of his men, and set them in oppositionto the king of Syria, and the kings that were with him, and gave theother part to his brother Abishai, and bid him set them in oppositionto the Ammonites; and said to him, that in case he should see that theSyrians distressed him, and were too hard for him, he should order histroops to turn about and assist him; and he said that he himselfwould do the same to him, if he saw him in the like distress from theAmmonites. So he sent his brother before, and encouraged him to doevery thing courageously and with alacrity, which would teach them tobe afraid of disgrace, and to fight manfully; and so he dismissed himto fight with the Ammonites, while he fell upon the Syrians. And thoughthey made a strong opposition for a while, Joab slew many of them, but compelled the rest to betake themselves to flight; which, when theAmmonites saw, and were withal afraid of Abishai and his army, theystaid no longer, but imitated their auxiliaries, and fled to the city. So Joab, when he had thus overcome the enemy, returned with great joy toJerusalem to the king. 3. This defeat did not still induce the Ammonites to be quiet, nor toown those that were superior to them to be so, and be still, but theysent to Chalaman, the king of the Syrians, beyond Euphrates, and hiredhim for an auxiliary. He had Shobach for the captain of his host, witheighty thousand footmen, and ten thousand horsemen. Now when the king ofthe Hebrews understood that the Ammonites had again gathered so greatan army together, he determined to make war with them no longer by hisgenerals, but he passed over the river Jordan himself with all his army;and when he met them he joined battle with them, and overcame them, and slew forty thousand of their footmen, and seven thousand of theirhorsemen. He also wounded Shobach, the general of Chalaman's forces, who died of that stroke; but the people of Mesopotamia, upon such aconclusion of the battle, delivered themselves up to David, and sent himpresents, who at winter time returned to Jerusalem. But at the beginningof the spring he sent Joab, the captain of his host, to fight againstthe Ammonites, who overran all their country, and laid it waste, andshut them up in their metropolis Rabbah, and besieged them therein. CHAPTER 7. How David Fell In Love With Bathsheba, And Slew Her HusbandUriah, For Which He Is Reproved By Nathan. 1. But David fell now into a very grievous sin, though he were otherwisenaturally a righteous and a religious man, and one that firmly observedthe laws of our fathers; for when late in an evening he took a viewround him from the roof of his royal palace, where he used to walk atthat hour, he saw a woman washing herself in her own house: she was oneof extraordinary beauty, and therein surpassed all other women; her namewas Bathsheba. So he was overcome by that woman's beauty, and wasnot 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 shouldcontrive some way for concealing her sin [for, according to the laws oftheir fathers, she who had been guilty of adultery ought to be put todeath]. So the king sent for Joab's armor-bearer from the siege, who wasthe woman's husband, and his name was Uriah. And when he was come, theking inquired of him about the army, and about the siege; and when hehad made answer that all their affairs went according to their wishes, the king took some portions of meat from his supper, and gave them tohim, and bade him go home to his wife, and take his rest with her. Uriah did not do so, but slept near the king with the rest of hisarmor-bearers. When the king was informed of this, he asked him why hedid not go home to his house, and to his wife, after so long an absence;which is the natural custom of all men, when they come from a longjourney. He replied, that it was not right, while his fellow soldiers, and the general of the army, slept upon the ground, in the camp, andin an enemy's country, that he should go and take his rest, and solacehimself with his wife. So when he had thus replied, the king ordered himto stay there that night, that he might dismiss him the next day to thegeneral. So the king invited Uriah to supper, and after a cunning anddexterous manlier plied him with drink at supper, till he was therebydisordered; yet did he nevertheless sleep at the king's gates withoutany inclination to go to his wife. Upon this the king was very angry athim; and wrote to Joab, and commanded him to punish Uriah, for he toldhim that he had offended him; and he suggested to him the manner inwhich he would have him punished, that it might not be discovered thathe was himself the author of this his punishment; for he charged himto set him over against that part of the enemy's army where the attackwould be most hazardous, and where he might be deserted, and be in thegreatest jeopardy, for he bade him order his fellow soldiers to retireout of the fight. When he had written thus to him, and sealed the letterwith his own seal, he gave it to Uriah to carry to Joab. When Joab hadreceived it, and upon reading it understood the king's purpose, he setUriah in that place where he knew the enemy would be most troublesometo them; and gave him for his partners some of the best soldiers inthe army; and said that he would also come to their assistance withthe whole army, that if possible they might break down some part ofthe wall, and enter the city. And he desired him to be glad of theopportunity of exposing himself to such great pains, and not to bedispleased at it, since he was a valiant soldier, and had a greatreputation for his valor, both with the king and with his countrymen. And when Uriah undertook the work he was set upon with alacrity, he gaveprivate orders to those who were to be his companions, that when theysaw the enemy make a sally, they should leave him. When, therefore, theHebrews made an attack upon the city, the Ammonites were afraid that theenemy might prevent them, and get up into the city, and this at the veryplace whither Uriah was ordered; so they exposed their best soldiers tobe in the forefront, and opened their gates suddenly, and fell upon theenemy with great vehemence, and ran violently upon them. When thosethat were with Uriah saw this, they all retreated backward, as Joab haddirected them beforehand; but Uriah, as ashamed to run away and leavehis post, sustained the enemy, and receiving the violence of theironset, he slew many of them; but being encompassed round, and caught inthe midst of them, he was slain, and some other of his companions wereslain with him. 2. When this was done, Joab sent messengers to the king, and orderedthem to tell him that he did what he could to take the city soon; butthat, as they made an assault on the wall, they had been forced toretire with great loss; and bade them, if they saw the king was angry atit, to add this, that Uriah was slain also. When the king had heard thisof the messengers, he took it heinously, and said that they did wrongwhen they assaulted the wall, whereas they ought, by undermining andother stratagems of war, to endeavor the taking of rite city, especiallywhen they had before their eyes the example of Abimelech, the son ofGideon, who would needs take the tower in Thebes by force, and waskilled by a large stone thrown at him by an old woman; and althoughhe was a man of great prowess, he died ignominiously by the dangerousmanner of his assault: that they should remember this accident, and notcome near the enemy's wall, for that the best method of making war withsuccess was to call to mind the accidents of former wars, and what goodor bad success had attended them in the like dangerous cases, that sothey might imitate the one, and avoid the other. But when the king wasin this disposition, the messenger told him that Uriah was slain also;whereupon he was pacified. So he bade the messenger go back to Joaband tell him that this misfortune is no other than what is common amongmankind, and that such is the nature, and such the accidents of war, insomuch that sometimes the enemy will have success therein, andsometimes others; but that he ordered him to go on still in his careabout the siege, that no ill accident might befall him in it hereafter;that they should raise bulwarks and use machines in besieging the city;and when they have gotten it, to overturn its very foundations, and todestroy all those that are in it. Accordingly the messenger carried theking's message with which he was charged, and made haste to Joab. ButBathsheba, the wife of Uriah, when she was informed of the death ofher husband, mourned for his death many days; and when her mourning wasover, and the tears which she shed for Uriah were dried up, the kingtook her to wife presently; and a son was born to him by her. 3. With this marriage God was not well pleased, but was thereuponangry at David; and he appeared to Nathan the prophet in his sleep, and complained of the king. Now Nathan was a fair and prudent man; andconsidering that kings, when they fall into a passion, are guided moreby that passion than they are by justice, he resolved to conceal thethreatenings that proceeded from God, and made a good-natured discourseto him, and this after the manner following:--He desired that the kingwould give him his opinion in the following case:--"There were, " said he, "two men inhabiting the same city, the one of them was rich, and [theother 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 upwith his children, and let her eat her food with them; and he had thesame natural affection for her which any one might have for a daughter. Now upon the coming of a stranger to the rich man, he would notvouchsafe to kill any of his own flocks, and thence feast his friend;but he sent for the poor man's lamb, and took her away from him, and made her ready for food, and thence feasted the stranger. " Thisdiscourse troubled the king exceedingly; and he denounced to Nathan, that "this man was a wicked man who could dare to do such a thing; andthat it was but just that he should restore the lamb fourfold, and bepunished with death for it also. " Upon this Nathan immediately said thathe was himself the man who ought to suffer those punishments, and thatby his own sentence; and that it was he who had perpetrated this 'greatand horrid crime. ' He also revealed to him, and laid before him, theanger of God against him, who had made him king over the army of theHebrews, and lord of all the nations, and those many and great nationsround about him; who had formerly delivered him out of the hands ofSaul, and had given him such wives as he had justly and legally married;and now this God was despised by him, and affronted by his impiety, whenhe had married, and now had, another man's wife; and by exposing herhusband to the enemy, had really slain him; that God would inflictpunishments upon him on account of those instances of wickedness; thathis own wives should be forced by one of his sons; and that he shouldbe treacherously supplanted by the same son; and that although he hadperpetrated his wickedness secretly, yet should that punishment whichhe was to undergo be inflicted publicly upon him; "that, moreover, " saidhe, "the child which was born to thee of her shall soon die. " When theking was troubled at these messages, and sufficiently confounded, andsaid with tears and sorrow that he had sinned, [for he was withoutcontroversy a pious man, and guilty of no sin at all in his whole life, excepting those in the matter of Uriah, ] God had compassion on him, andwas reconciled to him, and promised that he would preserve to him bothhis life and his kingdom; for he said that, seeing he repented of thethings he had done, he was no longer displeased with him. So Nathan, when he had delivered this prophecy to the king, returned home. 4. However, God sent a dangerous distemper upon the child that was bornto David of the wife of Uriah, at which the king was troubled, and didnot take any food for seven days, although his servants almost forcedhim to take it; but he clothed himself in a black garment, and felldown, and lay upon the ground in sackcloth, entrusting God for therecovery of the child, for he vehemently loved the child's mother; butwhen, on the seventh day, the child was dead, the king's servants durstnot tell him of it, as supposing that when he knew it, he would stillless admit of food, and other care of himself, by reason of his grief atthe death of his son, since when the child was only sick, he so greatlyafflicted himself, and grieved for him: but when the king perceived thathis servants were in disorder, and seemed to be affected, as those whoare very desirous to conceal something, he understood that the child wasdead; and when he had called one of his servants to him, and discoveredthat so it was, he arose up and washed himself, and took a whitegarment, and came into the tabernacle of God. He also commanded themto set supper before him, and thereby greatly surprised his kindred andservants, while he did nothing of this when the child was sick, but didit all when he was dead. Whereupon having first begged leave to askhim a question, they besought him to tell them the reason of this hisconduct; he then called them unskillful people, and instructed themhow he had hopes of the recovery of the child while it was alive, andaccordingly did all that was proper for him to do, as thinking by suchmeans to render God propitious to him; but that when the child wasdead, there was no longer any occasion for grief, which was then to nopurpose. When he had said this, they commended the king's wisdomand understanding. He then went in unto Bathsheba his wife, and sheconceived and bare a son; and by the command of Nathan the prophetcalled his name Solomon. 5. But Joab sorely distressed the Ammonites in the siege, by cuttingoff their waters, and depriving them of other means of subsistence, tillthey were in the greatest want of meat and drink, for they depended onlyon one small well of water, and this they durst not drink of too freely, lest the fountain should entirely fail them. So he wrote to the king, and informed him thereof; and persuaded him to come himself to take thecity, that he might have the honor of the victory. Upon this letter ofJoab's, the king accepted of his good-will and fidelity, and took withhim his army, and came to the destruction of Rabbah; and when he hadtaken it by force, he gave it to his soldiers to plunder it; but hehimself took the king of the Ammonites' crown, whose weight was atalent of gold; [13] and it had in its middle a precious stone calleda sardonyx; which crown David ever after wore on his own head. He alsofound many other vessels in the city, and those both splendid andof great price; but as for the men, he tormented them, [14] and thendestroyed them; and when he had taken the other cities of the Ammonitesby force, he treated them after the same manner. CHAPTER 8. How Absalom Murdered Amnon, Who Had Forced His Own Sister;And How He Was Banished And Afterwards Recalled By David. 1. When the king was returned to Jerusalem, a sad misfortune befellhis house, on the occasion following: He had a daughter, who was yeta virgin, and very handsome, insomuch that she surpassed all the mostbeautiful women; her name was Tamar; she had the same mother withAbsalom. Now Amnon, David's eldest son, fell in love with her, and beingnot able to obtain his desires, on account of her virginity, and thecustody she was under, was so much out of order, nay, his grief so eatup his body, that he grew lean, and his color was changed. Now therewas one Jenadab, a kinsman and friend of his, who discovered this hispassion, for he was an extraordinary wise man, and of great sagacity ofmind. When, therefore, he saw that every morning Amnon was not in bodyas he ought to be, he came to him, and desired him to tell him what wasthe cause of it: however, he said that he guessed that it arose from thepassion of love. Amnon confessed his passion, that he was in love witha sister of his, who had the same father with himself. So Jenadabsuggested to him by what method and contrivance he might obtain hisdesires; for he persuaded him to pretend sickness, and bade him, whenhis father should come to him, to beg of him that his sister might comeand minister to him; for if that were done, he should be better, andshould quickly recover from his distemper. So Amnon lay down on hisbed, and pretended to be sick, as Jonadab had suggested. When his fathercame, and inquired how he did, he begged of him to send his sister tohim. Accordingly, he presently ordered her to be brought to him; andwhen she was come, Amnon bade her make cakes for him, and fry them ina pan, and do it all with her own hands, because he should take thembetter from her hand [than from any one's else]. So she kneaded theflour in the sight of her brother, and made him cakes, and baked themin a pan, and brought them to him; but at that time he would not tastethem, but gave order to his servants to send all that were there out ofhis chamber, because he had a mind to repose himself, free from tumultand disturbance. As soon as what he had commanded was done, he desiredhis sister to bring his supper to him into the inner parlor; which, whenthe damsel had done, he took hold of her, and endeavored to persuadeher 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 unrighteousand impure lust, from which our house will get nothing but reproachand disgrace. " She also advised him to speak to his father about thisaffair; for he would permit him [to marry her]. This she said, asdesirous to avoid her brother's violent passion at present. But he wouldnot yield to her; but, inflamed with love and blinded with the vehemencyof his passion, he forced his sister: but as soon as Amnon had satisfiedhis 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 moreinjurious treatment than the former, if, now he had forced her, he wouldnot let her stay with him till the evening, but bid her go away in theday-time, and while it was light, that she might meet with people thatwould be witnesses of her shame, --he commanded his servant to turn herout of his house. Whereupon she was sorely grieved at the injury andviolence that had been offered to her, and rent her loose coat, [forthe virgins of old time wore such loose coats tied at the hands, andlet down to the ankles, that the inner coats might not be seen, ] andsprinkled ashes on her head; and went up the middle of the city, cryingout and lamenting for the violence that had been offered her. NowAbsalom, her brother, happened to meet her, and asked her what sad thinghad befallen her, that she was in that plight; and when she had told himwhat injury had been offered her, he comforted her, and desired her tobe quiet, and take all patiently, and not to esteem her being corruptedby her brother as an injury. So she yielded to his advice, and left offher crying out, and discovering the force offered her to the multitude;and she continued as a widow with her brother Absalom a long time. 2. When David his father knew this, he was grieved at the actions ofAmnon; but because he had an extraordinary affection for him, for he washis eldest son, he was compelled not to afflict him; but Absalomwatched for a fit opportunity of revenging this crime upon him, for hethoroughly hated him. Now the second year after this wicked affair abouthis sister was over, and Absalom was about to go to shear his own sheepat Baalhazor, which is a city in the portion of Ephraim, he besought hisfather, as well as his brethren, to come and feast with him: but whenDavid excused himself, as not being willing to be burdensome to him, Absalom desired he would however send his brethren; whom he did sendaccordingly. Then Absalom charged his own servants, that when theyshould see Amnon disordered and drowsy with wine, and he should givethem a signal, they should fear nobody, but kill him. 3. When they had done as they were commanded, the rest of his brethrenwere astonished and disturbed, and were afraid for themselves, sothey immediately got on horseback, and rode away to their father; butsomebody there was who prevented them, and told their father they wereall slain by Absalom; whereupon he was overcome with sorrow, as for somany of his sons that were destroyed at once, and that by their brotheralso; and by this consideration, that it was their brother that appearedto have slain them, he aggravated his sorrow for them. So he neitherinquired what was the cause of this slaughter, nor staid to hear anything else, which yet it was but reasonable to have done, when so verygreat, and by that greatness so incredible, a misfortune was related tohim: he rent his clothes and threw himself upon the ground, and therelay lamenting the loss of all his sons, both those who, as he wasinformed, were slain, and of him who slew them. But Jonadab, the son ofhis brother Shemeah, entreated him not to indulge his sorrow so far, foras to the rest of his sons he did not believe that they were slain, forhe found no cause for such a suspicion; but he said it might deserveinquiry as to Amnon, for it was not unlikely that Absalom might ventureto kill him on account of the injury he had offered to Tamar. In themean time, a great noise of horses, and a tumult of some people thatwere 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 werein their grief, and he himself grieved with them; but it was more thanhe expected to see those his sons again, whom he had a little beforeheard to have perished. However, their were tears on both sides; theylamenting their brother who was killed, and the king lamenting his son, who was killed also; but Absalom fled to Geshur, to his grandfather byhis mother's side, who was king of that country, and he remained withhim three whole years. 4. Now David had a design to send to Absalom, not that he should come tobe punished, but that he might be with him, for the effects of his angerwere abated by length of time. It was Joab, the captain of his host, that chiefly persuaded him so to do; for he suborned an ordinary woman, that was stricken in age, to go to the king in mourning apparel, whosaid thus to him:--That two of her sons, in a coarse way, had somedifference between them, and that in the progress of that differencethey came to an open quarrel, and that one was smitten by the other, andwas dead; and she desired him to interpose in this case, and to do herthe favor to save this her son from her kindred, who were very zealousto have him that had slain his brother put to death, that so she mightnot be further deprived of the hopes she had of being taken care of inher old age by him; and that if he would hinder this slaughter of herson by those that wished for it, he would do her a great favor, becausethe kindred would not be restrained from their purpose by any thing elsethan by the fear of him. And when the king had given his consent to whatthe woman had begged of him, she made this reply to him:--"I owe theethanks for thy benignity to me in pitying my old age, and preventing theloss of my only remaining child; but in order to assure me of this thykindness, be first reconciled to thine own son, and cease to be angrywith him; for how shall I persuade myself that thou hast really bestowedthis favor upon me, while thou thyself continuest after the likemanner in thy wrath to thine own son? for it is a foolish thing to addwillfully another to thy dead son, while the death of the other wasbrought about without thy consent. " And now the king perceived thatthis pretended story was a subornation derived from Joab, and was of hiscontrivance; and when, upon inquiry of the old woman, he understood itto be so in reality, he called for Joab, and told him he had obtainedwhat he requested according to his own mind; and he bid him bringAbsalom back, for he was not now displeased, but had already ceased tobe angry with him. So Joab bowed himself down to the king, and took hiswords kindly, and went immediately to Geshur, and took Absalom with him, and came to Jerusalem. 5. However, the king sent a message to his son beforehand, as he wascoming, and commanded him to retire to his own house, for he was notyet in such a disposition as to think fit at present to see him. Accordingly, upon the father's command, he avoided coming into hispresence, and contented himself with the respects paid him by his ownfamily only. Now his beauty was not impaired, either by the grief he hadbeen under, or by the want of such care as was proper to be taken of aking's son, for he still surpassed and excelled all men in the tallnessof his body, and was more eminent [in a fine appearance] than those thatdieted the most luxuriously; and indeed such was the thickness of thehair of his head, that it was with difficulty that he was polled everyeighth day; and his hair weighed two hundred shekels [15] which are fivepounds. However, he dwelt in Jerusalem two years, and became the fatherof three sons, and one daughter; which daughter was of very greatbeauty, 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 desiredhim to pacify his father entirely towards him; and to beseech him togive him leave to come to him to see him, and speak with him. But whenJoab neglected so to do, he sent some of his own servants, and set fireto the field adjoining to him; which, when Joab understood, he came toAbsalom, and accused him of what he had done; and asked him the reasonwhy he did so. To which Absalom replied, that "I have found out thisstratagem that might bring thee to us, while thou hast taken no care toperform the injunction I laid upon thee, which was this, to reconcile myfather to me; and I really beg it of thee, now thou art here, to pacifymy father as to me, since I esteem my coming hither to be more grievousthan my banishment, while my father's wrath against me continues. "Hereby Joab was persuaded, and pitied the distress that Absalom wasin, and became an intercessor with the king for him. And when hehad discoursed with his father, he soon brought him to that amicabledisposition towards Absalom, that he presently sent for him to come tohim; and when he had cast himself down upon the ground, and had beggedfor the forgiveness of his offenses, the king raised him up, andpromised him to forget what he had formerly done. CHAPTER 9. Concerning The Insurrection Of Absalom Against David AndConcerning Ahithophel And Hushai; And Concerning Ziba And Shimei; AndHow Ahithophel Hanged Himself. 1. Now Absalom, upon this his success with the king, procured to himselfa great many horses, and many chariots, and that in a little time also. He had moreover fifty armor-bearers that were about him; and he cameearly every day to the king's palace, and spake what was agreeable tosuch as came for justice and lost their causes, as if that happened forwant of good counselors about the king, or perhaps because the judgesmistook in that unjust sentence they gave; whereby he gained thegood-will of them all. He told them, that had he but such authoritycommitted to him, he would distribute justice to them in a mostequitable manner. When he had made himself so popular among themultitude, he thought he had already the good-will of the peoplesecured to him; but when four years [16] had passed since his father'sreconciliation to him, he came to him, and besought him to give himleave to go to Hebron, and pay a sacrifice to God, because he vowed itto him when he fled out of the country. So when David had granted hisrequest, he went thither, and great multitudes came running together tohim, for he had sent to a great number so to do. 2. Among them came Ahithophel the Gilonite, a counsellor of David's, andtwo hundred men out of Jerusalem itself, who knew not his intentions, but were sent for as to a sacrifice. So he was appointed king by allof them, which he obtained by this stratagem. As soon as this news wasbrought to David, and he was informed of what he did not expect fromhis son, he was aftrighted at this his impious and bold undertaking, andwondered that he was so far from remembering how his offense had beenso lately forgiven him, that he undertook much worse and more wickedenterprises; first, to deprive him of that kingdom which was given himof God; and secondly, to take away his own father's life. He thereforeresolved to fly to the parts beyond Jordan: so he called his mostintimate friends together, and communicated to them all that he hadheard of his son's madness. He committed himself to God, to judgebetween them about all their actions; and left the care of his royalpalace to his ten concubines, and went away from Jerusalem, beingwillingly accompanied by the rest of the multitude, who went hastilyaway with him, and particularly by those six hundred armed men, whohad been with him from his first flight in the days of Saul. But hepersuaded Abiathar and Zadok, the high priests, who had determined to goaway with him, as also all the Levites, who were with the ark, to staybehind, as hoping that God would deliver him without its removal; buthe charged them to let him know privately how all things went on; andhe had their sons, Ahimmaz the son of Zadok, and Jonathan the son ofAbiathar, for faithful ministers in all things; but Ittai the Gitritewent out with him whether David would let him or not, for he would havepersuaded him to stay, and on that account he appeared the more friendlyto him. But as he was ascending the Mount of Olives barefooted, andall his company were in tears, it was told him that Ahithophel was withAbsalom, and was of his side. This hearing augmented his grief; and hebesought God earnestly to alienate the mind of Absalom from Ahithophel, for he was afraid that he should persuade him to follow his perniciouscounsel, for he was a prudent man, and very sharp in seeing what wasadvantageous. When David was gotten upon the top of the mountain, hetook a view of the city; and prayed to God with abundance of tears, ashaving already lost his kingdom; and here it was that a faithful friendof his, whose name was Hushai, met him. When David saw him with hisclothes rent, and having ashes all over his head, and in lamentation forthe great change of affairs, he comforted him, and exhorted him to leaveoff grieving; nay, at length he besought him to go back to Absalom, andappear as one of his party, and to fish out the secretest counsels ofhis mind, and to contradict the counsels of Ahithophel, for that hecould not do him so much good by being with him as he might by beingwith Absalom. So he was prevailed on by David, and left him, and came toJerusalem, whither Absalom himself came also a little while afterward. 3. When David was gone a little farther, there met him Ziba, the servantof Mephibosheth, [whom he had sent to take care of the possessions whichhad been given him, as the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, ] with acouple of asses, loaden with provisions, and desired him to take asmuch of them as he and his followers stood in need of. And when the kingasked him where he had left Mephibosheth, he said he had left him inJerusalem, expecting to be chosen king in the present confusions, inremembrance of the benefits Saul had conferred upon them. At this theking had great indignation, and gave to Ziba all that he had formerlybestowed on Mephibosheth; for he determined that it was much fitter thathe should have them than the other; at which Ziba greatly rejoiced. 4. When David was at Bahurim, a place so called, there came out akinsman of Saul's, whose name was Shimei, and threw stones at him, andgave him reproachful words; and as his friends stood about the king andprotected him, he persevered still more in his reproaches, and calledhim a bloody man, and the author of all sorts of mischief. He bade himalso go out of the land as an impure and accursed wretch; and he thankedGod for depriving him of his kingdom, and causing him to be punished forwhat injuries he had done to his master [Saul], and this by the means ofhis own son. Now when they were all provoked against him, and angry athim, and particularly Abishai, who had a mind to kill Shimei, Davidrestrained his anger. "Let us not, " said he, "bring upon ourselvesanother fresh misfortune to those we have already, for truly I have notthe least regard nor concern for this dog that raves at me: I submitmyself to God, by whose permission this man treats me in such a wildmanner; nor is it any wonder that I am obliged to undergo these abusesfrom him, while I experience the like from an impious son of my own; butperhaps God will have some commiseration upon us; if it be his will weshall overcome them. " So he went on his way without troubling himselfwith Shimei, who ran along the other side of the mountain, and threw outhis abusive language plentifully. But when David was come to Jordan, heallowed those that were with him to refresh themselves; for they wereweary. 5. But when Absalom, and Ahithophel his counselor, were come toJerusalem, with all the people, David's friend, Hushai, came to them;and when he had worshipped Absalom, he withal wished that his kingdommight last a long time, and continue for all ages. But when Absalomsaid to him, "How comes this, that he who was so intimate a friend ofmy father's, and appeared faithful to him in all things, is not withhim now, but hath left him, and is come over to me?" Hushai's answer wasvery pertinent and prudent; for he said, "We ought to follow God and themultitude of the people; while these, therefore, my lord and master, arewith thee, it is fit that I should follow them, for thou hast receivedthe kingdom from God. I will therefore, if thou believest me to be thyfriend, show the same fidelity and kindness to thee, which thou knowestI have shown to thy father; nor is there any reason to be in the leastdissatisfied with the present state of affairs, for the kingdom is nottransferred into another, but remains still in the same family, by theson's receiving it after his father. " This speech persuaded Absalom, who before suspected Hushai. And now he called Ahithophel, and consultedwith him what he ought to do: he persuaded him to go in unto hisfather's concubines; for he said that "by this action the people wouldbelieve that thy difference with thy father is irreconcilable, and willthence fight with great alacrity against thy father, for hitherto theyare afraid of taking up open enmity against him, out of an expectationthat you will be reconciled again. " Accordingly, Absalom was prevailedon by this advice, and commanded his servants to pitch him a tent uponthe top of the royal palace, in the sight of the multitude; and he wentin and lay with his father's concubines. Now this came to pass accordingto the prediction of Nathan, when he prophesied and signified to himthat 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 hisfather. Now Ahithophel only asked him to let him have ten thousandchosen men, and he promised he would slay his father, and bring thesoldiers back again in safety; and he said that then the kingdom wouldbe firm to him when David was dead [but not otherwise]. Absalom waspleased with this advice, and called for Hushai, David's friend [for sodid he style him]; and informing him of the opinion of Ahithophel, heasked, further, what was his opinion concerning that matter. Now he wassensible that if Ahithophel's counsel were followed, David would be indanger of being seized on, and slain; so he attempted to introduce acontrary opinion, and said, "Thou art not unacquainted, O king, with thevalor of thy father, and of those that are now with him; that he hathmade many wars, and hath always come off with victory, though probablyhe now abides in the camp, for he is very skillful in stratagems, andin foreseeing the deceitful tricks of his enemies; yet will he leavehis own soldiers in the evening, and will either hide himself in somevalley, or will place an ambush at some rock; so that when our armyjoins battle with him, his soldiers will retire for a little while, butwill come upon us again, as encouraged by the king's being near them;and in the mean time your father will show himself suddenly in the timeof the battle, and will infuse courage into his own people when theyare in danger, but bring consternation to thine. Consider, therefore, myadvice, and reason upon it, and if thou canst not but acknowledge itto be the best, reject the opinion of Ahithophel. Send to the entirecountry of the Hebrews, and order them to come and fight with thyfather; and do thou thyself take the army, and be thine own general inthis war, and do not trust its management to another; then expect toconquer him with ease, when thou overtakest him openly with his fewpartisans, but hast thyself many ten thousands, who will be desirousto demonstrate to thee their diligence and alacrity. And if thy fathershall shut himself up in some city, and bear a siege, we will overthrowthat city with machines of war, and by undermining it. " When Hushai hadsaid this, he obtained his point against Ahithophel, for his opinion waspreferred by Absalom before the other's: however, it was no other thanGod [17] who made the counsel of Hushai appear best to the mind ofAbsalom. 7. So Hushai made haste to the high priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and told them the opinion of Ahithophel, and his own, and that theresolution was taken to follow this latter advice. He therefore badethem send to David, and tell him of it, and to inform him of thecounsels that had been taken; and to desire him further to pass quicklyover Jordan, lest his son should change his mind, and make haste topursue him, and so prevent him, and seize upon him before he be insafety. Now the high priests had their sons concealed in a properplace out of the city, that they might carry news to David of whatwas transacted. Accordingly, they sent a maid-servant, whom they couldtrust, to them, to carry the news of Absalom's counsels, and orderedthem to signify the same to David with all speed. So they made noexcuse nor delay, but taking along with them their fathers' injunctions, because pious and faithful ministers, and judging that quickness andsuddenness was the best mark of faithful service, they made hasteto meet with David. But certain horsemen saw them when they were twofurlongs from the city, and informed Absalom of them, who immediatelysent some to take them; but when the sons of the high priest perceivedthis, they went out of the road, and betook themselves to a certainvillage; that village was called Bahurim; there they desired a certainwoman to hide them, and afford them security. Accordingly she let theyoung men down by a rope into a well, and laid fleeces of wool overthem; and when those that pursued them came to her, and asked herwhether she saw them, she did not deny that she had seen them, for thatthey staid with her some time, but she said they then went their ways;and she foretold that, however, if they would follow them directly, theywould catch them; but when after a long pursuit they could not catchthem, they came back again; and when the woman saw those men werereturned, and that there was no longer any fear of the young men's beingcaught by them, she drew them up by the rope, and bade them go on theirjourney accordingly, they used great diligence in the prosecution ofthat journey, and came to David, and informed him accurately of all thecounsels of Absalom. So he commanded those that were with him to passover Jordan while it was night, and not to delay at all on that account. 8. But Ahithophel, on rejection of his advice, got upon his ass, androde away to his own country, Gilon; and, calling his family together, he told them distinctly what advice he had given Absalom; and since hehad not been persuaded by it, he said he would evidently perish, andthis in no long time, and that David would overcome him, and return tohis kingdom again; so he said it was better that he should take hisown life away with freedom and magnanimity, than expose himself tobe punished by David, in opposition to whom he had acted entirely forAbsalom. When he had discoursed thus to them, he went into the inmostroom of his house, and hanged himself; and thus was the death ofAhithophel, who was self-condemned; and when his relations had taken himdown 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, every fine and very strong city; and all the chief men of the countryreceived him with great pleasure, both out of the shame they had that heshould be forced to flee away [from Jerusalem], and out of the respectthey bare him while he was in his former prosperity. These wereBarzillai the Gileadite, and Siphar the ruler among the Ammonites, and Machir the principal man of Gilead; and these furnished him withplentiful provisions for himself and his followers, insomuch that theywanted no beds nor blankets for them, nor loaves of bread, nor wine;nay, they brought them a great many cattle for slaughter, and affordedthem what furniture they wanted for their refreshment when they wereweary, and for food, with plenty of other necessaries. CHAPTER 10. How, When Absalom Was Beaten, He Was Caught In A Tree By HisHair And Was Slain 1. And this was the state of David and his followers: but Absalom gottogether a vast army of the Hebrews to oppose his father, and passedtherewith over the river Jordan, and sat down not far off Mahanaim, inthe country of Gilead. He appointed Amasa to be captain of all hishost, instead of Joab his kinsman: his father was Ithra and his motherAbigail: now she and Zeruiah, the mother of Joab, were David's sisters. But when David had numbered his followers, and found them to be aboutfour thousand, he resolved not to tarry till Absalom attacked him, butset over his men captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, anddivided his army into three parts; the one part he committed to Joab, the next to Abishai, Joab's brother, and the third to Ittai, David'scompanion and friend, but one that came from the city Gath; and when hewas desirous of fighting himself among them, his friends would not lethim: and this refusal of theirs was founded upon very wise reasons:"For, " said they, "if we be conquered when he is with us, we have lostall good hopes of recovering ourselves; but if we should be beaten inone part of our army, the other parts may retire to him, and may therebyprepare a greater force, while the enemy will naturally suppose thathe hath another army with him. " So David was pleased with this theiradvice, and resolved himself to tarry at Mahanaim; and as he senthis friends and commanders to the battle, he desired them to show allpossible alacrity and fidelity, and to bear in mind what advantages theyhad received from him, which, though they had not been very great, yethad they not been quite inconsiderable; and he begged of them to sparethe young man Absalom, lest some mischief should befall himself, if heshould be killed; and thus did he send out his army to the battle, andwished them victory therein. 2. Then did Joab put his army in battle-array over against the enemy inthe Great Plain, where he had a wood behind him. Absalom also broughthis army into the field to oppose him. Upon the joining of the battle, both sides showed great actions with their hands and their boldness; theone side exposing themselves to the greatest hazards, and using theirutmost alacrity, that David might recover his kingdom; and the otherbeing no way deficient, either in doing or suffering, that Absalom mightnot be deprived of that kingdom, and be brought to punishment by hisfather for his impudent attempt against him. Those also that were themost numerous were solicitous that they might not be conquered by thosefew that were with Joab, and with the other commanders, because thatwould be the greater disgrace to them; while David's soldiers strovegreatly to overcome so many ten thousands as the enemy had with them. Now David's men were conquerors, as superior in strength and skill inwar; so they followed the others as they fled away through the forestsand valleys; some they took prisoners, and many they slew, and more inthe flight than in the battle for there fell about twenty thousand thatday. But all David's men ran violently upon Absalom, for he was easilyknown by his beauty and tallness. He was himself also afraid lest hisenemies 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, asbeing himself light, he entangled his hair greatly in the large boughsof a knotty tree that spread a great way, and there he hung, after asurprising manner; and as for the beast, it went on farther, and thatswiftly, as if his master had been still upon his back; but he, hangingin the air upon the boughs, was taken by his enemies. Now when one ofDavid's soldiers saw this, he informed Joab of it; and when the generalsaid, that if he had shot at and killed Absalom, he would have given himfifty shekels, --he replied, "I would not have killed my master's sonif thou wouldst have given me a thousand shekels, especially when hedesired that the young man might be spared in the hearing of us all. "But Joab bade him show him where it was that he saw Absalom hang;whereupon he shot him to the heart, and slew him, and Joab'sarmor-bearers stood round the tree, and pulled down his dead body, andcast it into a great chasm that was out of sight, and laid a heapof stones upon him, till the cavity was filled up, and had both theappearance and the bigness of a grave. Then Joab sounded a retreat, andrecalled his own soldiers from pursuing the enemy's army, in order tospare their countrymen. 3. Now Absalom had erected for himself a marble pillar in the king'sdale, two furlongs distant from Jerusalem, which he named Absalom'sHand, saying, that if his children were killed, his name would remain bythat pillar; for he had three sons and one daughter, named Tamar, aswe 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 moreproper. After the death of Absalom, they returned every one to their ownhomes respectively. 4. But now Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok the high priest, went to Joab, anddesired he would permit him to go and tell David of this victory, andto bring him the good news that God had afforded his assistance and hisprovidence to him. However, he did not grant his request, but said tohim, "Wilt thou, who hast always been the messenger of good news, nowgo and acquaint the king that his son is dead?" So he desired him todesist. He then called Cushi, and committed the business to him, thathe should tell the king what he had seen. But when Ahimaaz again desiredhim to let him go as a messenger, and assured him that he would onlyrelate what concerned the victory, but not concerning the death ofAbsalom, he gave him leave to go to David. Now he took a nearer roadthan the former did, for nobody knew it but himself, and he came beforeCushi. Now as David was sitting between the gates, [18] and waiting tosee when somebody would come to him from the battle, and tell him howit went, one of the watchmen saw Ahimaaz running, and before he coulddiscern who he was, he told David that he saw somebody coming to him, who said he was a good messenger. A little while after, he informed himthat another messenger followed him; whereupon the king said that healso was a good messenger: but when the watchman saw Ahimaaz, and thathe was already very near, he gave the king notice that it was the son ofZadok the high priest who came running. So David was very glad, and saidhe was a messenger of good tidings, and brought him some such news fromthe battle as he desired to hear. 5. While the king was saying thus, Ahimaaz appeared, and worshipped theking. And when the king inquired of him about the battle, he said hebrought him the good news of victory and dominion. And when he inquiredwhat he had to say concerning his son, he said that he came away onthe sudden as soon as the enemy was defeated, but that he heard a greatnoise of those that pursued Absalom, and that he could learn no more, because of the haste he made when Joab sent him to inform him of thevictory. But when Cushi was come, and had worshipped him, and informedhim of the victory, he asked him about his son, who replied, "May thelike misfortune befall thine enemies as hath befallen Absalom. " Thatword did not permit either himself or his soldiers to rejoice forthe victory, though it was a very great one; but David went up tothe highest part of the city, [19] and wept for his son, and beat hisbreast, tearing [the hair of] his head, tormenting himself all mannerof ways, and crying out, "O my son! I wish that I had died myself, andended my days with thee!" for he was of a tender natural affection, andhad extraordinary compassion for this son in particular. But when thearmy and Joab heard that the king mourned for his son, they were ashamedto enter the city in the habit of conquerors, but they all came in ascast down, and in tears, as if they had been beaten. Now while the kingcovered himself, and grievously lamented his son, Joab went in to him, and comforted him, and said, "O my lord the king, thou art not awarethat thou layest a blot on thyself by what thou now doest; for thouseemest to hate those that love thee, and undergo dangers for thee nay, to hate thyself and thy family, and to love those that are thy bitterenemies, and to desire the company of those that are no more, and whohave been justly slain; for had Absalom gotten the victory, and firmlysettled himself in the kingdom, there had been none of us left alive, but all of us, beginning with thyself and thy children, had miserablyperished, while our enemies had not wept for his, but rejoiced over us, and punished even those that pitied us in our misfortunes; and thouart not ashamed to do this in the case of one that has been thy bitterenemy, who, while he was thine own son hath proved so wicked to thee. Leave off, therefore, thy unreasonable grief, and come abroad and beseen of thy soldiers, and return them thanks for the alacrity theyshowed in the fight; for I myself will this day persuade the people toleave thee, and to give the kingdom to another, if thou continuest todo thus; and then I shall make thee to grieve bitterly and in earnest. "Upon Joab's speaking thus to him, he made the king leave off his sorrow, and brought him to the consideration of his affairs. So David changedhis habit, and exposed himself in a manner fit to be seen by themultitude, and sat at the gates; whereupon all the people heard of it, and ran together to him, and saluted him. And this was the present stateof David's affairs. CHAPTER 11. How David, When He Had Recovered His Kingdom, Was ReconciledTo Shimei, And To Ziba; And Showed A Great Affection To Barzillai; AndHow, Upon The Rise Of A Sedition, He Made Amasa Captain Of His Host, InOrder To Pursue Seba; Which Amasa Was Slain By Joab. 1. Now those Hebrews that had been With Absalom, and had retired out ofthe battle, when they were all returned home, sent messengers to everycity to put them in mind of what benefits David had bestowed upon them, and of that liberty which he had procured them, by delivering them frommany and great wars. But they complained, that whereas they had ejectedhim out of his kingdom, and committed it to another governor, whichother governor, whom they had set up, was already dead, they did not nowbeseech David to leave off his anger at them, and to become friends withthem, and, as he used to do, to resume the care of their affairs, and take the kingdom again. This was often told to David. And, thisnotwithstanding, David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the high priests, thatthey should speak to the rulers of the tribe of Judah after the mannerfollowing: That it would be a reproach upon them to permit the othertribes 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 captain of theirforces, That whereas he was his sister's son, he had not persuaded themultitude to restore the kingdom to David; that he might expect fromhim not only a reconciliation, for that was already granted, but thatsupreme command of the army also which Absalom had bestowed upon him. Accordingly the high priests, when they had discoursed with the rulersof the tribe, and said what the king had ordered them, persuaded Amasato undertake the care of his affairs. So he persuaded that tribe tosend immediately ambassadors to him, to beseech him to return to hisown kingdom. The same did all the Israelites, at the like persuasion ofAmasa. 2. When the ambassadors came to him, he came to Jerusalem; and the tribeof Judah was the first that came to meet the king at the river Jordan. And Shimei, the son of Gera, came with a thousand men, which he broughtwith him out of the tribe of Benjamin; and Ziba, the freed-man of Saul, with his sons, fifteen in number, and with his twenty servants. Allthese, as well as the tribe of Judah, laid a bridge [of boats] over theriver, that the king, and those that were with him, might with easepass over it. Now as soon as he was come to Jordan, the tribe of Judahsaluted him. Shimei also came upon the bridge, and took hold of hisfeet, and prayed him to forgive him what he had offended, and not to betoo bitter against him, nor to think fit to make him the first exampleof severity under his new authority; but to consider that he hadrepented of his failure of duty, and had taken care to come first ofall to him. While he was thus entreating the king, and moving him tocompassion, Abishai, Joab's brother, said, "And shall not this man diefor this, that he hath cursed that king whom God hath appointed to reignover us?" But David turned himself to him, and said, "Will you neverleave off, ye sons of Zeruiah? Do not you, I pray, raise new troublesand seditions among us, now the former are over; for I would not haveyou ignorant that I this day begin my reign, and therefore swear toremit to all offenders their punishments, and not to animadvert on anyone that has sinned. Be thou, therefore, " said he, "O Shimei, of goodcourage, and do not at all fear being put to death. " So he worshippedhim, and went on before him. 3. Mephibosheth also, Saul's grandson, met David, clothed in a sordidgarment, and having his hair thick and neglected; for after David wasfled away, he was in such grief that he had not polled his head, nor hadhe washed his clothes, as dooming himself to undergo such hardships uponoccasion of the change-of the king's affairs. Now he had been unjustlycalumniated to the king by Ziba, his steward. When he had saluted theking, and worshipped him, the king began to ask him why he did notgo out of Jerusalem with him, and accompany him during his flight. Hereplied, that this piece of injustice was owing to Ziba; because, whenhe was ordered to get things ready for his going out with him, he tookno care of it, but regarded him no more than if he had been a slave;"and, indeed, had I had my feet sound and strong, I had not desertedthee, for I could then have made use of them in my flight: but this isnot all the injury that Ziba has done me, as to my duty to thee, my lordand master, but he hath calumniated me besides, and told lies aboutme of his own invention; but I know thy mind will not admit of suchcalumnies, but is righteously disposed, and a lover of truth, whichit is also the will of God should prevail. For when thou wast in thegreatest danger of suffering by my grandfather, and when, on thataccount, our whole family might justly have been destroyed, thou wastmoderate and merciful, and didst then especially forget all thoseinjuries, when, if thou hadst remembered them, thou hadst the power ofpunishing us for them; but thou hast judged me to be thy friend, andhast set me every day at thine own table; nor have I wanted any thingwhich one of thine own kinsmen, of greatest esteem with thee, couldhave expected. " When he had said this, David resolved neither to punishMephibosheth, nor to condemn Ziba, as having belied his master; but saidto him, that as he had [before] granted all his estate to Ziba, becausehe did not come along with him, so he [now] promised to forgive him, andordered that the one half of his estate should be restored to him. [20]Whereupon Mephibosheth said, "Nay, let Ziba take all; it suffices methat thou hast recovered thy kingdom. " 4. But David desired Barzillai the Gileadite, that great and good man, and one that had made a plentiful provision for him at Mahanaim, and hadconducted him as far as Jordan, to accompany him to Jerusalem, for hepromised to treat him in his old age with all manner of respect--to takecare of him, and provide for him. But Barzillai was so desirous to liveat 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 fourscore years old, and was therefore making provision forhis death and burial: so he desired him to gratify him in this request, and dismiss him; for he had no relish of his meat, or his drink, byreason of his age; and that his ears were too much shut up to hear thesound of pipes, or the melody of other musical instruments, such as allthose that live with kings delight in. When he entreated for this soearnestly, the king said, "I dismiss thee, but thou shalt grant me thyson Chimham, and upon him I will bestow all sorts of good things. " SoBarzillai left his son with him, and worshipped the king, and wished hima prosperous conclusion of all his affairs according to his own mind, and then returned home; but David came to Gilgal, having about him halfthe people [of Israel], and the [whole] tribe of Judah. 5. Now the principal men of the country came to Gilgal to him with agreat multitude, and complained of the tribe of Judah, that they hadcome to him in a private manner; whereas they ought all conjointly, andwith one and the same intention, to have given him the meeting. But therulers of the tribe of Judah desired them not to be displeased, if theyhad been prevented by them; for, said they, "We are David's kinsmen, andon that account we the rather took care of him, and loved him, and socame first to him;" yet had they not, by their early coming, receivedany gifts from him, which might give them who came last any uneasiness. When the rulers of the tribe of Judah had said this, the rulers of theother tribes were not quiet, but said further, "O brethren, we cannotbut wonder at you when you call the king your kinsman alone, whereas hethat hath received from God the power over all of us in common ought tobe esteemed a kinsman to us all; for which reason the whole people haveeleven parts in him, and you but one part [21] we are also elder thanyou; wherefore you have not done justly in coming to the king in thisprivate and concealed manner. " 6. While these rulers were thus disputing one with another, a certainwicked man, who took a pleasure in seditious practices, [his name wasSheba, the son of Bichri, of the tribe of Benjamin, ] stood up in themidst of the multitude, and cried aloud, and spake thus to them: "Wehave no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse. " And when hehad used those words, he blew with a trumpet, and declared war againstthe king; and they all left David, and followed him; the tribe of Judahalone staid with him, and settled him in his royal palace at Jerusalem. But as for his concubines, with whom Absalom his son had accompanied, truly he removed them to another house, and ordered those that had thecare of them to make a plentiful provision for them, but he came notnear them any more. He also appointed Amass for the captain of hisforces, and gave him the same high office which Joab before had; and hecommanded him to gather together, out of the tribe of Judah, as greatan army as he could, and come to him within three days, that he mightdeliver to him his entire army, and might send him to fight against[Sheba] the son of Bichri. Now while Amass was gone out, and made somedelay in gathering the army together, and so was not yet returned, onthe third day the king said to Joab, "It is not fit we should make anydelay in this affair of Sheba, lest he get a numerous army about him, and be the occasion of greater mischief, and hurt our affairs more thandid Absalom himself; do not thou therefore wait any longer, but takesuch forces as thou hast at hand, and that [old] body of six hundredmen, and thy brother Abishai, with thee, and pursue after our enemy, andendeavor to fight him wheresoever thou canst overtake him. Make haste toprevent him, lest he seize upon some fenced cities, and cause us greatlabor 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 the rest of the armywhich was at Jerusalem should follow him, he marched with great speedagainst Sheba; and when he was come to Gibeon, which is a village fortyfurlongs distant from Jerusalem, Amasa brought a great army with him, and met Joab. Now Joab was girded with a sword, and his breastplate on;and when Amasa came near him to salute him, he took particular care thathis sword should fall out, as it were, of its own accord: so he tookit up from the ground, and while he approached Amasa, who was then nearhim, as though he would kiss him, he took hold of Amasa's beard with hisother hand, and he smote him in his belly when he did not foresee it, and slew him. This impious and altogether profane action Joab did to agood young 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 thearmy, and be in equal dignity with himself about the king; and for thesame cause it was that he killed Abner. But as to that former wickedaction, the death of his brother Asahel, which he seemed to revenge, afforded him a decent pretense, and made that crime a pardonable one;but in this murder of Amasa there was no such covering for it. Now whenJoab had killed this general, he pursued after Sheba, having left a manwith the dead body, who was ordered to proclaim aloud to the army, thatAmasa was justly slain, and deservedly punished. "But, " said he, "if yoube 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 runningto it, and, as is usual with the multitude, stood wondering a greatwhile at it, he that guarded it removed it thence, and carried it to acertain place that was very remote from the road, and there laid it, andcovered it with his garment. When this was done, all the people followedJoab. Now as he pursued Sheba through all the country of Israel, onetold him that he was in a strong city, called Abelbeth-maachah. HereuponJoab went thither, and set about it with his army, and cast up a bankround it, and ordered his soldiers to undermine the walls, and tooverthrow them; and since the people in the city did not admit him, hewas greatly displeased at them. 8. Now there was a woman of small account, and yet both wise andintelligent, who seeing her native city lying at the last extremity, ascended upon the wall, and, by means of the armed men, called for Joab;and when he came to her, she began to say, That "God ordained kings andgenerals of armies, that they might cut off the enemies of the Hebrews, and introduce a universal peace among them; but thou art endeavoring tooverthrow and depopulate a metropolis of the Israelites, which hath beenguilty of no offense. " But he replied, "God continue to be mercifulunto me: I am disposed to avoid killing any one of the people, muchless would I destroy such a city as this; and if they will deliver meup Sheba, the son of Bichri, who hath rebelled against the king, I willleave off the siege, and withdraw the army from the place. " Now as soonas the woman heard what Joab said, she desired him to intermit the siegefor a little while, for that he should have the head of his enemy thrownout to him presently. So she went down to the citizens, and said tothem, "Will you be so wicked as to perish miserably, with your childrenand wives, for the sake of a vile fellow, and one whom nobody knows whohe is? And will you have him for your king instead of David, who hathbeen so great a benefactor to you, and oppose your city alone to sucha mighty and strong army?" So she prevailed with them, and they cut offthe head of Sheba, and threw it into Joab's army. When this was done, the king's general sounded a retreat, and raised the siege. And when hewas come to Jerusalem, he was again appointed to be general of all thepeople. The king also constituted Benaiah captain of the guards, and ofthe six hundred men. He also set Adoram over the tribute, and Sabathesand Achilaus over the records. He made Sheva the scribe, and appointedZadok and Abiathar the high priests. CHAPTER 12. How The Hebrews Were Delivered From A Famine When TheGibeonites Had Caused Punishment To Be Inflicted For Those Of Them ThatHad Been Slain: As Also, What Great Actions Were Performed Against ThePhilistines By David, And The Men Of Valor About Him. 1. After this, when the country was greatly afflicted with a famine, David besought God to have mercy on the people, and to discover tohim what was the cause of it, and how a remedy might be found for thatdistemper. And when the prophets answered, that God would have theGibeonites avenged whom Saul the king was so wicked as to betray toslaughter, and had not observed the oath which Joshua the general andthe senate had sworn to them: If, therefore, said God, the king wouldpermit such vengeance to be taken for those that were slain as theGibeonites should desire, he promised that he would be reconciled tothem, and free the multitude from their miseries. As soon therefore asthe king understood that this it was which God sought, he sent for theGibeonites, and asked them what it was they should have; and when theydesired to have seven sons of Saul delivered to them to be punished, hedelivered them up, but spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan. So whenthe Gibeonites had received the men, they punished them as they pleased;upon which God began to send rain, and to recover the earth to bringforth its fruits as usual, and to free it from the foregoing drought, sothat the country of the Hebrews flourished again. A little afterwardthe king made war against the Philistines; and when he had joined battlewith them, and put them to flight, he was left alone, as he was inpursuit of them; and when he was quite tired down, he was seen by one ofthe enemy, his name was Achmon, the son of Araph, he was one of the sonsof the giants. He had a spear, the handle of which weighed three hundredshekels, and a breastplate of chain-work, and a sword. He turned back, and ran violently to slay [David] their enemy's king, for he was quitetired out with labor; but Abishai, Joab's brother, appeared on thesudden, and protected the king with his shield, as he lay down, and slewthe enemy. Now the multitude were very uneasy at these dangers of theking, and that he was very near to be slain; and the rulers made himswear that he would no more go out with them to battle, lest he shouldcome to some great misfortune by his courage and boldness, and therebydeprive the people of the benefits they now enjoyed by his means, andof those that they might hereafter enjoy by his living a long time amongthem. 2. When the king heard that the Philistines were gathered togetherat the city Gazara, he sent an army against them, when Sibbechai theHittite, one of David's most courageous men, behaved himself so as todeserve great commendation, for he slew many of those that bragged theywere the posterity of the giants, and vaunted themselves highly on thataccount, and thereby was the occasion of victory to the Hebrews. Afterwhich defeat, the Philistines made war again; and when David had sent anarmy against them, Nephan his kinsman fought in a single combat withthe stoutest of all the Philistines, and slew him, and put the rest toflight. Many of them also were slain in the fight. Now a little whileafter this, the Philistines pitched their camp at a city which lay notfar off the bounds of the country of the Hebrews. They had a man who wassix cubits tall, and had on each of his feet and hands one more toe andfinger than men naturally have. Now the person who was sent against themby David out of his army was Jonathan, the son of Shimea, who foughtthis man in a single combat, and slew him; and as he was the personwho gave the turn to the battle, he gained the greatest reputation forcourage therein. This man also vaunted himself to be of the sons of thegiants. But after this fight the Philistines made war no more againstthe Israelites. 3. And now David being freed from wars and dangers, and enjoying for thefuture a profound peace, [22] composed songs and hymns to God of severalsorts of metre; some of those which he made were trimeters, and somewere pentameters. He also made instruments of music, and taught theLevites to sing hymns to God, both on that called the sabbath day, andon other festivals. Now the construction of the instruments was thus:The viol was an instrument of ten strings, it was played upon with abow; the psaltery had twelve musical notes, and was played upon by thefingers; the cymbals were broad and large instruments, and were madeof brass. And so much shall suffice to be spoken by us about theseinstruments, that the readers may not be wholly unacquainted with theirnature. 4. Now all the men that were about David were men of courage. Thosethat were most illustrious and famous of them for their actions werethirty-eight; of five of whom I will only relate the performances, forthese will suffice to make manifest the virtues of the others also;for these were powerful enough to subdue countries, and conquergreat nations. First, therefore, was Jessai, the son of Achimaas, whofrequently leaped upon the troops of the enemy, and did not leave offfighting 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 oncethe Israelites were under a consternation at the multitude of thePhilistines, and were running away, stood alone, and fell upon theenemy, and slew many of them, till his sword clung to his hand by theblood he had shed, and till the Israelites, seeing the Philistinesretire by his means, came down from the mountains and pursued them, andat that time won a surprising and a famous victory, while Eleazar slewthe men, and the multitude followed and spoiled their dead bodies. The third was Sheba, the son of Ilus. Now this man, when, in the warsagainst the Philistines, they pitched their camp at a place called Lehi, and when the Hebrews were again afraid of their army, and did not stay, he stood still alone, as an army and a body of men; and some of them heoverthrew, and some who were not able to abide his strength and force hepursued. These are the works of the hands, and of fighting, which thesethree performed. Now at the time when the king was once at Jerusalem, and the army of the Philistines came upon him to fight him, David wentup to the top of the citadel, as we have already said, to inquire ofGod concerning the battle, while the enemy's camp lay in the valley thatextends to the city Bethlehem, which is twenty furlongs distant fromJerusalem. Now David said to his companions, "We have excellent waterin 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 saidthat he would rather have it than a great deal of money. When thesethree men heard what he said, they ran away immediately, and burstthrough the midst of their enemy's camp, and came to Bethlehem; and whenthey had drawn the water, they returned again through the enemy's campto the king, insomuch that the Philistines were so surprised at theirboldness and alacrity, that they were quiet, and did nothing againstthem, as if they despised their small number. But when the water wasbrought to the king, he would not drink it, saying, that it was broughtby the danger and the blood of men, and that it was not proper on thataccount to drink it. But he poured it out to God, and gave him thanksfor 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 being challenged by [two] eminent men in thecountry of Moab, he overcame them by his valor, Moreover, there was aman, by nation an Egyptian, who was of a vast bulk, and challenged him, yet did he, when he was unarmed, kill him with his own spear, whichhe threw at him; for he caught him by force, and took away his weaponswhile he was alive and fighting, and slew him with his own weapons. Onemay also add this to the forementioned actions of the same man, eitheras the principal of them in alacrity, or as resembling the rest. WhenGod sent a snow, there was a lion who slipped and fell into a certainpit, and because the pit's mouth was narrow it was evident he wouldperish, being enclosed with the snow; so when he saw no way to get outand save himself, he roared. When Benaiah heard the wild beast, he wenttowards him, and coming at the noise he made, he went down into themouth of the pit and smote him, as he struggled, with a stake that laythere, and immediately slew him. The other thirty-three were like thesein valor also. CHAPTER 13. That When David Had Numbered the People, They Were Punished;and How the Divine Compassion Restrained That Punishment. 1. Now king David was desirous to know how many ten thousands therewere of the people, but forgot the commands of Moses, [23] who told thembeforehand, that if the multitude were numbered, they should pay half ashekel to God for every head. Accordingly the king commanded Joab, thecaptain of his host, to go and number the whole multitude; but when hesaid 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 goabout the numbering of the Hebrews immediately. So Joab took with himthe heads of the tribes, and the scribes, and went over the country ofthe Israelites, and took notice how numerous the multitude were, andreturned 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 tribeof Benjamin, for he had not yet numbered that tribe, no more than thetribe of Levi, for the king repented of his having sinned against God. Now the number of the rest of the Israelites was nine hundred thousandmen, 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 David that God was angry athim, he began to entreat him, and to desire he would be merciful to him, and forgive his sin. But God sent Nathan the prophet to him, to proposeto him the election of three things, that he might choose which heliked best: Whether he would have famine come upon the country for sevenyears, or would have a war, and be subdued three months by his enemies?or, whether God should send a pestilence and a distemper upon theHebrews for three days? But as he was fallen to a fatal choice of greatmiseries, he was in trouble, and sorely confounded; and when the prophethad said that he must of necessity make his choice, and had ordered himto answer quickly, that he might declare what he had chosen to God, theking reasoned with himself, that in case he should ask for famine, hewould appear to do it for others, and without danger to himself, sincehe 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 threemonths, he would appear to have chosen war, because he had valiantmen about him, and strong holds, and that therefore he feared nothingtherefrom: so he chose that affliction which is common to kings and totheir subjects, and in which the fear was equal on all sides; and saidthis 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 declared it to God; who thereuponsent a pestilence and a mortality upon the Hebrews; nor did they dieafter one and the same manner, nor so that it was easy to know what thedistemper was. Now the miserable disease was one indeed, but it carriedthem off by ten thousand causes and occasions, which those that wereafflicted could not understand; for one died upon the neck of another, and the terrible malady seized them before they were aware, and broughtthem to their end suddenly, some giving up the ghost immediately withvery great pains and bitter grief, and some were worn away by theirdistempers, and had nothing remaining to be buried, but as soon asever they fell were entirely macerated; some were choked, and greatlylamented their case, as being also stricken with a sudden darkness; somethere were who, as they were burying a relation, fell down dead, withoutfinishing the rites of the funeral. Now there perished of this disease, which began with 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 onsackcloth, and lay upon the ground, entreating God, and begging thatthe distemper might now cease, and that he would be satisfied with thosethat had already perished. And when the king looked up into the air, and saw the angel carried along thereby into Jerusalem, with his sworddrawn, he said to God, that he might justly be punished, who was theirshepherd, but that the sheep ought to be preserved, as not having sinnedat all; and he implored God that he would send his wrath upon him, andupon 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 immediatelyto the thrashing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite, and build an altar thereto God, and offer sacrifices. When David heard that, he did not neglecthis duty, but made haste to the place appointed him. Now Araunah wasthrashing wheat; and when he saw the king and all his servants comingto him, he ran before, and came to him and worshipped him: he was byhis lineage a Jebusite, but a particular friend of David's; and for thatcause it was that, when he overthrew the city, he did him no harm, as weinformed the reader a little before. Now Araunah inquired, "Whereforeis my lord come to his servant?" He answered, to buy of him thethrashing-floor, that he might therein build an altar to God, andoffer a sacrifice. He replied, that he freely gave him both thethrashing-floor and the ploughs and the oxen for a burnt-offering; andhe besought God graciously to accept his sacrifice. But the king madeanswer, that he took his generosity and magnanimity loudly, and acceptedhis good-will, but he desired him to take the price of them all, forthat it was not just to offer a sacrifice that cost nothing. And whenAraunah said he would do as he pleased, he bought the thrashing-floorof him for fifty shekels. And when he had built an altar, heperformed Divine service, and brought a burnt-offering, and offeredpeace-offerings also. With these God was pacified, and became graciousto them again. Now it happened that Abraham [24]came and offered his sonIsaac for a burnt-offering at that very place; and when the youth wasready to have his throat cut, a ram appeared on a sudden, standing bythe altar, which Abraham sacrificed in the stead of his son, as we havebefore related. Now when king David saw that God had heard his prayer, and had graciously accepted of his sacrifice, he resolved to call thatentire place The Altar of all the People, and to build a temple to Godthere; which words he uttered very appositely to what was to be doneafterward; for God sent the prophet to him, and told him that thereshould his son build him an altar, that son who was to take the kingdomafter him. CHAPTER 14. That David Made Great Preparations For The House Of God; AndThat, Upon Adonijah's Attempt To Gain The Kingdom, He Appointed SolomonTo Reign. 1. After the delivery of this prophecy, the king commanded the strangersto be numbered; and they were found to be one hundred and eightythousand; of these he appointed fourscore thousand to be hewers ofstone, and the rest of the multitude to carry the stones, and of them heset over the workmen three thousand and five hundred. He also prepareda great quantity of iron and brass for the work, with many [and thoseexceeding large] cedar trees; the Tyrians and Sidonians sending them tohim, for he had sent to them for a supply of those trees. And he toldhis friends that these things were now prepared, that he might leavematerials ready for the building of the temple to his son, who was toreign after him, and that he might not have them to seek then, when hewas very young, and by reason of his age unskillful in such matters, butmight have them lying by him, and so might the more readily complete thework. 2. So David called his son Solomon, and charged him, when he hadreceived the kingdom, to build a temple to God, and said, "I was willingto build God a temple myself, but he prohibited me, because I waspolluted with blood and wars; but he hath foretold that Solomon, myyoungest son, should build him a temple, and should be called by thatname; over whom he hath promised to take the like care as a father takesover his son; and that he would make the country of the Hebrews happyunder him, and that, not only in other respects, but by giving itpeace and freedom from wars, and from internal seditions, which arethe greatest of all blessings. Since, therefore, " says he, "thou wastordained king by God himself before thou wast born, endeavor to renderthyself worthy of this his providence, as in other instances, soparticularly in being religious, and righteous, and courageous. Keepthou 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 toGod a temple, which he hath chosen to be built under thy reign; norbe thou aftrighted by the vastness of the work, nor set about ittimorously, for I will make all things ready before I die: and takenotice, that there are already ten thousand talents of gold, and ahundred thousand talents of silver [25] collected together. I have alsolaid together brass and iron without number, and an immense quantityof timber and of stones. Moreover, thou hast many ten thousandstone-cutters and carpenters; and if thou shalt want any thing further, do thou add somewhat of thine own. Wherefore, if thou performest thiswork, thou wilt be acceptable to God, and have him for thy patron. "David also further exhorted the rulers of the people to assist his sonin this building, and to attend to the Divine service, when they shouldbe free from all their misfortunes, for that they by this means shouldenjoy, instead of them, peace and a happy settlement, with whichblessings God rewards such men as are religious and righteous. He alsogave orders, that when the temple should be once built, they should putthe ark therein, with the holy vessels; and he assured them that theyought to have had a temple long ago, if their fathers had not beennegligent of God's commands, who had given it in charge, that when theyhad 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 becomecold, and benumbed, insomuch that he could get no heat by coveringhimself with many clothes; and when the physicians came together, theyagreed to this advice, that a beautiful virgin, chosen out of the wholecountry, should sleep by the king's side, and that this damsel wouldcommunicate heat to him, and be a remedy against his numbness. Nowthere was found in the city one woman, of a superior beauty to all otherwomen, [her name was Abishag, ] who, sleeping with the king, did no morethan communicate warmth to him, for he was so old that he could not knowher as a husband knows his wife. But of this woman we shall speak morepresently. 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 hisdisposition like to Absalom; and exalted himself as hoping to be king, and told his friends that he ought to take the government upon him. Healso 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 fromhis purpose, nor did he go so far as to ask wherefore he did so. NowAdonijah had for his assistants Joab the captain of the army, andAbiathar the high priest; and the only persons that opposed him wereZadok the high priest, and the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah, who wascaptain of the guards, and Shimei, David's friend, with all the othermost mighty men. Now Adonijah had prepared a supper out of the city, near the fountain that was in the king's paradise, and had invited allhis brethren except Solomon, and had taken with him Joab the captain ofthe army, and: Abiathar, and the rulers of the tribe of Judah, but hadnot invited to this feast either Zadok the high priest, or Nathan theprophet, or Benaiah the captain of the guards, nor any of those of thecontrary party. This matter was told by Nathan the prophet to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, that Adonijah was king, and that David knew nothing ofit; and he advised her to save herself and her son Solomon, and to go byherself to David, and say to him, that he had indeed sworn that Solomonshould reign after him, but that in the mean time Adonijah had alreadytaken the kingdom. He said that he, the prophet himself, would comeafter her, and when she had spoken thus to the king, would confirm whatshe had said. Accordingly Bathsheba agreed with Nathan, and went in tothe king and worshipped him, and when she had desired leave to speakwith him, she told him all things in the manner that Nathan hadsuggested to her; and related what a supper Adonijah had made, and whothey were whom he had invited; Abiathar the and Joab the general, andDavid's sons, excepting Solomon and his intimate friends. She alsosaid that all the people had their eyes upon him, to know whom he wouldchoose for their king. She desired him also to consider how, afterhis departure, Adonijah, if he were king, would slay her and her sonSolomon. 5. Now, as Bathsheba was speaking, the keeper of the king's chamberstold him that Nathan desired to see him. And when the king had commandedthat he should be admitted, he came in, and asked him whether he hadordained Adonijah to be king, and delivered the government to him, ornot; for that he had made a splendid supper, and invited all his sons, except Solomon; as also that he had invited Joab, the captain of hishost, [and Abiathar the high priest, ] who are feasting with applauses, and many joyful sounds of instruments, and wish that his kingdom maylast 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 shouldknow whether this be done by thy approbation or not. When Nathan hadsaid thus, the king commanded that they should call Bathsheba tohim, for she had gone out of the room when the prophet came. And whenBathsheba was come, David said, "I swear by Almighty God, that thy sonSolomon shall certainly he king, as I formerly swore; and that heshall sit upon my throne, and that this very day also. " So Bathshebaworshipped him, and wished him a long life; and the king sent for Zadokthe high priest, and Benaiah the captain of the guards; and when theywere come, he ordered them to take with them Nathan the prophet, andall the armed men about the palace, and to set his son Solomon upon theking's mule, and to carry him out of the city to the fountain calledGihon, and to anoint him there with the holy oil, and to make him king. This he charged Zadok the high priest, and Nathan the prophet, to do, and commanded them to follow Solomon through the midst of the city, andto sound the trumpets, and wish aloud that Solomon the king may sit uponthe royal throne for ever, that so all the people may know that he isordained king by his father. He also gave Solomon a charge concerninghis government, to rule the whole nation of the Hebrews, andparticularly the tribe of Judah, religiously and righteously. And whenBenaiah had prayed to God to be favorable to Solomon, without any delaythey set Solomon upon the mule, and brought him out of the city tothe fountain, and anointed him with oil, and brought him into the cityagain, with acclamations and wishes that his kingdom might continue along time: and when they had introduced him into the king's house, theyset him upon the throne; whereupon all the people betook themselvesto make merry, and to celebrate a festival, dancing and delightingthemselves with musical pipes, till both the earth and the air echoedwith the multitude of the instruments of music. 6. Now when Adonijah and his guests perceived this noise, they were indisorder; and Joab the captain of the host said he was not pleased withthese echoes, and the sound of these trumpets. And when supper was setbefore them, nobody tasted of it, but they were all very thoughtful whatwould be the matter. Then Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the high priest, came running to them; and when Adonijah saw the young man gladly, andsaid to him that he was a good messenger, he declared to them the wholematter about Solomon, and the determination of king David: hereupon bothAdonijah and all the guests rose hastily from the feast, and every onefled to their own homes. Adonijah also, as afraid of the king for whathe had done, became a supplicant to God, and took hold of the horns ofthe altar, which were prominent. It was also told Solomon that he had sodone; and that he desired to receive assurances from him that hewould not remember the injury he had done, and not inflict any severepunishment for it. Solomon answered very mildly and prudently, that heforgave him this his offense; but said withal, that if he were found outin any attempt for new innovations, that he would be the author of hisown punishment. So he sent to him, and raised him up from the place ofhis supplication. And when he was come to the king, and had worshippedhim, the king bid him go away to his own house, and have no suspicionof any harm; and desired him to show himself a worthy man, as what wouldtend to his own advantage. 7. But David, being desirous of ordaining his son king of all thepeople, called together their rulers to Jerusalem, with the priests andthe Levites; and having first numbered the Levites, he found them to bethirty-eight thousand, from thirty years old to fifty; out of whichhe appointed twenty-three thousand to take care of the building of thetemple, and out of the same, six thousand to be judges of the people andscribes, four thousand for porters to the house of God, and as many forsingers, to sing to the instruments which David had prepared, as wehave said already. He divided them also into courses: and when he hadseparated the priests from them, he found of these priests twenty-fourcourses, sixteen of the house of Eleazar, and eight of that of Ithamar;and he ordained that one course should minister to God eight days, fromsabbath to sabbath. And thus were the courses distributed by lot, in thepresence of David, and Zadok and Abiathar the high priests, and of allthe rulers; and that course which came up first was written down as thefirst, and accordingly the second, and so on to the twenty-fourth; andthis partition hath remained to this day. He also made twenty-four partsof the tribe of Levi; and when they cast lots, they came up in the samemanner for their courses of eight days. He also honored the posterityof Moses, and made them the keepers of the treasures of God, and of thedonations which the kings dedicated. He also ordained that all the tribeof Levi, as well as the priests, should serve God night and day, asMoses had enjoined them. 8. After this he parted the entire army into twelve parts, with theirleaders [and captains of hundreds] and commanders. Now every part hadtwenty-four thousand, which were ordered to wait on Solomon, by thirtydays at a time, from the first day till the last, with the captains ofthousands and captains of hundreds. He also set rulers over every part, such as he knew to be good and righteous men. He set others also to takecharge of the treasures, and of the villages, and of the fields, andof the beasts, whose names I do not think it necessary to mention. WhenDavid had ordered all these officers after the manner before mentioned, he called the rulers of the Hebrews, and their heads of tribes, and theofficers over the several divisions, and those that were appointed overevery work, and every possession; and standing upon a high pulpit, hesaid to the multitude as follows: "My brethren and my people, I wouldhave you know that I intended to build a house for God, and prepared alarge quantity of gold, and a hundred thousand talents of silver; butGod prohibited me by the prophet Nathan, because of the wars I had onyour account, and because my right hand was polluted with the slaughterof our enemies; but he commanded that my son, who was to succeed me inthe kingdom, should build a temple for him. Now therefore, since youknow that of the twelve sons whom Jacob our forefather had Judah wasappointed to be king, and that I was preferred before my six brethren, and received the government from God, and that none of them were uneasyat it, so do I also desire that my sons be not seditious one againstanother, now Solomon has received the kingdom, but to bear himcheerfully for their lord, as knowing that God hath chosen him; for itis not a grievous thing to obey even a foreigner as a ruler, if it beGod's will, but it is fit to rejoice when a brother hath obtained thatdignity, since the rest partake of it with him. And I pray that thepromises of God may be fulfilled; and that this happiness which he hathpromised to bestow upon king Solomon, over all the country, may continuetherein for all time to come. And these promises O son, will be firm, and come to a happy end, if thou showest thyself to be a religious anda righteous 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 thedescription and pattern of the building of the temple in the sight ofthem all to Solomon: of the foundations and of the chambers, inferiorand superior; how many they were to be, and how large in height andin breadth; as also he determined the weight of the golden and silvervessels: moreover, he earnestly excited them with his words to usethe utmost alacrity about the work; he exhorted the rulers also, andparticularly the tribe of Levi, to assist him, both because of hisyouth, and because God had chosen him to take care of the building ofthe temple, and of the government of the kingdom. He also declaredto 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 largequantity 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 twohundred talents, and three hundred other talents of pure gold, for themost holy place, and for the chariot of God, the cherubim, which are tostand over and cover the ark. Now when David had done speaking, thereappeared great alacrity among the rulers, and the priests, and theLevites, who now contributed and made great and splendid promises for afuture Contribution; for they undertook to bring of gold five thousandtalents, and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, andmany ten thousand talents of iron; and if any one had a precious stonehe brought it, and bequeathed it to be put among the treasures; of whichJachiel, one of the posterity of Moses, had the care. 10. Upon this occasion all the people rejoiced, as in particular didDavid, when he saw the zeal and forward ambition of the rulers, andthe priests, and of all the rest; and he began to bless God with a loudvoice, calling him the Father and Parent of the universe, and the Authorof human and divine things, with which he had adorned Solomon, thepatron and guardian of the Hebrew nation, and of its happiness, and ofthat kingdom which he hath given his son. Besides this, he prayed forhappiness to all the people; and to Solomon his son, a sound and arighteous mind, and confirmed in all sorts of virtue; and then hecommanded the multitude to bless God; upon which they all fell downupon the ground and worshipped him. They also gave thanks to David, onaccount of all the blessings which they had received ever since he hadtaken the kingdom. On the next day he presented sacrifices to God, a thousand bullocks, and as many lambs, which they offered forburnt-offerings. They also offered peace-offerings, and slew many tenthousand sacrifices; and the king feasted all day, together with allthe people; and they anointed Solomon a second time with the oil, andappointed him to be king, and Zadok to be the high priest of the wholemultitude. And when they had brought Solomon to the royal palace, andhad set him upon his father's throne, they were obedient to him fromthat day. CHAPTER 15. What Charge David Gave Tohis Son Solomon At The ApproachOf His Death, And How Many Things He Left Him For The Building Of TheTemple. 1. A Little afterward David also fell into a distemper, by reason ofhis age; and perceiving that he was near to death, he called his sonSolomon, and discoursed to him thus: "I am now, O my son, going to mygrave, and to my fathers, which is the common way which all men thatnow are, or shall be hereafter, must go; from which way it is no longerpossible to return, and to know any thing that is done in this world. Onwhich account I exhort thee, while I am still alive, though already verynear to death, in the same manner as I have formerly said in my adviceto thee, to be righteous towards thy subjects, and religious towardsGod, that hath given thee thy kingdom; to observe his commands and hislaws, which he hath sent us by Moses; and neither do thou out of favornor flattery allow any lust or other passion to weigh with thee todisregard them; for if thou transgressest his laws, thou wilt lose thefavor of God, and thou wilt turn away his providence from thee in allthings; but if thou behave thyself so as it behooves thee, and as Iexhort thee, thou wilt preserve our kingdom to our family, and no otherhouse will bear rule over the Hebrews but we ourselves for all ages. Bethou also mindful of the transgressions of Joab, [26] the captain of thehost, who hath slain two generals out of envy, and those righteous andgood men, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether; whose deathdo thou avenge as shall seem good to thee, since Joab hath been toohard for me, and more potent than myself, and so hath escaped punishmenthitherto. I also commit to thee the son of Barzillai the Gileadite, whom, in order to gratify me, thou shalt have in great honor, and takegreat care of; for we have not done good to him first, but we only repaythat debt which we owe to his father for what he did to me in my flight. There is also Shimei the son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin, who, after he had cast many reproaches upon me, when, in my flight, I wasgoing to Mahanaim, met me at Jordan, and received assurances that heshould then suffer nothing. Do thou now seek out for some just occasion, and punish him. " 2. When David had given these admonitions to his son about publicaffairs, and about his friends, and about those whom he knew to deservepunishment, he died, having lived seventy years, and reigned seven yearsand six months in Hebron over the tribe of Judah, and thirty-threeyears in Jerusalem over all the country. This man was of an excellentcharacter, and was endowed with all virtues that were desirable in aking, and in one that had the preservation of so many tribes committedto him; for he was a man of valor in a very extraordinary degree, andwent readily and first of all into dangers, when he was to fight forhis subjects, as exciting the soldiers to action by his own labors, andfighting for them, and not by commanding them in a despotic way. Hewas also of very great abilities in understanding, and apprehension ofpresent and future circumstances, when he was to manage any affairs. Hewas prudent and moderate, and kind to such as were under any calamities;he was righteous and humane, which are good qualities, peculiarly fitfor kings; nor was he guilty of any offense in the exercise of so greatan authority, but in the business of the wife of Uriah. He also leftbehind him greater wealth than any other king, either of the Hebrews or, of other nations, ever did. 3. He was buried by his son Solomon, in Jerusalem, with greatmagnificence, and with all the other funeral pomp which kings used to beburied with; moreover, he had great and immense wealth buried with him, the vastness of which may be easily conjectured at by what I shall nowsay; for a thousand and three hundred years afterward Hyrcanus the highpriest, when he was besieged by Antiochus, that was called the Pious, the son of Demetrius, and was desirous of giving him money to get himto raise the siege and draw off his army, and having no other method ofcompassing the money, opened one room of David's sepulcher, and took outthree thousand talents, and gave part of that sum to Antiochus; and bythis means caused the siege to be raised, as we have informed the readerelsewhere. Nay, after him, and that many years, Herod the king openedanother room, and took away a great deal of money, and yet neither ofthem came at the coffins of the kings themselves, for their bodies wereburied under the earth so artfully, that they did not appear to eventhose that entered into their monuments. But so much shall suffice us tohave 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 1. How Solomon, When He Had Received The Kingdom Took Off HisEnemies. 1. We have already treated of David, and his virtue, and of the benefitshe was the author of to his countrymen; of his wars also and battles, which he managed with success, and then died an old man, in theforegoing book. And when Solomon his son, who was but a youth in age, had taken the kingdom, and whom David had declared, while he was alive, the lord of that people, according to God's will; when he sat upon thethrone, the whole body of the people made joyful acclamations to him, as is usual at the beginning of a reign; and wished that all his affairsmight come to a blessed conclusion; and that he might arrive at a greatage, and at the most happy state of affairs possible. 2. But Adonijah, who, while his father was living, attempted to gainpossession of the government, came to the king's mother Bathsheba, andsaluted her with great civility; and when she asked him, whether he cameto her as desiring her assistance in any thing or not, and bade him tellher 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 onaccount of his elder age, and of the disposition of the multitude, andthat yet it was transferred to Solomon her son, according to the will ofGod. He also said that he was contented to be a servant under him, andwas pleased with the present settlement; but he desired her to be ameans of obtaining a favor from his brother to him, and to persuadehim to bestow on him in marriage Abishag, who had indeed slept by hisfather, but, because his father was too old, he did not lie with her, and she was still a virgin. So Bathsheba promised him to afford him herassistance very earnestly, and to bring this marriage about, because theking would be willing to gratify him in such a thing, and because shewould press it to him very earnestly. Accordingly he went away in hopesof succeeding in this match. So Solomon's mother went presently toher son, to speak to him about what she had promised, upon Adonijah'ssupplication to her. And when her son came forward to meet her, andembraced her, and when he had brought her into the house where his royalthrone was set, he sat thereon, and bid them set another throne on theright hand for his mother. When Bathsheba was set down, she said, "O myson, grant me one request that I desire of thee, and do not any thingto me that is disagreeable or ungrateful, which thou wilt do if thoudeniest 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 shouldask, and complained that she did not at first begin her discourse witha firm expectation of obtaining what she desired, but had some suspicionof a denial, she entreated him to grant that his brother Adonijah mightmarry Abishag. 3. But the king was greatly offended at these words, and sent awayhis mother, and said that Adonijah aimed at great things; and that hewondered that she did not desire him to yield up the kingdom to him, asto his elder brother, since she desired that he might marry Abishag; andthat he had potent friends, Joab the captain of the host, and Abiatharthe priest. So he called for Benaiah, the captain of the guards, andordered him to slay his brother Adonijah. He also called for Abiatharthe priest, and said to him, "I will not put thee to death becauseof those other hardships which thou hast endured with my father, andbecause of the ark which thou hast borne along with him; but I inflictthis following punishment upon thee, because thou wast among Adonijah'sfollowers, and wast of his party. Do not thou continue here, nor comeany more into my sight, but go to thine own town, and live on thy ownfields, and there abide all thy life; for thou hast offended so greatly, that it is not just that thou shouldst retain thy dignity any longer. "For the forementioned cause, therefore, it was that the house of Ithamarwas deprived of the sacerdotal dignity, as God had foretold to Eli, thegrandfather of Abiathar. So it was transferred to the family of Phineas, to Zadok. Now those that were of the family of Phineas, but livedprivately during the time that the high priesthood was transferred tothe house of Ithamar, [of which family Eli was the first that receivedit, ]were these that follow: Bukki, the son of Abishua the high priest;his son was Joatham; Joatham's son was Meraioth; Meraioth's son wasArophseus; Aropheus's son was Ahitub; and Ahitub's son was Zadok, whowas first made high priest in the reign of David. 4. Now when Joab the captain of the host heard of the slaughter ofAdonijah, he was greatly afraid, for he was a greater friend to him thanto Solomon; and suspecting, not without reason, that he was in danger, on account of his favor to Adonijah, he fled to the altar, and supposedhe might procure safety thereby to himself, because of the king's pietytowards God. But when some told the king what Joab's supposal was, hesent Benaiah, and commanded him to raise him up from the altar, andbring him to the judgment-seat, in order to make his defense. However, Joab said he would not leave the altar, but would die there rather thanin another place. And when Benaiah had reported his answer to the king, Solomon commanded him to cut off his head there [1] and let him takethat as a punishment for those two captains of the host whom he hadwickedly slain, and to bury his body, that his sins might never leavehis family, but that himself and his father, by Joab's death, might beguiltless. And when Benaiah had done what he was commanded to do, he washimself appointed to be captain of the whole army. The king also madeZadok to be alone the high priest, in the room of Abiathar, whom he hadremoved. 5. But as to Shimei, Solomon commanded that he should build him ahouse, and stay at Jerusalem, and attend upon him, and should not haveauthority to go over the brook Cedron; and that if he disobeyed thatcommand, death should be his punishment. He also threatened him soterribly, that he compelled him to take all oath that he would obey. Accordingly Shimei said that he had reason to thank Solomon for givinghim such an injunction; and added an oath, that he would do as he badehim; and leaving his own country, he made his abode in Jerusalem. Butthree years afterwards, when he heard that two of his servants were runaway from him, and were in Gath, he went for his servants in haste; andwhen he was come back with them, the king perceived it, and was muchdispleased that he had contemned his commands, and, what was more, hadno regard to the oaths he had sworn to God; so he called him, and saidto him, "Didst not thou swear never to leave me, nor to go out of thiscity to another? Thou shalt not therefore escape punishment for thyperjury, but I will punish thee, thou wicked wretch, both for thiscrime, and for those wherewith thou didst abuse my father when he was inhis flight, that thou mayst 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, becausethey have yet suffered nothing, their punishment increases, and isheavier upon them, and that to a greater degree than if they had beenpunished immediately upon the commission of their crimes. " So Benaiah, on the king's command, slew Shimei. CHAPTER 2. Concerning The Wife Of Solomon; Concerning His Wisdom AndRiches; And Concerning What He Obtained Of Hiram For The Building Of TheTemple. 1. Solomon having already settled himself firmly in his kingdom, andhaving brought his enemies to punishment, he married the daughter ofPharaoh king of Egypt, and built the walls of Jerusalem much largerand stronger than those that had been before, [2] and thenceforward hemanaged public affairs very peaceably. Nor was his youth any hinderancein the exercise of justice, or in the observation of the laws, or in theremembrance of what charges his father had given him at his death;but he discharged every duty with great accuracy, that might have beenexpected from such as are aged, and of the greatest prudence. He nowresolved to go to Hebron, and sacrifice to God upon the brazen altarthat was built by Moses. Accordingly he offered there burnt-offerings, in number a thousand; and when he had done this, he thought he had paidgreat honor to God; for as he was asleep that very night God appearedto him, and commanded him to ask of him some gifts which he was readyto give him as a reward for his piety. So Solomon asked of God whatwas most excellent, and of the greatest worth in itself, what God wouldbestow with the greatest joy, and what it was most profitable for man toreceive; for he did not desire to have bestowed upon him either gold orsilver, or any other riches, as a man and a youth might naturally havedone, for these are the things that generally are esteemed by most men, as alone of the greatest worth, and the best gifts of God; but, said he, "Give me, O Lord, a sound mind, and a good understanding, whereby I mayspeak and judge the people according to truth and righteousness. " Withthese petitions God was well pleased; and promised to give him all thosethings that he had not mentioned in his option, riches, glory, victoryover his enemies; and, in the first place, understanding and wisdom, andthis in such a degree as no other mortal man, neither kings nor ordinarypersons, ever had. He also promised to preserve the kingdom to hisposterity for a very long time, if he continued righteous and obedientto him, and imitated his father in those things wherein he excelled. When Solomon heard this from God, he presently leaped out of his bed;and when he had worshipped him, he returned to Jerusalem; and after hehad offered great sacrifices before the tabernacle, he feasted all hisown family. 2. In these days a hard cause came before him in judgment, which it wasvery difficult to find any end of; and I think it necessary to explainthe fact about which the contest was, that such as light upon mywritings may know what a difficult cause Solomon was to determine, andthose that are concerned in such matters may take this sagacity of theking for a pattern, that they may the more easily give sentence aboutsuch questions. There were two women, who were harlots in the courseof their lives, that came to him; of whom she that seemed to be injuredbegan to speak first, and said, "O king, I and this other woman dwelltogether in one room. Now it came to pass that we both bore a son at thesame hour of the same day; and on the third day this woman overlaid herson, and killed it, and then took my son out of my bosom, and removedhim to herself, and as I was asleep she laid her dead son in my arms. Now, when in the morning I was desirous to give the breast to the child, I did not find my own, but saw the woman's dead child lying by me; forI considered it exactly, and found it so to be. Hence it was that Idemanded my son, and when I could not obtain him, I have recourse, mylord, to thy assistance; for since we were alone, and there was nobodythere that could convict her, she cares for nothing, but perseveres inthe stout denial of the fact. " When this woman had told this her story, the king asked the other woman what she had to say in contradiction tothat story. But when she denied that she had done what was charged uponher, and said that it was her child that was living, and that it washer antagonist's child that was dead, and when no one could devisewhat judgment could be given, and the whole court were blind in theirunderstanding, and could not tell how to find out this riddle, the kingalone invented the following way how to discover it. He bade them bringin both the dead child and the living child; and sent one of his guards, and commanded him to fetch a sword, and draw it, and to cut both thechildren into two pieces, that each of the women might have half theliving and half the dead child. Hereupon all the people privatelylaughed at the king, as no more than a youth. But, in the mean time, shethat was the real mother of the living child cried out that he shouldnot do so, but deliver that child to the other woman as her own, for shewould be satisfied with the life of the child, and with the sight ofit, although it were esteemed the other's child; but the other womanwas ready to see the child divided, and was desirous, moreover, thatthe first woman should be tormented. When the king understood that boththeir words proceeded from the truth of their passions, he adjudged thechild to her that cried out to save it, for that she was the real motherof it; and he condemned the other as a wicked woman, who had not onlykilled her own child, but was endeavoring to see her friend's childdestroyed also. Now the multitude looked on this determination as agreat sign and demonstration of the king's sagacity and wisdom, andafter 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 wholecountry, were these: over the lot of Ephraim was Ures; over the toparchyof Bethlehem was Dioclerus; Abinadab, who married Solomon's daughter, had the region of Dora and the sea-coast under him; the Great Plain wasunder Benaiah, the son of Achilus; he also governed all the country asfar as Jordan; Gabaris ruled over Gilead and Gaulanitis, and had underhim the sixty great and fenced cities [of Og]; Achinadab managed theaffairs of all Galilee as far as Sidon, and had himself also married adaughter of Solomon's, whose name was Basima; Banacates had the seacoastabout Arce; as had Shaphat Mount Tabor, and Carmel, and [the Lower]Galilee, as far as the river Jordan; one man was appointed over all thiscountry; Shimei was intrusted with the lot of Benjamin; and Gabareshad the country beyond Jordan, over whom there was again one governorappointed. Now the people of the Hebrews, and particularly the tribeof Judah, received a wonderful increase when they betook themselves tohusbandry, and the cultivation of their grounds; for as they enjoyedpeace, and were not distracted with wars and troubles, and having, besides, an abundant fruition of the most desirable liberty, every onewas busy in augmenting the product of their own lands, and making themworth more than they had formerly been. 4. The king had also other rulers, who were over the land of Syria andof the Philistines, which reached from the river Euphrates to Egypt, andthese collected his tributes of the nations. Now these contributed tothe king's table, and to his supper every day [3] thirty cori of fineflour, and sixty of meal; as also ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out ofthe pastures, and a hundred fat lambs; all these were besides what weretaken by hunting harts and buffaloes, and birds and fishes, which werebrought to the king by foreigners day by day. Solomon had also so greata number of chariots, that the stalls of his horses for those chariotswere forty thousand; and besides these he had twelve thousand horsemen, the one half of which waited upon the king in Jerusalem, and the restwere dispersed abroad, and dwelt in the royal villages; but the sameofficer who provided for the king's expenses supplied also the fodderfor the horses, and still carried it to the place where the king abodeat that time. 5. Now the sagacity and wisdom which God had bestowed on Solomon wasso great, that he exceeded the ancients; insomuch that he was no wayinferior to the Egyptians, who are said to have been beyond all men inunderstanding; nay, indeed, it is evident that their sagacity was verymuch inferior to that of the king's. He also excelled and distinguishedhimself in wisdom above those who were most eminent among the Hebrewsat that time for shrewdness; those I mean were Ethan, and Heman, andChalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He also composed books ofodes and songs a thousand and five, of parables and similitudes threethousand; for he spake a parable upon every sort of tree, from thehyssop to the cedar; and in like manner also about beasts, about allsorts of living creatures, whether upon the earth, or in the seas, orin the air; for he was not unacquainted with any of their natures, noromitted inquiries about them, but described them all like a philosopher, and demonstrated his exquisite knowledge of their several properties. God also enabled him to learn that skill which expels demons, [4] whichis a science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incantationsalso by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him themanner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that theynever 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 Vespasian, andhis sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this: He put a ring that had a Foot of one ofthose sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, afterwhich he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man felldown immediately, he abjured him to return into him no more, makingstill mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which hecomposed. And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to thespectators that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup orbasin 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 leftthe man; and when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon wasshown very manifestly: for which reason it is, that all men may know thevastness of Solomon's abilities, and how he was beloved of God, and thatthe extraordinary virtues of every kind with which this king was endowedmay 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 Solonionsucceeded to his father's kingdom, was very glad of it, for he was afriend of David's. So he sent ambassadors to him, and saluted him, andcongratulated him on the present happy state of his affairs. Upon whichSolomon sent him an epistle, the contents of which here follow: Solomon To King Hiram. "[5]Know thou that my father would have built a temple to God, but washindered by wars, and continual expeditions; for he did not leave offto overthrow his enemies till he made them all subject to tribute. But Igive thanks to God for the peace I at present enjoy, and on that accountI am at leisure, and design to build a house to God, for God foretoldto my father that such a house should be built by me; wherefore I desirethee to send some of thy subjects with mine to Mount Lebanon to cut downtimber, for the Sidonians are more skillful than our people in cuttingof wood. As for wages to the hewers of wood, I will pay whatsoever pricethou shalt determine. " 7. When Hiram had read this epistle, he was pleased with it; and wroteback this answer to Solomon. Hiram To King Solomon. "It is fit to bless God that he hath committed thy father's governmentto thee, who art a wise man, and endowed with all virtues. As formyself, I rejoice at the condition thou art in, and will be subservientto thee in all that thou sendest to me about; for when by my subjectsI have cut down many and large trees of cedar and cypress wood, I willsend them to sea, and will order my subjects to make floats of them, andto sail to what place soever of thy country thou shalt desire, and leavethem there, after which thy subjects may carry them to Jerusalem. Butdo thou take care to procure us corn for this timber, which we stand inneed of, because we inhabit in an island. " 8. The copies of these epistles remain at this day, and are preservednot only in our books, but among the Tyrians also; insomuch that if anyone would know the certainty about them, he may desire of the keepersof the public records of Tyre to show him them, and he will find what isthere set down to agree with what we have said. I have said so muchout of a desire that my readers may know that we speak nothing but thetruth, and do not compose a history out of some plausible relations, which deceive men and please them at the same time, nor attempt to avoidexamination, nor desire men to believe us immediately; nor are we atliberty to depart from speaking truth, which is the proper commendationof an historian, and yet be blameless: but we insist upon noadmission of what we say, unless we be able to manifest its truth bydemonstration, and the strongest vouchers. 9. Now king Solomon, as soon as this epistle of the king of Tyre wasbrought him, commended the readiness and good-will he declared therein, and repaid him in what he desired, and sent him yearly twenty thousandcori of wheat, and as many baths of oil: now the bath is able to containseventy-two sextaries. He also sent him the same measure of wine. So thefriendship between Hiram and Solomon hereby increased more and more; andthey swore to continue it for ever. And the king appointed a tribute tobe laid on all the people, of thirty thousand laborers, whose work herendered easy to them by prudently dividing it among them; for he madeten thousand cut timber in Mount Lebanon for one month; and then to comehome, and rest two months, until the time when the other twenty thousandhad finished their task at the appointed time; and so afterward it cameto pass that the first ten thousand returned to their work every fourthmonth: and it was Adoram who was over this tribute. There were also ofthe strangers who were left by David, who were to carry the stones andother materials, seventy thousand; and of those that cut the stones, eighty thousand. Of these three thousand and three hundred were rulersover the rest. He also enjoined them to cut out large stones for thefoundations of the temple, and that they should fit them and unite themtogether in the mountain, and so bring them to the city. This was donenot only by our own country workmen, but by those workmen whom Hiramsent also. CHAPTER 3. Of The Building Of This Temple 1. Solomon began to build the temple in the fourth year of his reign, onthe second month, which the Macedonians call Artemisius, and the HebrewsJur, five hundred and ninety-two years after the Exodus out ofEgypt; but one thousand and twenty years from Abraham's coming out ofMesopotamia into Canaan, and after the deluge one thousand four hundredand forty years; and from Adam, the first man who was created, untilSolomon built the temple, there had passed in all three thousand onehundred and two years. Now that year on which the temple began to bebuilt was already the eleventh year of the reign of Hiram; but from thebuilding of Tyre to the building of the temple, there had passed twohundred and forty years. 2. Now, therefore, the king laid the foundations of the temple very deepin the ground, and the materials were strong stones, and such as wouldresist the force of time; these were to unite themselves with the earth, and become a basis and a sure foundation for that superstructure whichwas to be erected over it; they were to be so strong, in order tosustain with ease those vast superstructures and precious ornaments, whose own weight was to be not less than the weight of those other highand heavy buildings which the king designed to be very ornamental andmagnificent. They erected its entire body, quite up to the roof, ofwhite 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 altitude of the templewas a hundred and twenty cubits. Its front was to the east. As to theporch, they built it before the temple; its length was twenty cubits, and it was so ordered that it might agree with the breadth of the house;and it had twelve cubits in latitude, and its height was raised as highas a hundred and twenty cubits. He also built round about the templethirty small rooms, which might include the whole temple, by theircloseness one to another, and by their number and outward position roundit. He also made passages through them, that they might come into onthrough another. Every one of these rooms had five cubits in breadth, [7] and the same in length, but in height twenty. Above these there wereother rooms, and others above them, equal, both in their measures andnumber; so that these reached to a height equal to the lower part of thehouse; for the upper part had no buildings about it. The roof that wasover the house was of cedar; and truly every one of these rooms had aroof of their own, that was not connected with the other rooms; but forthe other parts, there was a covered roof common to them all, and builtwith very long beams, that passed through the rest, and rough the wholebuilding, that so the middle walls, being strengthened by the same beamsof timber, might be thereby made firmer: but as for that part of theroof that was under the beams, it was made of the same materials, andwas all made smooth, and had ornaments proper for roofs, and platesof gold nailed upon them. And as he enclosed the walls with boards ofcedar, so he fixed on them plates of gold, which had sculptures uponthem; so that the whole temple shined, and dazzled the eyes of such asentered, by the splendor of the gold that was on every side of them, Nowthe whole structure of the temple was made with great skill of polishedstones, and those laid together so very harmoniously and smoothly, that there appeared to the spectators no sign of any hammer, or otherinstrument of architecture; but as if, without any use of them, theentire materials had naturally united themselves together, that theagreement of one part with another seemed rather to have been natural, than to have arisen from the force of tools upon them. The king also hada fine contrivance for an ascent to the upper room over the temple, andthat was by steps in the thickness of its wall; for it had no large dooron the east end, as the lower house had, but the entrances were bythe sides, through very small doors. He also overlaid the temple, bothwithin and without, with boards of cedar, that were kept close togetherby thick chains, so that this contrivance was in the nature of a supportand a strength to the building. 3. Now when the king had divided the temple into two parts, he made theinner house of twenty cubits [every way], to be the most secret chamber, but he appointed that of forty cubits to be the sanctuary; and when hehad cut a door-place out of the wall, he put therein doors of Cedar, andoverlaid them with a great deal of gold, that had sculptures upon it. Healso had veils of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and the brightest andsoftest linen, with the most curious flowers wrought upon them, whichwere to be drawn before those doors. He also dedicated for the mostsecret place, whose breadth was twenty cubits, and length the same, twocherubims of solid gold; the height of each of them was five cubits [8]they had each of them two wings stretched out as far as five cubits;wherefore Solomon set them up not far from each other, that with onewing they might touch the southern wall of the secret place, and withanother the northern: their other wings, which joined to each other, were a covering to the ark, which was set between them; but nobody cantell, or even conjecture, what was the shape of these cherubims. He alsolaid the floor of the temple with plates of gold; and he added doors tothe gate of the temple, agreeable to the measure of the height of thewall, 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, neitherinternal nor external, but what was covered with gold. He also hadcurtains drawn over these doors in like manner as they were drawn overthe inner doors of the most holy place; but the porch of the temple hadnothing 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, [forshe was of that tribe, ] but his father was Ur, of the stock of theIsraelites. This man was skillful in all sorts of work; but his chiefskill lay in working in gold, and silver, and brass; by whom were madeall the mechanical works about the temple, according to the will ofSolomon. Moreover, this Hiram made two [hollow] pillars, whose outsideswere of brass, and the thickness of the brass was four fingers'breadth, and the height of the pillars was eighteen cubits and theircircumference twelve cubits; but there was cast with each of theirchapiters lily-work that stood upon the pillar, and it was elevatedfive cubits, round about which there was net-work interwoven with smallpalms, made of brass, and covered the lily-work. To this also were hungtwo hundred pomegranates, in two rows. The one of these pillars he setat the entrance of the porch on the right hand, and called it Jachin [9]and the other at the left hand, and called it Booz. 5. Solomon also cast a brazen sea, whose figure was that of ahemisphere. This brazen vessel was called a sea for its largeness, forthe laver was ten feet in diameter, and cast of the thickness of a palm. Its middle part rested on a short pillar that had ten spirals round it, and that pillar was ten cubits in diameter. There stood round aboutit twelve oxen, that looked to the four winds of heaven, three to eachwind, having their hinder parts depressed, that so the hemisphericalvessel might rest upon them, which itself was also depressed round aboutinwardly. Now this sea contained three thousand baths. 6. He also made ten brazen bases for so many quadrangular lavers; thelength of every one of these bases was five cubits, and the breadth fourcubits, and the height six cubits. This vessel was partly turned, andwas thus contrived: There were four small quadrangular pillars thatstood one at each corner; these had the sides of the base fitted to themon each quarter; they were parted into three parts; every interval hada border fitted to support [the laver]; upon which was engraven, inone place a lion, and in another place a bull, and an eagle. The smallpillars had the same animals engraven that were engraven on the sides. The whole work was elevated, and stood upon four wheels, which were alsocast, which had also naves and felloes, and were a foot and a half indiameter. Any one who saw the spokes of the wheels, how exactly theywere turned, and united to the sides of the bases, and with whatharmony they agreed to the felloes, would wonder at them. However, theirstructure was this: Certain shoulders of hands stretched out held thecorners above, upon which rested a short spiral pillar, that lay underthe hollow part of the laver, resting upon the fore part of the eagleand the lion, which were adapted to them, insomuch that those who viewedthem would think they were of one piece: between these were engravingsof palm trees. This was the construction of the ten bases. He also madeten large round brass vessels, which were the lavers themselves, each ofwhich contained forty baths; [10] for it had its height four cubits, and its edges were as much distant from each other. He also placed theselavers upon the ten bases that were called Mechonoth; and he set fiveof the lavers on the left side of the temple [11] which was that sidetowards the north wind, and as many on the right side, towards thesouth, but looking towards the east; the same [eastern] way he also setthe sea Now he appointed the sea to be for washing the hands and thefeet of the priests, when they entered into the temple and were toascend the altar, but the lavers to cleanse the entrails of the beaststhat were to be burnt-offerings, with their feet also. 7. He also made a brazen altar, whose length was twenty cubits, and itsbreadth the same, and its height ten, for the burnt-offerings. Healso made all its vessels of brass, the pots, and the shovels, and thebasons; and besides these, the snuffers and the tongs, and all its othervessels, he made of brass, and such brass as was in splendor and beautylike gold. The king also dedicated a great number of tables, but onethat was large and made of gold, upon which they set the loaves of God;and he made ten thousand more that resembled them, but were done afteranother manner, upon which lay the vials and the cups; those of goldwere twenty thousand, those of silver were forty thousand. He also madeten thousand candlesticks, according to the command of Moses, one ofwhich he dedicated for the temple, that it might burn in the day time, according to the law; and one table with loaves upon it, on the northside of the temple, over against the candlestick; for this he set on thesouth side, but the golden altar stood between them. All these vesselswere contained in that part of the holy house, which was forty cubitslong, and were before the veil of that most secret place wherein the arkwas to be set. 8. The king also made pouring vessels, in number eighty thousand, and ahundred thousand golden vials, and twice as many silver vials: of goldendishes, in order therein to offer kneaded fine flour at the altar, therewere eighty thousand, and twice as many of silver. Of large basons also, wherein they mixed fine flour with oil, sixty thousand of gold, andtwice as many of silver. Of the measures like those which Moses calledthe Hin and the Assaron, [a tenth deal, ] there were twenty thousand ofgold, and twice as many of silver. The golden censers, in which theycarried the incense to the altar, were twenty thousand; the othercensers, in which they carried fire from the great altar to the littlealtar, within the temple, were fifty thousand. The sacerdotal garmentswhich belonged to the high priest, with the long robes, and the oracle, and the precious stones, were a thousand. But the crown upon which Moseswrote [the name of God], ]was only one, and hath remained to this veryday. He also made ten thousand sacerdotal garments of fine linen, withpurple girdles for every priest; and two hundred thousand trumpets, according to the command of Moses; also two hundred thousand garmentsof fine linen for the singers, that were Levites. And he made musicalinstruments, and such as were invented for singing of hymns, calledNablee and Cindree, [psalteries and harps, ] which were made of electrum, [the finest brass, ] forty thousand. 9. Solomon made all these things for the honor of God, with greatvariety and magnificence, sparing no cost, but using all possibleliberality in adorning the temple; and these things he dedicated to thetreasures of God. He also placed a partition round about the temple, which in our tongue we call Gison, but it is called Thrigcos by theGreeks, and he raised it up to the height of three cubits; and it wasfor the exclusion of the multitude from coming into the temple, andshowing that it was a place that was free and open only for the priests. He also built beyond this court a temple, whose figure was that ofa quadrangle, and erected for it great and broad cloisters; this wasentered into by very high gates, each of which had its front exposed toone of the [four] winds, and were shut by golden doors. Into this templeall the people entered that were distinguished from the rest by beingpure and observant of the laws. But he made that temple which was beyondthis a wonderful one indeed, and such as exceeds all description inwords; nay, if I may so say, is hardly believed upon sight; for whenhe had filled up great valleys with earth, which, on account of theirimmense depth, could not be looked on, when you bended down to see them, without pain, and had elevated the ground four hundred cubits, he madeit to be on a level with the top of the mountain, on which the templewas built, and by this means the outmost temple, which was exposed tothe air, was even with the temple itself. He encompassed this alsowith a building of a double row of cloisters, which stood on highupon pillars of native stone, while the roofs were of cedar, and werepolished in a manner proper for such high roofs; but he made all thedoors of this temple of silver. CHAPTER 4. How Solomon Removed The Ark Into The Temple How He MadeSupplication To God, And Offered Public Sacrifices To Him. 1. When king Solomon had finished these works, these large and beautifulbuildings, and had laid up his donations in the temple, and all this inthe interval of seven years, and had given a demonstration of hisriches and alacrity therein, insomuch that any one who saw it wouldhave thought it must have been an immense time ere it could have beenfinished; and would be surprised that so much should be finished in soshort a time; short, I mean, if compared with the greatness of the work:he also wrote to the rulers and elders of the Hebrews, and ordered allthe people to gather themselves together to Jerusalem, both to see thetemple which he had built, and to remove the ark of God into it;and when this invitation of the whole body of the people to come toJerusalem was every where carried abroad, it was the seventh monthbefore they came together; which month is by our countrymen calledThisri, but by the Macedonians Hyperberetoets. The feast of tabernacleshappened to fall at the same time, which was celebrated by the Hebrewsas a most holy and most eminent feast. So they carried the ark and thetabernacle which Moses had pitched, and all the vessels that were forministration, to the sacrifices of God, and removed them to the temple. [13] The king himself, and all the people and the Levites, went before, rendering the ground moist with sacrifices, and drink-offerings, and theblood of a great number of oblations, and burning an immense quantity ofincense, and this till the very air itself every where round about wasso full of these odors, that it met, in a most agreeable manner, personsat a great distance, and was an indication of God's presence; and, asmen's opinion was, of his habitation with them in this newly built andconsecrated place, for they did not grow weary, either of singing hymnsor of dancing, until they came to the temple; and in this manner didthey carry the ark. But when they should transfer it into the mostsecret place, the rest of the multitude went away, and only thosepriests that carried it set it between the two cherubims, whichembracing it with their wings, [for so were they framed by theartificer, ] they covered it, as under a tent, or a cupola. Now the arkcontained nothing else but those two tables of stone that preserved theten commandments, which God spake to Moses in Mount Sinai, and whichwere engraved upon them; but they set the candlestick, and the table, and the golden altar in the temple, before the most secret place, in thevery same places wherein they stood till that time in the tabernacle. Sothey offered up the daily sacrifices; but for the brazen altar, Solomonset it before the temple, over against the door, that when the door wasopened, it might be exposed to sight, and the sacred solemnities, andthe richness of the sacrifices, might be thence seen; and all the restof 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 cane down a thick cloud, and stood there, andspread itself, after a gentle manner, into the temple; such a cloud itwas as was diffused and temperate, not such a rough one as we see fullof rain in the winter season. This cloud so darkened the place, that onepriest could not discern another, but it afforded to the minds of alla visible image and glorious appearance of God's having descended intothis temple, and of his having gladly pitched his tabernacle therein. So these men were intent upon this thought. But Solomon rose up, [for hewas sitting before, ] and used such words to God as he thought agreeableto the Divine nature to receive, and fit for him to give; for he said, "Thou hast an eternal house, O Lord, and such a one as thou hast createdfor thyself out of thine own works; we know it to be the heaven, andthe air, and the earth, and the sea, which thou pervadest, nor art thoucontained within their limits. I have indeed built this temple to thee, and thy name, that from thence, when we sacrifice, and perform sacredoperations, we may send our prayers up into the air, and may constantlybelieve that thou art present, and art not remote from what is thineown; for neither when thou seest all things, and hearest all things, nornow, when it pleases thee to dwell here, dost thou leave the care of allmen, but rather thou art very near to them all, but especially thou artpresent to those that address themselves to thee, whether by night or byday. " When he had thus solemnly addressed himself to God, he convertedhis discourse to the multitude, and strongly represented the power andprovidence of God to them;--how he had shown all things that were cometo pass to David his father, as many of those things had already cometo pass, and the rest would certainly come to pass hereafter; and howhe had given him his name, and told to David what he should be calledbefore he was born; and foretold, that when he should be king afterhis father's death, he should build him a temple, which since they sawaccomplished, according to his prediction, he required them to blessGod, and by believing him, from the sight of what they had seenaccomplished, never to despair of any thing that he had promised for thefuture, in order to their happiness, or suspect that it would not cometo pass. 3. When the king had thus discoursed to the multitude, he looked againtowards the temple, and lifting up his right hand to the multitude, hesaid, "It is not possible by what men can do to return sufficient thanksto God for his benefits bestowed upon them, for the Deity stands in needof nothing, and is above any such requital; but so far as we have beenmade superior, O Lord, to other animals by thee, it becomes us to blessthy Majesty, and it is necessary for us to return thee thanks for whatthou hast bestowed upon our house, and on the Hebrew people; for withwhat other instrument can we better appease thee when thou art angry atus, or more properly preserve thy favor, than with our voice? which, as we have it from the air, so do we know that by that air it ascendsupwards [towards thee]. I therefore ought myself to return thee thanksthereby, in the first place, concerning my father, whom thou hast raisedfrom obscurity unto so great joy; and, in the next place, concerningmyself, since thou hast performed all that thou hast promised untothis very day. And I beseech thee for the time to come to afford uswhatsoever thou, O God, hast power to bestow on such as thou dostesteem; and to augment our house for all ages, as thou hast promised toDavid my father to do, both in his lifetime and at his death, thatour kingdom shall continue, and that his posterity should successivelyreceive it to ten thousand generations. Do not thou therefore fail togive us these blessings, and to bestow on my children that virtue inwhich thou delightest. And besides all this, I humbly beseech thee thatthou wilt let some portion of thy Spirit come down and inhabit in thistemple, that thou mayst appear to be with us upon earth. As to thyself, the entire heavens, and the immensity of the things that are therein, are but a small habitation for thee, much more is this poor temple so;but I entreat thee to keep it as thine own house, from being destroyedby our enemies for ever, and to take care of it as thine own possession:but if this people be found to have sinned, and be thereupon afflictedby thee with any plague, because of their sin, as with dearth orpestilence, or any other affliction which thou usest to inflict on thosethat transgress any of thy holy laws, and if they fly all of them tothis temple, beseeching thee, and begging of time to deliver them, thendo thou hear their prayers, as being within thine house, and have mercyupon them, and deliver them from their afflictions. Nay, moreover, thishelp is what I implore of thee, not for the Hebrews only, when they arein distress, but when any shall come hither from any ends of the worldwhatsoever, and shall return from their sins and implore thy pardon, dothou then pardon them, and hear their prayer. For hereby all shall learnthat thou thyself wast pleased with the building of this house forthee; and that we are not ourselves of an unsociable nature, nor behaveourselves like enemies to such as are not of our own people; but arewilling that thy assistance should be communicated by thee to all menin common, and that they may have the enjoyment of thy benefits bestowedupon them. " 4. When Solomon had said this, and had cast himself upon the ground, andworshipped a long time, he rose up, and brought sacrifices to the altar;and when he had filled it with unblemished victims, he most evidentlydiscovered that God had with pleasure accepted of all that he hadsacrificed to him, for there came a fire running out of the air, andrushed with violence upon the altar, in the sight of all, and caughthold of and consumed the sacrifices. Now when this Divine appearance wasseen, the people supposed it to be a demonstration of God's abode inthe temple, and were pleased with it, and fell down upon the ground andworshipped. Upon which the king began to bless God, and exhorted themultitude to do the same, as now having sufficient indications of God'sfavorable disposition to them; and to pray that they might always havethe like indications from him, and that he would preserve in them a mindpure from all wickedness, in righteousness and religious worship, andthat they might continue in the observation of those precepts which Godhad given them by Moses, because by that means the Hebrew nation wouldbe happy, and indeed the most blessed of all nations among all mankind. He exhorted them also to be mindful, that by what methods they hadattained their present good things, by the same they must preserve themsure to themselves, and make them greater and more than they were atpresent; for that it was not sufficient for them to suppose they hadreceived them on account of their piety and righteousness, but that theyhad no other way of preserving them for the time to come; for that it isnot so great a thing for men to acquire somewhat which they want, as topreserve what they have acquired, and to be guilty of no sin whereby itmay be hurt. 5. So when the king had spoken thus to the multitude, he dissolved thecongregation, but not till he had completed his oblations, both forhimself and for the Hebrews, insomuch that he sacrificed twenty and twothousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep; for then itwas that the temple did first of all taste of the victims, and all theHebrews, with their wives and children, feasted therein: nay, besidesthis, the king then observed splendidly and magnificently the feastwhich is called the Feast of Tabernacles, before the temple, for twiceseven days; and he then feasted together with all the people. 6. When all these solemnities were abundantly satisfied, and nothing wasomitted that concerned the Divine worship, the king dismissed them; andthey every one went to their own homes, giving thanks to the king forthe care he had taken of them, and the works he had done for them; andpraying to God to preserve Solomon to be their king for a long time. They also took their journey home with rejoicing, and making merry, andsinging hymns to God. And indeed the pleasure they enjoyed took awaythe sense of the pains they all underwent in their journey home. So whenthey 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 thathad been offered, and of the festivals that had been solemnized, theyevery one returned to their own cities. But a dream that appeared to theking in his sleep informed him that God had heard his prayers; and thathe would not only preserve the temple, but would always abide init; that is, in case his posterity and the whole multitude would berighteous. And for himself, it said, that if he continued according tothe admonitions of his father, he would advance him to an immense degreeof dignity and happiness, and that then his posterity should be kingsof that country, of the tribe of Judah, for ever; but that still, ifhe should be found a betrayer of the ordinances of the law, and forgetthem, and turn away to the worship of strange gods, he would cut him offby the roots, and would neither suffer any remainder of his family tocontinue, nor would overlook the people of Israel, or preserve themany longer from afflictions, but would utterly destroy them with tenthousand wars and misfortunes; would cast them out of the land which hehad given their fathers, and make them sojourners in strange lands; anddeliver that temple which was now built to be burnt and spoiled by theirenemies, and that city to be utterly overthrown by the hands of theirenemies; and make their miseries deserve to be a proverb, and such asshould very hardly be credited for their stupendous magnitude, tilltheir neighbors, when they should hear of them, should wonder attheir calamities, and very earnestly inquire for the occasion, why theHebrews, who had been so far advanced by God to such glory and wealth, should be then so hated by him? and that the answer that should be madeby the remainder of the people should be, by confessing their sins, andtheir transgression of the laws of their country. Accordingly we have ittransmitted to us in writing, that thus did God speak to Solomon in hissleep. CHAPTER 5. How Solomon Built Himself A Royal Palace, Very Costly AndSplendid; 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, wasfinished in seven years, the king laid the foundation of his palace, which he did not finish under thirteen years, for he was not equallyzealous 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 wonderfuland surprising application, yet God, for whom it was made, so farco-operated therewith, that it was finished in the forementioned numberof years: but the palace, which was a building much inferior in dignityto the temple, both on account that its materials had not been so longbeforehand gotten ready, nor had been so zealously prepared, and onaccount that this was only a habitation for kings, and not for God, it was longer in finishing. However, this building was raised somagnificently, as suited the happy state of the Hebrews, and of the kingthereof. But it is necessary that I describe the entire structure anddisposition of the parts, that so those that light upon this book maythereby make a conjecture, and, as it were, have a prospect of itsmagnitude. 2. This house was a large and curious building, and was supported bymany pillars, which Solomon built to contain a multitnde for hearingcauses, and taking cognizance of suits. It was sufficiently capaciousto contain a great body of men, who would come together to have theircauses determined. It was a hundred cubits long, and fifty broad, andthirty high, supported by quadrangular pillars, which were all of cedar;but its roof was according to the Corinthian order, [14] with foldingdoors, and their adjoining pillars of equal magnitude, each fluted withthree cavities; which building as at once firm, and very ornamental. There was also another house so ordered, that its entire breadth wasplaced in the middle; it was quadrangular, and its breadth was thirtycubits, having a temple over against it, raised upon massy pillars; inwhich temple there was a large and very glorious room, wherein the kingsat in judgment. To this was joined another house that was built for hisqueen. There were other smaller edifices for diet, and for sleep, afterpublic matters were over; and these were all floored with boards ofcedar. Some of these Solomon built with stones of ten cubits, andwainscoted the walls with other stones that were sawed, and were ofgreat value, such as are dug out of the earth for the ornaments oftemples, and to make fine prospects in royal palaces, and which makethe mines whence they are dug famous. Now the contexture of the curiousworkmanship of these stones was in three rows, but the fourth row wouldmake one admire its sculptures, whereby were represented trees, and allsorts of plants; with the shades that arose from their branches, andleaves that hung down from them. Those trees anti plants covered thestone that was beneath them, and their leaves were wrought so prodigiousthin and subtile, that you would think they were in motion; butthe other part up to the roof, was plastered over, and, as it were, embroidered with colors and pictures. He, moreover, built other edificesfor pleasure; as also very long cloisters, and those situate in anagreeable place of the palace; and among them a most glorious diningroom, for feastings and compotations, and full of gold, and such otherfurniture as so fine a room ought to have for the conveniency of theguests, and where all the vessels were made of gold. Now it is very hardto reckon up the magnitude and the variety of the royal apartments;how many rooms there were of the largest sort, how many of a bignessinferior to those, and how many that were subterraneous and invisible;the curiosity of those that enjoyed the fresh air; and the groves forthe most delightful prospect, for the avoiding the heat, and covering oftheir bodies. And, to say all in brief, Solomon made the whole buildingentirely of white stone, and cedar wood, and gold, and silver. He alsoadorned the roofs and walls with stones set in gold, and beautified themthereby in the same manner as he had beautified the temple of God withthe like stones. He also made himself a throne of prodigious bigness, ofivory, constructed as a seat of justice, and having six steps to it; onevery one of which stood, on each end of the step two lions, two otherlions standing above also; but at the sitting place of the throne handscame out and received the king; and when he sat backward, he rested onhalf a bullock, that looked towards his back; but still all was fastenedtogether with gold. 3. When Solomon had completed all this in twenty years' time, becauseHiram king of Tyre had contributed a great deal of gold, and more silverto these buildings, as also cedar wood and pine wood, he also rewardedHiram with rich presents; corn he sent him also year by year, and wineand oil, which were the principal things that he stood in need of, because he inhabited an island, as we have already said. And besidesthese, he granted him certain cities of Galilee, twenty in number, thatlay not far from Tyre; which, when Hiram went to, and viewed, and didnot like the gift, he sent word to Solomon that he did not want suchcities as they were; and after that time these cities were calledthe land of Cabul; which name, if it be interpreted according to thelanguage of the Phoenicians, denotes what does not please. Moreover, the king of Tyre sent sophisms and enigmatical sayings to Solomon, anddesired he would solve them, and free them from the ambiguity that wasin them. Now so sagacious and understanding was Solomon, that none ofthese problems were too hard for him; but he conquered them all byhis reasonings, and discovered their hidden meaning, and brought it tolight. Menander also, one who translated the Tyrian archives out of thedialect of the Phoenicians into the Greek language, makes mention ofthese two kings, where he says thus: "When Abibalus was dead, his sonHiram received the kingdom from him, who, when he had lived fifty-threeyears, reigned thirty-four. He raised a bank in the large place, anddedicated the golden pillar which is in Jupiter's temple. He also wentand cut down materials of timber out of the mountain called Libanus, forthe roof of temples; and when he had pulled down the ancient temples, heboth built the temple of Hercules and that of Astarte; and he firstset up the temple of Hercules in the month Peritius; he also made anexpedition against the Euchii, or Titii, who did not pay their tribute, and when he had subdued them to himself he returned. Under this kingthere was Abdemon, a very youth in age, who always conquered thedifficult problems which Solomon, king of Jerusalem, commanded himto explain. Dius also makes mention of him, where he says thus: 'WhenAbibalus was dead, his son Hiram reigned. He raised the eastern partsof the city higher, and made the city itself larger. He also joined thetemple of Jupiter, which before stood by itself, to the city, by raisinga bank in the middle between them; and he adorned it with donations ofgold. Moreover, he went up to Mount Libanus, and cut down materials ofwood for the building of the temples. ' He says also, that Solomon, who was then king of Jerusalem, sent riddles to Hiram, and desired toreceive the like from him, but that he who could not solve them shouldpay money to them that did solve them, and that Hiram accepted theconditions; and when he was not able to solve the riddles proposedby Solomon, he paid a great deal of money for his fine; but that heafterward did solve the proposed riddles by means of Abdemon, a man ofTyre; and that Hiram proposed other riddles, which, when Solomon couldnot solve, he paid back a great deal of money to Hiram. " This it iswhich Dius wrote. CHAPTER 6. How Solomon Fortified The City Of Jerusalem, And Built GreatCities; And How He Brought Some Of The Canaanites Into Subjection, AndEntertained The Queen Of Egypt And Of Ethiopia. 1. Now when the king saw that the walls of Jerusalem stood in need ofbeing better secured, and made stronger, [for he thought the wails thatencompassed Jerusalem ought to correspond to the dignity of the city, ]he both repaired them, and made them higher, with great towers uponthem; he also built cities which might be counted among the strongest, Hazor and Megiddo, and the third Gezer, which had indeed belonged tothe Philistines; but Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had made an expeditionagainst it, and besieged it, and taken it by force; and when he hadslain all its inhabitants, he utterly overthrew it, and gave it as apresent to his daughter, who had been married to Solomon; for whichreason the king rebuilt it, as a city that was naturally strong, andmight be useful in wars, and the mutations of affairs that sometimeshappen. Moreover, he built two other cities not far from it, Beth-horonwas the name of one of them, and Baalath of the other. He also builtother cities that lay conveniently for these, in order to the enjoymentof pleasures and delicacies in them, such as were naturally of a goodtemperature of the air, and agreeable for fruits ripe in their properseasons, and well watered with springs. Nay, Solomon went as far as thedesert above Syria, and possessed himself of it, and built there a verygreat city, which was distant two days' journey from Upper Syria, and one day's journey from Euphrates, and six long days' journey fromBabylon the Great. Now the reason why this city lay so remote from theparts of Syria that are inhabited is this, that below there is no waterto be had, and that it is in that place only that there are springs andpits of water. When he had therefore built this city, and encompassed itwith very strong walls, he gave it the name of Tadmor, and that is thename it is still called by at this day among the Syrians, but the Greeksname it Palmyra. 2. Now Solomon the king was at this time engaged in building thesecities. But if any inquire why all the kings of Egypt from Menes, whobuilt Memphis, and was many years earlier than our forefather Abraham, until Solomon, where the interval was more than one thousand threehundred years, were called Pharaohs, and took it from one Pharaoh thatlived after the kings of that interval, I think it necessary to informthem of it, and this in order to cure their ignorance, and to makethe occasion of that name manifest. Pharaoh, in the Egyptian tongue, signifies a king [15] but I suppose they made use of other names fromtheir childhood; but when they were made kings, they changed them intothe name which in their own tongue denoted their authority; for thus itwas also that the kings of Alexandria, who were called formerly by othernames, when they took the kingdom, were named Ptolemies, from theirfirst king. The Roman emperors also were from their nativity calledby other names, but are styled Caesars, their empire and their dignityimposing that name upon them, and not suffering them to continue inthose names which their fathers gave them. I suppose also that Herodotusof Halicarnassus, when he said there were three hundred and thirty kingsof Egypt after Menes, who built Memphis, did therefore not tell us theirnames, because they were in common called Pharaohs; for when after theirdeath there was a queen reigned, he calls her by her name Nicaule, asthereby declaring, that while the kings were of the male line, and soadmitted of the same nature, while a woman did not admit the same, hedid therefore set down that her name, which she could not naturallyhave. As for myself, I have discovered from our own books, that afterPharaoh, the father-in-law of Solomon, no other king of Egypt did anylonger use that name; and that it was after that time when the forenamedqueen of Egypt and Ethiopia came to Solomon, concerning whom we shallinform the reader presently; but I have now made mention of thesethings, that I may prove that our books and those of the Egyptians agreetogether in many things. 3. But king Solomon subdued to himself the remnant of the Canaanitesthat had not before submitted to him; those I mean that dwelt in MountLebanon, and as far as the city Hamath; and ordered them to pay tribute. He also chose out of them every year such as were to serve him in themeanest offices, and to do his domestic works, and to follow husbandry;for none of the Hebrews were servants [in such low employments]: norwas it reasonable, that when God had brought so many nations under theirpower, they should depress their own people to such mean offices oflife, rather than those nations; while all the Israelites were concernedin warlike affairs, and were in armor; and were set over the chariotsand the horses, rather than leading the life of slaves. He appointedalso five hundred and fifty rulers over those Canaanites who werereduced to such domestic slavery, who received the entire care ofthem from the king, and instructed them in those labors and operationswherein he wanted their assistance. 4. Moreover, the king built many ships in the Egyptian Bay of the RedSea, in a certain place called Ezion-geber: it is now called Berenice, and is not far from the city Eloth. This country belonged formerly tothe Jews, and became useful for shipping from the donations of Hiramking of Tyre; for he sent a sufficient number of men thither for pilots, and such as were skillful in navigation, to whom Solomon gave thiscommand: That they should go along with his own stewards to the landthat was of old called Ophir, but now the Aurea Chersonesus, whichbelongs to India, to fetch him gold. And when they had gathered fourhundred talents together, they returned to the king again. 5. There was then a woman queen of Egypt and Ethiopia; [16] she wasinquisitive into philosophy, and one that on other accounts also was tobe admired. When this queen heard of the virtue and prudence of Solomon, she had a great mind to see him; and the reports that went every dayabroad induced her to come to him, she being desirous to be satisfied byher own experience, and not by a bare hearing; [for reports thus heardare likely enough to comply with a false opinion, while they whollydepend on the credit of the relators;] so she resolved to come to him, and that especially in order to have a trial of his wisdom, while sheproposed questions of very great difficulty, and entreated that he wouldsolve their hidden meaning. Accordingly she came to Jerusalem with greatsplendor and rich furniture; for she brought with her camels laden withgold, with several sorts of sweet spices, and with precious stones. Now, upon the king's kind reception of her, he both showed a great desireto please her, and easily comprehending in his mind the meaning of thecurious questions she propounded to him, he resolved them soonerthan any body could have expected. So she was amazed at the wisdom ofSolomon, and discovered that it was more excellent upon trial than whatshe had heard by report beforehand; and especially she was surprised atthe fineness and largeness of his royal palace, and not less so at thegood order of the apartments, for she observed that the king had thereinshown great wisdom; but she was beyond measure astonished at the housewhich was called the Forest of Lebanon, as also at the magnificenceof his daily table, and the circumstances of its preparation andministration, with the apparel of his servants that waited, and theskillful and decent management of their attendance: nor was she lessaffected with those daily sacrifices which were offered to God, and thecareful management which the priests and Levites used about them. When she saw this done every day, she was in the greatest admirationimaginable, insomuch that she was not able to contain the surprise shewas in, but openly confessed how wonderfully she was affected; for sheproceeded to discourse with the king, and thereby owned that she wasovercome with admiration at the things before related; and said, "Allthings indeed, O king, that came to our knowledge by report, came withuncertainty as to our belief of them; but as to those good things thatto thee appertain, both such as thou thyself possessest, I mean wisdomand prudence, and the happiness thou hast from thy kingdom, certainlythe 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 I now seeit to be before my eyes. For as for the report, it only attempted topersuade our hearing, but did not so make known the dignity of thethings themselves as does the sight of them, and being present amongthem. I indeed, who did not believe what was reported, by reason of themultitude and grandeur of the things I inquired about, do see them to bemuch more numerous than they were reported to be. Accordingly I esteemthe Hebrew people, as well as thy servants and friends, to be happy, whoenjoy thy presence and hear thy wisdom every day continually. One wouldtherefore bless God, who hath so loved this country, and those thatinhabit therein, as to make thee king over them. " 6. Now when the queen had thus demonstrated in words how deeply the kinghad affected her, her disposition was known by certain presents, for shegave him twenty talents of gold, and an immense quantity of spices andprecious stones. [They say also that we possess the root of that balsamwhich our country still bears by this woman's gift. ] [17] Solomon alsorepaid her with many good things, and principally by bestowing upon herwhat she chose of her own inclination, for there was nothing that shedesired which he denied her; and as he was very generous and liberal inhis own temper, so did he show the greatness of his soul in bestowing onher what she herself desired of him. So when this queen of Ethiopiahad obtained what we have already given an account of, and had againcommunicated to the king what she brought with her, she returned to herown kingdom. CHAPTER 7. How Solomon Grew Rich, And Fell Desperately In Love WithWomen And How God, Being Incensed At It, Raised Up Ader And JeroboamAgainst Him. Concerning The Death Of Solomon. 1. About the same time there were brought to the king from the AureaChersonesus, a country so called, precious stones, and pine trees, andthese trees he made use of for supporting the temple and the palace, as also for the materials of musical instruments, the harps and thepsalteries, that the Levites might make use of them in their hymns toGod. The wood which was brought to him at this time was larger and finerthan any that had ever been brought before; but let no one imagine thatthese pine trees were like those which are now so named, and which takethat their denomination from the merchants, who so call them, that theymay procure them to be admired by those that purchase them; for thosewe speak of were to the sight like the wood of the fig tree, but werewhiter, and more shining. Now we have said thus much, that nobody may beignorant of the difference between these sorts of wood, nor unacquaintedwith the nature of the genuine pine tree; and we thought it both aseasonable and humane thing, when we mentioned it, and the uses the kingmade 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 andsixty-six talents, not including in that sum what was brought bythe merchants, nor what the toparchs and kings of Arabia gave himin presents. He also cast two hundred targets of gold, each of themweighing six hundred shekels. He also made three hundred shields, everyone weighing three pounds of gold, and he had them carried and put intothat house which was called The Forest of Lebanon. He also made cups ofgold, and of [precious] stones, for the entertainment of his guests, andhad them adorned in the most artificial manner; and he contrived thatall his other furniture of vessels should be of gold, for there wasnothing then to be sold or bought for silver; for the king had manyships which lay upon the sea of Tarsus, these he commanded to carry outall sorts of merchandise unto the remotest nations, by the sale of whichsilver and gold were brought to the king, and a great quantity of ivory, and Ethiopians, and apes; and they finished their voyage, going andreturning, in three years' time. 3. Accordingly there went a great fame all around the neighboringcountries, which proclaimed the virtue and wisdom of Solomon, insomuchthat all the kings every where were desirous to see him, as not givingcredit to what was reported, on account of its being almost incredible:they also demonstrated the regard they had for him by the presents theymade him; for they sent him vessels of gold, and silver, and purplegarments, and many sorts of spices, and horses, and chariots, and asmany mules for his carriages as they could find proper to please theking's eyes, by their strength and beauty. This addition that he made tothose chariots and horses which he had before from those that were senthim, augmented the number of his chariots by above four hundred, forhe had a thousand before, and augmented the number of his horses by twothousand, for he had twenty thousand before. These horses also were somuch exercised, in order to their making a fine appearance, and runningswiftly, that no others could, upon the comparison, appear either fineror swifter; but they were at once the most beautiful of all others, andtheir swiftness was incomparable also. Their riders also were a furtherornament to them, being, in the first place, young men in the mostdelightful flower of their age, and being eminent for their largeness, and far taller than other men. They had also very long heads of hairhanging down, and were clothed in garments of Tyrian purple. They hadalso dust of gold every day sprinkled on their hair, so that their headssparkled with the reflection of the sun-beams from the gold. The kinghimself rode upon a chariot in the midst of these men, who were still inarmor, and had their bows fitted to them. He had on a white garment, andused to take his progress out of the city in the morning. There wasa certain place about fifty furlongs distant from Jerusalem, which iscalled Etham, very pleasant it is in fine gardens, and abounding inrivulets of water; [18] thither did he use to go out in the morning, sitting on high [in his chariot. ] 4. Now Solomon had a divine sagacity in all things, and was verydiligent and studious to have things done after an elegant manner; sohe did not neglect the care of the ways, but he laid a causeway of blackstone along the roads that led to Jerusalem, which was the royal city, both to render them easy for travelers, and to manifest the grandeur ofhis riches and government. He also parted his chariots, and set them ina 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 citiesof his chariots. And the king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem asstones in the street; and so multiplied cedar trees in the plainsof Judea, which did not grow there before, that they were like themultitude of common sycamore trees. He also ordained the Egyptianmerchants that brought him their merchandise to sell him a chariot, witha pair of horses, for six hundred drachmae of silver, and he sent themto the kings of Syria, and to those kings that were beyond Euphrates. 5. But although Solomon was become the most glorious of kings, and thebest beloved by God, and had exceeded in wisdom and riches those thathad been rulers of the Hebrews before him, yet did not he persevere inthis happy state till he died. Nay, he forsook the observation of thelaws of his fathers, and came to an end no way suitable to our foregoinghistory of him. He grew mad in his love of women, and laid no restrainton himself in his lusts; nor was he satisfied with the women of hiscountry alone, but he married many wives out of foreign nations;Sidontans, and Tyrians, and Ammonites, and Edomites; and he transgressedthe laws of Moses, which forbade Jews to marry any but those that wereof their own people. He also began to worship their gods, which he didin order to the gratification of his wives, and out of his affectionfor them. This very thing our legislator suspected, and so admonished usbeforehand, that we should not marry women of other countries, lest weshould be entangled with foreign customs, and apostatize from our own;lest we should leave off to honor our own God, and should worship theirgods. But Solomon was Gllen headlong into unreasonable pleasures, andregarded not those admonitions; for when he had married seven hundredwives, [19] the daughters of princes and of eminent persons, and threehundred concubines, and those besides the king of Egypt's daughter, hesoon was governed by them, till he came to imitate their practices. Hewas forced to give them this demonstration of his kindness and affectionto them, to live according to the laws of their countries. And as hegrew into years, and his reason became weaker by length of time, itwas not sufficient to recall to his mind the institutions of his owncountry; so he still more and more contemned his own God, and continuedto regard the gods that his marriages had introduced nay, before thishappened, he sinned, and fell into an error about the observation of thelaws, when he made the images of brazen oxen that supported the brazensea, [20] and the images of lions about his own throne; for these hemade, although it was not agreeable to piety so to do; and this he did, notwithstanding that he had his father as a most excellent and domesticpattern of virtue, and knew what a glorious character he had leftbehind him, because of his piety towards God. Nor did he imitate David, although God had twice appeared to him in his sleep, and exhorted himto imitate his father. So he died ingloriously. There came thereforea prophet to him, who was sent by God, and told him that his wickedactions were not concealed from God; and threatened him that he shouldnot long rejoice in what he had done; that, indeed, the kingdom shouldnot be taken from him while he was alive, because God had promised tohis father David that he would make him his successor, but that he wouldtake care that this should befall his son when he was dead; not thathe would withdraw all the people from him, but that he would giveten tribes to a servant of his, and leave only two tribes to David'sgrandson for his sake, because he loved God, and for the sake of thecity of Jerusalem, wherein he should have a temple. 6. When Solomon heard this he was grieved, and greatly confounded, upon this change of almost all that happiness which had made him to beadmired, into so bad a state; nor had there much time passed afterthe prophet had foretold what was coming before God raised up an enemyagainst him, whose name was Ader, who took the following occasion of hisenmity to him. He was a child of the stock of the Edomites, and of theblood royal; and when Joab, the captain of David's host, laid waste theland of Edom, and destroyed all that were men grown, and able to beararms, for six months' time, this Hadad fled away, and came to Pharaohthe king of Egypt, who received him kindly, and assigned him a house todwell in, and a country to supply him with food; and when he was grownup he loved him exceedingly, insomuch that he gave him his wife'ssister, whose name was Tahpenes, to wife, by whom he had a son; who wasbrought up with the king's children. When Hadad heard in Egypt that bothDavid and Joab were dead, he came to Pharaoh, and desired that he wouldpermit him to go to his own country; upon which the king asked what itwas that he wanted, and what hardship he had met with, that he was sodesirous to leave him. And when he was often troublesome to him, andentreated him to dismiss him, he did not then do it; but at thetime when Solomon's affairs began to grow worse, on account of hisforementioned transgressions [21] and God's anger against him for thesame, Hadad, by Pharaoh's permission, came to Edom; and when he was notable to make the people forsake Solomon, for it was kept under by manygarrisons, and an innovation was not to be made with safety, he removedthence, and came into Syria; there he lighted upon one Rezon, who hadrun away from Hadadezer, king of Zobah, his master, and was become arobber in that country, and joined friendship with him, who had alreadya band of robbers about him. So he went up, and seized upon that part ofSyria, and was made king thereof. He also made incursions into the landof Israel, and did it no small mischief, and spoiled it, and that inthe lifetime of Solomon. And this was the calamity which the Hebrewssuffered by Hadad. 7. There was also one of Solomon's own nation that made an attemptagainst him, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had an expectation ofrising, from a prophecy that had been made to him long before. He wasleft a child by his father, and brought up by his mother; and whenSolomon saw that he was of an active and bold disposition, he made himthe curator of the walls which he built round about Jerusalem; and hetook such care of those works, that the king approved of his behavior, and gave him, as a reward for the same, the charge of the tribeof Joseph. And when about that time Jeroboam was once going out ofJerusalem, a prophet of the city Shilo, whose name was Ahijah, met himand saluted him; and when he had taken him a little aside to a place outof the way, where there was not one other person present, he rent thegarment 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 thedominion of Solomon, and give one tribe, with that which is next it, tohis son, because of the promise made to David for his succession, andwill have ten tribes to thee, because Solomon hath sinned against him, and delivered up himself to women, and to their gods. Seeing thereforethou knowest the cause for which God hath changed his mind, and isalienated from Solomon, be thou. . . . " 8. So Jeroboam was elevated by these words of the prophet; and being ayoung man, [22] of a warm temper, and ambitious of greatness, he couldnot be quiet; and when he had so great a charge in the government, andcalled to mind what had been revealed to him by Ahijah, he endeavoredto persuade the people to forsake Solomon, to make a disturbance, andto bring the government over to himself. But when Solomon understoodhis intention and treachery, he sought to catch him and kill him; butJeroboam was informed of it beforehand, and fled to Shishak, the kingof Egypt, and there abode till the death of Solomon; by which means hegained these two advantages to suffer no harm from Solomon, and to bepreserved for the kingdom. So Solomon died when he was already an oldman, having reigned eighty years, and lived ninety-four. He was buriedin Jerusalem, having been superior to all other kings in happiness, andriches, and wisdom, excepting that when he was growing into years hewas deluded by women, and transgressed the law; concerning whichtransgressions, and the miseries which befell the Hebrews thereby, Ithink proper to discourse at another opportunity. CHAPTER 8. How, Upon The Death Of Solomon The People Forsook His SonRehoboam, And Ordained Jeroboam King Over The Ten Tribes. 1. Now when Solomon was dead, and his son Rehoboam [who was born of anAmntonite wife; whose name was Naamah] had succeeded him in the kingdom, the rulers of the multitude sent immediately into Egypt, and called backJeroboam; and when he was come to them, to the city Shethem, Rehoboamcame to it also, for he had resolved to declare himself king to theIsraelites while they were there gathered together. So the rulers ofthe people, as well as Jeroboam, came to him, and besought him, andsaid that he ought to relax, and to be gentler than his father, in theservitude he had imposed on them, because they had borne a heavyyoke, and that then they should be better affected to him, and be wellcontented to serve him under his moderate government, and should do itmore out of love than fear. But Rehoboam told them they should come tohim again in three days' time, when he would give an answer to theirrequest. This delay gave occasion to a present suspicion, since he hadnot given them a favorable answer to their mind immediately; forthey thought that he should have given them a humane answer off-hand, especially since he was but young. However, they thought that thisconsultation about it, and that he did not presently give them a denial, afforded them some good hope of success. 2. Rehoboam now called his father's friends, and advised with them whatsort of answer he ought to give to the multitude; upon which they gavehim the advice which became friends, and those that knew the temper ofsuch a multitude. They advised him to speak in a way more popular thansuited the grandeur of a king, because he would thereby oblige them tosubmit to him with goodwill, it being most agreeable to subjects thattheir kings should be almost upon the level with them. But Rehoboamrejected this so good, and in general so profitable, advice, [it wassuch, 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. Sohe called for the young men who were brought up with him, and told themwhat advice the elders had given him, and bade them speak what theythought he ought to do. They advised him to give the following answerto the people [for neither their youth nor God himself suffered them todiscern what was best]: That his little finger should be thicker thanhis father's loins; and if they had met with hard usage from his father, they should experience much rougher treatment from him; and if hisfather had chastised them with whips, they must expect that he woulddo it with scorpions. [23] The king was pleased with this advice, andthought it agreeable to the dignity of his government to give them suchan answer. Accordingly, when the multitude was come together to hear hisanswer on the third day, all the people were in great expectation, andvery intent to hear what the king would say to them, and supposed theyshould hear somewhat of a kind nature; but he passed by his friends, and answered as the young men had given him counsel. Now this was doneaccording to the will of God, that what Ahijah had foretold might cometo pass. 3. By these words the people were struck as it were by all iron hammer, and were so grieved at the words, as if they had already felt theeffects of them; and they had great indignation at the king; and allcried out aloud, and said, "We will have no longer any relation to Davidor his posterity after this day. " And they said further, "We only leaveto Rehoboam the temple which his father built;" and they threatened toforsake him. Nay, they were so bitter, and retained their wrath so long, that when he sent Adoram, which was over the tribute, that he mightpacify them, and render them milder, and persuade 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. WhenRehoboam saw this, he thought himself aimed at by those stones withwhich they had killed his servant, and feared lest he should undergo thelast of punishments in earnest; so he got immediately into his chariot, and fled to Jerusalem, where the tribe of Judah and that of Benjaminordained him king; but the rest of the multitude forsook the sons ofDavid from that day, and appointed Jeroboam to be the ruler of theirpublic affairs. Upon this Rehoboam, Solomon's son, assembled a greatcongregation of those two tribes that submitted to him, and was ready totake a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men out of the army, to makean expedition against Jeroboam and his people, that he might force themby war to be his servants; but he was forbidden of God by the prophet[Shemaiah] to go to war, for that it was not just that brethren of thesame country should fight one against another. He also said that thisdefection of the multitude was according to the purpose of God. So hedid not proceed in this expedition. And now I will relate first theactions of Jeroboam the king of Israel, after which we will relate whatare therewith connected, the actions of Rehoboam, the king of the twotribes; by this means we shall preserve the good order of the historyentire. 4. When therefore Jeroboam had built him 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, that if he should permit the multitude to go toworship God at Jerusalem, and there to celebrate the festival, theywould probably repent of what they had done, and be enticed by thetemple, and by the worship of God there performed, and would leave him, and return to their first kings; and if so, he should run the risk oflosing his own life; so he invented this contrivance; He made two goldenheifers, and built two little temples for them, the one in the cityBethel, and the other in Dan, which last was at the fountains of theLesser Jordan [24] and he put the heifers into both the little temples, in the forementioned cities. And when he had called those ten tribestogether over whom he ruled, he made a speech to the people in thesewords: "I suppose, my countrymen, that you know this, that every placehath God in it; nor is there any one determinate place in which heis, but he every where hears and sees those that worship him; on whichaccount I do not think it right for you to go so long a journey toJerusalem, which is an enemy's city, to worship him. It was a man thatbuilt the temple: I have also made two golden heifers, dedicated to thesame God; and the one of them I have consecrated in the city Bethel, andthe other in Dan, to the end that those of you that dwell nearest thosecities may go to them, and worship God there; and I will ordain for youcertain priests and Levites from among yourselves, that you may have nowant of the tribe of Levi, or of the sons of Aaron; but let him that isdesirous among you of being a priest, bring to God a bullock and a ram, which they say Aaron the first priest brought also. " When Jeroboamhad said this, he deluded the people, and made them to revolt from theworship of their forefathers, and to transgress their laws. This wasthe beginning of miseries to the Hebrews, and the cause why they wereovercome in war by foreigners, and so fell into captivity. But we shallrelate those things in their proper places hereafter. 5. When the feast [of tabernacles] was just approaching, Jeroboamwas desirous to celebrate it himself in Bethel, as did the two tribescelebrate it in Jerusalem. Accordingly he built an altar before theheifer, and undertook to be high priest himself. So he went up to thealtar, with his own priests about him; but when he was going to offerthe 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 fromJerusalem, who stood in the midst of the multitude, and in the 'hearingof' the king, and directing his discourse to the altar, said thus: "Godforetells that there shall be a certain man of the family of David, Josiah by name, who shall slay upon thee those false priests that shalllive at that time, and upon thee shall burn the bones of those deceiversof the people, those impostors' and wicked wretches. However, that thispeople may believe that these things shall so come to pass, I foretell asign to them that shall also come to pass. This altar shall be brokento pieces immediately, and all the fat of the sacrifices that is uponit shall be poured upon the ground. " When the prophet had said this, Jeroboam fell into a passion, and stretched out his hand, and bid themlay hold of him; but that hand which he stretched out was enfeebled, andhe 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 brokento pieces, and all that was upon it was poured out, as the prophet hadforetold should come to pass. So the king understood that he was a manof veracity, and had a Divine foreknowledge; and entreated him to prayto God that he would restore his right hand. Accordingly the prophetdid pray to God to grant him that request. So the king, having his handrecovered to its natural state, rejoiced at it, and invited the prophetto sup with him; but Jadon said that he could not endure to come intohis house, nor to taste of bread or water in this city, for that was athing God had forbidden him to do; as also to go back by the same waywhich he came, but he said he was to return by another way. So theking wondered at the abstinence of the man, but was himself in fear, as suspecting a change of his affairs for the worse, from what had beensaid to him. CHAPTER 9. How Jadon The Prophet Was Persuaded By Another Lying ProphetAnd Returned [To Bethel, ] And Was Afterwards Slain By A Lion. As AlsoWhat Words The Wicked Prophet Made Use Of To Persuade The King, AndThereby Alienated His Mind From God. 1. Now there was a certain wicked man in that city, who was a falseprophet, whom Jeroboam had in great esteem, but was deceived by him andhis flattering words. This man was bedrid, by reason or the infirmitiesof old age: however, he was informed by his sons concerning the prophetthat was come from Jerusalem, and concerning the signs done by him; andhow, when Jeroboam's right hand had been enfeebled, at the prophet'sprayer he had it revived again. Whereupon he was afraid that thisstranger and prophet should be in better esteem with the king thanhimself, and obtain greater honor from him: and he gave orders to hissons to saddle his ass presently, and make all ready that he might goout. Accordingly they made haste to do what they were commanded, andhe got upon the ass and followed after the prophet; and when he hadovertaken him, as he was resting himself under a very large oak treethat was thick and shady, he at first saluted him, but presently hecomplained of him, because he had not come into his house, and partakenof his hospitality. And when the other said that God had forbidden himto taste of any one's provision in that city, he replied, that "forcertain God had not forbidden that I should set food before thee, for Iam a prophet as thou art, and worship God in the same manner that thoudost; and I am now come as sent by him, in order to bring thee intomy house, and make thee my guest. " Now Jadon gave credit to this lyingprophet, and returned back with him. But when they were at dinner, andmerry together, God appeared to Jadon, and said that he should sufferpunishment for transgressing his commands, --and he told him what thatpunishment should be for he said that he should meet with a lion as hewas going on his way, by which lion he should be torn in pieces, and bedeprived of burial in the sepulchers of his fathers; which things cameto pass, as I suppose, according to the will of God, that so Jeroboammight not give heed to the words of Jadon as of one that had beenconvicted of lying. However, as Jadon was again going to Jerusalem, alion assaulted him, and pulled him off the beast he rode on, and slewhim; yet did he not at all hurt the ass, but sat by him, and kept him, as also the prophet's body. This continued till some travelers that sawit came and told it in the city to the false prophet, who sent his sons, and brought the body unto the city, and made a funeral for him at greatexpense. He also charged his sons to bury himself with him and said thatall which he had foretold against that city, and the altar, and priests, and false prophets, would prove true; and that if he were buried withhim, he should receive no injurious treatment after his death, thebones not being then to be distinguished asunder. But now, when he hadperformed those funeral rites to the prophet, and had given that chargeto his sons, as he was a wicked and an impious man, he goes to Jeroboam, and says to him, "And wherefore is it now that thou art disturbed at thewords of this silly fellow?" And when the king had related to him whathad happened about the altar, and about his own hand, and gave him thenames of divine man, and an excellent prophet, he endeavored by awicked trick to weaken that his opinion; and by using plausible wordsconcerning what had happened, he aimed to injure the truth that was inthem; for he attempted to persuade him that his hand was enfeebled bythe labor it had undergone in supporting the sacrifices, and that uponits resting awhile it returned to its former nature again; and that asto the altar, it was but new, and had borne abundance of sacrifices, andthose large ones too, and was accordingly broken to pieces, and fallendown by the weight of what had been laid upon it. He also informed himof the death of him that had foretold those things, and how he perished;[whence he concluded that] he had not any thing in him of a prophet, nor spake any thing like one. When he had thus spoken, he persuaded theking, and entirely alienated his mind from God, and from doing worksthat were righteous and holy, and encouraged him to go on in his impiouspractices [25] and accordingly he was to that degree injurious to God, and so great a transgressor, that he sought for nothing else every daybut how he might be guilty of some new instances of wickedness, and suchas should be more detestable than what he had been so insolent as todo before. And so much shall at present suffice to have said concerningJeroboam. CHAPTER 10. Concerning Rehoboam, And How God Inflicted Punishment UponHim For His Impiety By Shishak [King Of Egypt]. 1. Now Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, who, as we said before, was king ofthe two tribes, built strong and large cities, Bethlehem, and Etare, andTekoa, and Bethzur, and Shoco, and Adullam, and Ipan, and Maresha, andZiph, and Adorlam, and Lachlsh, and Azekah, and Zorah, and Aijalon, andHebron; these he built first of all in the tribe of Judah. He also builtother large cities in the tribe of Benjamin, and walled them about, andput garrisons in them all, and captains, and a great deal of corn, andwine, and oil, and he furnished every one of them plentifully with otherprovisions that were necessary for sustenance; moreover, he put thereinshields and spears for many ten thousand men. The priests also that werein all Israel, and the Levites, and if there were any of the multitudethat were good and righteous men, they gathered themselves togetherto him, having left their own cities, that they might worship God inJerusalem; for they were not willing to be forced to worship the heiferswhich Jeroboam had made; and they augmented the kingdom of Rehoboam forthree years. And after he had married a woman of his own kindred, andhad by her three children born to him, he married also another ofhis own kindred, who was daughter of Absalom by Tamar, whose name wasMaachah, and by her he had a son, whom he named Abijah. He had moreovermany other children by other wives, but he loved Maachah above them all. Now he had eighteen legitimate wives, and thirty concubines; and he hadborn to him twenty-eight sons and threescore daughters; but he appointedAbijah, whom he had by Maachah, to be his successor in the kingdom, andintrusted him already with the treasures and the strongest cities. 2. Now I cannot but think that the greatness of a kingdom, and itschange into prosperity, often become the occasion of mischief and oftransgression to men; for when Rehoboam saw that his kingdom was so muchincreased, he went out of the right way unto unrighteous and irreligiouspractices, and he despised the worship of God, till the peoplethemselves imitated his wicked actions: for so it usually happens, thatthe manners of subjects are corrupted at the same time with those oftheir governors, which subjects then lay aside their own sober way ofliving, as a reproof of their governors' intemperate courses, and followtheir wickedness as if it were virtue; for it is not possible to showthat men approve of the actions of their kings, unless they do the sameactions with them. Agreeable whereto it now happened to the subjectsof Rehoboam; for when he was grown impious, and a transgressor himself, they endeavored not to offend him by resolving still to be righteous. But God sent Shishak, king of Egypt, to punish them for their unjustbehavior towards him, concerning whom Herodotus was mistaken, andapplied his actions to Sesostris; for this Shishak, [26] in the fifthyear of the reign of Rehoboam, made an expedition [into Judea] with manyten thousand men; for he had one thousand two hundred chariots in numberthat followed him, and threescore thousand horsemen, and four hundredthousand footmen. These he brought with him, and they were the greatestpart of them Libyans and Ethiopians. Now therefore when he fell uponthe country of the Hebrews, he took the strongest cities of Rehoboam'skingdom without fighting; and when he had put garrisons in them, he camelast of all to Jerusalem. 3. Now when Rehoboam, and the multitude with him, were shut up inJerusalem by the means of the army of Shishak, and when they besoughtGod to give them victory and deliverance, they could not persuade Godto be on their side. But Shemaiah the prophet told them, that Godthreatened to forsake them, as they had themselves forsaken his worship. When they heard this, they were immediately in a consternation of mind;and seeing no way of deliverance, they all earnestly set themselves toconfess that God might justly overlook them, since they had been guiltyof impiety towards him, and had let his laws lie in confusion. So whenGod saw them in that disposition, and that they acknowledge their sins, he told the prophet that he would not destroy them, but that he would, however, make them servants to the Egyptians, that they may learnwhether they will suffer less by serving men or God. So when Shishakhad taken the city without fighting, because Rehoboam was afraid, andreceived him into it, yet did not Shishak stand to the covenants he hadmade, but he spoiled the temple, and emptied the treasures of God, andthose of the king, and carried off innumerable ten thousands of goldand silver, and left nothing at all behind him. He also took away thebucklers of gold, and the shields, which Solomon the king had made; nay, he did not leave the golden quivers which David had taken from theking of Zobah, and had dedicated to God; and when he had thus done, hereturned to his own kingdom. Now Herodotus of Halicarnassus mentionsthis expedition, having only mistaken the king's name; and [in sayingthat] he made war upon many other nations also, and brought Syria ofPalestine into subjection, and took the men that were therein prisonerswithout fighting. Now it is manifest that he intended to declare thatour nation was subdued by him; for he saith that he left behind himpillars in the land of those that delivered themselves up to him withoutfighting, and engraved upon them the secret parts of women. Now our kingRehoboam delivered up our city without fighting. He says withal [27]that the Ethiopians learned to circumcise their privy parts from theEgyptians, with this addition, that the Phoenicians and Syrians thatlive in Palestine confess that they learned it of the Egyptians. Yet itis evident that no other of the Syrians that live in Palestine, besidesus alone, are circumcised. But as to such matters, let every one speakwhat is agreeable to his own opinion. 4. When Shishak was gone away, king Rehoboam made bucklers and shieldsof brass, instead of those of gold, and delivered the same numberof them to the keepers of the king's palace. So, instead of warlikeexpeditions, and that glory which results from those public actions, hereigned in great quietness, though not without fear, as being always anenemy to Jeroboam, and he died when he had lived fifty-seven years, andreigned seventeen. He was in his disposition a proud and a foolishman, and lost [part of his] dominions by not hearkening to his father'sfriends. He was buried in Jerusalem, in the sepulchers of the kings; andhis son Abijah succeeded him in the kingdom, and this in the eighteenthyear of Jeroboam's reign over the ten tribes; and this was theconclusion of these affairs. It must be now our business to relate theaffairs of Jeroboam, and how he ended his life; for he ceased not norrested to be injurious to God, but every day raised up altars upon highmountains, and went on making priests out of the multitude. CHAPTER 11. Concerning The Death Of A Son Of Jeroboam. How Jeroboam WasBeaten By Abijah Who Died A Little Afterward And Was Succeeded InHis Kingdom By Asa. And Also How, After The Death Of Jeroboam BaashaDestroyed His Son Nadab And All The House Of Jeroboam. 1. However, God was in no long time ready to return Jeroboam's wickedactions, and the punishment they deserved, upon his own head, and uponthe heads of all his house. And whereas a soil of his lay sick at thattime, who was called Abijah, he enjoined his wife to lay aside herrobes, and to take the garments belonging to a private person, and togo to Ahijah the prophet, for that he was a wonderful man in foretellingfuturities, it having been he who told me that I should be king. He alsoenjoined her, when she came to him, to inquire concerning the child, asif she were a stranger, whether he should escape this distemper. So shedid as her husband bade her, and changed her habit, and came to the cityShiloh, for there did Ahijah live. And as she was going into his house, his eyes being then dim with age, God appeared to him, and informedhim of two things; that the wife of Jeroboam was come to him, and whatanswer he should make to her inquiry. Accordingly, as the woman wascoming into the house like a private person and a stranger, he criedout, "Come in, O thou wife of Jeroboam! Why concealest thou thyself?Thou art not concealed from God, who hath appeared to me, and informedme that thou wast coming, and hath given me in command what I shall sayto thee. " So he said that she should go away to her husband, and speakto him thus: "Since I made thee a great man when thou wast little, orrather wast nothing, and rent the kingdom from the house of David, andgave it to thee, and thou hast been unmindful of these benefits, hastleft off my worship, hast made thee molten gods and honored them, I willin like manner cast thee down again, and will destroy all thy house, andmake them food for the dogs and the fowls; for a certain king is risingup, by appointment, over all this people, who shall leave none ofthe family of Jeroboam remaining. The multitude also shall themselvespartake of the same punishment, and shall be cast out of this good land, and shall be scattered into the places beyond Euphrates, because theyhave followed the wicked practices of their king, and have worshippedthe gods that he made, and forsaken my sacrifices. But do thou, O woman, make haste back to thy husband, and tell him this message; but thoushalt then find thy son dead, for as thou enterest the city he shalldepart this life; yet shall he be buried with the lamentation of allthe multitude, and honored with a general mourning, for he was the onlyperson of goodness of Jeroboam's family. " When the prophet had foretoldthese events, the woman went hastily away with a disordered mind, andgreatly grieved at the death of the forenamed child. So she was inlamentation as she went along the road, and mourned for the death of herson, that was just at hand. She was indeed in a miserable conditionat the unavoidable misery of his death, and went apace, but incircumstances very unfortunate, because of her son: for the greaterhaste she made, she would the sooner see her son dead, yet was sheforced to make such haste on account of her husband. Accordingly, whenshe was come back, she found that the child had given up the ghost, asthe prophet had said; and she related all the circumstances to the king. 2. Yet did not Jeroboam lay any of these things to heart, but he broughttogether a very numerous army, and made a warlike expedition againstAbijah, the son of Rehoboam, who had succeeded his father in the kingdomof the two tribes; for he despised him because of his age. But when heheard of the expedition of Jeroboam, he was not affrighted at it, butproved of a courageous temper of mind, superior both to his youth and tothe hopes 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 campnear the other, and prepared everything necessary for the fight. Hisarmy consisted of four hundred thousand, but the army of Jeroboam wasdouble to it. Now as the armies stood in array, ready for action anddangers, and were just going to fight, Abijah stood upon an elevatedplace, and beckoning with his hand, he desired the multitude andJeroboam himself to hear first with silence what he had to say. And whensilence was made, he began to speak, and told them, --"God had consentedthat David and his posterity should be their rulers for all time tocome, and this you yourselves are not unacquainted with; but I cannotbut wonder how you should forsake my father, and join yourselves to hisservant Jeroboam, and are now here with him to fight against those who, by God's own determination, are to reign, and to deprive them of thatdominion which they have still retained; for as to the greater part ofit, Jeroboam is unjustly in possession of it. However, I do not supposehe will enjoy it any longer; but when he hath suffered that punishmentwhich God thinks due to him for what is past, he will leave off thetransgressions he hath been guilty of, and the injuries he hath offeredto him, and which he hath still continued to offer and hath persuadedyou to do the same: yet when you were not any further unjustly treatedby 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 angerforsook him, as you pretended, but, in reality, you withdrew yourselvesfrom God, and from his laws, although it had been right for you to haveforgiven a man that was young in age, and not used to govern people, not only some disagreeable words, but if his youth and unskilfulness inaffairs had led him into some unfortunate actions, and that for the sakeof his father Solomon, and the benefits you received from him; for menought to excuse the sins of posterity on account of the benefactionsof parent; but you considered nothing of all this then, neither do youconsider it now, but come with so great an army against us. And what isit you depend upon for victory? Is it upon these golden heifers, and thealtars that you have on high places, which are demonstrations of yourimpiety, and not of religious worship? Or is it the exceeding multitudeof your army which gives you such good hopes? Yet certainly there isno strength at all in an army of many ten thousands, when the war isunjust; for we ought to place our surest hopes of success against ourenemies in righteousness alone, and in piety towards God; which hope wejustly have, since we have kept the laws from the beginning, and haveworshipped our own God, who was not made by hands out of corruptiblematter; nor was he formed by a wicked king, in order to deceive themultitude; but who is his own workmanship, [28] and the beginning andend of all things. I therefore give you counsel even now to repent, andto take better advice, and to leave off the prosecution of the war; tocall to mind the laws of your country, and to reflect what it hath beenthat hath advanced you to so happy a state as you are now in. " 3. This was the speech which Abijah made to the multitude. But whilehe was still speaking Jeroboam sent some of his soldiers privately toencompass Abijab round about, on certain parts of the camp that were nottaken notice of; and when he was thus within the compass of the enemy, his army was affrighted, and their courage failed them; but Abijahencouraged them, and exhorted them to place their hopes on God, for thathe was not encompassed by the enemy. So they all at once implored theDivine assistance, while the priests sounded with the trumpet, and theymade a shout, and fell upon their enemies, and God brake the courage andcast down the force of their enemies, and made Ahijah's army superiorto them; for God vouchsafed to grant them a wonderful and very famousvictory; and such a slaughter was now made of Jeroboam's army [29] as isnever recorded to have happened in any other war, whether it were of theGreeks or of the Barbarians, for they overthrew [and slew] five hundredthousand of their enemies, and they took their strongest cities byforce, and spoiled them; and besides those, they did the same toBethel and her towns, and Jeshanah and her towns. And after this defeatJeroboam never recovered himself during the life of Abijah, who yetdid not long survive, for he reigned but three years, and was buriedin Jerusalem in the sepulchers of his forefathers. He left behind himtwenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters; and he had also those childrenby fourteen wives; and Asa his son succeeded in the kingdom; and theyoung man's mother was Michaiah. Under his reign the country of theIsraelites enjoyed peace for ten years. 4. And so far concerning Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, the son ofSolomon, as his history hath come down to us. But Jeroboam, the kingof the ten tribes, died when he had governed 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 inimpiety and wickedness. In these two years he made an expedition againstGibbethon, a city of the Philistines, and continued the siege in orderto take it; but he was conspired against while he was there by a friendof his, whose name was Baasha, the son of Ahijah, and was slain; whichBaasha took the kingdom after the other's death, and destroyed the wholehouse 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 topieces and devoured by dogs, and that others of them that died in thefields were torn and devoured by the fowls. So the house of Jeroboamsuffered the just punishment of his impiety, and of his wicked actions. CHAPTER 12. How Zerah, King Of The Ethiopians, Was Beaten By Asa; AndHow Asa, Upon Baasha's Making War Against Him, Invited The King Of TheDamascens To Assist Him; And How, On The Destruction Of The House OfBaasha Zimri Got The Kingdom As Did His Son Ahab After Him. 1. Now Asa, the king of Jerusalem, was of an excellent character, andhad a regard to God, and neither did nor designed any thing but what hadrelation to the observation of the laws. He made a reformation of hiskingdom, and cut off whatsoever was wicked therein, and purified it fromevery impurity. Now he had an army of chosen men that were armed withtargets and spears; out of the tribe of Judah three hundred thousand;and out of the tribe of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, twohundred and fifty thousand. But when he had already reigned ten years, Zerah, king of Ethiopia, [30] made an expedition against him, with agreat army, of nine hundred thousand footmen, and one hundred thousandhorsemen, and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah, acity that belonged to the tribe of Judah. Now when Zerah had passedso far with his own army, Asa met him, and put his army in array overagainst him, in a valley called Zephathah, not far from the city; andwhen he saw the multitude of the Ethiopians, he cried out, and besoughtGod to give him the victory, and that he might kill many ten thousandsof the enemy: "For, " said he, [31] "I depend on nothing else but thatassistance which I expect from thee, which is able to make the fewersuperior to the more numerous, and the weaker to the stronger; andthence it is alone that I venture to meet Zerah, and fight him. " 2. While Asa was saying this, God gave him a signal of victory, andjoining battle cheerfully on account of what God had foretold aboutit, he slew a great many of the Ethiopians; and when he had put them toflight, he pursued them to the country of Gerar; and when they left offkilling their enemies, they betook themselves to spoiling them, [for thecity Gerar was already taken, ] and to spoiling their camp, so that theycarried off much gold, and much silver, and a great deal of [other]prey, and camels, and great cattle, and flocks of sheep. Accordingly, when Asa and his army had obtained such a victory, and such wealth fromGod, they returned to Jerusalem. Now as they were coming, a prophet, whose name was Azariah, met them on the road, and bade them stop theirjourney a little; and began to say to them thus: That the reason whythey had obtained this victory from God was this, that they had showedthemselves righteous and religious men, and had done every thingaccording to the will of God; that therefore, he said, if theypersevered therein, God would grant that they should always overcometheir enemies, and live happily; but that if they 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 apriest who shall deliver you a true answer from the oracle; but yourcities shall be overthrown, and your nation scattered over the wholeearth, and live the life of strangers and wanderers. So he advised them, while they had time, to be good, and not to deprive themselves of thefavor of God. When the king and the people heard this, they rejoiced;and all in common, and every one in particular, took great care tobehave themselves righteously. The king also sent some to take care thatthose in the country should observe the laws also. 3. And this was the state of Asa, king of the two tribes. I now returnto Baasha, the king of the multitude of the Israelites, who slew Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and retained the government. He dwelt in the cityTirzah, having made that his habitation, and reigned twenty-four years. He became more wicked and impious than Jeroboam or his son. He did agreat deal of mischief to the multitude, and was injurious to God, whosent the prophet Jehu, and told him beforehand that his whole familyshould be destroyed, and that he would bring the same miseries on hishouse which had brought that of Jeroboam to ruin; because when he hadbeen made king by him, he had not requited his kindness, by governingthe multitude righteously and religiously; which things, in the firstplace, tended to their own happiness, and, in the next place, werepleasing to God: that he had imitated this very wicked king Jeroboam;and although that man's soul had perished, yet did he express tothe life his wickedness; and he said that he should therefore justlyexperience the like calamity with him, since he had been guilty of thelike wickedness. But Baasha, though he heard beforehand what miserieswould befall him and his whole family for their insolent behavior, yetdid not he leave off his wicked practices for the time to come, nor didhe care to appear other than worse and worse till he died; nor did hethen repent of his past actions, nor endeavor to obtain pardon of Godfor them, but did as those do who have rewards proposed to them, whenthey have once in earnest set about their work, they do not leave offtheir labors; for thus did Baasha, when the prophet foretold to himwhat would come to pass, grow worse, as if what were threatened, theperdition of his family, and the destruction of his house, [which arereally among the greatest of evils, ] were good things; and, as if hewere a combatant for wickedness, he every day took more and morepains for it: and at last he took his army and assaulted a certainconsiderable city called Ramah, which was forty furlongs distant fromJerusalem; and when he had taken it, he fortified it, having determinedbeforehand to leave a garrison in it, that they might thence makeexcursions, and do mischief to the kingdom of Asa. 4. Whereupon Asa was afraid of the attempts the enemy might make uponhim; and considering with himself how many mischiefs this army that wasleft in Ramah might do to the country over which he reigned, he sentambassadors to the king of the Damascenes, with gold and silver, desiring his assistance, and putting him in mind that we have had afriendship together from the times of our forefathers. So he gladlyreceived that sum of money, and made a league with him, and broke thefriendship he had with Baasha, and sent the commanders of his own forcesunto the cities that were under Baasha's dominion, and ordered themto do them mischief. So they went and burnt some of them, and spoiledothers; Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmain [32] and many others. Now when theking of Israel heard this, he left off building and fortifying Ramah, and returned presently to assist his own people under the distressesthey were in; but Asa made use of the materials that were prepared forbuilding that city, for building in the same place two strong cities, the one of which was called Geba, and the other Mizpah; so that afterthis Baasha had no leisure to make expeditions against Asa, for he wasprevented by death, and was buried in the city Tirzah; and Elah hisson took the kingdom, who, when he had reigned two years, died, beingtreacherously slain by Zimri, the captain of half his army; for when hewas at Arza, his steward's house, he persuaded some of the horsemen thatwere under him to assault Elah, and by that means he slew him when hewas without his armed men and his captains, for they were all busied inthe siege of Gibbethon, a city of the Philistines. 5. When Zimri, the captain of the army, had killed Elah, he took thekingdom himself, and, according to Jehu's prophecy, slew all the houseof Baasha; for it came to pass that Baasha's house utterly perished, onaccount of his impiety, in the same manner as we have already describedthe destruction of the house of Jeroboam. But the army that wasbesieging. Gibbethon, when they heard what had befallen the king, andthat when Zimri had killed him, he had gained the kingdom, they madeOmri their general king, who drew off his army from Gibbethon, and cameto Tirzah, where the royal palace was, and assaulted the city, and tookit by force. But when Zimri saw that the city had none to defend it, hefled into the inmost part of the palace, and set it on fire, and burnthimself with it, when he had reigned only seven days. Upon which thepeople of Israel were presently divided, and part of them would haveTibni to be king, and part Omri; but when those that were for Omri'sruling had beaten Tibni, Omri reigned over all the multitude. Now it wasin the thirtieth year of the reign of Asa that Omri reigned for twelveyears; six of these years he reigned in the city Tirzah, and the restin the city called Semareon, but named by the Greeks Samaria; buthe himself called it Semareon, from Semer, who sold him the mountainwhereon he built it. Now Omri was no way different from those kingsthat reigned before him, but that he grew worse than they, for theyall sought how they might turn the people away from God by their dailywicked practices; and oil that account it was that God made one of themto be slain by another, and that no one person of their families shouldremain. This Omri also died in Samaria and Ahab his son succeeded him. 6. Now by these events we may learn what concern God hath for theaffairs of mankind, and how he loves good men, and hates the wicked, anddestroys them root and branch; for many of these kings of Israel, theyand their families, were miserably destroyed, and taken away one byanother, in a short time, for their transgression and wickedness; butAsa, who was king of Jerusalem, and of the two tribes, attained, by God's blessing, a long and a blessed old age, for his piety andrighteousness, and died happily, when he had reigned forty and oneyears; and when he was dead, his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him in thegovernment. He was born of Asa's wife Azubah. And all men allowed thathe followed the works of David his forefather, and this both in courageand piety; but we are not obliged now to speak any more of the affairsof this king. CHAPTER 13. How Ahab When He Had Taken Jezebel To Wife Became MoreWicked Than All The Kings That Had Been Before Him; Of The Actions OfThe Prophet Elijah, And What Befell Naboth. 1. Now Ahab the king of Israel dwelt in Samaria, and held the governmentfor twenty-two years; and made no alteration in the conduct of the kingsthat were his predecessors, but only in such things as were of his owninvention for the worse, and in his most gross wickedness. He imitatedthem in their wicked courses, and in their injurious behavior towardsGod, and more especially he imitated the transgression of Jeroboam;for he worshipped the heifers that he had made; and he contrived otherabsurd objects of worship besides those heifers: he also took to wifethe daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Tyrians and Sidonians, whose namewas Jezebel, of whom he learned to worship her own gods. This womanwas active and bold, and fell into so great a degree of impurity andmadness, that she built a temple to the god of the Tyrians, Whichthey call Belus, and planted a grove of all sorts of trees; she alsoappointed priests and false prophets to this god. The king also himselfhad many such about him, and so exceeded in madness and wickedness all[the kings] that went before him. 2. There was now a prophet of God Almighty, of Thesbon, a country inGilead, that came to Ahab, and said to him, that God foretold he wouldnot send rain nor dew in those years upon the country but when he shouldappear. And when he had confirmed this by an oath, he departed into thesouthern parts, and made his abode by a brook, out of which he had waterto drink; for as for his food, ravens brought it to him every day: butwhen that river was dried up for want of rain, he came to Zarephath, acity not far from Sidon and Tyre, for it lay between them, and this atthe command of God, for [God told him] that he should there find a womanwho was a widow that should give him sustenance. So when he was not faroff the city, he saw a woman that labored with her own hands, gatheringof sticks: so God informed him that this was the woman who was to givehim sustenance. So he came and saluted her, and desired her to bring himsome water to drink; but as she was going so to do, he called to her, and would have her to bring him a loaf of bread also; whereupon sheaffirmed upon oath that she had at home nothing more than one handfulof meal, and a little oil, and that she was going to gather some sticks, that she might knead it, and make bread for herself and her son; afterwhich, she said, they must perish, and be consumed by the famine, forthey had nothing for themselves any longer. Hereupon he said, "Go onwith good courage, and hope for better things; and first of all makeme a little cake, and bring it to me, for I foretell to thee that thisvessel of meal and this cruse of oil shall not fail until God sendrain. " When the prophet had said this, she came to him, and made him thebefore-named cake; of which she had part for herself, and gave the restto her son, and to the prophet also; nor did any thing of this falluntil the drought ceased. Now Menander mentions this drought in hisaccount of the acts of Ethbaal, king of the Tyrians; where he says thus:"Under him there was a want of rain from the month Hyperberetmustill the month Hyperberetmus of the year following; but when he madesupplications, there came great thunders. This Ethbaal built the cityBotrys in Phoenicia, and the city Auza in Libya. " By these words hedesigned the want of rain that was in the days of Ahab, for at that timeit was that Ethbaal also reigned over the Tyrians, as Menander informsus. 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 herbreasts with her hands, and sending out such expressions as her passionsdictated to her, and complained to him that he had come to her toreproach her for her sins, and that on this account it was that her sonwas dead. But he bid her be of good cheer, and deliver her son tohim, for that he would deliver him again to her alive. So when she haddelivered her son up to him, he carried him into an upper room, where hehimself lodged, and laid him down upon the bed, and cried unto God, and said, that God had not done well, in rewarding the woman who hadentertained him and sustained him, by taking away her son; and he prayedthat he would send again the soul of the child into him, and bring himto life again. Accordingly God took pity on the mother, and was willingto gratify the prophet, that he might not seem to have come to her todo her a mischief, and the child, beyond all expectation, came to lifeagain. So the mother returned the prophet thanks, and said she was thenclearly satisfied that God did converse with him. 4. After a little while Elijah came to king Ahab, according to God'swill, to inform him that rain was coming. Now the famine had seized uponthe whole country, and there was a great want of what was necessary forsustenance, insomuch that it was after the recovery of the widow's sonof Sarepta, God sent not only men that wanted it, but the earth itselfalso, which did not produce enough for the horse and the other beastsof what was useful for them to feed on, by reason of the drought. So theking called for Obadiah, who was steward over his cattle, and said tohim, that he would have him go to the fountains of water, and to thebrooks, that if any herbs could be found for them, they might mow itdown, and reserve it for the beasts. And when he had sent persons allover the habitable earth [33] to discover the prophet Elijah, and theycould not find him, he bade Obadiah accompany him. So it was resolvedthey should make a progress, and divide the ways between them; andObadiah took one road, and the king another. Now it happened that thesame time when queen Jezebel slew the prophets, that this Obadiah hadhidden a hundred prophets, and had fed them with nothing but bread andwater. But when Obadiah was alone, and absent from the king, the prophetElijah met him; and Obadiah asked him who he was; and when he hadlearned it from him, he worshipped him. Elijah then bid him go to theking, and tell him that I am here ready to wait on him. But Obadiahreplied, "What evil have I done to thee, that thou sendest me to one whoseeketh to kill thee, and hath sought over all the earth for thee?Or was he so ignorant as not to know that the king had left no placeuntouched unto which he had not sent persons to bring him back, inorder, if they could take him, to have him put to death?" For he toldhim he was afraid lest God should appear to him again, and he shouldgo away into another place; and that when the king should send him forElijah, and he should miss of him, and not be able to find him any whereupon earth, he should be put to death. He desired him therefore to takecare of his preservation; and told him how diligently he had providedfor those of his own profession, and had saved a hundred prophets, whenJezebel slew the rest of them, and had kept them concealed, and thatthey had been sustained by him. But Elijah bade him fear nothing, but goto the king; and he assured him upon oath that he would certainly showhimself to Ahab that very day. 5. So when Obadiah had informed the king that Elijah was there, Ahabmet him, and asked him, in anger, if he were the man that afflictedthe people of the Hebrews, and was the occasion of the drought they layunder? But Elijah, without any flattery, said that he was himself theman, he and his house, which brought such sad afflictions upon them, and that by introducing strange gods into their country, and worshippingthem, and by leaving their own, who was the only true God, and havingno manner of regard to him. However, he bade him go his way, and gathertogether all the people to him to Mount Carmel, with his own prophets, and those of his wife, telling him how many there were of them, as alsothe prophets of the groves, about four hundred in number. And as all themen whom Ahab sent for ran away to the forenamed mountain, the prophetElijah stood in the midst of them, and said, "How long will you livethus in uncertainty of mind and opinion?" He also exhorted them, thatin case they esteemed their own country God to be the true and theonly God, they would follow him and his commandments; but in case theyesteemed him to be nothing, but had an opinion of the strange gods, and that they ought to worship them, his counsel was, that they shouldfollow them. And when the multitude made no answer to what he said, Elijah desired that, for a trial of the power of the strange gods, andof their own God, he, who was his only prophet, while they had fourhundred, might take a heifer and kill it as a sacrifice, and lay it uponpieces of wood, and not kindle any fire, and that they should do thesame things, and call upon their own gods to set the wood on fire; forif that were done, they would thence learn the nature of the true God. This proposal pleased the people. So Elijah bade the prophets to chooseout a heifer first, and kill it, and to call on their gods. But whenthere appeared no effect of the prayer or invocation of the prophetsupon their sacrifice, Elijah derided them, and bade them call upontheir gods with a loud voice, for they might either be on a journey, orasleep; and when these prophets had done so from morning till noon, andcut themselves with swords and lances, [34] according to the customsof their country, and he was about to offer his sacrifice, he bade [theprophets] go away, but bade [the people] come near and observe what hedid, lest he should privately hide fire among the pieces of wood. So, upon the approach of the multitude, he took twelve stones, one for eachtribe of the people of the Hebrews, and built an altar with them, anddug a very deep trench; and when he had laid the pieces of wood upon thealtar, and upon them had laid the pieces of the sacrifices, he orderedthem to fill four barrels with the water of the fountain, and to pour itupon the altar, till it ran over it, and till the trench was filled withthe water poured into it. When he had done this, he began to pray toGod, and to invocate him to make manifest his power to a people that hadalready been in an error a long time; upon which words a fire came ona sudden from heaven in the sight of the multitude, and fell upon thealtar, and consumed the sacrifice, till the very water was set on fire, and the place was become dry. 6. Now when the Israelites saw this, they fell down upon the ground, andworshipped one God, and called him The great and the only true God; butthey called the others mere names, framed by the evil and vile opinionsof men. So they caught their prophets, and, at the command of Elijah, slew them. Elijah also said to the king, that he should go to dinnerwithout any further concern, for that in a little time he would see Godsend them rain. Accordingly Ahab went his way. But Elijah went up to thehighest top of Mount Carmel, and sat down upon the ground, and leanedhis head upon his knees, and bade his servant go up to a certainelevated place, and look towards the sea, and when he should see a cloudrising any where, he should give him notice of it, for till that timethe air had been clear. When the Servant had gone up, and had said manytimes that he saw nothing, at the seventh time of his going up, he saidthat he saw a small black thing in the sky, not larger than a man'sfoot. When Elijah heard that, he sent to Ahab, and desired him to goaway to the city before the rain came down. So he came to the cityJezreel; and in a little time the air was all obscured, and covered withclouds, and a vehement storm of wind came upon the earth, and with ita great deal of rain; and the prophet was under a Divine fury, andran along with the king's chariot unto Jezreel a city of Izar [35][Issaachar]. 7. When Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, understood what signs Elijah hadwrought, and how he had slain her prophets, she was angry, and sentmessengers to him, and by them threatened to kill him, as he haddestroyed her prophets. At this Elijah was affrighted, and fled to thecity called Beersheba, which is situate at the utmost limits of thecountry belonging to the tribe of Judah, towards the land of Edom; andthere he left his servant, and went away into the desert. He prayed alsothat he might die, for that he was not better than his fathers, nor needhe be very desirous to live, when they were dead; and he lay and sleptunder a certain tree; and when somebody awakened him, and he was risenup, he found food set by him and water: so when he had eaten, andrecovered his strength by that his food, he came to that mountain whichis called Sinai, where it is related that Moses received his laws fromGod; and finding there a certain hollow cave, he entered into it, andcontinued 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, andhad left the city? he said, that because he had slain the prophets ofthe foreign gods, and had persuaded the people that he alone whom theyhad worshipped from the beginning was God, he was sought for by theking's wife to be punished for so doing. And when he had heard anothervoice, telling him that he should come out the next day into the openair, and should thereby know what he was to do, he came out of the cavethe next day accordingly, When he both heard an earthquake, and sawthe bright splendor of a fire; and after a silence made, a Divine voiceexhorted him not to be disturbed with the circumstances he was in, forthat none of his enemies should have power over him. The voice alsocommanded him to return home, and to ordain Jehu, the son of Nimshi, tobe king over their own multitude; and Hazael, of Damascus, to be overthe Syrians; and Elisha, of the city Abel, to be a prophet in his stead;and that of the impious multitude, some should be slain by Hazael, andothers by Jehu. So Elijah, upon hearing this charge, returned intothe land of the Hebrews. And when he found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, ploughing, and certain others with him, driving twelve yoke of oxen, hecame to him, and cast his own garment upon him; upon which Elisha beganto prophesy presently, and leaving his oxen, he followed Elijah. Andwhen he desired leave to salute his parents, Elijah gave him leave so todo; and when he had taken his leave of them, he followed him, and becamethe disciple and the servant of Elijah all the days of his life. Andthus have I despatched the affairs in which this prophet was concerned. 8. Now there was one Naboth, of the city Izar, [Jezreel, ] who had afield adjoining to that of the king: the king would have persuaded himto sell him that his field, which lay so near to his own lands, at whatprice he pleased, that he might join them together, and make them onefarm; and if he would not accept of money for it, he gave him leave tochoose any of his other fields in its stead. But Naboth said he wouldnot do so, but would keep the possession of that land of his own, whichhe had by inheritance from his father. Upon this the king was grieved, as if he had received an injury, when he could not get another man'spossession, and he would neither wash himself, nor take any food: andwhen Jezebel asked him what it was that troubled him, and why he wouldneither wash himself, nor eat either dinner or supper, he related toher the perverseness of Naboth, and how, when he had made use of gentlewords to him, and such as were beneath the royal authority, he had beenaffronted, and had not obtained what he desired. However, she persuadedhim not to be cast down at this accident, but to leave off his grief, and return to the usual care of his body, for that she would take careto have Naboth punished; and she immediately sent letters to the rulersof the Israelites [Jezreelites] in Ahab's name, and commanded them tofast and to assemble a congregation, and to set Naboth at the head ofthem, because he was of an illustrious family, and to have three boldmen ready to bear witness that he had blasphemed God and the king, andthen to stone him, and slay him in that manner. Accordingly, when Nabothhad been thus testified against, as the queen had written to them, thathe had blasphemed against God and Ahab the king, she desired him to takepossession of Naboth's vineyard on free cost. So Ahab was glad at whathad been done, and rose up immediately from the bed whereon he lay to goto see Naboth's vineyard; but God had great indignation at it, and sentElijah the prophet to the field of Naboth, to speak to Ahab, and to sayto him, that he had slain the true owner of that field unjustly. And assoon as he came to him, and the king had said that he might do with himwhat he pleased, [for he thought it a reproach to him to be thus caughtin his sin, ] Elijah said, that in that very place in which the dead bodyof Naboth was eaten by dogs both his own blood and that of his wife'sshould be shed, and that all his family should perish, because hehad been so insolently wicked, and had slain a citizen unjustly, andcontrary to the laws of his country. Hereupon Ahab began to be sorry forthe things he had done, and to repent of them; and he put on sackcloth, and went barefoot [36] and would not touch any food; he also confessedhis sins, and endeavored thus to appease God. But God said to theprophet, that while Ahab was living he would put off the punishment ofhis family, because he repented of those insolent crimes he had beenguilty of, but that still he would fulfill his threatening under Ahab'sson; which message the prophet delivered to the king. CHAPTER 14. How Hadad King Of Damascus And Of Syria, Made TwoExpeditions Against Ahab And Was Beaten. 1. When the affairs of Ahab were thus, at that very time the son ofHadad, [Benhadad, ] who was king of the Syrians and of Damascus, gottogether an army out of all his country, and procured thirty-two kingsbeyond Euphrates to be his auxiliaries: so he made an expedition againstAhab; but because Ahab's army was not like that of Benhadad, he did notset it in array to fight him, but having shut up every thing that was inthe country in the strongest cities he had, he abode in Samaria himself, for the walls about it were very strong, and it appeared to be noteasily to be taken in other respects also. So the king of Syria took hisarmy with him, and came to Samaria, and placed his army round about thecity, and besieged it. He also sent a herald to Ahab, and desired hewould admit the ambassadors he would send him, by whom he would let himknow his pleasure. So, upon the king of Israel's permission for him tosend, those ambassador's 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 ofwhat he had as he pleased, he would withdraw his army, and leave off thesiege. Upon this Ahab bade the ambassadors to go back, and tell theirking, that both he himself and all that he hath are his possessions. Andwhen these ambassadors had told this to Berthadad, he sent to him again, and desired, since he confessed that all he had was his, that he wouldadmit those servants of his which he should send the next day; and hecommanded him to deliver to those whom he should send whatsoever, upontheir searching his palace, and the houses of his friends and kindred, they should find to be excellent in its kind, but that what did notplease them they should leave to him. At this second embassage of theking of Syria, Ahab was surprised, and gathered together the multitudeto a congregation, and told them that, for himself, he was ready, fortheir safety and peace, to give up his own wives and children to theenemy, and to yield to him all his own possessions, for that was whatthe Syrian king required at his first embassage; but that now he desiresto send his servants to search all their houses, and in them to leavenothing that is excellent in its kind, seeking an occasion of fightingagainst him, "as knowing that I would not spare what is mine own foryour sakes, but taking a handle from the disagreeable terms he offersconcerning you to bring a war upon us; however, I will do what you shallresolve is fit to be done. " But the multitude advised him to hearken tonone of his proposals, but to despise him, and be in readiness to fighthim. Accordingly, when he had given the ambassadors this answer to bereported, that he still continued in the mind to comply with what termshe at first desired, for the safety of the citizens; but as for hissecond desires, he cannot submit to them, --he dismissed them. 2. Now when Benhadad heard this, he had indignation, and sentambassadors to Ahab the third time, and threatened that his army wouldraise a bank higher than those walls, in confidence of whose strength hedespised him, and that by only each man of his army taking a handful ofearth; hereby making a show of the great number of his army, and aimingto affright him. Ahab answered, that he ought not to vaunt himself whenhe had only put on his armor, but when he should have conquered hisenemies in the battle. So the ambassadors came back, and found the kingat supper with his thirty-two kings, and informed him of Ahab's answer;who then immediately gave order for proceeding thus: To make lines roundthe city, and raise a bulwark, and to prosecute the siege all mannerof ways. Now, as this was doing, Ahab was in a great agony, and all hispeople 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 hadpromised to subdue so many ten thousands of his enemies under him. And when he inquired by whose means the victory was to be obtained, he said, "By the sons of the princes; but under thy conduct as theirleader, by reason of their unskilfulness [in war]. " Upon which hecalled for the sons of the princes, and found them to be two hundred andthirty-two persons. So when he was informed that the king of Syria hadbetaken himself to feasting and repose, he opened the gates, and sentout the princes' sons. Now when the sentinels told Benhadad of it, hesent some to meet them, and commanded them, that if these men were comeout for fighting, they should bind them, and bring them to him; andthat if they came out peaceably, they should do the same. Now Ahab hadanother army ready within the walls, but the sons of the princes fellupon the out-guard, and slew many of them, and pursued the rest of themto the camp; and when the king of Israel saw that these had the upperhand, he sent out all the rest of his army, which, falling suddenly uponthe Syrians, beat them, for they did not think they would have come out;on which account it was that they assaulted them when they were naked[37] and drunk, insomuch that they left all their armor behind them whenthey fled out of the camp, and the king himself escaped with difficulty, by fleeing away on horseback. But Ahab went a great way in pursuit ofthe Syrians; and when he had spoiled their camp, which contained a greatdeal of wealth, and moreover a large quantity of gold and silver, hetook Benhadad's chariots and horses, and returned to the city; but asthe prophet told him he ought to have his army ready, because the Syrianking would make another expedition against him the next year, Ahab wasbusy in making provision for it accordingly. 3. Now Benhadad, when he had saved himself, and as much of his army ashe could, out of the battle, he consulted with his friends how hemight make another expedition against the Israelites. Now those friendsadvised him not to fight with them on the hills, because their God waspotent in such places, and thence it had come to pass that they had verylately been beaten; but they said, that if they joined battle with themin the plain, they should beat them. They also gave him this furtheradvice, 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 thekings, and to raise an army out of their country, and let them be in theplace of the former who perished in the battle, together with horses andchariots. So he judged their counsel to be good, and acted according toit in the management of the army. 4. At the beginning of the spring, Benhadad took his army with him, andled it against the Hebrews; and when he was come to a certain city whichwas called Aphek, he pitched his camp in the great plain. Ahab alsowent to meet him with his army, and pitched his camp over against him, although his army was a very small one, if it were compared with theenemy's; but the prophet came again to him, and told him, that God wouldgive him the victory, that he might demonstrate his own power to be, not only on the mountains, but on the plains also; which it seems wascontrary to the opinion of the Syrians. So they lay quiet in their campseven days; but on the last of those days, when the enemies came outof their camp, and put themselves in array in order to fight, Ahabalso brought out his own army; and when the battle was joined, and theyfought valiantly, he put the enemy to flight, and pursued them, andpressed upon them, and slew them; nay, they were destroyed by theirown chariots, and by one another; nor could any more than a few ofthem escape to their own city Aphek, who were also killed by the wallsfalling upon them, being in number twenty-seven thousand. [38] Now therewere slain in this battle a hundred thousand more; but Benhadad, theking of the Syrians, fled away, with certain others of his most faithfulservants, and hid himself in a cellar under ground; and when these toldhim that the kings of Israel were humane and merciful men, and thatthey might make use of the usual manner of supplication, and obtaindeliverance from Ahab, in case he would give them leave to go to him, hegave them leave accordingly. So they came to Ahab, clothed in sackcloth, with ropes about their heads, [for this was the ancient manner ofsupplication among the Syrians, ] [39] and said, that Benhadad desiredhe would save him, and that he would ever be a servant to him for thatfavor. Ahab replied he was glad that he was alive, and not hurt in thebattle; and he further promised him the same honor and kindness thata man would show to his brother. So they received assurances upon oathfrom him, that when he came to him he should receive no harm from him, and then went and brought him out of the cellar wherein he was hid, andbrought him to Ahab as he sat in his chariot. So Benhadad worshippedhim; and Ahab gave him his hand, and made him come up to him into hischariot, and kissed him, and bid him be of good cheer, and not to expectthat any mischief should be done to him. So Berthadad returned himthanks, and professed that he would remember his kindness to him allthe days of his life; and promised he would restore those cities of theIsraelites which the former kings had taken from them, and grant that heshould have leave to come to Damascus, as his forefathers had to cometo Samaria. So they confirmed their covenant by oaths, and Ahab made himmany presents, and sent him back to his own kingdom. And this wasthe conclusion of the war that Benhadad made against Ahab and theIsraelites. 5. But a certain prophet, whose name was Micaiah, [40] came to one ofthe Israelites, and bid him smite him on the head, for by so doing hewould please God; but when he would not do so, he foretold to him, thatsince he disobeyed the commands of God, he should meet with a lion, andbe destroyed by him. When that sad accident had befallen the man, theprophet came again to another, and gave him the same injunction; so hesmote him, and wounded his skull; upon which he bound up his head, andcame to the king, and told him that he had been a soldier of his, andhad the custody of one of the prisoners committed to him by an officer, and that the prisoner being run away, he was in danger of losing his ownlife by the means of that officer, who had threatened him, that if theprisoner escaped he would kill him. And when Ahab had said that he wouldjustly die, he took off the binding about his head, and was known bythe king to be Micaiah the prophet, who made use of this artifice as aprelude to his following words; for he said that God would punishhim who had suffered Benhadad, a blasphemer against him, to escapepunishment; and that he would so bring it about, that he should die bythe other's means [41] and his people by the other's army. Upon whichAhab was very angry at the prophet, and gave commandment that he shouldbe put in prison, and there kept; but for himself, he was in confusionat the words of Micaiah, and returned to his own house. CHAPTER 15. Concerning Jehoshaphat The King Of Jerusalem And How AhabMade An Expedition Against The Syrians And Was Assisted Therein ByJehoshaphat, But Was Himself Overcome In Battle And Perished Therein. 1. And these were the circumstances in which Ahab was. But I now returnto Jehoshaphat, the king of Jerusalem, who, when he had augmented hiskingdom, had set garrisons in the cities of the countries belonging tohis subjects, and had put such garrisons no less into those cities whichwere taken out of the tribe of Ephraim by his grandfather Abijah, whenJeroboam reigned over the ten tribes [than he did into the other]. Butthen he had God favorable and assisting to him, as being both righteousand religious, and seeking to do somewhat every day that should beagreeable and acceptable to God. The kings also that were round abouthim honored him with the presents they made him, till the riches that hehad acquired were immensely great, and the glory he had gained was of amost exalted nature. 2. Now, in the third year of this reign, he called together the rulersof the country, and the priests, and commanded them to go round theland, and teach all the people that were under him, city by city, thelaws of Moses, and to keep them, and to be diligent in the worship ofGod. With this the whole multitude was so pleased, that they were not soeagerly set upon or affected with any thing so much as the observationof the laws. The neighboring nations also continued to love Jehoshaphat, and to be at peace with him. The Philistines paid their appointedtribute, and the Arabians supplied him every year with three hundred andsixty lambs, and as many kids of the goats. He also fortified the greatcities, which were many in number, and of great consequence. He preparedalso a mighty army of soldiers and weapons against their enemies. Nowthe army of men that wore their armor, was three hundred thousand of thetribe of Judah, of whom Adnah was the chief; but John was chief of twohundred thousand. The same man was chief of the tribe of Benjamin, andhad two hundred thousand archers under him. There was another chief, whose name was Jehozabad, who had a hundred and fourscore thousand armedmen. This multitude was distributed to be ready for the king's service, besides 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 Athaliah. And when, aftersome time, he went to Samaria, Ahab received him courteously, andtreated the army that followed him in a splendid manner, with greatplenty of corn and wine, and of slain beasts; and desired that hewould join with him in his war against the king of Syria, that he mightrecover from him the city Ramoth, in Gilead; for though it had belongedto his father, yet had the king of Syria's father taken it away fromhim; and upon Jehoshaphat's promise to afford him his assistance, [forindeed his army was not inferior to the other, ] and his sending for hisarmy from Jerusalem to Samaria, the two kings went out of the city, andeach of them sat on his own throne, and each gave their orders to theirseveral armies. Now Jehoshaphat bid them call some of the prophets, ifthere were any there, and inquire of them concerning this expeditionagainst the king of Syria, whether they would give them counsel to makethat expedition at this time, for there was peace at that time betweenAhab and the king of Syria, which had lasted three years, from the timehe had taken him captive till that day. 4. So Ahab called his own prophets, being in number about four hundred, and bid them inquire of God whether he would grant him the victory, ifhe made an expedition against Benhadad, and enable him to overthrow thatcity, for whose sake it was that he was going to war. Now these prophetsgave their counsel for making this expedition, and said that he wouldbeat the king of Syria, and, as formerly, would reduce him under hispower. But Jehoshaphat, understanding by their words that they werefalse prophets, asked Ahab whether there were not some other prophet, and he belonging to the true God, that we may have surer informationconcerning futurities. Hereupon Ahab said there was indeed such a one, but that he hated him, as having prophesied evil to him, and havingforetold 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 wasMicaiah, the son of Imlah. But upon Jehoshaphat's desire that he mightbe produced, Ahab sent a eunuch, who brought Micaiah to him. Now theeunuch had informed him by the way, that all the other prophets hadforetold that the king should gain the victory; but he said, that it wasnot lawful for him to lie against God, but that he must speak what heshould say to him about the king, whatsoever it were. When he came toAhab, and he had adjured him upon oath to speak the truth to him, hesaid that God had shown to him the Israelites running away, and pursuedby the Syrians, and dispersed upon the mountains by them, as flocks ofsheep are dispersed when their shepherd is slain. He said further, thatGod signified to him, that those Israelites should return in peace totheir own home, and that he only should fall in the battle. When Micalabhad thus spoken, Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "I told thee a little whileago the disposition of the man with regard to me, and that he uses toprophesy evil to me. " Upon which Micaiah replied, that he ought to hearall, whatsoever it be, that God foretells; and that in particular, theywere false prophets that encouraged him to make this war in hope ofvictory, whereas he must fight and be killed. Whereupon the king was insuspense with himself: but Zedekiah, one of those false prophets, camenear, and exhorted him not to hearken to Micaiah, for he did not at allspeak truth; as a demonstration of which he instanced in what Elijah hadsaid, who was a better prophet in foretelling futurities than Micaiah[42] for he foretold that the dogs should lick his blood in the city ofJezreel, in the field of Naboth, as they licked the blood of Naboth, whoby his means was there stoned to death by the multitude; that thereforeit was plain that this Micalab was a liar, as contradicting a greaterprophet than himself, and saying that he should be slain at three days'journey distance: "and [said he] you shall soon know whether he be atrue prophet, and hath the power of the Divine Spirit; for I will smitehim, and let him then hurt my hand, as Jadon caused the hand of Jeroboamthe king to wither when he would have caught him; for I suppose thouhast certainly heard of that accident. " So when, upon his smitingMicaiah, no harm happened to him, Ahab took courage, and readily led hisarmy against the king of Syria; for, as I suppose, fate was too hard forhim, and made him believe that the false prophets spake truer than thetrue one, that it might take an occasion of bringing him to his end. However, Zedekiah made horns of iron, and said to Ahab, that God madethose horns signals, that by them he should overthrow all Syria. ButMicaiah replied, that Zedekiah, in a few days, should go from one secretchamber to another to hide himself, that he might escape the punishmentof his lying. Then did the king give orders that they should takeMicaiah away, and guard him to Amon, the governor of the city, and togive him nothing but bread and water. 5. Then did Ahab, and Jehoshaphat the king of Jerusalem, take theirforces, and marched to Ramoth a city of Gilead; and when the king ofSyria heard of this expedition, he brought out his army to oppose them, and pitched his camp not far from Ramoth. Now Ahalx and Jehoshaphat hadagreed that Ahab should lay aside his royal robes, but that the king ofJerusalem should put on his [Ahab's] proper habit, and stand before thearmy, in order to disprove, by this artifice, what Micaiah had foretold. [43] But Ahab's fate found him out without his robes; for Benhadad, theking of Assyria, had charged his army, by the means of their commanders, to kill nobody else but only the king of Israel. So when the Syrians, upon their joining battle with the Israelites, saw Jehoshaphat standbefore the army, and conjectured that he was Ahab, they fell violentlyupon him, and encompassed him round; but when they were near, and knewthat it was not he, they all returned back; and while the fightlasted from the morning till late in the evening, and the Syrians wereconquerors, they killed nobody, as their king had commanded them. Andwhen they sought to kill Ahab alone, but could not find him, there wasa young nobleman belonging to king Benhadad, whose name was Naaman;he drew his bow against the enemy, and wounded the king through hisbreastplate, in his lungs. Upon this Ahab resolved not to make hismischance known to his army, lest they should run away; but he bid thedriver of his chariot to turn it back, and carry him out of the battle, because he was sorely and mortally wounded. However, he sat in hischariot and endured the pain till sunset, and then he fainted away anddied. 6. And now the Syrian army, upon the coming on of the night, retired totheir camp; and when the herald belonging to the camp gave notice thatAhab was dead, they returned home; and they took the dead body of Ahabto Samaria, and buried it there; but when they had washed his chariotin the fountain of Jezreel, which was bloody with the dead body of theking, they acknowledged that the prophecy of Elijah was true, for thedogs licked his blood, and the harlots continued afterwards to washthemselves in that fountain; but still he died at Ramoth, as Micaiah hadforetold. And as what things were foretold should happen to Ahab by thetwo prophets came to pass, we ought thence to have high notions of God, and every where to honor and worship him, and never to suppose that whatis pleasant and agreeable is worthy of belief before what is true, andto esteem nothing more advantageous than the gift of prophecy [44] andthat foreknowledge of future events which is derived from it, since Godshows men thereby what we ought to avoid. We may also guess, from whathappened to this king, and have reason to consider the power of fate;that there is no way of avoiding it, even when we know it. It creepsupon human souls, and flatters them with pleasing hopes, till it leadsthem about to the place where it will be too hard for them. AccordinglyAhab appears to have been deceived thereby, till he disbelieved thosethat foretold his defeat; but, by giving credit to such as foretold whatwas grateful to him, was slain; and his son Ahaziah succeeded him. BOOK IX. Containing The Interval Of One Hundred And Fifty-Seven Years. From The Death Of Ahab To The Captivity Of The Ten Tribes. CHAPTER 1. Concerning Jehoshaphat Again; How He Constituted Judges And, By God's Assistance Overcame His Enemies. 1. When Jehoshaphat the king was come to Jerusalem, from the assistancehe had afforded Ahab, the king of Israel, when he fought with Benhadad, king of Syria, the prophet Jehu met him, and accused him for assistingAhab, a man both impious and wicked; and said to him, that God wasdispleased with him for so doing, but that he delivered him fromthe enemy, notwithstanding he had sinned, because of his own properdisposition, which was good. Whereupon the king betook himself tothanksgivings and sacrifices to God; after which he presently went overall that country which he ruled round about, and taught the people, aswell the laws which God gave them by Moses, as that religious worshipthat was due to him. He also constituted judges in every one of thecities of his kingdom; and charged them to have regard to nothing somuch in judging the multitude as to do justice, and not to be moved bybribes, nor by the dignity of men eminent for either their riches ortheir high birth, but to distribute justice equally to all, as knowingthat God is conscious of every secret action of theirs. When he hadhimself instructed them thus, and gone over every city of the twotribes, he returned to Jerusalem. He there also constituted judges outof the priests and the Levites, and principal persons of the multitude, and admonished them to pass all their sentences with care and justice[1] And that if any of the people of his country had differences ofgreat consequence, they should send them out of the other citiesto these judges, who would be obliged to give righteous sentencesconcerning such causes; and this with the greater care, because itis proper that the sentences which are given in that city wherein thetemple of God is, and wherein the king dwells, be given with great careand the utmost justice. Now he set over them Amariah the priest, andZebadiah, [both] of the tribe of Judah; and after this manner it wasthat the king ordered these affairs. 2. About the same time the Moabites and Ammonites made an expeditionagainst Jehoshaphat, and took with them a great body of Arabians, and pitched their camp at Engedi, a city that is situate at the lakeAsphaltiris, and distant three hundred furlongs from Jerusalem. In thatplace grows the best kind of palm trees, and the opobalsamum. [2] NowJehoshaphat heard that the enemies had passed over the lake, and hadmade an irruption into that country which belonged to his kingdom; atwhich news he was aftrighted, and called the people of Jerusalem to acongregation in the temple, and standing over against the temple itself, he called upon God to afford him power and strength, so as to inflictpunishment on those that made this expedition against them [for thatthose who built this his temple had prayed, that he would protect thatcity, and take vengeance on those that were so bold as to come againstit]; for they are come to take from us that land which thou hast givenus for a possession. When he had prayed thus, he fell into tears; andthe whole multitude, together with their wives and children, made theirsupplications also: upon which a certain prophet, Jahaziel by name, cameinto the midst of the assembly, and cried out, and spake both to themultitude and to the king, that God heard their prayers, and promisedto fight against their enemies. He also gave order that the king shoulddraw his forces out the next day, for that he should find them betweenJerusalem and the ascent of Engedi, at a place called The Eminence, andthat he should not fight against them, but only stand still, and see howGod would fight against them. When the prophet had said this, both theking and the multitude fell upon their faces, and gave thanks to God, and worshipped him; and the Levites continued singing hymns to God withtheir instruments of music. 3. As soon as it was day, and the king was come into that wildernesswhich is under the city of Tekoa, he said to the multitude, "thatthey ought to give credit to what the prophet had said, and not to setthemselves in array for fighting; but to set the priests with theirtrumpets, and the Levites with the singers of hymns, to give thanks toGod, as having already delivered our country from our enemies. " Thisopinion of the king pleased [the people], and they did what he advisedthem to do. So God caused a terror and a commotion to arise among theAmmonites, who thought one another to be enemies, and slew one another, insomuch that not one man out of so great an army escaped; and whenJehoshaphat looked upon that valley wherein their enemies had beenencamped, and saw it full of dead men, he rejoiced at so surprising anevent, as was this assistance of God, while he himself by his own power, and without their labor, had given them the victory. He also gave hisarmy leave to take the prey of the enemy's camp, and to spoil their deadbodies; and indeed so they did for three days together, till they wereweary, so great was the number of the slain; and on the fourth day, allthe people were gathered together unto a certain hollow place or valley, and blessed God for his power and assistance, from which the place hadthis name given it, the Valley of [Berachah, or] Blessing. 4. And when the king had brought his army back to Jerusalem, he betookhimself to celebrate festivals, and offer sacrifices, and this for manydays. And indeed, after this destruction of their enemies, and whenit came to the ears of the foreign nations, they were all greatlyaftrighted, as supposing that God would openly fight for him hereafter. So Jehoshaphat from that time lived in great glory and splendor, onaccount of his righteousness and his piety towards God. He was also infriendship with Ahab's son, who was king of Israel; and he joinedwith him in the building of ships that were to sail to Pontus, and thetraffic cities of Thrace [3] but he failed of his gains, for the shipswere destroyed by being so great [and unwieldy]; on which account hewas no longer concerned about shipping. And this is the history ofJehoshaphat, the king of Jerusalem. CHAPTER 2. Concerning Ahaziah; The King Of Israel; And Again ConcerningThe Prophet Elijah. 1. And now Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, reigned over Israel, and made hisabode in Samaria. He was a wicked man, and in all respects like to bothhis parents and to Jeroboam, who first of all transgressed, and beganto deceive the people. In the second year of his reign, the king of Moabfell off from his obedience, and left off paying those tributes which hebefore paid to his father Ahab. Now it happened that Ahaziah, as he wascoming down from the top of his house, fell down from it, and in hissickness sent to the Fly, which was the god of Ekron, for that was thisgod's name, to inquire about his recovery [4] but the God of the Hebrewsappeared to Elijah the prophet, and commanded him to go and meet themessengers that were sent, and to ask them, whether the people of Israelhad pot a God of their own, that the king sent to a foreign god toinquire about his recovery? and to bid them return and tell the kingthat he would not escape this disease. And when Elijah had performedwhat God had commanded him, and the messengers had heard what he said, they returned to the king immediately; and when the king wondered howthey could return so soon, and asked them the reason of it, they saidthat a certain man met them, and forbade them to go on any farther; butto return and tell thee, from the command of the God of Israel, thatthis disease will have a bad end. And when the king bid them describethe man that said this to them, they replied that he was a hairy man, and was girt about with a girdle of leather. So the king understoodby this that the man who was described by the messengers was Elijah;whereupon he sent a captain to him, with fifty soldiers, and commandedthem to bring Elijah to him; and when the captain that was sent foundElijah sitting upon the top of a hill, he commanded him to come down, and to come to the king, for so had he enjoined; but that in case herefused, they would carry him by force. Elijah said to him, "That youmay have a trial whether I be a true prophet, I will pray that fire mayfall from heaven, and destroy both the soldiers and yourself. " [5] Sohe prayed, and a whirlwind of fire fell [from heaven], and destroyed thecaptain, and those that were with him. And when the king was informedof the destruction of these men, he was very angry, and sent anothercaptain with the like number of armed men that were sent before. Andwhen this captain also threatened the prophet, that unless he came downof his own accord, he would take him and carry him away, upon his prayeragainst him, the fire [from heaven] slew this captain as well the other. And when, upon inquiry, the king was informed of what happened to him, he sent out a third captain. But when this captain, who was a wise man, and of a mild disposition, came to the place where Elijah happened tobe, and spake civilly to him; and said that he knew that it was withouthis own consent, and only in submission to the king's command that hecame 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 thosearmed men that were with him, and that he would come down and followhim to the king. So Elijah accepted of his discreet words and courteousbehavior, and came down and followed him. And when he came to theking, he prophesied to him and told him that God said, "Since thou hastdespised him as not being God, and so unable to foretell the truth aboutthy distemper, but hast sent to the god of Ekron to inquire of him whatwill 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 hadforetold; but Jehoram his brother succeeded him in the kingdom, for hedied without children: but for this Jehoram, he was like his father Ahabin wickedness, and reigned twelve years, indulging himself in all sortsof wickedness and impiety towards God, for, leaving off his worship, heworshipped foreign gods; but in other respects he was an active man. Nowat this time it was that Elijah disappeared from among men, and no oneknows of his death to this very day; but he left behind him his discipleElisha, as we have formerly declared. And indeed, as to Elijah, and asto Enoch, who was before the deluge, it is written in the sacred booksthat they disappeared, but so that nobody knew that they died. CHAPTER 3. How Joram And Jehoshaphat Made An Expedition Against TheMoabites; As Also Concerning The Wonders Of Elisha; And The Death OfJehoshaphat. 1. When Joram had taken upon him the kingdom, he determined to make anexpedition against the king of Moab, whose name was Mesha; for, aswe told you before, he was departed from his obedience to his brother[Ahaziah], while he paid to his father Ahab two hundred thousand sheep, with their fleeces of wool. When therefore he had gathered his own armytogether, he sent also to Jehoshaphat, and entreated him, that since hehad from the beginning been a friend to his father, he would assisthim in the war that he was entering into against the Moabites, who haddeparted from their obedience, who not only himself promised toassist him, but would also oblige the king of Edom, who was under hisauthority, to make the same expedition also. When Joram had receivedthese assurances of assistance from Jehoshaphat, he took his army withhim, and came to Jerusalem; and when he had been sumptuously entertainedby the king of Jerusalem, it was resolved upon by them to take theirmarch against their enemies through the wilderness of Edom. And whenthey had taken a compass of seven days' journey, they were in distressfor want of water for the cattle, and for the army, from the mistake oftheir roads by the guides that conducted them, insomuch that they wereall in an agony, especially Joram; and cried to God, by reason of theirsorrow, and [desired to know] what wickedness had been committed by themthat induced him to deliver three kings together, without fighting, untothe king of Moab. But Jehoshaphat, who was a righteous man, encouragedhim, and bade him send to the camp, and know whether any prophet of Godwas come along with them, that we might by him learn from God what weshould do. And when one of the servants of Joram said that he had seenthere Elisha, the son of Shaphat, the disciple of Elijah, the threekings went to him, at the entreaty of Jehoshaphat; and when they werecome at the prophet's tent, which tent was pitched out of the camp, theyasked him what would become of the army? and Joram was particularly verypressing with him about it. And when he replied to him, that he shouldnot trouble him, but go to his father's and mother's prophets, for they[to be sure] were true prophets, he still desired him to prophesy, andto save them. So he swore by God that he would not answer him, unlessit 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 thepsaltery, the Divine Spirit came upon him as the music played, and hecommanded them to dig many trenches in the valley; for, said he, "thoughthere appear neither cloud, nor wind, nor storm of rain, ye shall seethis river full of water, till the army and the cattle be saved for youby drinking of it. Nor will this be all the favor that you shall receivefrom God, but you shall also overcome your enemies, and take the bestand strongest cities of the Moabites, and you shall cut down their fruittrees, [6] and lay waste their country, and stop up their fountains andrivers. " 2. When the prophet had said this, the next day, before the sun-rising, a great torrent ran strongly; for God had caused it to rain veryplentifully at the distance of three days' journey into Edom, so thatthe army and the cattle found water to drink in abundance. But whenthe Moabites heard that the three kings were coming upon them, and madetheir approach through the wilderness, the king of Moab gathered hisarmy together presently, and commanded them to pitch their camp upon themountains, that when the enemies should attempt to enter their country, they might not be concealed from them. But when at the rising of the sunthey saw the water in the torrent, for it was not far from the landof Moab, and that it was of the color of blood, for at such a time thewater especially looks red, by the shining of the sun upon it, theyformed a false notion of the state of their enemies, as if they hadslain one another for thirst; and that the river ran with their blood. However, supposing that this was the case, they desired their king wouldsend 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, assupposing them destroyed already. But their hope deceived them; for astheir enemies stood round about them, some of them were cut to pieces, and others of them were dispersed, and fled to their own country. Andwhen the kings fell into the land of Moab, they overthrew the citiesthat were in it, and spoiled their fields, and marred them, filling themwith stones out of the brooks, and cut down the best of their trees, andstopped up their fountains of water, and overthrew their walls to theirfoundations. But the king of Moab, when he was pursued, endured a siege;and seeing his city in danger of being overthrown by force, made asally, and went out with seven hundred men, in order to break throughthe enemy's camp with his horsemen, on that side where the watch seemedto be kept most negligently; and when, upon trial, he could not getaway, for he lighted upon a place that was carefully watched, hereturned into the city, and did a thing that showed despair and theutmost 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 theenemies, he offered him as a whole burnt-offering to God, whom, when thekings saw, they commiserated the distress that was the occasion of it, and were so affected, in way of humanity and pity, that they raised thesiege, and every one returned to his own house. So Jehoshaphat came toJerusalem, and continued in peace there, and outlived this expeditionbut a little time, and then died, having lived in all sixty years, andof them reigned twenty-five. He was buried in a magnificent manner inJerusalem, for he had imitated the actions of David. CHAPTER 4. Jehoram Succeeds Jehoshaphat; How Joram, His Namesake, KingOf Israel, Fought With The Syrians; And What Wonders Were Done By TheProphet Elisha. 1. Jehoshapat had a good number of children; but he appointed his eldestson Jehoram to be his successor, who had the same name with his mother'sbrother, that was king of Israel, and the son of Ahab. Now when the kingof Israel was come out of the land of Moab to Samaria, he had with himElisha the prophet, whose acts I have a mind to go over particularly, for they were illustrious, and worthy to be related, as we have them setdown in the sacred books. 2. For they say that the widow of Obadiah [7] Ahab's steward, came tohim, and said, that he was not ignorant how her husband had preservedthe prophets that were to be slain by Jezebel, the wife of Ahab; forshe said that he hid a hundred of them, and had borrowed money for theirmaintenance, and that, after her husband's death, she and her childrenwere carried away to be made slaves by the creditors; and she desiredof him to have mercy upon her on account of what her husband did, andafford her some assistance. And when he asked her what she had in thehouse, she said, "Nothing but a very small quantity of oil in a cruse. "So the prophet bid her go away, and borrow a great many empty vessels ofher neighbors, and when she had shut her chamber door, to pour the oilinto them all; for that God would fill them full. And when the woman haddone what she was commanded to do, and bade her children bring every oneof the vessels, and all were filled, and not one left empty, she came tothe prophet, and told him that they were all full; upon which he advisedher to go away, and sell the oil, and pay the creditors what was owingthem, 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. Andthus did Elisha discharge the woman's debts, and free her from thevexation of her creditors. 3. Elisha also sent a hasty message to Joram, [8] and exhorted him totake care of that place, for that therein were some Syrians lying inambush to kill him. So the king did as the prophet exhorted him, andavoided his going a hunting. And when Benhadad missed of the success ofhis lying in ambush, he was wroth with his own servants, as if they hadbetrayed his ambushment to Joram; and he sent for them, and said theywere the betrayers of his secret counsels; and he threatened that hewould put them to death, since such their practice was evident, becausehe had intrusted this secret to none but them, and yet it was made knownto his enemy. And one that was present said that he should not mistakehimself, nor suspect that they had discovered to his enemy his sendingmen to kill him, but that he ought to know that it was Elisha theprophet who discovered all to him, and laid open all his counsels. Sohe gave order that they should send some to learn in what city Elishadwelt. Accordingly those that were sent brought word that he was inDothan; wherefore Benhadad sent to that city a great army, with horsesand chariots, to take Elisha: so they encompassed the city round aboutby night, and kept him therein confined; but when the prophet's servantin the morning perceived this, and that his enemies sought to takeElisha, he came running, and crying out after a disordered manner tohim, and told him of it; but he encouraged him, and bid him not beafraid, and to despise the enemy, and trust in the assistance of God, and was himself without fear; and he besought God to make manifest tohis servant his power and presence, so far as was possible, in orderto the inspiring him with hope and courage. Accordingly God heard theprayer of the prophet, and made the servant see a multitude of chariotsand horses encompassing Elisha, till he laid aside his fear, and hiscourage revived at the sight of what he supposed was come to theirassistance. After this Elisha did further entreat God, that he woulddim the eyes of their enemies, and cast a mist before them, whereby theymight not discern him. When this was done, he went into the midst of hisenemies, and asked them who it was that they came to seek; and when theyreplied, "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 sodarkened by God in their sight and in their mind, that they followed himvery diligently; and when Elisha had brought them to Samaria, he orderedJoram the king to shut the gates, and to place his own army round aboutthem; and prayed to God to clear the eyes of these their enemies, andtake the mist from before them. Accordingly, when they were freed fromthe obscurity they had been in, they saw themselves in the midst oftheir enemies; and as the Syrians were strangely amazed and distressed, as was but reasonable, at an action so Divine and surprising, and asking Joram asked the prophet if he would give him leave to shoot atthem, Elisha forbade him so to do; and said, that "it is just to killthose that are taken in battle, but that these men had done the countryno harm, but, without knowing it, were come thither by the DivinePower:"--so that his counsel was to treat them in a hospitable manner athis table, and then send them away without hurting them. [9] WhereforeJoram obeyed the prophet; and when he had feasted the Syrians in asplendid and magnificent manner, he let them go to Benhadad their king. 4. Now when these men were come back, and had showed Benhadad howstrange an accident had befallen them, and what an appearance and powerthey had experienced of the God of Israel, he wondered at it, as also atthat prophet with whom God was so evidently present; so he determinedto make no more secret attempts upon the king of Israel, out of fear ofElisha, but resolved to make open war with them, as supposing he couldbe too hard for his enemies by the multitude of his army and power. Sohe made an expedition with a great army against Joram, who, not thinkinghimself a match for him, shut himself up in Samaria, and depended on thestrength of its walls; but Benhadad supposed he should take the city, ifnot by his engines of war, yet that he should overcome the Samaritans byfamine, and the want of necessaries, and brought his army upon them, andbesieged the city; and the plenty of necessaries was brought so low withJoram, that from the extremity of want an ass's head was sold in Samariafor fourscore pieces of silver, and the Hebrews bought a sextary ofdore's dung, instead of salt, for five pieces of silver. Now Joram wasin fear lest somebody should betray the city to the enemy, by reasonof the famine, and went every day round the walls and the guards to seewhether any such were concealed among them; and by being thus seen, andtaking such care, he deprived them of the opportunity of contrivingany such thing; and if they had a mind to do it, he, by this means, prevented them: but upon a certain woman's crying out, "Have pity onme, my lord, " while he thought that she was about to ask for somewhatto eat, he imprecated God's curse upon her, and said he had neitherthrashing-floor nor wine-press, whence he might give her any thing ather petition. Upon which she said she did not desire his aid in anysuch thing, nor trouble him about food, but desired that he would do herjustice as to another woman. And when he bade her say on, and let himknow what she desired, she said she had made an agreement with the otherwoman who was her neighbor and her friend, that because the famine andwant was intolerable, they should kill their children, each of themhaving a son of their own, "and we will live upon them ourselves for twodays, 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 sonyesterday; but this other woman will not do the same thing, but hathbroken her agreement, and hath hid her son. " This story mightily grievedJoram when he heard it; so he rent his garment, and cried out with aloud voice, and conceived great wrath against Elisha the prophet, andset himself eagerly to have him slain, because he did not pray to God toprovide them some exit and way of escape out of the miseries with whichthey were surrounded; and sent one away immediately to cut off his head, who made haste to kill the prophet. But Elisha was not unacquaintedwith the wrath of the king against him; for as he sat in his house byhimself, with none but his disciples about him, he told them that Joram, [10] who was the son of a murderer, had sent one to take away his head;"but, " said he, "when he that is commanded to do this comes, take carethat you do not let him come in, but press the door against him, andhold him fast there, for the king himself will follow him, and come tome, having altered his mind. " Accordingly, they did as they werebidden, when he that was sent by the king to kill Elisha came. But Joramrepented of his wrath against the prophet; and for fear he that wascommanded to kill him should have done it before he came, he made hasteto hinder his slaughter, and to save the prophet: and when he came tohim, he accused him that he did not pray to God for their deliverancefrom the miseries they now lay under, but saw them so sadly destroyed bythem. Hereupon Elisha promised, that the very next day, at the very samehour in which the king came to him, they should have great plenty offood, and that two seahs of barley should be sold in the market fora shekel, and a seah of fine flour should be sold for a shekel. Thisprediction made Joram, and those that were present, very joyful, forthey did not scruple believing what the prophet said, on account ofthe experience they had of the truth of his former predictions; andthe expectation of plenty made the want they were in that day, with theuneasiness that accompanied it, appear a light thing to them: but thecaptain of the third band, who was a friend of the king, and on whosehand the king leaned, said, "Thou talkest of incredible things, Oprophet! for as it is impossible for God to pour down torrents ofbarley, or fine flour, out of heaven, so is it impossible that what thousayest should come to pass. " To which the prophet made this reply, " Thoushalt see these things come to pass, but thou shalt not be in the leasta partaker of them. " 5. Now what Elisha had thus foretold came to pass in the mannerfollowing: There was a law at Samaria [11] that those that had theleprosy, and whose bodies were not cleansed from it, should abidewithout the city: and there were four men that on this account abodebefore the gates, while nobody gave them any food, by reason of theextremity of the famine; and as they were prohibited from entering intothe city by the law, and they considered that if they were permitted toenter, they should miserably perish by the famine; as also, that ifthey staid where they were, they should suffer in the same manner, --theyresolved to deliver themselves up to the enemy, that in case they shouldspare them, they should live; but if they should be killed, that wouldbe an easy death. So when they had confirmed this their resolution, theycame by night to the enemy's camp. Now God had begun to affright anddisturb the Syrians, and to bring the noise of chariots and armor totheir ears, as though an army were coming upon them, and had made themsuspect that it was coming nearer and nearer to them In short, theywere in such a dread of this army, that they left their tents, and rantogether to Benhadad, and said that Joram the king of Israel had hiredfor auxiliaries both the king of Egypt and the king of the Islands, and led them against them for they heard the noise of them as they werecoming. And Benhadad believed what they said [for there came the samenoise to his ears as well as it did to theirs]; so they fell into amighty disorder and tumult, and left their horses and beasts in theircamp, with immense riches also, and betook themselves to flight. Andthose lepers who had departed from Samaria, and were gone to the camp ofthe Syrians, of whom we made mention a little before, when they were inthe camp, saw nothing but great quietness and silence: accordingly theyentered into it, and went hastily into one of their tents; and when theysaw nobody there, they eat and drank, and carried garments, and a greatquantity of gold, and hid it out of the camp; after which they went intoanother tent, and carried off what was in it, as they did at the former, and this did they for several times, without the least interruptionfrom any body. So they gathered thereby that the enemies were departed;whereupon they reproached themselves that they did not inform Joram andthe citizens of it. So they came to the walls of Samaria, and calledaloud to the watchmen, and told them in what state the enemies were, asdid these tell the king's guards, by whose means Joram came to know ofit; who then sent for his friends, and the captains of his host, andsaid to them, that he suspected that this departure of the king of Syriawas by way of ambush and treachery, and that, "out of despair of ruiningyou by famine, when you imagine them to be fled away, you may come outof the city to spoil their camp, and he may then fall upon you on asudden, 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 nomeans to go out of it, or proudly to despise your enemies, as thoughthey were really gone away. " And when a certain person said that hedid very well and wisely to admit such a suspicion, but that he stilladvised him to send a couple of horsemen to search all the country asfar as Jordan, that "if they were seized by an ambush of the enemy, theymight be a security to your army, that they may not go out as if theysuspected nothing, nor undergo the like misfortune; and, " said he, "those horsemen may be numbered among those that have died by thefamine, supposing they be caught and destroyed by the enemy. " So theking was pleased with this opinion, and sent such as might search outthe truth, who performed their journey over a road that was without anyenemies, but found it full of provisions, and of weapons, that they hadtherefore thrown away, and left behind them, in order to their beinglight and expeditious in their flight. When the king heard this, he sentout the multitude to take the spoils of the camp; which gains of theirswere not of things of small value, but they took a great quantity ofgold, and a great quantity of silver, and flocks of all kinds of cattle. They also possessed themselves of [so many] ten thousand measures ofwheat and barley, as they never in the least dreamed of; and were notonly freed from their former miseries, but had such plenty, that twoseahs of barley were bought for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour fora shekel, according to the prophecy of Elisha. Now a seah is equal toan Italian modius and a half. The captain of the third band was the onlyman that received no benefit by this plenty; for as he was appointed bythe king to oversee the gate, that lm might prevent the too great crowdof the multitude, and they might not endanger one another to perish, bytreading on one another in the press, he suffered himself in that veryway, and died in that very manner, as Elisha had foretold such hisdeath, when he alone of them all disbelieved what he said concerningthat plenty of provisions which they should soon have. 6. Hereupon, when Benhadad, the king of Syria, had escaped to Damascus, and understood that it was God himself that cast all his army intothis fear and disorder, and that it did not arise from the invasion ofenemies, he was mightily cast down at his having God so greatly forhis enemy, and fell into a distemper. Now it happened that Elisha theprophet, at that time, was gone out of his own country to Damascus, ofwhich Berthadad was informed: he sent Hazael, the most faithful ofall his servants, to meet him, and to carry him presents, and bade himinquire of him about his distemper, and whether he should escape thedanger that it threatened. So Hazael came to Elisha with forty camels, that carried the best and most precious fruits that the country ofDamascus afforded, as well as those which the king's palace supplied. Hesaluted him kindly, and said that he was sent to him by king Berthadad, and brought presents with him, in order to inquire concerning hisdistemper, whether he should recover from it or not. Whereupon theprophet bid him tell the king no melancholy news; but still he said hewould die. So the king's servant was troubled to hear it; and Elishawept also, and his tears ran down plenteously at his foresight of whatmiseries his people would undergo after the death of Berthadad. And whenHazael asked him what was the occasion of this confusion he was in, he said that he wept out of his commiseration for the multitude of theIsraelites, and what terrible miseries they will suffer by thee; "forthou wilt slay the strongest of them, and wilt burn their strongestcities, and wilt destroy their children, and dash them against thestones, and wilt rip up their women with child. " And when Hazael said, "How can it be that I should have power enough to do such things?" theprophet replied, that God had informed him that he should be kingof Syria. So when Hazael was come to Benhadad, he told him good newsconcerning his distemper [12] but on the next day he spread a wetcloth, in the nature of a net, over him, and strangled him, and took hisdominion. He was an active man, and had the good-will of the Syrians, and of the people of Damascus, to a great degree; by whom both Benhadadhimself, and Hazael, who ruled after him, are honored to this day asgods, by reason of their benefactions, and their building them templesby which they adorned the city of the Damascenes. They also every daydo with great pomp pay their worship to these kings, [13] and valuethemselves upon their antiquity; nor do they know that these kings aremuch later than they imagine, and that they are not yet eleven hundredyears old. Now when Joram, the king of Israel, heard that Berthadad wasdead, he recovered out of the terror and dread he had been in on hisaccount, and was very glad to live in peace. CHAPTER 5. Concerning The Wickedness Of Jehoram King O Jerusalem; HisDefeat And Death. 1. Now Jehoram the king of Jerusalem, for we have said before that hehad the same name with the king of Israel, as soon as he had taken thegovernment upon him, betook himself to the slaughter of his brethren, and his father's friends, who were governors under him, and thence madea beginning and a demonstration of his wickedness; nor was he at allbetter than those kings of Israel who at first transgressed against thelaws of their country, and of the Hebrews, and against God's worship. And it was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, whom he had married, whotaught him to be a bad man in other respects, and also to worshipforeign gods. Now God would not quite root out this family, because ofthe promise he had made to David. However, Jehoram did not leave off theintroduction of new sorts of customs to the propagation of impiety, andto the ruin of the customs of his own country. And when the Edomitesabout that time had revolted from him, and slain their former king, who was in subjection to his father, and had set up one of their ownchoosing, Jehoram fell upon the land of Edom, with the horsemen thatwere about him, and the chariots, by night, and destroyed those thatlay near to his own kingdom, but did not proceed further. However, thisexpedition did him no service, for they all revolted from him, withthose that dwelt in the country of Libnah. He was indeed so mad as tocompel the people to go up to the high places of the mountains, andworship foreign gods. 2. As he was doing this, and had entirely cast his own country laws outof his mind, there was brought him an epistle from Elijah the prophet[14] which declared that God would execute great judgments upon him, because he had not imitated his own fathers, but had followed the wickedcourses of the kings of Israel; and had compelled the tribe of Judah, and the citizens of Jerusalem, to leave the holy worship of their ownGod, and to worship idols, as Ahab had compelled the Israelites to do, and because he had slain his brethren, and the men that were goodand righteous. And the prophet gave him notice in this epistle whatpunishment he should undergo for these crimes, namely, the destructionof his people, with the corruption of the king's own wives and children;and that he should himself die of a distemper in his bowels, with longtorments, those his bowels falling out by the violence of the inwardrottenness of the parts, insomuch that, though he see his own misery, heshall not be able at all to help himself, but shall die in that manner. This it was which Elijah denounced to him in that epistle. 3. It was not long after this that an army of those Arabians that livednear to Ethiopia, and of the Philistines, fell upon the kingdom ofJehoram, and spoiled the country and the king's house. Moreover, theyslew his sons and his wives: one only of his sons was left him, whoescaped the enemy; his name was Ahaziah; after which calamity, hehimself fell into that disease which was foretold by the prophet, andlasted a great while, [for God inflicted this punishment upon him in hisbelly, out of his wrath against him, ] and so he died miserably, and sawhis own bowels fall out. The people also abused his dead body; I supposeit was because they thought that such his death came upon him by thewrath of God, and that therefore he was not worthy to partake of sucha funeral as became kings. Accordingly, they neither buried him in thesepulchers of his fathers, nor vouchsafed him any honors, but buried himlike a private man, and this when he had lived forty years, and reignedeight. And the people of Jerusalem delivered the government to his sonAhaziah. CHAPTER 6. How Jehu Was Anointed King, And Slew Both Joram And Ahaziah;As Also What He Did For The Punishment Of The Wicked. 1. Now Joram, the king of Israel, after the death of Benhadad, hopedthat he might now take Ramoth, a city of Gilead, from the Syrians. Accordingly he made an expedition against it, with a great army; but ashe was besieging it, an arrow was shot at him by one of the Syrians, but the wound was not mortal. So he returned to have his wound healed inJezreel, but left his whole army in Ramorb, and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for their general; for he had already taken the city by force; and heproposed, after he was healed, to make war with the Syrians; but Elishathe prophet sent one of his disciples to Ramoth, and gave him holy oilto anoint Jehu, and to tell him that God had chosen him to be theirking. He also sent him to say other things to him, and bid him to takehis journey as if he fled, that when he came away he might escape theknowledge of all men. So when he was come to the city, he found Jehusitting in the midst of the captains of the army, as Elisha had foretoldhe should find him. So he came up to him, and said that he desired tospeak with him about certain matters; and when he was arisen, and hadfollowed him into an inward chamber, the young man took the oil, andpoured it on his head, and said that God ordained him to be king, inorder to his destroying the house of Ahab, and that he might revenge theblood of the prophets that were unjustly slain by Jezebel, that so theirhouse might utterly perish, as those of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, andof Baasha, had perished for their wickedness, and no seed might remainof Ahab's family. So when he had said this, he went away hastily out ofthe chamber, and endeavored not to be seen by any of the army. 2. But Jehu came out, and went to the place where he before sat withthe 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 thathe was mad, he replied, --"You guess right, for the words he spake werethe words of a madman;" and when they were eager about the matter, anddesired he would tell them, he answered, that God had said he had chosenhim to be king over the multitude. When he had said this, every one ofthem put off his garment, [15] and strewed it under him, and blew withtrumpets, and gave notice that Jehu was king. So when he had gotten thearmy together, he was preparing to set out immediately against Joram, at the city Jezreel, in which city, as we said before, he was healing ofthe wound which he had received in the siege of Ramoth. It happened alsothat Ahaziah, king of Jerusalem, was now come to Joram, for he washis sister's son, as we have said already, to see how he did after hiswound, and this upon account of their kindred; but as Jehu was desirousto fall upon Joram, and those with him, on the sudden, he desired thatnone of the soldiers might run away and tell to Joram what had happened, for that this would be an evident demonstration of their kindness tohim, and would show that their real inclinations were to make him king. 3. So they were pleased with what he did, and guarded the roads, lestsomebody should privately tell the thing to those that were at Jezreel. Now Jehu took his choice horsemen, and sat upon his chariot, and went onfor Jezreel; and when he was come near, the watchman whom Joram had setthere to spy out such as came to the city, saw Jehu marching on, andtold Joram that he saw a troop of horsemen marching on. Upon which heimmediately gave orders, that one of his horsemen should be sent out tomeet them, and to know who it was that was coming. So when the horsemancame up to Jehu, he asked him in what condition the army was, for thatthe king wanted to know it; but Jehu bid him not at all to meddle withsuch matters, but to follow him. When the watchman saw this, he toldJoram that the horseman had mingled himself among the company, and camealong with them. And when the king had sent a second messenger, Jehucommanded him to do as the former did; and as soon as the watchman toldthis also to Joram, he at last got upon his chariot himself, togetherwith Ahaziah, the king of Jerusalem; for, as we said before, he wasthere to see how Joram did, after he had been wounded, as being hisrelation. So he went out to meet Jehu, who marched slowly, [16] and ingood order; and when Joram met him in the field of Naboth, he asked himif 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 theking, fearing what he intended, and suspecting he had no good meaning, turned his chariot about as soon as he could, and said to Ahaziah, "Weare fought against by deceit and treachery. " But Jehu drew his bow, and smote him, the arrow going through his heart: so Joram fell downimmediately on his knee, and gave up the ghost. Jehu also gave orders toBidkar, the captain of the third part of his army, to cast the dead bodyof Joram into the field of Naboth, putting him in mind of the prophecywhich Elijah prophesied to Ahab his father, when he had slain Naboth, that both he and his family should perish in that place; for that asthey sat behind Ahab's chariot, they heard the prophet say so, and thatit was now come to pass according to his prophecy. Upon the fall ofJoram, Ahaziah was afraid of his own life, and turned his chariot intoanother road, supposing he should not be seen by Jehu; but he followedafter him, and overtook him at a certain acclivity, and drew his bow, and wounded him; so he left his chariot, and got upon his horse, andfled from Jehu to Megiddo; and though he was under cure, in a littletime he died of that wound, and was carried to Jerusalem, and buriedthere, after he had reigned one year, and had proved a wicked man, andworse than his father. 4. Now when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel adorned herself andstood upon a tower, and said, he was a fine servant that had killedhis master! And when he looked up to her, he asked who she was, andcommanded her to come down to him. At last he ordered the eunuchs tothrow her down from the tower; and being thrown down, she be-sprinkledthe wall with her blood, and was trodden upon by the horses, and sodied. When this was done, Jehu came to the palace with his friends, andtook some refreshment after his journey, both with other things, and byeating a meal. He also bid his servants to take up Jezebel and bury her, because of the nobility of her blood, for she was descended from kings;but those that were appointed to bury her found nothing else remainingbut the extreme parts of her body, for all the rest were eaten by dogs. When Jehu heard this, he admired the prophecy of Elijah, for he foretoldthat she should perish in this manner at Jezreel. 5. Now Ahab had seventy sons brought up in Samaria. So Jehu sent twoepistles, the one to them that brought up the children, the other to therulers of Samaria, which said, that they should set up the most valiantof Ahab's sons for king, for that they had abundance of chariots, andhorses, and armor, and a great army, and fenced cities, and that by sodoing they might avenge the murder of Ahab. This he wrote to try theintentions of those of Samaria. Now when the rulers, and those thathad brought up the children, had read the letter, they were afraid;and considering that they were not at all able to oppose him, who hadalready subdued two very great kings, they returned him this answer:That they owned him for their lord, and would do whatsoever he badethem. So he wrote back to them such a reply as enjoined them to obeywhat he gave order for, and to cut off the heads of Ahab's sons, andsend them to him. Accordingly the rulers sent for those that broughtup the sons of Ahab, and commanded them to slay them, to cut offtheir heads, and send them to Jehu. So they did whatsoever they werecommanded, without omitting any thing at all, and put them up in wickerbaskets, and sent them to Jezreel. And when Jehu, as he was at supperwith his friends, was informed that the heads of Ahab's' sons werebrought, he ordered them to make two heaps of them, one before each ofthe gates; and in the morning he went out to take a view of them, andwhen he saw them, he began to say to the people that were present, thathe did himself make an expedition against his master [Joram], and slewhim, but that it was not he that slew all these; and he desired themto take notice, that as to Ahab's family, all things had come to passaccording to God's prophecy, and his house was perished, according asElijah had foretold. And when he had further destroyed all the kindredof Ahab that were found in Jezreel, he went to Samaria; and as he wasupon the road, he met the relations of Ahaziah king of Jerusalem, andasked them whither they were going? they replied, that they came tosalute Joram, and their own king Ahaziah, for they knew not that he hadslain them both. So Jehu gave orders that they should catch these, andkill them, being in number forty-two persons. 6. After these, there met him a good and a righteous man, whose namewas Jehonadab, and who had been his friend of old. He saluted Jehu, andbegan to commend him, because he had done every thing according to thewill of God, in extirpating the house of Ahab. So Jehu desired him tocome up into his chariot, and make his entry with him into Samaria; andtold him that he would not spare one wicked man, but would punishthe false prophets, and false priests, and those that deceived themultitude, and persuaded them to leave the worship of God Almighty, and to worship foreign gods; and that it was a most excellent and mostpleasing 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'schariot, and came to Samaria. And Jehu sought out for all Ahab'skindred, and slew them. And being desirous that none of the falseprophets, nor the priests of Ahab's god, might escape punishment, hecaught them deceitfully by this wile; for he gathered all the peopletogether, and said that he would worship twice as many gods as Ahabworshipped, and desired that his priests, and prophets, and servantsmight be present, because he would offer costly and great sacrifices toAhab's god; and that if any of his priests were wanting, they shouldbe punished with death. Now Ahab's god was called Baal; and when hehad appointed a day on which he would offer those sacrifices, he sentmessengers through all the country of the Israelites, that they mightbring the priests of Baal to him. So Jehu commanded to give all thepriests vestments; and when they had received them, he went into thehouse [of Baal], with his friend Jehonadab, and gave orders to makesearch whether there were not any foreigner or stranger among them, forhe would have no one of a different religion to mix among their sacredoffices. And when they said that there was no stranger there, and theywere beginning their sacrifices, he set fourscore men without, theybeing such of his soldiers as he knew to be most faithful to him, andbid 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 anyone of them escaped, their own lives should go for them. So they slewthem all with the sword, and burnt the house of Baal, and by that meanspurged Samaria of foreign customs [idolatrous worship]. Now thisBaal was the god of the Tyrians; and Ahab, in order to gratify hisfather-in-law, Ethbaal, who was the king of Tyre and Sidon, built atemple for him in Samaria, and appointed him prophets, and worshippedhim with all sorts of worship, although, when this god was demolished, Jehu permitted the Israelites to worship the golden heifers. However, because he had done thus, and taken care to punish the wicked, Godforetold by his prophet that his sons should reign over Israel for fourgenerations. And in this condition was Jehu at this time. CHAPTER 7. How Athaliah Reigned Over Jerusalem For Five [Six] Years WhenJehoiada The High Priest Slew Her And Made Jehoash, The Son Of Ahaziah, King. 1. Now when Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, heard of the death of herbrother Joram, and of her son Ahaziah, and of the royal family, sheendeavored that none of the house of David might be left alive, but thatthe whole family might be exterminated, that no king might arise out ofit afterward; and, as she thought, she had actually done it; but oneof Ahaziah's sons was preserved, who escaped death after the mannerfollowing: Ahaziah had a sister by the same father, whose name wasJehosheba, and she was married to the high priest Jehoiada. She wentinto the king's palace, and found Jehoash, for that was the littlechild's name, who was not above a year old, among those that were slain, but concealed with his nurse; so she took him with her into a secretbed-chamber, and shut him up there, and she and her husband Jehoiadabrought him up privately in the temple six years, during which timeAthaliah reigned over Jerusalem and the two tribes. 2. Now, on the Seventh year, Jehoiada communicated the matter to certainof the captains of hundreds, five in number, and persuaded them to beassisting to what attempts he was making against Athaliah, and to joinwith him in asserting the kingdom to the child. He also received suchoaths from them as are proper to secure those that assist one anotherfrom the fear of discovery; and he was then of good hope that theyshould depose Athaliah. Now those men whom Jehoiada the priest had takento be his partners went into all the country, and gathered together thepriests and the Levites, and the heads of the tribes out of it, and cameand brought them to Jerusalem to the high priest. So he demanded thesecurity of an oath of them, to keep private whatsoever he shoulddiscover to them, which required both their silence and theirassistance. So when they had taken the oath, and had thereby made itsafe for him to speak, he produced the child that he had brought up ofthe family of David, and said to them, "This is your king, of that housewhich you know God hath foretold should reign over you for all time tocome. I exhort you therefore that one-third part of you guard him inthe temple, and that a fourth part keep watch at all the gates of thetemple, and that the next part of you keep guard at the gate which opensand leads to the king's palace, and let the rest of the multitude beunarmed in the temple, and let no armed person go into the temple, butthe priest only. " He also gave them this order besides, "That a part ofthe priests and the Levites should be about the king himself, and be aguard 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 bid them be afraid of nobody, but persevere in guarding the king. "So these men obeyed what the high priest advised them to, and declaredthe reality of their resolution by their actions. Jehoiada also openedthat armory which David had made in the temple, and distributed to thecaptains of hundreds, as also to the priests and Levites, all the spearsand quivers, and what kind of weapons soever it contained, and set themarmed in a circle round about the temple, so as to touch one another'shands, and by that means excluding those from entering that ought not toenter. So they brought the child into the midst of them, and put on himthe royal crown, and Jehoiada anointed him with the oil, and made himking; and the multitude rejoiced, and made a noise, and cried, "God savethe king!" 3. When Athaliah unexpectedly heard the tumult and the acclamations, shewas greatly disturbed in her mind, and suddenly issued out of the royalpalace with her own army; and when she was come to the temple, thepriests received her; but as for those that stood round about thetemple, as they were ordered by the high priest to do, they hindered thearmed inert that followed her from going in. But when Athaliah saw thechild standing upon a pillar, with the royal crown upon his head, sherent her clothes, and cried out vehemently, and commanded [her guards]to kill him that had laid snares for her, and endeavored to deprive herof the government. But Jehoiada called for the captains of hundreds, andcommanded them to bring Athaliah to the valley of Cedron, and slay herthere, for he would not have the temple defiled with the punishments ofthis pernicious woman; and he gave order, that if any one came near tohelp her, he should be slain also; wherefore those that had the chargeof her slaughter took hold of her, and led her to the gate of the king'smules, and slew her there. 4. Now as soon as what concerned Athaliah was by this stratagem, afterthis manner, despatched, Jehoiada called together the people and thearmed men into the temple, and made them take an oath that they would beobedient to the king, and take care of his safety, and of the safety ofhis government; after which he obliged the king to give security [uponoath] that he would worship God, and not transgress the laws of Moses. They then ran to the house of Baal, which Athaliah and her husbandJehoram had built, to the dishonor of the God of their fathers, andto the honor of Ahab, and demolished it, and slew Mattan, that had hispriesthood. But Jehoiada intrusted the care and custody of the temple tothe priests and Levites, according to the appointment of king David, andenjoined them to bring their regular burnt-offerings twice a day, andto offer incense according to the law. He also ordained some of theLevites, with the porters, to be a guard to the temple, that no one thatwas defiled might come there. 5. And when Jehoiada had set these things in order, he, with thecaptains of hundreds, and the rulers, and all the people, took Jehoashout of the temple into the king's palace; and when he had set him uponthe king's throne, the people shouted for joy, and betook themselves tofeasting, and kept a festival for many days; but the city was quiet uponthe death of Athaliah. Now Jehoash was seven years old when he took thekingdom. His mother's name was Zibiah, of the city Beersheba. And allthe time that Jehoiada lived Jehoash was careful that the laws should bekept, and very zealous in the worship of God; and when he was of age, he married two wives, who were given to him by the high priest, by whomwere born to him both sons and daughters. And thus much shall sufficeto have related concerning king Jehoash, how he escaped the treachery ofAthaliah, and how he received the kingdom. CHAPTER 8. Hazael Makes An Expedition Against The People Of Israel AndThe Inhabitants Of Jerusalem. Jehu Dies, And Jehoahaz Succeeds In TheGovernment. Jehoash The King Of Jerusalem At First Is Careful About TheWorship Of God But Afterwards Becomes Impious And Commands Zechariah ToBe Stoned. When Jehoash [King Of Judah] Was Dead, Amaziah Succeeds HimIn The Kingdom. 1. Now Hazael, king of Syria, fought against the Israelites and theirking Jehu, and spoiled the eastern parts of the country beyond Jordan, which belonged to the Reubenites and Gadites, and to [the half tribeof] Manassites; as also Gilead and Bashan, burning, and spoiling, andoffering violence to all that he laid his hands on, and this withoutimpeachment from Jehu, who made no haste to defend the country when itwas under this distress; nay, he was become a contemner of religion, anda despiser of holiness, and of the laws, and died when he had reignedover the Israelites twenty-seven years. He was buried in Samaria, andleft Jehoahaz his son his successor in the government. 2. Now Jehoash, king of Jerusalem, had an inclination to repair thetemple of God; so he called Jehoiada, and bid him send the Levites andpriests through all the country, to require half a shekel of silver forevery head, towards the rebuilding and repairing of the temple, whichwas brought to decay by Jehoram, and Athaliah and her sons. But the highpriest did not do this, as concluding that no one would willingly paythat money; but in the twenty-third year of Jehoash's reign, when theking sent for him and the Levites, and complained that they had notobeyed what he enjoined them, and still commanded them to take care ofthe rebuilding the temple, he used this stratagem for collecting themoney, with which the multitude was pleased. He made a wooden chest, andclosed it up fast on all sides, but opened one hole in it; he then setit in the temple beside the altar, and desired every one to cast intoit, through the hole, what he pleased, for the repair of the temple. This contrivance was acceptable to the people, and they strove one withanother, and brought in jointly large quantities of silver and gold; andwhen the scribe and the priest that were over the treasuries had emptiedthe chest, and counted the money in the king's presence, they thenset it in its former place, and thus did they every day. But when themultitude appeared to have cast in as much as was wanted, the highpriest Jehoiada, and king Joash, sent to hire masons and carpenters, andto buy large pieces of timber, and of the most curious sort; and whenthey had repaired the temple, they made use of the remaining gold andsilver, which was not a little, for bowls, and basons, and cups, andother vessels, and they went on to make the altar every day fat withsacrifices of great value. And these things were taken suitable care ofas long as Jehoiada lived. 3. But as soon as he was dead [which was when he had lived one hundredand thirty years, having been a righteous, and in every respect a verygood man, and was buried in the king's sepulchers at Jerusalem, becausehe had recovered the kingdom to the family of David] king Jehoashbetrayed his [want of] care about God. The principal men of the peoplewere corrupted also together with him, and offended against theirduty, and what their constitution determined to be most for their good. Hereupon God was displeased with the change that was made on the king, and on the rest of the people, and sent prophets to testify to them whattheir actions were, and to bring them to leave off their wickedness; butthey had gotten such a strong affection and so violent an inclination toit, that neither could the examples of those that had offered affrontsto the laws, and had been so severely punished, they and their entirefamilies, nor could the fear of what the prophets now foretold, bring them to repentance, and turn them back from their course oftransgression to their former duty. But the king commanded thatZechariah, the son of the high priest Jehoiada, should be stoned todeath in the temple, and forgot the kindnesses he had received fromhis father; for when God had appointed him to prophesy, he stood in themidst of the multitude, and gave this counsel to them and to the king:That they should act righteously; and foretold to them, that if theywould not hearken to his admonitions, they should suffer a heavypunishment. But as Zechariah was ready to die, he appealed to God as awitness of what he suffered for the good counsel he had given them, and how he perished after a most severe and violent manner for the gooddeeds his father had done to Jehoash. 4. However, it was not long before the king suffered punishment for histransgression; for when Hazael, king of Syria, made an irruption intohis country, and when he had overthrown Gath, and spoiled it, he made anexpedition against Jerusalem; upon which Jehoash was afraid, and emptiedall the treasures of God and of the kings [before him], and took downthe gifts that had been dedicated [in the temple], and sent them to theking of Syria, and procured so much by them, that he was not besieged, nor his kingdom quite endangered; but Hazael was induced by thegreatness of the sum of money not to bring his army against Jerusalem;yet Jehoash fell into a severe distemper, and was set upon by hisfriends, in order to revenge the death of Zechariah, the son ofJehoiada. These laid snares for the king, and slew him. He was indeedburied in Jerusalem, but not in the royal sepulchers of his forefathers, because of his impiety. He lived forty-seven years, and Amaziah his sonsucceeded him in the kingdom. 5. In the one and twentieth year of the reign of Jehoash, Jehoahaz, theson of Jehu, took the government of the Israelites in Samaria, and heldit seventeen years. He did not [properly] imitate his father, but wasguilty of as wicked practices as hose that first had God in contempt:but the king of Syria brought him low, and by an expedition againsthim did so greatly reduce his forces, that there remained no more of sogreat an army than ten thousand armed men, and fifty horsemen. Healso took away from him his great cities, and many of them also, anddestroyed his army. And these were the things that the people of Israelsuffered, according to the prophecy of Elisha, when he foretold thatHazael should kill his master, and reign over the Syrians and Damcenes. But when Jehoahaz was under such unavoidable miseries, he had recourseto prayer and supplication to God, and besought him to deliver him outof the hands of Hazael, and not overlook him, and give him up into hishands. Accordingly God accepted of his repentance instead of virtue; andbeing desirous rather to admonish those that might repent, and notto determine that they should be utterly destroyed, he granted himdeliverance from war and dangers. So the country having obtained peace, returned again to its former condition, and flourished as before. 6. Now after the death of Jehoahaz, his son Joash took the kingdom, inthe thirty-seventh year of Jehoash, the king of the tribe of Judah. ThisJoash then took the kingdom of Israel in Samaria, for he had the samename with the king of Jerusalem, and he retained the kingdom sixteenyears. He was a good man, [17] and in his disposition was not at alllike his father. Now at this time it was that when Elisha the prophet, who was already very old, and was now fallen into a disease, the kingof Israel came to visit him; and when he found him very near death, hebegan to weep in his sight, and lament, to call him his father, andhis weapons, because it was by his means that he never made use of hisweapons against his enemies, but that he overcame his own adversariesby his prophecies, without fighting; and that he was now departing thislife, and leaving him to the Syrians, that were already armed, and toother enemies of his that were under their power; so he said it was notsafe for him to live any longer, but that it would be well for him tohasten to his end, and depart out of this life with him. As the king wasthus bemoaning himself, Elisha comforted him, and bid the king benda bow that was brought him; and when the king had fitted the bow forshooting, Elisha took hold of his hands and bid him shoot; and when hehad shot three arrows, and then left off, Elisha said, "If thou hadstshot more arrows, thou hadst cut the kingdom of Syria up by the roots;but since thou hast been satisfied with shooting three times only, thoushalt fight and beat the Syrians no more times than three, that thoumayst recover that country which they cut off from thy kingdom in thereign of thy father. " So when the king had heard that, he departed;and a little while after the prophet died. He was a man celebratedfor righteousness, and in eminent favor with God. He also performedwonderful and surprising works by prophecy, and such as were gloriouslypreserved in memory by the Hebrews. He also obtained a magnificentfuneral, such a one indeed as it was fit a person so beloved of Godshould have. It also happened, that at that time certain robbers casta man whom they had slain into Elisha's grave, and upon his dead bodycoming close to Elisha's body, it revived again. And thus far have weenlarged about the actions of Elisha the prophet, both such as he didwhile he was alive, and how he had a Divine power after his death also. 7. Now, upon the death of Hazael, the king of Syria, that kingdom cameto Adad his son, with whom Joash, king of Israel, made war; and when hehad beaten him in three battles, he took from him all that country, andall those cities and villages, which his father Hazael had taken fromthe kingdom of Israel, which came to pass, however, according to theprophecy of Elisha. But when Joash happened to die, he was buried inSamaria, and the government devolved on his son Jeroboam. CHAPTER 9. How Amaziah Made An Expedition Against The Edomites AndAmalekites And Conquered Them; But When He Afterwards Made War AgainstJoash, He Was Beaten And Not Long After Was Slain, And Uzziah SucceededIn The Government. 1. Now, in the second year of the reign of Joash over Israel, Amaziahreigned over the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem. His mother's name wasJehoaddan, who was born at Jerusalem. He was exceeding careful of doingwhat was right, and this when he was very young; but when he came to themanagement of affairs, and to the government, he resolved that he oughtfirst of all to avenge his father Je-hoash, and to punish those hisfriends that had laid violent hands upon him: so he seized upon themall, and put them to death; yet did he execute no severity on theirchildren, but acted therein according to the laws of Moses, who did notthink it just to punish children for the sins of their fathers. Afterthis he chose him an army out of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, ofsuch as were in the flower of their age, and about twenty years old; andwhen he had collected about three hundred thousand of them together, heset captains of hundreds over them. He also sent to the king of Israel, and hired a hundred thousand of his soldiers for a hundred talents ofsilver, for he had resolved to make an expedition against the nations ofthe Amatekites, and Edomites, and Gebalites: but as he was preparingfor his expedition, and ready to go out to the war, a prophet gave himcounsel to dismiss the army of the Israelites, because they were badmen, and because God foretold that he should be beaten, if he made useof them as auxiliaries; but that he should overcome his enemies, thoughhe had but a few soldiers, when it so pleased God. And when the kinggrudged at his having already paid the hire of the Israelites, theprophet exhorted him to do what God would have him, because he shouldthereby obtain much wealth from God. So he dismissed them, and said thathe 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 beatenthem in battle, he slew of them ten thousand, and took as many prisonersalive, whom he brought to the great rock which is in Arabia, and threwthem down from it headlong. He also brought away a great deal of preyand vast riches from those nations. But while Amaziah was engaged inthis expedition, those Israelites whom he had hired, and then dismissed, were very uneasy at it, and taking their dismission for an affront, [as supposing that this would not have been done to them but out ofcontempt, ] they fell upon his kingdom, and proceeded to spoil thecountry as far as Beth-horon, and took much cattle, and slew threethousand men. 2. Now upon the victory which Amaziah had gotten, and the great acts hehad done, he was puffed up, and began to overlook God, who had given himthe victory, and proceeded to worship the gods he had brought out of thecountry of the Amalekites. So a prophet came to him, and said, thathe wondered how he could esteem these to be gods, who had been of noadvantage to their own people who paid them honors, nor had deliveredthem from his hands, but had overlooked the destruction of many of them, and had suffered themselves to be carried captive, for that they hadbeen carried to Jerusalem in the same manner as any one might have takensome of the enemy alive, and led them thither. This reproof provokedthe king to anger, and he commanded the prophet to hold his peace, andthreatened to punish him if he meddled with his conduct. So he replied, that he should indeed hold his peace; but foretold withal, that Godwould not overlook his attempts for innovation. But Amaziah was notable to contain himself under that prosperity which God had given him, although he had affronted God thereupon; but in a vein of insolence hewrote to Joash, the king of Israel, and commanded that he and all hispeople should be obedient to him, as they had formerly been obedientto his progenitors, David and Solomon; and he let him know, that if hewould not be so wise as to do what he commanded him, he must fight forhis dominion. To which message Joash returned this answer in writing:"King Joash to king Amaziah. There was a vastly tall cypress tree inMount Lebanon, as also a thistle; this thistle sent to the cypress treeto 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, andtrod down the thistle: and this may be a lesson to thee, not to be soambitious, and to have a care, lest upon thy good success in the fightagainst the Amalekites thou growest so proud, as to bring dangers uponthyself and upon thy kingdom. " 3. When Amaziah had read this letter, he was more eager upon thisexpedition, which, I suppose, was by the impulse of God, that he mightbe punished for his offense against him. But as soon as he led out hisarmy against Joash, and they were going to join battle with him, therecame such a fear and consternation upon the army of Amaziah, as God, when he is displeased, sends upon men, and discomfited them, even beforethey came to a close fight. Now it happened, that as they were scatteredabout by the terror that was upon them, Amaziah was left alone, and wastaken prisoner by the enemy; whereupon Joash threatened to kill him, unless he would persuade the people of Jerusalem to open their gates tohim, and receive him and his army into the city. Accordingly Amaziah wasso distressed, and in such fear of his life, that he made his enemy tobe received into the city. So Joash over threw a part of the wall, ofthe length of four hundred cubits, and drove his chariot through thebreach into Jerusalem, and led Amaziah captive along with him; by whichmeans he became master of Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of God, and carried off all the gold and silver that was in the king's palace, and then freed the king from captivity, and returned to Samaria. Nowthese things happened to the people of Jerusalem in the fourteenth yearof the reign of Amaziah, who after this had a conspiracy made againsthim by his friends, and fled to the city Lachish, and was there slain bythe conspirators, who sent men thither to kill him. So they took up hisdead body, and carried it to Jerusalem, and made a royal funeral forhim. This was the end of the life of Amaziah, because of his innovationsin religion, and his contempt of God, when he had lived fifty-fouryears, and had reigned twenty-nine. He was succeeded by his son, whosename was Uzziah. CHAPTER 10. Concerning Jeroboam King Of Israel And Jonah The Prophet;And How After The Death Of Jeroboam His Son Zachariah Took TheGovernment. How Uzziah, King Of Jerusalem, Subdued The Nations That WereRound About Him; And What Befell Him When He Attempted To Offer IncenseTo God. 1. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah, Jeroboam the son ofJoash reigned over Israel in Samaria forty years. This king was guiltyof contumely against God, [18] and became very wicked in worshippingof idols, and in many undertakings that were absurd and foreign. He wasalso the cause of ten thousand misfortunes to the people of Israel. Nowone Jonah, a prophet, foretold to him that he should make war with theSyrians, and conquer their army, and enlarge the bounds of his kingdomon the northern parts to the city Hamath, and on the southern to thelake Asphaltitis; for the bounds of the Canaanites originally werethese, as Joshua their general had determined them. So Jeroboam made anexpedition against the Syrians, and overran all their country, as Jonahhad foretold. 2. Now I cannot but think it necessary for me, who have promised togive an accurate account of our affairs, to describe the actions of thisprophet, 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; andwhen he was there, to publish it in that city, how it should lose thedominion 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, hewent into it, and sailed to Tarsus, in Cilicia [19] and upon the rise ofa most terrible storm, which was so great that the ship was in danger ofsinking, the mariners, the master, and the pilot himself, made prayersand vows, in case they escaped the sea: but Jonah lay still and covered[in the ship, ] without imitating any thing that the others did; but asthe 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 personsthat sailed with them was the occasion of this storm, and agreed todiscover by lot which of them it was. When they had cast lots, [21] thelot fell upon the prophet; and when they asked him whence he came, andwhat he had done? he replied, that he was a Hebrew by nation, and aprophet of Almighty God; and he persuaded them to cast him into thesea, if they would escape the danger they were in, for that he was theoccasion of the storm which was upon them. Now at the first they durstnot do so, as esteeming it a wicked thing to cast a man who was astranger, and who had committed his life to them, into such manifestperdition; but at last, when their misfortune overbore them, and theship was just going to be drowned, and when they were animated to doit by the prophet himself, and by the fear concerning their own safety, they cast him into the sea; upon which the sea became calm. It is alsoreported that Jonah was swallowed down by a whale, and that when he hadbeen there three days, and as many nights, he was vomited out upon theEuxine Sea, and this alive, and without any hurt upon his body; andthere, on his prayer to God, he obtained pardon for his sins, and wentto the city Nineveh, where he stood so as to be heard, and preached, that in a very little time they should lose the dominion of Asia. Andwhen he had published this, he returned. Now I have given this accountabout him as I found it written [in our books. ] 3. When Jeroboam the king had passed his life in great happiness, andhad ruled forty years, he died, and was buried in Samaria, and his sonZachariah took the kingdom. After the same manner did Uzziah, the sonof Amaziah, begin to reign over the two tribes in Jerusalem, in thefourteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam. He was born of Jecoliah, hismother, who was a citizen of Jerusalem. He was a good man, and by naturerighteous and magnanimous, and very laborious in taking care ofthe affairs of his kingdom. He made an expedition also against thePhilistines, and overcame them in battle, and took the cities of Gathand Jabneh, and brake down their walls; after which expedition heassaulted those Arabs that adjoined to Egypt. He also built a city uponthe Red Sea, and put a garrison into it. He, after this, overthrew theAmmonites, and appointed that they should pay tribute. He also overcameall the countries as far as the bounds of Egypt, and then began to takecare of Jerusalem itself for the rest of his life; for he rebuilt andrepaired all those parts of the wall which had either fallen down bylength of time, or by the carelessness of the kings, his predecessors, as well as all that part which had been thrown down by the king ofIsrael, when he took his father Amaziah prisoner, and entered with himinto the city. Moreover, he built a great many towers, of one hundredand fifty cubits high, and built walled towns in desert places, and putgarrisons into them, and dug many channels for conveyance of water. Hehad also many beasts for labor, and an immense number of cattle; for hiscountry was fit for pasturage. He was also given to husbandry, and tookcare to cultivate the ground, and planted it with all sorts of plants, and sowed it with all sorts of seeds. He had also about him an armycomposed of chosen men, in number three hundred and seventy thousand, who were governed by general officers and captains of thousands, who were men of valor, and of unconquerable strength, in number twothousand. He also divided his whole army into bands, and armed them, giving every one a sword, with brazen bucklers and breastplates, withbows and slings; and besides these, he made for them many engines of warfor besieging of cities, such as cast stones and darts, with grapplers, and other instruments of that sort. 4. While Uzziah was in this state, and making preparation [forfuturity], he was corrupted in his mind by pride, and became insolent, and this on account of that abundance which he had of things that willsoon perish, and despised that power which is of eternal duration [whichconsisted in piety towards God, and in the observation of the laws]; sohe fell by occasion of the good success of his affairs, and was carriedheadlong into those sins of his father, which the splendor of thatprosperity he enjoyed, and the glorious actions he had done, ledhim into, while he was not able to govern himself well about them. Accordingly, when a remarkable day was come, and a general festival wasto be celebrated, he put on the holy garment, and went into the templeto offer incense to God upon the golden altar, which he was prohibitedto do by Azariah the high priest, who had fourscore priests with him, and who told him that it was not lawful for him to offer sacrifice, andthat "none besides the posterity of Aaron were permitted so to do. "And when they cried out that he must go out of the temple, and nottransgress against God, he was wroth at them, and threatened to killthem, unless they would hold their peace. In the mean time a greatearthquake shook the ground [26] and a rent was made in the temple, andthe bright rays of the sun shone through it, and fell upon the king'sface, insomuch that the leprosy seized upon him immediately. And beforethe city, at a place called Eroge, half the mountain broke off from therest on the west, and rolled itself four furlongs, and stood still atthe east mountain, till the roads, as well as the king's gardens, werespoiled by the obstruction. Now, as soon as the priests saw that theking's face was infected with the leprosy, they told him of the calamityhe was under, and commanded that he should go out of the city as apolluted person. Hereupon he was so confounded at the sad distemper, andsensible that he was not at liberty to contradict, that he did as he wascommanded, and underwent this miserable and terrible punishment foran intention beyond what befitted a man to have, and for that impietyagainst God which was implied therein. So he abode out of the cityfor some time, and lived a private life, while his son Jotham tookthe government; after which he died with grief and anxiety at what hadhappened to him, when he had lived sixty-eight years, and reigned ofthem fifty-two; and was buried by himself in his own gardens. CHAPTER 11. How Zachariah Shallum, Menahem Pekahiah And Pekah Took TheGovernment Over The Israelites; And How Pul And Tiglath-Pileser Made AnExpedition Against The Israelites. How Jotham, The Son Of Uzziah ReignedOver The Tribe Of Judah; And What Things Nahum Prophesied Against TheAssyrians. 1. Now when Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, had reigned six months overIsrael, he was slain by the treachery of a certain friend of his, whosename was Shallum, the son of Jabesh, who took the kingdom afterward, but kept it no longer than thirty days; for Menahem, the general of hisarmy, who was at that time in the city Tirzah, and heard of what hadbefallen Zachariah, removed thereupon with all his forces to Samaria, and joining battle with Shallum, slew him; and when he had made himselfking, he went thence, and came to the city Tiphsah; but the citizensthat were in it shut their gates, and barred them against the king, andwould not admit him: but in order to be avenged on them, he burnt thecountry round about it, and took the city by force, upon a siege; andbeing very much displeased at what the inhabitants of Tiphsah haddone, he slew them all, and spared not so much as the infants, withoutomitting the utmost instances of cruelty and barbarity; for he used suchseverity upon his own countrymen, as would not be pardonable with regardto strangers who had been conquered by him. And after this manner it wasthat this Menahem continued to reign with cruelty and barbarity for tenyears. But when Pul, king of Assyria, had made an expedition againsthim, he did not think meet to fight or engage in battle with theAssyrians, but he persuaded him to accept of a thousand talents ofsilver, and to go away, and so put an end to the war. This sum themultitude collected for Menahem, by exacting fifty drachme as poll-moneyfor every head; [23] after which he died, and was buried in Samaria, and left his son Pekahiah his successor in the kingdom, who followed thebarbarity of his father, and so ruled but two years only, after whichhe 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 laid snaresfor him. Now this Pekah held the government twenty years, and proved awicked man and a transgressor. But the king of Assyria, whose name wasTiglath-Pileser, when he had made an expedition against the Israelites, and had overrun all the land of Gilead, and the region beyond Jordan, and the adjoining country, which is called Galilee, and Kadesh, andHazor, he made the inhabitants prisoners, and transplanted them into hisown kingdom. And so much shall suffice to have related here concerningthe king of Assyria. 2. Now Jotham the son of Uzziah reigned over the tribe of Judah inJerusalem, being a citizen thereof by his mother, whose name wasJerusha. This king was not defective in any virtue, but was religioustowards God, and righteous towards men, and careful of the good ofthe city [for what part soever wanted to be repaired or adorned hemagnificently repaired and adorned them]. He also took care of thefoundations of the cloisters in the temple, and repaired the walls thatwere fallen down, and built very great towers, and such as were almostimpregnable; and if any thing else in his kingdom had been neglected, hetook great care of it. He also made an expedition against the Ammonites, and overcame them in battle, and ordered them to pay tribute, a hundredtalents, and ten thousand cori of wheat, and as many of barley, everyyear, and so augmented his kingdom, that his enemies could not despiseit, and his own people lived happily. 3. Now there was at that time a prophet, whose name was Nahum, whospake after this manner concerning the overthrow of the Assyrians and ofNineveh: "Nineveh shall be a pool of water in motion [23] so shall allher people be troubled, and tossed, and go away by flight, while theysay one to another, Stand, stand still, seize their gold and silver, forthere shall be no one to wish them well, for they will rather save theirlives than their money; for a terrible contention shall possess themone with another, and lamentation, and loosing of the members, and theircountenances shall be perfectly black with fear. And there will be theden 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 longergo out from thee to give laws to the world. " And indeed this prophetprophesied many other things besides these concerning Nineveh, which Ido not think necessary to repeat, and I here omit them, that I may notappear troublesome to my readers; all which thing happened about Nineveha hundred and fifteen years afterward: so this may suffice to havespoken of these matters. CHAPTER 12. How Upon The Death Of Jotham, Ahaz Reigned In His Stead;Against Whom Rezin, King Of Syria And Pekah King Of Israel, Made War;And How Tiglath-Pileser, King Of Assyria Came To The Assistance Of Ahaz, And Laid Syria Waste And Removing The Damascenes Into Media Placed OtherNations In Their Room. 1. Now Jotham died when he had lived forty-one years, and of themreigned sixteen, and was buried in the sepulchers of the kings; and thekingdom came to his son Ahaz, who proved most impious towards God, anda transgressor of the laws of his country. He imitated the kings ofIsrael, and reared altars in Jerusalem, and offered sacrifices uponthem to idols; to which also he offered his own son as a burnt-offering, according to the practices of the Canaanites. His other actions werealso of the same sort. Now as he was going on in this mad course, Rezin, the king of Syria and Damascus, and Pekah, the king of Israel, who werenow at amity one with another, made war with him; and when they haddriven him into Jerusalem, they besieged that city a long while, makingbut a small progress, on account of the strength of its walls; and whenthe king of Syria had taken the city Elath, upon the Red Sea, and hadslain the inhabitants, he peopled it with Syrians; and when he had slainthose in the [other] garrisons, and the Jews in their neighborhood, andhad driven away much prey, he returned with his army back to Damascus. Now when the king of Jerusalem knew that the Syrians were returned home, he, supposing himself a match for the king of Israel, drew out his armyagainst him, and joining battle with him was beaten; and this happenedbecause God was angry with him, on account of his many and greatenormities. Accordingly there were slain by the Israelites one hundredand 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 asthe governor of the kingdom, whose name was Azricam. He also carriedElkanah, the general of the troops of the tribe of Judah, intocaptivity. They also carried the women and children of the tribe ofBenjamin captives; and when they had gotten a great deal of prey, theyreturned to Samaria. 2. Now there was one Obed, who was a prophet at that time in Samaria; hemet the army before the city walls, and with a loud voice told them thatthey had gotten the victory not by their own strength, but by reason ofthe anger God had against king Ahaz. And he complained that they werenot satisfied with the good success they had had against him, but wereso bold as to make captives out of their kinsmen the tribes of Judah andBenjamin. He also gave them counsel to let them go home without doingthem any harm, for that if they did not obey God herein, they should bepunished. So the people of Israel came together to their assembly, andconsidered of these matters, when a man whose name was Berechiah, andwho was one of chief reputation in the government, stood up, and theothers with him, and said, "We will not suffer the citizens to bringthese prisoners into the city, lest we be all destroyed by God; wehave sins enough of our own that we have committed against him, as theprophets assure us; nor ought we therefore to introduce the practiceof new crimes. " When the soldiers heard that, they permitted them to dowhat they thought best. So the forenamed men took the captives, and letthem go, and took care of them, and gave them provisions, and sent themto their own country, without doing them any harm. However, these fourwent along with them, and conducted them as far as Jericho, which is notfar from Jerusalem, and returned to Samaria. 3. Hereupon king Ahaz, having been so thoroughly beaten by theIsraelites, sent to Tiglath-Pileser, king of the Assyrians, and sued forassistance from him in his war against the Israelites, and Syrians, and Damascenes, with a promise to send him much money; he sent him alsogreat presents at the same time. Now this king, upon the reception ofthose ambassadors, came to assist Ahaz, and made war upon the Syrians, and laid their country waste, and took Damascus by force, and slewRezin their king, and transplanted the people of Damascus into the UpperMedia, and brought a colony of Assyrians, and planted them in Damascus. He also afflicted the land of Israel, and took many captives out of it. While he was doing thus with the Syrians, king Ahaz took all the goldthat was in the king's treasures, and the silver, and what was in thetemple of God, and what precious gifts were there, and he carried themwith him, and came to Damascus, and gave it to the king of Assyria, according to his agreement. So he confessed that he owed him thanks forall he had done for him, and returned to Jerusalem. Now this king was sosottish and thoughtless of what was for his own good, that he would notleave off worshipping the Syrian gods when he was beaten by them, buthe went on in worshipping them, as though they would procure him thevictory; and when he was beaten again, he began to honor the gods of theAssyrians; and he seemed more desirous to honor any other gods than hisown paternal and true God, whose anger was the cause of his defeat;nay, he proceeded to such a degree of despite and contempt [of God'sworship], that he shut up the temple entirely, and forbade them to bringin the appointed sacrifices, and took away the gifts that had been givento it. And when he had offered these indignities to God, he died, havinglived thirty-six years, and of them reigned sixteen; and he left his sonHezekiah for his successor. CHAPTER 13. How Pekah Died By The Treachery Of Hoshea Who Was A LittleAfter Subdued By Shalmaneser; And How Hezekiah Reigned Instead Of Ahaz;And What Actions Of Piety And Justice He Did. 1. About the same time Pekah, the king of Israel, died by the treacheryof a friend of his, whose name was Hoshea, who retained the kingdom nineyears' time, but was a wicked man, and a despiser of the Divine worship;and Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, made an expedition against him, and overcame him, [which must have been because he had not God favorablenor assistant to him, ] and brought him to submission, and ordered himto pay an appointed tribute. Now, in the fourth year of the reign ofHoshea, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, began to reign in Jerusalem; and hismother's name was Abijah, a citizen of Jerusalem. His nature was good, and righteous, and religious; for when he came to the kingdom, hethought that nothing was prior, or more necessary, or more advantageousto himself, and to his subjects, than to worship God. Accordingly, hecalled the people together, and the priests, and the Levites, and madea speech to them, and said, "You are not ignorant how, by the sins ofmy father, who transgressed that sacred honor which was due to God, youhave had experience of many and great miseries, while you were corruptedin your mind by him, and were induced to worship those which he supposedto be gods; I exhort you, therefore, who have learned by sad experiencehow dangerous a thing impiety is, to put that immediately out of yourmemory, and to purify yourselves from your former pollutions, and toopen the temple to these priests and Levites who are here convened, andto cleanse it with the accustomed sacrifices, and to recover all to theancient honor which our fathers paid to it; for by this means we mayrender God favorable, and he will remit the anger he hath had to us. " 2. When the king had said this, the priests opened the temple; and whenthey had set in order the vessels of God, and east out what was impure, they laid the accustomed sacrifices upon the altar. The king also sentto the country that was under him, and called the people to Jerusalem tocelebrate the feast of unleavened bread, for it had been intermitted along time, on account of the wickedness of the forementioned kings. He also sent to the Israelites, and exhorted them to leave off theirpresent way of living, and return to their ancient practices, and toworship God, for that he gave them leave to come to Jerusalem, and tocelebrate, all in one body, the feast of unleavened bread; and thishe said was by way of invitation only, and to be done of their owngood-will, and for their own advantage, and not out of obedience to him, because it would make them happy. But the Israelites, upon the comingof the ambassadors, and upon their laying before them what they had incharge from their own king, were so far from complying therewith, thatthey laughed the ambassadors to scorn, and mocked them as fools: as alsothey affronted the prophets, which gave them the same exhortations, andforetold what they would suffer if they did not return to the worshipof God, insomuch that at length they caught them, and slew them; nordid this degree of transgressing suffice them, but they had more wickedcontrivances than what have been described: nor did they leave off, before God, as a punishment for their impiety, brought them under theirenemies: but of that more hereafter. However, many there were of thetribe of Manasseh, and of Zebulon, and of Issachar, who were obedientto what the prophets exhorted them to do, and returned to the worshipof God. Now all these came running to Jerusalem, to Hezekiah, that theymight worship God [there]. 3. When these men were come, king Hezekiah went up into the temple, withthe rulers and all the people, and offered for himself seven bulls, andas many rams, with seven lambs, and as many kids of the goats. Theking also himself, and the rulers, laid their hands on the heads of thesacrifices, and permitted the priests to complete the sacredoffices about them. So they both slew the sacrifices, and burnt theburnt-offerings, while the Levites stood round about them, withtheir musical instruments, and sang hymns to God, and played on theirpsalteries, as they were instructed by David to do, and this while therest of the priests returned the music, and sounded the trumpets whichthey had in their hands; and when this was done, the king and themultitude threw themselves down upon their face, and worshipped God. Healso sacrificed seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. He also granted the multitude sacrifices to feast upon, six hundredoxen, and three thousand other cattle; and the priests performed allthings according to the law. Now the king was so pleased herewith, thathe feasted with the people, and returned thanks to God; but as the feastof unleavened bread was now come, when they had offered that sacrificewhich is called the passover, they after that offered other sacrificesfor seven days. When the king had bestowed on the multitude, besideswhat they sanctified of themselves, two thousand bulls, and seventhousand other cattle, the same thing was done by the rulers; for theygave them a thousand bulls, and a thousand and forty other cattle. Norhad this festival been so well observed from the days of king Solomon, as it was now first observed with great splendor and magnificence; andwhen the festival was ended, they went out into the country and purgedit, and cleansed the city of all the pollution of the idols. The kingalso gave order that the daily sacrifices should be offered, at his owncharges, and according to the law; and appointed that the tithes andthe first-fruits should be given by the multitude to the priests andLevites, that they might constantly attend upon Divine service, andnever be taken off from the worship of God. Accordingly, the multitudebrought together all sorts of their fruits to the priests and theLevites. The king also made garners and receptacles for these fruits, and distributed them to every one of the priests and Levites, and totheir children and wives; and thus did they return to their old form ofDivine worship. Now when the king had settled these matters after themanner already described, he made war upon the Philistines, and beatthem, and possessed himself of all the enemy's cities, from Gaza toGath; but the king of Assyria sent to him, and threatened to overturnall his dominions, unless he would pay him the tribute which hisfather paid him formerly; but king Hezekiah was not concerned at histhreatenings, but depended on his piety towards God, and upon Isaiah theprophet, by whom he inquired and accurately knew all future events. Andthus much shall suffice for the present concerning this king Hezekiah. CHAPTER 14. How Shalmaneser Took Samaria By Force And How HeTransplanted The Ten Tribes Into Media, And Brought The Nation Of TheCutheans Into Their Country [In Their Room]. 1. When Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, had it told him, that [Hoshea]the king of Israel had sent privately to So, the king of Egypt, desiringhis assistance against him, he was very angry, and made an expeditionagainst Samaria, in the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea; but when hewas not admitted [into the city] by the king, [24] he besieged Samariathree years, and took it by force in the ninth year of the reign ofHoshea, and in the seventh year of Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, andquite demolished the government of the Israelites, and transplanted allthe people into Media and Persia among whom he took king Hosheaalive; and when he had removed these people out of this their land hetransplanted other nations out of Cuthah, a place so called, [for thereis [still] a river of that name in Persia, ] into Samaria, and into thecountry of the Israelites. So the ten tribes of the Israelites wereremoved out of Judea nine hundred and forty-seven years after theirforefathers were come out of the land of Egypt, and possessed themselvesof the country, but eight hundred years after Joshua had been theirleader, and, as I have already observed, two hundred and forty years, seven months, and seven days after they had revolted from Rehoboam, thegrandson of David, and had given the kingdom to Jeroboam. And such aconclusion overtook the Israelites, when they had transgressed the laws, and would not hearken to the prophets, who foretold that this calamitywould come upon them, if they would not leave off their evil doings. What gave birth to these evil doings, was that sedition which theyraised against Rehoboam, the grandson of David, when they set upJeroboam his servant to be their king, when, by sinning against God, andbringing them to imitate his bad example, made God to be their enemy, while Jeroboam underwent that punishment which he justly deserved. 2. And now the king of Assyria invaded all Syria and Phoenicia in ahostile manner. The name of this king is also set down in the archivesof Tyre, for he made an expedition against Tyre in the reign of Eluleus;and Menander attests to it, who, when he wrote his Chronology, andtranslated the archives of Tyre into the Greek language, gives us thefollowing history: "One whose name was Eluleus reigned thirty-six years;this king, upon the revolt of the Citteans, sailed to them, and reducedthem again to a submission. Against these did the king of Assyria sendan army, and in a hostile manner overrun all Phoenicia, but soonmade peace with them all, and returned back; but Sidon, and Ace, andPalsetyrus revolted; and many other cities there were which deliveredthemselves up to the king of Assyria. Accordingly, when the Tyrianswould not submit to him, the king returned, and fell upon them again, while the Phoenicians had furnished him with threescore ships, and eighthundred men to row them; and when the Tyrians had come upon them intwelve ships, and the enemy's ships were dispersed, they took fivehundred men prisoners, and the reputation of all the citizens of Tyrewas thereby increased; but the king of Assyria returned, and placedguards at their rivers and aqueducts, who should hinder the Tyrians fromdrawing water. This continued for five years; and still the Tyrians borethe siege, and drank of the water they had out of the wells theydug. " And this is what is written in the Tyrian archives concerningShalmaneser, the king of Assyria. 3. But now the Cutheans, who removed into Samaria, [for that is the namethey have been called by to this time, because they were brought out ofthe country called Cuthah, which is a country of Persia, and there is ariver of the same name in it, ] each of them, according to their nations, which were in number five, brought their own gods into Samaria, andby worshipping them, as was the custom of their own countries, theyprovoked Almighty God to be angry and displeased at them, for a plagueseized upon them, by which they were destroyed; and when they found nocure for their miseries, they learned by the oracle that they ought toworship Almighty God, as the method for their deliverance. So they sentambassadors to the king of Assyria, and desired him to send them some ofthose priests of the Israelites whom he had taken captive. And when hethereupon sent them, and the people were by them taught the laws, andthe holy worship of God, they worshipped him in a respectful manner, andthe plague ceased immediately; and indeed they continue to make use ofthe very same customs to this very time, and are called in the Hebrewtongue Cutlans, but in the Greek tongue Samaritans. And when they seethe Jews in prosperity, they pretend that they are changed, and alliedto them, and call them kinsmen, as though they were derived from Joseph, and had by that means an original alliance with them; but when they seethem falling into a low condition, they say they are no way related tothem, and that the Jews have no right to expect any kindness or marks ofkindred from them, but they declare that they are sojourners, thatcome from other countries. But of these we shall have a more seasonableopportunity to discourse hereafter. BOOK X. Containing The Interval Of One Hundred And Eighty-Two Years AndA Half. From The Captivity Of The Ten Tribes To The First Year Of Cyrus. CHAPTER 1. How Sennacherib Made An Expedition Against Hezekiah; WhatThreatenings Rabshakeh Made To Hezekiah When Sennacherib Was GoneAgainst The Egyptians; How Isaiah The Prophet Encouraged Him; HowSennacherib Having Failed Of Success In Egypt, Returned Thence ToJerusalem; And How Upon His Finding His Army Destroyed, He ReturnedHome; And What Befell Him A Little Afterward. 1. It was now the fourteenth year of the government of Hezekiah, kingof the two tribes, when the king of Assyria, whose name was Sennacherib, made an expedition against him with a great army, and took all thecities of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin by force; and when he wasready to bring his army against Jerusalem, Hezekiah sent ambassadors tohim beforehand, and promised to submit, and pay what tribute heshould appoint. Hereupon Sennacherib, when he heard of what offers theambassadors made, resolved not to proceed in the war, but to accept ofthe proposals that were made him; and if he might receive three hundredtalents of silver, and thirty talents of gold, he promised that hewould depart in a friendly manner; and he gave security upon oath to theambassadors that he would then do him no harm, but go away as he came. So Hezekiah submitted, and emptied his treasures, and sent the money, as supposing he should be freed from his enemy, and from any furtherdistress about his kingdom. Accordingly, the Assyrian king took it, andyet had no regard to what he had promised; but while he himself wentto the war against the Egyptians and Ethiopians, he left his generalRabshakeh, and two other of his principal commanders, with great forces, to destroy Jerusalem. The names of the two other commanders were Tartanand Rabsaris. 2. Now as soon as they were come before the walls, they pitched theircamp, and sent messengers to Hezekiah, and desired that they might speakwith him; but he did not himself come out to them for fear, but he sentthree of his most intimate friends; the name of one was Eliakim, who wasover the kingdom, and Shebna, and Joah the recorder. So these men cameout, and stood over against the commanders of the Assyrian army; andwhen Rabshakeh saw them, he bid them go and speak to Hezekiah in themanner following: That Sennacherib, the great king, [1] desires to knowof him, on whom it is that he relies and depends, in flying from hislord, and will not hear him, nor admit his army into the city? Is it onaccount of the Egyptians, and in hopes that his army would be beaten bythem? Whereupon he lets him know, that if this be what he expects, he isa foolish man, and like one who leans on a broken reed; while such a onewill 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 willof God, who hath granted this favor to him, that he shall overthrow thekingdom of Israel, and that in the very same manner he shall destroythose that are his subjects also. When Rabshakeh had made this speechin the Hebrew tongue, for he was skillful in that language, Eliakimwas afraid lest the multitude that heard him should be disturbed; sohe 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 louder voice, but in the Hebrewtongue; and said, that "since they all heard what were the king'scommands, they would consult their own advantage in delivering upthemselves to us; for it is plain the both you and your king dissuadethe people from submitting by vain hopes, and so induce them to resist;but if you be courageous, and think to drive our forces away, I am readyto deliver to you two thousand of these horses that are with me foryour use, if you can set as many horsemen on their backs, and show yourstrength; but what you have not you cannot produce. Why therefore doyou delay to deliver up yourselves to a superior force, who can takeyou without your consent? although it will be safer for you to deliveryourselves up voluntarily, while a forcible capture, when you arebeaten, must appear more dangerous, and will bring further calamitiesupon you. " 3. When the people, as well as the ambassadors, heard what the Assyriancommander said, they related it to Hezekiah, who thereupon put off hisroyal apparel, and clothed himself with sackcloth, and took the habit ofa mourner, and, after the manner of his country, he fell upon his face, and besought God, and entreated him to assist them, now they had noother hope of relief. He also sent some of his friends, and some of thepriests, to the prophet Isaiah, and desired that he would pray toGod, and offer sacrifices for their common deliverance, and so put upsupplications to him, that he would have indignation at the expectationsof their enemies, and have mercy upon his people. And when the prophethad done accordingly, an oracle came from God to him, and encouragedthe king and his friends that were about him; and foretold that theirenemies should be beaten without fighting, and should go away in anignominious manner, and not with that insolence which they now show, forthat God would take care that they should be destroyed. He also foretoldthat Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, should fail of his purposeagainst Egypt, and that when he came home he should perish by the sword. 4. About the same time also the king of Assyria wrote an epistle toHezekiah, in which he said he was a foolish man, in supposing that heshould escape from being his servant, since he had already brought undermany and great nations; and he threatened, that when he took him, hewould utterly destroy him, unless he now opened the gates, and willinglyreceived his army into Jerusalem. When he read this epistle, he despisedit, on account of the trust that he had in God; but he rolled up theepistle, and laid it up within the temple. And as he made his furtherprayers to God for the city, and for the preservation of all the people, the prophet Isaiah said that God had heard his prayer, and that heshould not be besieged at this time by the king of Assyria [2] that forthe future he might be secure of not being at all disturbed by him;and that the people might go on peaceably, and without fear, withtheir husbandry and other affairs. But after a little while the kingof Assyria, when he had failed of his treacherous designs against theEgyptians, returned home without success, on the following occasion: Hespent a long time in the siege of Pelusium; and when the banks that hehad raised over against the walls were of a great height, and whenhe was ready to make an immediate assault upon them, but heard thatTirhaka, king of the Ethiopians, was coming and bringing great forces toaid the Egyptians, and was resolved to march through the desert, and soto fall directly upon the Assyrians, this king Sennacherib was disturbedat the news, and, as I said before, left Pelusium, and returned backwithout success. Now concerning this Sennacherib, Herodotus also says, in the second book of his histories, how "this king came againstthe Egyptian king, who was the priest of Vulcan; and that as he wasbesieging Pelusium, he broke up the siege on the following occasion:This Egyptian priest prayed to God, and God heard his prayer, and senta 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 nightboth the bows and the rest of the armor of the Assyrians, and that itwas on that account that the king, when he had no bows left, drew offhis army from Pelusium. " And Herodotus does indeed give us this history;nay, and Berosus, who wrote of the affairs of Chaldea, makes mention ofthis king Sennacherib, and that he ruled over the Assyrians, and that hemade an expedition against all Asia and Egypt; and says thus: 5. "Now when Sennacherib was returning from his Egyptian war toJerusalem, he found his army under Rabshakeh his general in danger [by aplague], for God had sent a pestilential distemper upon his army; andon the very first night of the siege, a hundred fourscore and fivethousand, with their captains and generals, were destroyed. So the kingwas in a great dread and in a terrible agony at this calamity; and beingin great fear for his whole army, he fled with the rest of his forces tohis own kingdom, and to his city Nineveh; and when he had abode there alittle while, he was treacherously assaulted, and died by the hands ofhis elder sons, [3] Adrammelech and Seraser, and was slain in his owntemple, which was called Araske. Now these sons of his were driven awayon account of the murder of their father by the citizens, and went intoArmenia, while Assarachoddas took the kingdom of Sennacherib. " And thisproved to be the conclusion of this Assyrian expedition against thepeople of Jerusalem. CHAPTER 2. How Hezekiah Was Sick, And Ready To Die; And How God BestowedUpon Him Fifteen Years Longer Life, [And Secured That Promise] By TheGoing Back Of The Shadow Ten Degrees. 1. Now king Hezekiah being thus delivered, after a surprising manner, from the dread he was in, offered thank-offerings to God, with all hispeople, because nothing else had destroyed some of their enemies, andmade the rest so fearful of undergoing the same fate that they departedfrom Jerusalem, but that Divine assistance. Yet, while he was veryzealous and diligent about the worship of God, did he soon afterwardsfall into a severe distemper, insomuch that the physicians despairedof him, and expected no good issue of his sickness, as neither didhis friends: and besides the distemper [4] itself, there was a verymelancholy circumstance that disordered the king, which was theconsideration that he was childless, and was going to die, and leave hishouse and his government without a successor of his own body; so he wastroubled at the thoughts of this his condition, and lamented himself, and entreated of God that he would prolong his life for a little whiletill he had some children, and not suffer him to depart this life beforehe was become a father. Hereupon God had mercy upon him, and accepted ofhis supplication, because the trouble he was under at his supposed deathwas not because he was soon to leave the advantages he enjoyed in thekingdom, nor did he on that account pray that he might have a longerlife afforded him, but in order to have sons, that might receive thegovernment after him. And God sent Isaiah the prophet, and commanded himto inform Hezekiah, that within three days' time he should get clear ofhis distemper, and should survive it fifteen years, and that he shouldhave children also. Now, upon the prophet's saying this, as God hadcommanded him, he could hardly believe it, both on account of thedistemper he was under, which was very sore, and by reason of thesurprising nature of what was told him; so he desired that Isaiah wouldgive him some sign or wonder, that he might believe him in what he hadsaid, and be sensible that he came from God; for things that are beyondexpectation, and greater than our hopes, are made credible by actions ofthe like nature. And when Isaiah had asked him what sign he desired tobe exhibited, he desired that he would make the shadow of the sun, whichhe had already made to go down ten steps [or degrees] in his house, toreturn again to the same place, [5] and to make it as it was before. Andwhen the prophet prayed to God to exhibit this sign to the king, he sawwhat he desired to see, and was freed from his distemper, and went up tothe temple, where he worshipped God, and made vows to him. 2. At this time it was that the dominion of the Assyrians was overthrownby the Medes; [6] but of these things I shall treat elsewhere. But theking of Babylon, whose name was Baladan, sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, with presents, and desired he would be his ally and his friend. So hereceived the ambassadors gladly, and made them a feast, and showed themhis treasures, and his armory, and the other wealth he was possessed of, in precious stones and in gold, and gave them presents to be carried toBaladan, and sent them back to him. Upon which the prophet Isaiah cameto him, and inquired of him whence those ambassadors came; to which hereplied, that they came from Babylon, from the king; and that he hadshowed them all he had, that by the sight of his riches and forces hemight thereby guess at [the plenty he was in], and be able to inform theking of it. But the prophet rejoined, and said, "Know thou, that, aftera 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 suchthings would come to pass. " Upon which words Hezekiah was troubled, andsaid that he was himself unwilling that his nation should fall intosuch calamities; yet since it is not possible to alter what God haddetermined, he prayed that there might be peace while he lived. Berosusalso makes mention of this Baladan, king of Babylon. Now as to thisprophet [Isaiah], he was by the confession of all, a divine andwonderful man in speaking truth; and out of the assurance that he hadnever written what was false, he wrote down all his prophecies, and leftthem behind him in books, that their accomplishment might be judged offrom the events by posterity: nor did this prophet do so alone, but theothers, which were twelve in number, did the same. And whatsoever isdone among us, Whether it be good, or whether it be bad, comes to passaccording to their prophecies; but of every one of these we shall speakhereafter. CHAPTER 3. How Manasseh Reigned After Hezekiah; And How When He Was InCaptivity He Returned To God And Was Restored To His Kingdom And Left ItTo [His Son] Amon. 1. When king Hezekiah had survived the interval of time alreadymentioned, and had dwelt all that time in peace, he died, havingcompleted fifty-four years of his life, and reigned twenty-nine. Butwhen his son Manasseh, whose mother's name was Hephzibah, of Jerusalem, had taken the kingdom, he departed from the conduct of his father, andfell into a course of life quite contrary thereto, and showed himself inhis manners most wicked in all respects, and omitted no sort of impiety, but imitated those transgressions of the Israelites, by the commissionof which against God they had been destroyed; for he was so hardy as todefile the temple of God, and the city, and the whole country; for, by setting out from a contempt of God, he barbarously slew all therighteous men that were among the Hebrews; nor would he spare theprophets, for he every day slew some of them, till Jerusalem wasoverflown with blood. So God was angry at these proceedings, and sentprophets to the king, and to the multitude, by whom he threatened thevery same calamities to them which their brethren the Israelites, uponthe like affronts offered to God, were now under. But these men wouldnot believe their words, by which belief they might have reaped theadvantage of escaping all those miseries; yet did they in earnest learnthat what the prophets had told them was true. 2. And when they persevered in the same course of life, God raised upwar against them from the king of Babylon and Chaldea, who sent an armyagainst Judea, and laid waste the country; and caught king Manasseh bytreachery, and ordered him to be brought to him, and had him under hispower to inflict what punishment he pleased upon him. But then itwas that Manasseh perceived what a miserable condition he was in, andesteeming himself the cause of all, he besought God to render his enemyhumane and merciful to him. Accordingly, God heard his prayer, andgranted him what he prayed for. So Manasseh was released by the kingof Babylon, and escaped the danger he was in; and when he was come toJerusalem, he endeavored, if it were possible, to cast out of his memorythose his former sins against God, of which he now repented, and toapply himself to a very religious life. He sanctified the temple, andpurged the city, and for the remainder of his days he was intent onnothing but to return his thanks to God for his deliverance, and topreserve him propitious to him all his life long. He also instructedthe multitude to do the same, as having very nearly experienced what acalamity he was fallen into by a contrary conduct. He also rebuilt thealtar, and offered the legal sacrifices, as Moses commanded. And when hehad re-established what concerned the Divine worship, as it ought to be, he took care of the security of Jerusalem: he did not only repair theold walls with great diligence, but added another wall to the former. Healso built very lofty towers, and the garrisoned places before the cityhe strengthened, not only in other respects, but with provisions ofall sorts that they wanted. And indeed, when he had changed his formercourse, he so led his life for the time to come, that from the time ofhis return to piety towards God he was deemed a happy man, and apattern for imitation. When therefore he had lived sixty-seven years, hedeparted this life, having reigned fifty-five years, and was buried inhis own garden; and the kingdom came to his son Amon, whose mother'sname was Meshulemeth, of the city of Jotbath. CHAPTER 4. How Amon Reigned Instead Of Manasseh; And After Amon ReignedJosiah; He Was Both Righteous And Religious. As Also Concerning HuldahThe Prophetess. 1. This Amon imitated those works of his father which he insolently didwhen he was young: so he had a conspiracy made against him by his ownservants, and was slain in his own house, when he had lived twenty-fouryears, and of them had reigned two. But the multitude punished thosethat slew Amon, and buried him with his father, and gave the kingdom tohis son Josiah, who was eight years old. His mother was of the cityof Boscath, and her name was Jedidah. He was of a most excellentdisposition, and naturally virtuous, and followed the actions of kingDavid, as a pattern and a rule to him in the whole conduct of hislife. And when he was twelve years old, he gave demonstrations of hisreligious and righteous behavior; for he brought the people to a soberway of living, and exhorted them to leave off the opinion they had oftheir idols, because they were not gods, but to worship their ownGod. And by repeating on the actions of his progenitors, he prudentlycorrected what they did wrong, like a very elderly man, and like oneabundantly able to understand what was fit to be done; and what he foundthey had well done, he observed all the country over, and imitated thesame. And thus he acted in following the wisdom and sagacity of his ownnature, and in compliance with the advice and instruction of the elders;for by following the laws it was that he succeeded so well in the orderof his government, and in piety with regard to the Divine worship. Andthis happened because the transgressions of the former kings were seenno more, but quite vanished away; for the king went about the city, andthe whole country, and cut down the groves which were devoted to strangegods, and overthrew their altars; and if there were any gifts dedicatedto them by his forefathers, he made them ignominious, and plucked themdown; and by this means he brought the people back from their opinionabout them to the worship of God. He also offered his accustomedsacrifices and burnt-offerings upon the altar. Moreover, he ordainedcertain judges and overseers, that they might order the matters to themseverally belonging, and have regard to justice above all things, anddistribute it with the same concern they would have about their ownsoul. He also sent over all the country, and desired such as pleased tobring gold and silver for the repairs of the temple, according to everyone's inclinations and abilities. And when the money was brought in, hemade one Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Shaphan the scribe, andJoab the recorder, and Eliakim the high priest, curators of the temple, and of the charges contributed thereto; who made no delay, nor put thework off at all, but prepared architects, and whatsoever was properfor those repairs, and set closely about the work. So the temple wasrepaired by this means, and became a public demonstration of the king'spiety. 2. But when he was now in the eighteenth year of his reign, he sentto Eliakim the high priest, and gave order, that out of what money wasoverplus, he should cast cups, and dishes, and vials, for ministration[in the temple]; and besides, that they should bring all the gold orsilver which was among the treasures, and expend that also in makingcups and the like vessels. But as the high priest was bringing out thegold, he lighted upon the holy books of Moses that were laid up in thetemple; and when he had brought them out, he gave them to Shaphan thescribe, who, when he had read them, came to the king, and informed himthat all was finished which he had ordered to be done. He also read overthe books to him, who, when he had heard them read, rent his garment, and called for Eliakim the high priest, and for [Shaphan] the scribe, and for certain [other] of his most particular friends, and sent them toHuldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, [which Shallum was a man ofdignity, and of an eminent family, ] and bid them go to her, and saythat [he desired] she would appease God, and endeavor to render himpropitious to them, for that there was cause to fear, lest, upon thetransgression of the laws of Moses by their forefathers, they shouldbe in peril of going into captivity, and of being cast out of their owncountry; lest they should be in want of all things, and so end theirdays miserably. When the prophetess had heard this from the messengersthat were sent to her by the king, she bid them go back to the king, andsay that "God had already given sentence against them, to destroy thepeople, and cast them out of their country, and deprive them of allthe happiness they enjoyed;" which sentence none could set aside byany prayers of theirs, since it was passed on account of theirtransgressions of the laws, and of their not having repented in so longa time, while the prophets had exhorted them to amend, and had foretoldthe punishment that would ensue on their impious practices; whichthreatening God would certainly execute upon them, that they might bepersuaded that he is God, and had not deceived them in any respect asto what he had denounced by his prophets; that yet, because Josiah wasa righteous man, he would at present delay those calamities, but thatafter his death he would send on the multitude what miseries he haddetermined for them. 3. So these messengers, upon this prophecy of the woman, came and toldit to the king; whereupon he sent to the people every where, and orderedthat the priests and the Levites should come together to Jerusalem; andcommanded that those of every age should be present also. And when theyhad gathered together, he first read to them the holy books; after whichhe stood upon a pulpit, in the midst of the multitude, and obliged themto make a covenant, with an oath, that they would worship God, and keepthe laws of Moses. Accordingly, they gave their assent willingly, and undertook to do what the king had recommended to them. So theyimmediately offered sacrifices, and that after an acceptable manner, andbesought God to be gracious and merciful to them. He also enjoined thehigh priest, that if there remained in the temple any vessel that wasdedicated to idols, or to foreign gods, they should cast it out. So whena great number of such vessels were got together, he burnt them, andscattered their ashes abroad, and slew the priests of the idols thatwere not of the family of Aaron. 4. And when he had done thus in Jerusalem, he came into the country, andutterly destroyed what buildings had been made therein by king Jeroboam, in honor of strange gods; and he burnt the bones of the false prophetsupon that altar which Jeroboam first built; and, as the prophet [Jadon], who came to Jeroboam when he was offering sacrifice, and when all thepeople heard him, foretold what would come to pass, viz. That a certainman of the house of David, Josiah by name, should do what is herementioned. And it happened that those predictions took effect afterthree hundred and sixty-one years. 5. After these things, Josiah went also to such other Israelites as hadescaped captivity and slavery under the Assyrians, and persuaded themto desist from their impious practices, and to leave off the honors theypaid to strange gods, but to worship rightly their own Almighty God, andadhere to him. He also searched the houses, and the villages, and thecities, out of a suspicion that somebody might have one idol or other inprivate; nay, indeed, he took away the chariots [of the sun] that wereset up in his royal palace, [7] which his predecessors had framed, andwhat thing soever there was besides which they worshipped as a god. And when he had thus purged all the country, he called the people toJerusalem, and there celebrated the feast of unleavened bread, and thatcalled the passover. He also gave the people for paschal sacrifices, young kids of the goats, and lambs, thirty thousand, and three thousandoxen for burnt-offerings. The principal of the priests also gave to thepriests against the passover two thousand and six hundred lambs; theprincipal of the Levites also gave to the Levites five thousandlambs, and five hundred oxen, by which means there was great plenty ofsacrifices; and they offered those sacrifices according to the laws ofMoses, while every priest explained the matter, and ministered to themultitude. And indeed there had been no other festival thus celebratedby the Hebrews from the times of Samuel the prophet; and the plenty ofsacrifices now was the occasion that all things were performed accordingto the laws, and according to the custom of their forefathers. So whenJosiah had after this lived in peace, nay, in riches and reputationalso, among all men, he ended his life in the manner following. CHAPTER 5. How Josiah Fought With Neco [King Of Egypt. ] And Was WoundedAnd Died In A Little Time Afterward; As Also How Neco Carried Jehoahaz, Who Had Been Made King Into Egypt And Delivered The Kingdom ToJehoiakim; And [Lastly] Concerning Jeremiah And Ezekiel. 1. Now Neco, king of Egypt, raised an army, and marched to the riverEuphrates, in order to fight with the Medes and Babylonians, who hadoverthrown the dominion of the Assyrians, [8] for he had a desire toreign over Asia. Now when he was come to the city Mendes, which belongedto the kingdom of Josiah, he brought an army to hinder him from passingthrough his own country, in his expedition against the Medes. NowNeco sent a herald to Josiah, and told him that he did not make thisexpedition against him, but was making haste to Euphrates; anddesired that he would not provoke him to fight against him, because heobstructed his march to the place whither he had resolved to go. ButJosiah did not admit of this advice of Neco, but put himself into aposture to hinder him from his intended march. I suppose it was fatethat pushed him on this conduct, that it might take an occasion againsthim; for as he was setting his army in array, [9] and rode about in hischariot, from one wing of his army to another, one of the Egyptians shotan arrow at him, and put an end to his eagerness of fighting; for beingsorely wounded, he command a retreat to be sounded for his army, andreturned to Jerusalem, and died of that wound; and was magnificentlyburied in the sepulcher of his fathers, when he had lived thirty-nineyears, and of them had reigned thirty-one. But all the people mournedgreatly for him, lamenting and grieving on his account many days; andJeremiah the prophet composed an elegy to lament him, [10] which isextant till tills time also. Moreover, this prophet denounced beforehandthe sad calamities that were coming upon the city. He also left behindhim in writing a description of that destruction of our nation which haslately happened in our days, and the taking of Babylon; nor was he theonly prophet who delivered such predictions beforehand to the multitude, but so did Ezekiel also, who was the first person that wrote, and leftbehind him in writing two books concerning these events. Now these twoprophets were priests by birth, but of them Jeremiah dwelt in Jerusalem, from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, until the city andtemple were utterly destroyed. However, as to what befell this prophet, we will relate it in its proper place. 2. Upon the death of Josiah, which we have already mentioned, his son, Jehoahaz by name, took the kingdom, being about twenty-three years old. He reigned in Jerusalem; and his mother was Hamutal, of the city Libhah. He was an impious man, and impure in his course of life; but as the kingof Egypt returned from the battle, he sent for Jehoahaz to come to him, to the city called Hamath [11] which belongs to Syria; and when he wascome, he put him in bands, and delivered the kingdom to a brother ofhis, by the father's side, whose name was Eliakim, and changed his nameto Jehoiakim and laid a tribute upon the land of a hundred talents ofsilver, and a talent of gold; and this sum of money Jehoiakim paid byway of tribute; but Neco carried away Jehoahaz into Egypt, where he diedwhen he had reigned three months and ten days. Now Jehoiakim's motherwas called Zebudah, of the city Rumah. He was of a wicked disposition, and ready to do mischief; nor was he either religions towards God, orgood-natured towards men. CHAPTER 6. How Nebuchadnezzar, When He Had Conquered The King Of EgyptMade An Expedition Against The Jews, And Slew Jehoiakim, And MadeJeholachin His Son King. 1. Now in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, one whose name wasNebuchadnezzar took the government over the Babylonians, who at thesame time went up with a great army to the city Carchemish, which wasat Euphrates, upon a resolution he had taken to fight with Neco kingof Egypt, under whom all Syria then was. And when Neco understood theintention of the king of Babylon, and that this expedition was madeagainst him, he did not despise his attempt, but made haste with a greatband of men to Euphrates to defend himself from Nebuchadnezzar; and whenthey had joined battle, he was beaten, and lost many ten thousands[of his soldiers] in the battle. So the king of Babylon passed overEuphrates, and took all Syria, as far as Pelusium, excepting Judea. Butwhen Nebuchadnezzar had already reigned four years, which was the eighthof Jehoiakim's government over the Hebrews, the king of Babylon made anexpedition with mighty forces against the Jews, and required tribute ofJehoiakim, and threatened upon his refusal to make war against him. Hewas aftrighted at his threatening, and bought his peace with money, andbrought the tribute he was ordered to bring for three years. 2. But on the third year, upon hearing that the king of the Babyloniansmade an expedition against the Egyptians, he did not pay his tribute;yet was he disappointed of his hope, for the Egyptians durst not fightat this time. And indeed the prophet Jeremiah foretold every day, howvainly they relied on their hopes from Egypt, and how the city wouldbe overthrown by the king of Babylon, and Jehoiakim the king would besubdued by him. But what he thus spake proved to be of no advantage tothem, because there were none that should escape; for both the multitudeand the rulers, when they heard him, had no concern about what theyheard; but being displeased at what was said, as if the prophet were adiviner against the king, they accused Jeremiah, and bringing him beforethe court, they required that a sentence and a punishment might be givenagainst him. Now all the rest gave their votes for his condemnation, butthe elders refused, who prudently sent away the prophet from the courtof [the prison], and persuaded the rest to do Jeremiah no harm; for theysaid that he was not the only person who foretold what would come tothe city, but that Micah signified the same before him, as well as manyothers, none of which suffered any thing of the kings that then reigned, but were honored as the prophets of God. So they mollified the multitudewith these words, and delivered Jeremiah from the punishment to which hewas condemned. Now when this prophet had written all his prophecies, andthe people were fasting, and assembled at the temple, on the ninth monthof the fifth year of Jehoiakim, he read the book he had composed ofhis predictions of what was to befall the city, and the temple, and themultitude. And when the rulers heard of it, they took the book from him, and bid him and Baruch the scribe to go their ways, lest they should bediscovered by one or other; but they carried the book, and gave it tothe king; so he gave order, in the presence of his friends, thathis scribe should take it, and read it. When the king heard what itcontained, he was angry, and tore it, and cast it into the fire, whereit was consumed. He also commanded that they should seek for Jeremiah, and Baruch the scribe, and bring them to him, that they might bepunished. However, they escaped his anger. 3. Now, a little time afterwards, the king of Babylon made an expeditionagainst Jehoiakim, whom he received [into the city], and this out offear of the foregoing predictions of this prophet, as supposing heshould suffer nothing that was terrible, because he neither shut thegates, nor fought against him; yet when he was come into the city, hedid not observe the covenants he had made, but he slew such as werein the flower of their age, and such as were of the greatest dignity, together with their king Jehoiakim, whom he commanded to be thrownbefore the walls, without any burial; and made his son Jehoiachin kingof the country, and of the city: he also took the principal persons indignity for captives, three thousand in number, and led them away toBabylon; among which was the prophet Ezekiel, who was then but young. And this was the end of king Jehoiakim, when he had lived thirty-sixyears, and of them reigned eleven. But Jehoiachin succeeded him inthe kingdom, whose mother's name was Nehushta; she was a citizen ofJerusalem. He reigned three months and ten days. CHAPTER 7. That The King Of Babylon Repented Of Making Jehoiachin King, And Took Him Away To Babylon And Delivered The Kingdom To Zedekiah. ThisKing Would Not Relieve What Was Predicted By Jeremiah And Ezekiel ButJoined Himself To The Egyptians; Who When They Came Into Judea, WereVanquished By The King Of Babylon; As Also What Befell Jeremiah. 1. But a terror seized on the king of Babylon, who had given the kingdomto Jehoiachin, and that immediately; he was afraid that he should bearhim a grudge, because of his killing his father, and thereupon shouldmake the country revolt from him; wherefore he sent an army, andbesieged Jehoiachin in Jerusalem; but because he was of a gentle andjust disposition, he did not desire to see the city endangered on hisaccount, but he took his mother and kindred, and delivered them to thecommanders sent by the king of Babylon, and accepted of their oaths, that neither should they suffer any harm, nor the city; which agreementthey did not observe for a single year, for the king of Babylon did notkeep it, but gave orders to his generals to take all that were in thecity captives, both the youth and the handicraftsmen, and bringthem bound to him; their number was ten thousand eight hundred andthirty-two; as also Jehoiachin, and his mother and friends. And whenthese were brought to him, he kept them in custody, and appointedJehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, to be king; and made him take anoath, that he would certainly keep the kingdom for him, and make noinnovation, nor have any league of friendship with the Egyptians. 2. Now Zedekiah was twenty and one year's old when he took thegovernment; and had the same mother with his brother Jehoiakim, but wasa despiser of justice and of his duty, for truly those of the same agewith him were wicked about him, and the whole multitude did what unjustand insolent things they pleased; for which reason the prophet Jeremiahcame often to him, and protested to him, and insisted, that he mustleave off his impieties and transgressions, and take care of what wasright, and neither give ear to the rulers, [among whom were wicked men, ]nor give credit to their false prophets, who deluded them, as if theking of Babylon would make no more war against them, and as if theEgyptians would make war against him, and conquer him, since whatthey said was not true, and the events would not prove such [as theyexpected]. Now as to Zedekiah himself, while he heard the prophet speak, he believed him, and agreed to every thing as true, and supposed it wasfor his advantage; but then his friends perverted him, and dissuaded himfrom what the prophet advised, and obliged him to do what they pleased. Ezekiel also foretold in Babylon what calamities were coming upon thepeople, which when he heard, he sent accounts of them unto Jerusalem. But Zedekiah did not believe their prophecies, for the reason following:It happened that the two prophets agreed with one another in what theysaid as in all other things, that the city should be taken, and Zedekiahhimself should be taken captive; but Ezekiel disagreed with him, andsaid that Zedekiah should not see Babylon, while Jeremiah said to him, that the king of Babylon should carry him away thither in bonds. . . . 3. Now when Zedekiah had preserved the league of mutual assistance hehad made with the Babylonians for eight years, he brake it, and revoltedto the Egyptians, in hopes, by their assistance, of overcoming theBabylonians. When the king of Babylon knew this, he made war againsthim: he laid his country waste, and took his fortified towns, and cameto the city Jerusalem itself to besiege it. But when the king of Egyptheard what circumstances Zedekiah his ally was in, he took a great armywith him, and came into Judea, as if he would raise the siege;upon which the king of Babylon departed from Jerusalem, and met theEgyptians, and joined battle with them, and beat them; and when he hadput them to flight, he pursued them, and drove them out of all Syria. Now as soon as the king of Babylon was departed from Jerusalem, thefalse prophets deceived Zedekiah, and said that the king of Babylonwould not any more make war against him or his people, nor remove themout of their own country into Babylon; and that those then in captivitywould return, with all those vessels of the temple of which the kingof Babylon had despoiled that temple. But Jeremiah came among them, andprophesied what contradicted those predictions, and what proved to betrue, that they did ill, and deluded the king; that the Egyptians wouldbe of no advantage to them, but that the king of Babylon would renewthe war against Jerusalem, and besiege it again, and would destroy thepeople by famine, and carry away those that remained into captivity, and would take away what they had as spoils, and would carry off thoseriches that were in the temple; nay, that, besides this, he would burnit, and utterly overthrow the city, and that they should serve him andhis posterity seventy years; that then the Persians and the Medes shouldput an end to their servitude, and overthrow the Babylonians; "and thatwe shall be dismissed, and return to this land, and rebuild the temple, and restore Jerusalem. " When Jeremiah said this, the greater partbelieved him; but the rulers, and those that were wicked, despised him, as one disordered in his senses. Now he had resolved to go elsewhere, to his own country, which was called Anathoth, and was twenty furlongsdistant from Jerusalem; [12] and as he was going, one of the rulers methim, and seized upon him, and accused him falsely, as though he weregoing as a deserter to the Babylonians; but Jeremiah said that heaccused him falsely, and added, that he was only going to his owncountry; but the other would not believe him, but seized upon him, andled him away to the rulers, and laid an accusation against him, underwhom he endured all sorts of torments and tortures, and was reserved tobe punished; and this was the condition he was in for some time, whilehe suffered what I have already described unjustly. 4. Now in the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, on the tenth day ofthe tenth month, the king of Babylon made a second expedition againstJerusalem, and lay before it eighteen months, and besieged it withthe utmost application. There came upon them also two of the greatestcalamities at the same time that Jerusalem was besieged, a famine anda pestilential distemper, and made great havoc of them. And though theprophet Jeremiah was in prison, he did not rest, but cried out, andproclaimed aloud, and exhorted the multitude to open their gates, andadmit the king of Babylon, for that if they did so, they should bepreserved, and their whole families; but if they did not so, they shouldbe destroyed; and he foretold, that if any one staid in the city, heshould certainly perish by one of these ways, --either be consumed by thefamine, or slain by the enemy's sword; but that if he would flee tothe enemy, he should escape death. Yet did not these rulers who heardbelieve him, even when they were in the midst of their sore calamities;but they came to the king, and in their anger informed him what Jeremiahhad said, and accused him, and complained of the prophet as of a madman, and one that disheartened their minds, and by the denunciation ofmiseries weakened the alacrity of the multitude, who were otherwiseready to expose themselves to dangers for him, and for their country, while he, in a way of threatening, warned them to flee to the enemy, and told them that the city should certainly be taken, and be utterlydestroyed. 5. But for the king himself, he was not at all irritated againstJeremiah, such was his gentle and righteous disposition; yet, that hemight not be engaged in a quarrel with those rulers at such a time, byopposing what they intended, he let them do with the prophet whatsoeverthey would; whereupon, when the king had granted them such a permission, they presently came into the prison, and took him, and let him down witha cord into a pit full of mire, that he might be suffocated, and die ofhimself. So he stood up to the neck in the mire which was all about him, and so continued; but there was one of the king's servants, who was inesteem with him, an Ethiopian by descent, who told the king what a statethe prophet was in, and said that his friends and his rulers had doneevil in putting the prophet into the mire, and by that means contrivingagainst him that he should suffer a death more bitter than that byhis bonds only. When the king heard this, he repented of his havingdelivered up the prophet to the rulers, and bid the Ethiopian takethirty men of the king's guards, and cords with them, and whatsoeverelse they understood to be necessary for the prophet's preservation, andto draw him up immediately. So the Ethiopian took the men he was orderedto take, and drew up the prophet out of the mire, and left him atliberty [in the prison]. 6. But when the king had sent to call him privately, and inquired whathe could say to him from God, which might be suitable to his presentcircumstances, and desired him to inform him of it, Jeremiah replied, that he had somewhat to say; but he said withal, he should not bebelieved, nor, if he admonished them, should be hearkened to; "for, "said he, "thy friends have determined to destroy me, as though I hadbeen guilty of some wickedness; and where are now those men who deceivedus, and said that the king of Babylon would not come and fight againstus any more? but I am afraid now to speak the truth, lest thou shouldstcondemn me to die. " And when the king had assured him upon oath, thathe would neither himself put him to death, nor deliver him up to therulers, he became bold upon that assurance that was given him, and gavehim this advice: That he should deliver the city up to the Babylonians;and he said that it was God who prophesied this by him, that [he mustdo so] if he would be preserved, and escape out of the danger he was in, and that then neither should the city fall to the ground, nor should thetemple be burned; but that [if he disobeyed] he would be the cause ofthese miseries coming upon the citizens, and of the calamity that wouldbefall his whole house. When the king heard this, he said that he wouldwillingly do what he persuaded him to, and what he declared would be tohis advantage, but that he was afraid of those of his own country thathad fallen away to the Babylonians, lest he should be accused by themto the king of Babylon, and be punished. But the prophet encouraged him, and said he had no cause to fear such punishment, for that he should nothave the experience of any misfortune, if he would deliver all up to theBabylonians, neither himself, nor his children, nor his wives, and thatthe temple should then continue unhurt. So when Jeremiah had said this, the king let him go, and charged him to betray what they had resolved onto none of the citizens, nor to tell any of these matters to any ofthe rulers, if they should have learned that he had been sent for, andshould inquire of him what it was that he was sent for, and what he hadsaid to him; but to pretend to them that he besought him that he mightnot be kept in bonds and in prison. And indeed he said so to them; forthey came to the prophet, and asked him what advice it was that hecame to give the king relating to them. And thus I have finished whatconcerns this matter. CHAPTER 8. How The King Of Babylon Took Jerusalem And Burnt The TempleAnd Removed The People Of Jerusalem And Zedekiah To Babylon. As Also, Who They Were That Had Succeeded In The High Priesthood Under The Kings. 1. Now the king of Babylon was very intent and earnest upon the siegeof Jerusalem; and he erected towers upon great banks of earth, and fromthem repelled those that stood upon the walls; he also made a greatnumber of such banks round about the whole city, whose height was equalto those walls. However, those that were within bore the siege withcourage and alacrity, for they were not discouraged, either by thefamine, or by the pestilential distemper, but were of cheerful mindsin the prosecution of the war, although those miseries within oppressedthem also, and they did not suffer themselves to be terrified, either bythe contrivances of the enemy, or by their engines of war, but contrivedstill different engines to oppose all the other withal, till indeedthere seemed to be an entire struggle between the Babylonians and thepeople of Jerusalem, which had the greater sagacity and skill; theformer party supposing they should be thereby too hard for the other, for the destruction of the city; the latter placing their hopes ofdeliverance in nothing else but in persevering in such inventions inopposition to the other, as might demonstrate the enemy's engines wereuseless to them. And this siege they endured for eighteen months, untilthey were destroyed by the famine, and by the darts which the enemythrew at them from the towers. 2. Now the city was taken on the ninth day of the fourth month, in theeleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah. They were indeed only generalsof the king of Babylon, to whom Nebuchadnezzar committed the care of thesiege, for he abode himself in the city of Riblah. The names of thesegenerals who ravaged and subdued Jerusalem, if any one desire to knowthem, were these: Nergal Sharezer, Samgar Nebo, Rabsaris, Sorsechim, and Rabmag. And when the city was taken about midnight, and the enemy'sgenerals were entered into the temple, and when Zedekiah was sensibleof it, he took his wives, and his children, and his captains, and hisfriends, and with them fled out of the city, through the fortifiedditch, and through the desert; and when certain of the deserters hadinformed the Babylonians of this, at break of day, they made hasteto pursue after Zedekiah, and overtook him not far from Jericho, andencompassed him about. But for those friends and captains of Zedekiahwho had fled out of the city with him, when they saw their enemies nearthem, they left him, and dispersed themselves, some one way, and someanother, and every one resolved to save himself; so the enemy tookZedekiah alive, when he was deserted by all but a few, with hischildren and his wives, and brought him to the king. When he wascome, Nebuchadnezzar began to call him a wicked wretch, and acovenant-breaker, and one that had forgotten his former words, when hepromised to keep the country for him. He also reproached him for hisingratitude, that when he had received the kingdom from him, who hadtaken it from Jehoiachin, and given it to him, he had made use of thepower he gave him against him that gave it; "but, " said he, "God isgreat, who hated that conduct of thine, and hath brought thee under us. "And when he had used these words to Zedekiah, he commanded his sons andhis friends to be slain, while Zedekiah and the rest of the captainslooked on; after which he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him, and carried him to Babylon. And these things happened to him, [13] asJeremiah and Ezekiel had foretold to him, that he should be caught, and brought before the king of Babylon, and should speak to him faceto face, and should see his eyes with his own eyes; and thus far didJeremiah prophesy. But he was also made blind, and brought to Babylon, but did not see it, according to the prediction of Ezekiel. 3. We have said thus much, because it was sufficient to show the natureof God to such as are ignorant of it, that it is various, and acts manydifferent ways, and that all events happen after a regular manner, intheir proper season, and that it foretells what must come to pass. Itis also sufficient to show the ignorance and incredulity of men, wherebythey are not permitted to foresee any thing that is future, and are, without any guard, exposed to calamities, so that it is impossible forthem to avoid the experience of those calamities. 4. And after this manner have the kings of David's race ended theirlives, being in number twenty-one, until the last king, who all togetherreigned five hundred and fourteen years, and six months, and ten days;of whom Saul, who was their first king, retained the government twentyyears, though he was not of the same tribe with the rest. 5. And now it was that the king of Babylon sent Nebuzaradan, the generalof his army, to Jerusalem, to pillage the temple, who had it also incommand to burn it and the royal palace, and to lay the city even withthe ground, and to transplant the people into Babylon. Accordingly, hecame to Jerusalem in the eleventh year of king Zedekiah, and pillagedthe temple, and carried out the vessels of God, both gold and silver, and particularly that large laver which Solomon dedicated, as also thepillars of brass, and their chapiters, with the golden tables and thecandlesticks; and when he had carried these off, he set fire to thetemple in the fifth month, the first day of the month, in theeleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, and in the eighteenth year ofNebuchadnezzar: he also burnt the palace, and overthrew the city. Nowthe temple was burnt four hundred and seventy years, six months, and tendays 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 thedeluge to the destruction of the temple, the whole interval was onethousand nine hundred and fifty-seven years, six months, and ten days;but from the generation of Adam, until this befell the temple, therewere three thousand five hundred and thirteen years, six months, andten days; so great was the number of years hereto belonging. And whatactions were done during these years we have particularly related. Butthe general of the Babylonian king now overthrew the city to the veryfoundations, and removed all the people, and took for prisoners the highpriest Seraiah, and Zephaniah the priest that was next to him, and therulers that guarded the temple, who were three in number, and the eunuchwho was over the armed men, and seven friends of Zedekiah, and hisscribe, and sixty other rulers; all which, together with the vesselswhich they had pillaged, he carried to the king of Babylon to Riblah, acity of Syria. So the king commanded the heads of the high priest and ofthe rulers to be cut off there; but he himself led all the captives andZedekiah to Babylon. He also led Josedek the high priest away bound. He was the son of Seraiah the high priest, whom the king of Babylon hadslain in Riblah, a city of Syria, as we just now related. 6. And now, because we have enumerated the succession of the kings, andwho they were, and how long they reigned, I think it necessary to setdown the names of the high priests, and who they were that succeeded oneanother in the high priesthood under the Kings. The first high priestthen at the temple which Solomon built was Zadok; after him his sonAchimas received that dignity; after Achimas was Azarias; his son wasJoram, and Joram's son was Isus; after him was Axioramus; his son wasPhidens, and Phideas's son was Sudeas, and Sudeas's son was Juelus, andJuelus's son was Jotham, and Jotham's son was Urias, and Urias's sonwas Nerias, and Nerias's son was Odeas, and his son was Sallumus, andSallumus's son was Elcias, and his son [was Azarias, and his son]was Sareas, [14] and his son was Josedec, who was carried captive toBabylon. All these received the high priesthood by succession, the sonsfrom their father. 7. When the king was come to Babylon, he kept Zedekiah in prison untilhe died, and buried him magnificently, and dedicated the vessels he hadpillaged out of the temple of Jerusalem to his own gods, and plantedthe people in the country of Babylon, but freed the high priest from hisbonds. CHAPTER 9. How Nebuzaradan Set Gedaliah Over The Jews That Were Left InJudea Which Gedaliah Was A Little Afterward Slain By Ishmael; And HowJohanan After Ishmael Was Driven Away Went Down Into Egypt With ThePeople Which People Nebuchadnezzar When He Made An Expedition AgainstThe Egyptians Took Captive And Brought Them Away To Babylon. 1. Now the general of the army, Nebuzaradan, when he had carried thepeople of the Jews into captivity, left the poor, and those that haddeserted, in the country, and made one, whose name was Gedaliah, the sonof Ahikam, a person of a noble family, their governor; which Gedaliahwas of a gentle and righteous disposition. He also commanded them thatthey should cultivate the ground, and pay an appointed tribute to theking. He also took Jeremiah the prophet out of prison, and would havepersuaded him to go along with him to Babylon, for that he had beenenjoined by the king to supply him with whatsoever he wanted; and if hedid not like to do so, he desired him to inform him where he resolved todwell, that he might signify the same to the king. But the prophet hadno mind to follow him, nor to dwell any where else, but would gladlylive in the ruins of his country, and in the miserable remains 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 himwith whatsoever he wanted. So when he had given him rich presents, hedismissed him. Accordingly, Jeremiah abode in a city of that country, which was called Mispah; and desired of Nebuzaradan that he would setat liberty his disciple Baruch, the son of Neriah, one of a very eminentfamily, and exceeding skillful in the language of his country. 2. When Nebuzaradan had done thus, he made haste to Babylon. But asto those that fled away during the siege of Jerusalem, and had beenscattered over the country, when they heard that the Babylonians weregone away, and had left a remnant in the land of Jerusalem, and thosesuch as were to cultivate the same, they came together from all parts toGedaliah to Mispah. Now the rulers that were over them were Johanan, theson of Kareah, and Jezaniah, and Seraiah, and others beside them. Now there was of the royal family one Ishmael, a wicked man, and verycrafty, who, during the siege of Jerusalem, fled to Baalis, the kingof the Ammonites, and abode with him during that time; and Gedaliahpersuaded them, now they were there, to stay with him, and to have nofear of the Babylonians, for that if they would cultivate the country, they should suffer no harm. This he assured them of by oath; and saidthat they should have him for their patron, and that if any disturbanceshould arise, they should find him ready to defend them. He also advisedthem to dwell in any city, as every one of them pleased; and that theywould send men along with his own servants, and rebuild their housesupon the old foundations, and dwell there; and he admonished thembeforehand, that they should make preparation, while the season lasted, of corn, and wine, and oil, that they might have whereon to feed duringthe winter. When he had thus discoursed to them, he dismissed them, thatevery one might dwell in what place of the country he pleased. 3. Now when this report was spread abroad as far as the nations thatbordered on Judea, that Gedaliah kindly entertained those that came tohim, after they had fled away, upon this [only] condition, that theyshould pay tribute to the king of Babylon, they also came readily toGedaliah, and inhabited the country. And when Johanan, and the rulersthat were with him, observed the country, and the humanity of Gedaliah, they were exceedingly in love with him, and told him that Baalis, theking of the Ammonites, had sent Ishmael to kill him by treachery, andsecretly, that he might have the dominion over the Israelites, as beingof the royal family; and they said that he might deliver himself fromthis treacherous design, if he would give them leave to slay Ishmael, and nobody should know it, for they told him they were afraid that, whenhe was killed by the other, the entire ruin of the remaining strengthof the Israelites would ensue. But he professed that he did not believewhat they said, when they told him of such a treacherous design, in aman that had been well treated by him; because it was not probable thatone who, under such a want of all things, had failed of nothing that wasnecessary for him, should be found so wicked and ungrateful towards hisbenefactor, that when it would be an instance of wickedness in him notto save him, had he been treacherously assaulted by others, to endeavor, and that earnestly, to kill him with his own hands: that, however, if heought to suppose this information to be true, it was better for himselfto be slain by the other, than to destroy a man who fled to him forrefuge, and intrusted his own safety to him, and committed himself tohis disposal. 4. So Johanan, and the rulers that were with him, not being able topersuade Gedaliah, went away. But after the interval of thirty days wasover, Ishmael came again to Gedaliah, to the city Mispah, and ten menwith him; and when he had feasted Ishmael, and those that were withhim, in a splendid manner at his table, and had given them presents, hebecame disordered in drink, while he endeavored to be very merry withthem; and when Ishmael saw him in that case, and that he was drowned inhis cups to the degree of insensibility, and fallen asleep, he rose upon a sudden, with his ten friends, and slew Gedaliah, and those thatwere with him at the feast; and when he had slain them, he went out bynight, and slew all the Jews that were in the city, and those soldiersalso which were left therein by the Babylonians. But the next dayfourscore men came out of the country with presents to Gedaliah, noneof them knowing what had befallen him; when Ishmael saw them, he invitedthem 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 sparedthose that entreated him not to kill them, till they had delivered upto him what riches they had concealed in the fields, consisting of theirfurniture, and garments, and corn: but he took captive the people thatwere in Mispah, with their wives and children; among whom were thedaughters of king Zedekiah, whom Nebuzaradan, the general of the army ofBabylon, had left with Gedaliah. And when he had done this, he came tothe king of the Ammonites. 5. But when Johanan and the rulers with him heard of what was done atMispah by Ishmael, and of the death of Gedaliah, they had indignation atit, and every one of them took his own armed men, and came suddenly tofight with Ishmael, and overtook him at the fountain in Hebron. And whenthose that were carried away captives by Ishmael saw Johanan and therulers, they were very glad, and looked upon them as coming to theirassistance; so they left him that had carried them captives, and cameover to Johanan: then Ishmael, with eight men, fled to the king of theAmmonites; but Johanan took those whom he had rescued out of the handsof Ishmael, and the eunuchs, and their wives and children, and came to acertain place called Mandra, and there they abode that day, for they haddetermined to remove from thence and go into Egypt, out of fear, lestthe Babylonians should slay them, in case they continued in the country, and that out of anger at the slaughter of Gedaliah, who had been by themset over it for governor. 6. Now while they were under this deliberation, Johanan, the son ofKareah, 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 anutter loss about what they ought to do, he would discover it to them, and they sware that they would do whatsoever Jeremiah should say tothem. And when the prophet said he would be their intercessor with God, it came to pass, that after ten days God appeared to him, and said thathe should inform Johanan, and the other rulers, and all the people, thathe would be with them while they continued in that country, and takecare of them, and keep them from being hurt by the Babylonians, of whomthey were afraid; but that he would desert them if they went into Egypt, and, out of this wrath against them, would inflict the same punishmentsupon them which they knew their brethren had already endured. So whenthe prophet had informed Johanan and the people that God had foretoldthese things, he was not believed, when he said that God commanded themto continue in the country; but they imagined that he said so to gratifyBaruch, his own disciple, and belied God, and that he persuaded themto stay there, that they might be destroyed by the Babylonians. Accordingly, both the people and Johanan disobeyed the counsel of God, which he gave them by the prophet, and removed into Egypt, and carriedJeremiah and Barnch along with him. 7. And when they were there, God signified to the prophet that the kingof Babylon was about making an expedition against the Egyptians, andcommanded him to foretell to the people that Egypt should be taken, andthe king of Babylon should slay some of them and, should takeothers captive, and bring them to Babylon; which things came to passaccordingly; for on the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, which was the twenty-third of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he made anexpedition against Celesyria; and when he had possessed himself of it, he made war against the Ammonites and Moabites; and when he had broughtall these nations under subjection, he fell upon Egypt, in order tooverthrow it; and he slew the king that then reigned [15] and set upanother; and he took those Jews that were there captives, and led themaway to Babylon. And such was the end of the nation of the Hebrews, as it hath been delivered down to us, it having twice gone beyondEuphrates; for the people of the ten tribes were carried out of Samariaby the Assyrians, in the days of king Hoshea; after which the peopleof the two tribes that remained after Jerusalem was taken [were carriedaway] by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon and Chaldea. Now as toShalmanezer, he removed the Israelites out of their country, and placedtherein the nation of the Cutheans, who had formerly belonged to theinner parts of Persia and Media, but were then called Samaritans, bytaking the name of the country to which they were removed; but the kingof Babylon, who brought out the two tribes, [16] placed no other nationin their country, by which means all Judea and Jerusalem, and thetemple, continued to be a desert for seventy years; but the entireinterval of time which passed from the captivity of the Israelites, tothe carrying away of the two tribes, proved to be a hundred and thirtyyears, six months, and ten days. CHAPTER 10. Concerning Daniel And What Befell Him At Babylon. 1. But now Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took some of the most nobleof the Jews that were children, and the kinsmen of Zedekiah theirking, such as were remarkable for the beauty of their bodies, and thecomeliness of their countenances, and delivered them into the hands oftutors, and to the improvement to be made by them. He also made someof them to be eunuchs; which course he took also with those of othernations whom he had taken in the flower of their age, and afforded themtheir diet from his own table, and had them instructed in the institutesof the country, and taught the learning of the Chaldeans; and theyhad now exercised themselves sufficiently in that wisdom which he hadordered they should apply themselves to. Now among these there were fourof the family of Zedekiah, of most excellent dispositions, one of whomwas called Daniel, another was called Ananias, another Misael, andthe fourth Azarias; and the king of Babylon changed their names, andcommanded that they should make use of other names. Daniel he calledBaltasar; Ananias, Shadrach; Misael, Meshach; and Azarias, Abednego. These the king had in esteem, and continued to love, because of thevery excellent temper they were of, and because of their application tolearning, and the profess they had made in wisdom. 2. Now Daniel and his kinsmen had resolved to use a severe diet, and toabstain from those kinds of food which came from the king's table, and entirely to forbear to eat of all living creatures. So he came toAshpenaz, who was that eunuch to whom the care of them was committed, [17] and desired him to take and spend what was brought for them fromthe king, but to give them pulse and dates for their food, and any thingelse, besides the flesh of living creatures, that he pleased, for thattheir inclinations were to that sort of food, and that they despised theother. He replied, that he was ready to serve them in what they desired, but he suspected that they would be discovered by the king, from theirmeagre bodies, and the alteration of their countenances, because itcould not be avoided but their bodies and colors must be changed withtheir diet, especially while they would be clearly discovered by thefiner appearance of the other children, who would fare better, and thusthey should bring him into danger, and occasion him to be punished; yetdid they persuade Arioch, who was thus fearful, to give them what foodthey desired for ten days, by way of trial; and in case the habit oftheir bodies were not altered, to go on in the same way, as expectingthat they should not be hurt thereby afterwards; but if he saw them lookmeagre, and worse than the rest, he should reduce them to their formerdiet. Now when it appeared that they were so far from becoming worse bythe use of this food, that they grew plumper and fuller in body thanthe rest, insomuch that he thought those who fed on what came from theking's table seemed less plump and full, while those that were withDaniel looked as if they had lived in plenty, and in all sorts ofluxury. Arioch, from that time, securely took himself what the king sentevery day from his supper, according to custom, to the children, butgave them the forementioned diet, while they had their souls in somemeasure more pure, and less burdened, and so fitter for learning, andhad their bodies in better tune for hard labor; for they neither hadthe former oppressed and heavy with variety of meats, nor were theother effeminate on the same account; so they readily understood allthe learning that was among the Hebrews, and among the Chaldeans, as especially did Daniel, who being already sufficiently skillfulin wisdom, was very busy about the interpretation of dreams; and Godmanifested himself to him. 3. Now two years after the destruction of Egypt, king Nebuchadnezzarsaw a wonderful dream, the accomplishment of which God showed him in hissleep; but when he arose out of his bed, he forgot the accomplishment. So he sent for the Chaldeans and magicians, and the prophets, and toldthem that he had seen a dream, and informed them that he had forgottenthe accomplishment of what he had seen, and he enjoined them to tell himboth what the dream was, and what was its signification; and they saidthat this was a thing impossible to be discovered by men; but theypromised him, that if he would explain to them what dream he had seen, they would tell him its signification. Hereupon he threatened to putthem to death, unless they told him his dream; and he gave command tohave them all put to death, since they confessed they could not do whatthey were commanded to do. Now when Daniel heard that the king had givena command, that all the wise men should be put to death, and that amongthem himself and his three kinsmen were in danger, he went to Arioch, who was captain of the king's guards, and desired to know of him whatwas the reason why the king had given command that all the wise men, andChaldeans, and magicians should be slain. So when he had learned thatthe king had had a dream, and had forgotten it, and that when they wereenjoined 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 hewould go in to the king, and desire respite for the magicians for onenight, and to put off their slaughter so long, for that he hoped withinthat time to obtain, by prayer to God, the knowledge of the dream. Accordingly, Arioch informed the king of what Daniel desired. So theking bid them delay the slaughter of the magicians till he knew whatDaniel's promise would come to; but the young man retired to his ownhouse, with his kinsmen, and besought God that whole night to discoverthe dream, and thereby deliver the magicians and Chaldeans, with whomthey were themselves to perish, from the king's anger, by enabling himto declare his vision, and to make manifest what the king had seen thenight before in his sleep, but had forgotten it. Accordingly, God, outof pity to those that were in danger, and out of regard to the wisdom ofDaniel, made known to him the dream and its interpretation, that so theking might understand by him its signification also. When Daniel hadobtained this knowledge from God, he arose very joyful, and told ithis brethren, and made them glad, and to hope well that they shouldnow preserve their lives, of which they despaired before, and had theirminds full of nothing but the thoughts of dying. So when he had withthem returned thanks to God, who had commiserated their youth, when itwas 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 nightbefore. 4. When Daniel was come in to the king, he excused himself first, thathe did not pretend to be wiser than the other Chaldeans and magicians, when, upon their entire inability to discover his dream, he wasundertaking to inform him of it; for this was not by his own skill, oron account of his having better cultivated his understanding than therest; but he said, "God hath had pity upon us, when we were in danger ofdeath, and when I prayed for the life of myself, and of those of my ownnation, hath made manifest to me both the dream, and the interpretationthereof; for I was not less concerned for thy glory than for the sorrowthat we were by thee condemned to die, while thou didst so unjustlycommand men, both good and excellent in themselves, to be put to death, when thou enjoinedst them to do what was entirely above the reach ofhuman wisdom, and requiredst of them what was only the work of God. Wherefore, as thou in thy sleep wast solicitous concerning those thatshould succeed thee in the government of the whole world, God wasdesirous to show thee all those that should reign after thee, and tothat end exhibited to thee the following dream: Thou seemedst to seea great image standing before thee, the head of which proved to be ofgold, the shoulders and arms of silver, and the belly and the thighsof brass, but the legs and the feet of iron; after which thou sawest astone broken off from a mountain, which fell upon the image, and threwit down, and brake it to pieces, and did not permit any part of it toremain whole; but the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron, becamesmaller than meal, which, upon the blast of a violent wind, was by forcecarried away, and scattered abroad, but the stone did increase to sucha degree, that the whole earth beneath it seemed to be filled therewith. This is the dream which thou sawest, and its interpretation is asfollows: The head of gold denotes thee, and the kings of Babylon thathave been before thee; but the two hands and arms signify this, thatyour government shall be dissolved by two kings; but another kingthat shall come from the west, armed with brass, shall destroy thatgovernment; and another government, that shall be like unto iron, shallput an end to the power of the former, and shall have dominion over allthe earth, on account of the nature of iron, which is stronger than thatof gold, of silver, and of brass. " Daniel did also declare the meaningof the stone to the king [18] 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 are future; yet if any one be so very desirous ofknowing truth, as not to wave such points of curiosity, and cannot curbhis inclination for understanding the uncertainties of futurity, andwhether they will happen or not, let him be diligent in reading the bookof Daniel, which he will find among the sacred writings. 5. When Nebuchadnezzar heard this, and recollected his dream, he wasastonished at the nature of Daniel, and fell upon his knee; and salutedDaniel in the manner that men worship God, and gave command that heshould be sacrificed to as a god. And this was not all, for he alsoimposed the name, of his own god upon him, [Baltasar, ] and made him andhis kinsmen rulers of his whole kingdom; which kinsmen of his happenedto fall into great danger by the envy and malice [of their enemies]; forthey offended the king upon the occasion following: he made an image ofgold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits, and setit in the great plain of Babylon; and when he was going to dedicate theimage, he invited the principal men out of all the earth that was underhis dominions, and commanded them, in the first place, that when theyshould hear the sound of the trumpet, they should then fall down andworship the image; and he threatened, that those who did not so, shouldbe cast into a fiery furnace. When therefore all the rest, upon thehearing of the sound of the trumpet, worshipped the image, they relatethat Daniel's kinsmen did not do it, because they would not transgressthe laws of their country. So these men were convicted, and castimmediately into the fire, but were saved by Divine Providence, andafter a surprising manner escaped death, for the fire did not touchthem; and I suppose that it touched them not, as if it reasoned withitself, that they were cast into it without any fault of theirs, andthat therefore it was too weak to burn the young men when they werein it. This was done by the power of God, who made their bodies so farsuperior to the fire, that it could not consume them. This it was whichrecommended them to the king as righteous men, and men beloved of God, on which account they continued in great esteem with him. 6. A little after this the king saw in his sleep again another vision;how he should fall from his dominion, and feed among the wild beasts, and that when he halt lived in this manner in the desert for sevenyears, [19] he should recover his dominion again. When he had seen thisdream, he called the magicians together again, and inquired of themabout it, and desired them to tell him what it signified; but when noneof them could find out the meaning of the dream, nor discover it to theking, 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 theforementioned interval of time, while no one durst attempt to seize hiskingdom during those seven years, he prayed to God that he might recoverhis kingdom, and he returned to it. But let no one blame me for writingdown every thing of this nature, as I find it in our ancient books; foras to that matter, I have plainly assured those that think me defectivein any such point, or complain of my management, and have told themin the beginning of this history, that I intended to do no more thantranslate the Hebrew books into the Greek language, and promised themto explain those facts, without adding any thing to them of my own, ortaking any thing away from there. CHAPTER 11. Concerning Nebuchadnezzar And His Successors And How TheirGovernment Was Dissolved By The Persians; And What Things Befell DanielIn Media; And What Prophecies He Delivered There. 1. Now when king Nebuchadnezzar had reigned forty-three years, [20] heended his life. He was an active man, and more fortunate than the kingsthat were before him. Now Berosus makes mention of his actions in thethird book of his Chaldaic History, where he says thus: "When his fatherNebuchodonosor [Nabopollassar] heard that the governor whom he had setover Egypt, and the places about Coelesyria and Phoenicia, had revoltedfrom him, while he was not himself able any longer to undergo thehardships [of war], he committed to his son Nebuchadnezzar, who wasstill but a youth, some parts of his army, and sent them against him. Sowhen Nebuchadnezzar had given battle, and fought with the rebel, he beathim, and reduced the country from under his subjection, and made ita branch of his own kingdom; but about that time it happened that hisfather Nebuchodonosor [Nabopollassar] fell ill, and ended his life inthe city Babylon, when he had reigned twenty-one years; [21] and whenhe was made sensible, as he was in a little time, that his fatherNebuchodonosor [Nabopollassar] was dead, and having settled the affairsof Egypt, and the other countries, as also those that concerned thecaptive Jews, and Phoenicians, and Syrians, and those of the Egyptiannations; and having committed the conveyance of them to Babylon tocertain of his friends, together with the gross of his army, and therest of their ammunition and provisions, he went himself hastily, accompanied with a few others, over the desert, and came to Babylon. Sohe took upon him the management of public affairs, and of the kingdomwhich had been kept for him by one that was the principal of theChaldeans, and he received the entire dominions of his father, andappointed, that when the captives came, they should be placed ascolonies, in the most proper places of Babylonia; but then he adornedthe temple of Belus, and the rest of the temples, in a magnificentmanner, with the spoils he had taken in the war. He also added anothercity to that which was there of old, and rebuilt it, that such as wouldbesiege it hereafter might no more turn the course of the river, andthereby attack the city itself. He therefore built three walls roundabout the inner city, and three others about that which was the outer, and this he did with burnt brick. And after he had, after a becomingmanner, walled the city, and adorned its gates gloriously, he builtanother palace before his father's palace, but so that they joined toit; to describe whose vast height and immense riches it would perhapsbe too much for me to attempt; yet as large and lofty as they were, theywere completed in fifteen days. [22] He also erected elevated places forwalking, of stone, and made it resemble mountains, and built it so thatit might be planted with all sorts of trees. He also erected what wascalled a pensile paradise, because his wife was desirous to have thingslike her own country, she having been bred up in the palaces of Media. "Megasthenes also, in his fourth book of his Accounts of India, makesmention of these things, and thereby endeavors to show that this king[Nebuchadnezzar] exceeded Hercules in fortitude, and in the greatnessof his actions; for he saith that he conquered a great part of Libyaand Iberia. Diocles also, in the second book of his Accounts of Persia, mentions this king; as does Philostrates in his Accounts both of Indiaand of Phoenicia, say, that this king besieged Tyre thirteen years, while at the same time Ethbaal reigned at Tyre. These are all thehistories that I have met with concerning this king. 2. But now, after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach his sonsucceeded in the kingdom, who immediately set Jeconiah at liberty, andesteemed him among his most intimate friends. He also gave him manypresents, and made him honorable above the rest of the kings that werein Babylon; for his father had not kept his faith with Jeconiah, whenhe voluntarily delivered up himself to him, with his wives and children, and his whole kindred, for the sake of his country, that it might notbe taken by siege, and utterly destroyed, as we said before. WhenEvil-Mcrodach was dead, after a reign of eighteen years, Niglissar hisson took the government, and retained it forty years, and then endedhis life; and after him the succession in the kingdom came to his sonLabosordacus, who continued in it in all but nine months; and when hewas dead, it came to Baltasar, [23] who by the Babylonians was calledNaboandelus; against him did Cyrus, the king of Persia, and Darius, the king of Media, make war; and when he was besieged in Babylon, therehappened a wonderful and prodigious vision. He was sat down at supperin a large room, and there were a great many vessels of silver, such aswere made for royal entertainments, and he had with him his concubinesand his friends; whereupon he came to a resolution, and commandedthat those vessels of God which Nebuchadnezzar had plundered out ofJerusalem, and had not made use of, but had put them into his owntemple, should be brought out of that temple. He also grew so haughty asto proceed to use them in the midst of his cups, drinking out of them, and blaspheming against God. In the mean time, he saw a hand proceedout of the wall, and writing upon the wall certain syllables; at whichsight, being disturbed, he called the magicians and Chaldeans together, and all that sort of men that are among these barbarians, and were ableto interpret signs and dreams, that they might explain the writing tohim. But when the magicians said they could discover nothing, nor didunderstand it, the king was in great disorder of mind, and under greattrouble at this surprising accident; so he caused it to be proclaimedthrough all the country, and promised, that to him who could explain thewriting, and give the signification couched therein, he would give hima golden chain for his neck, and leave to wear a purple garment, as didthe kings of Chaldea, and would bestow on him the third part of his owndominions. When this proclamation was made, the magicians ran togethermore earnestly, and were very ambitious to find out the importance ofthe writing, but still hesitated about it as much as before. Now whenthe king's grandmother saw him cast down at this accident, [24] shebegan to encourage him, and to say, that there was a certain captivewho came from Judea, a Jew by birth, but brought away thence byNebuchadnezzar when he had destroyed Jerusalem, whose name was Daniel, a wise man, and one of great sagacity in finding out what was impossiblefor others to discover, and what was known to God alone, who brought tolight and answered such questions to Nebuchadnezzar as no one else wasable to answer when they were consulted. She therefore desired that hewould send for him, and inquire of him concerning the writing, and tocondemn the unskilfulness of those that could not find their meaning, and this, although what God signified thereby should be of a melancholynature. 3. When Baltasar heard this, he called for Daniel; and when he haddiscoursed to him what he had learned concerning him and his wisdom, andhow a Divine Spirit was with him, and that he alone was fully capable offinding out what others would never have thought of, he desired him todeclare to him what this writing meant; that if he did so, he would givehim leave to wear purple, and to put a chain of gold about his neck, and would bestow on him the third part of his dominion, as an honoraryreward for his wisdom, that thereby he might become illustrious tothose who saw him, and who inquired upon what occasion he obtained suchhonors. But Daniel desired that he would keep his gifts to himself;for what is the effect of wisdom and of Divine revelation admits of nogifts, and bestows its advantages on petitioners freely; but that stillhe would explain the writing to him; which denoted that he should soondie, and this because he had not learnt to honor God, and not to admitthings above human nature, by what punishments his progenitor hadundergone for the injuries he had offered to God; and because he hadquite forgotten how Nebuchadnezzar was removed to feed among wild beastsfor his impieties, and did not recover his former life among men andhis kingdom, but upon God's mercy to him, after many supplications andprayers; who did thereupon praise God all the days of his life, as oneof almighty power, and who takes care of mankind. [He also put him inmind] how he had greatly blasphemed against God, and had made use ofhis vessels amongst his concubines; that therefore God saw this, andwas angry with him, and declared by this writing beforehand what a sadconclusion of his life he should come to. And he explained the writingthus: "MANEH. This, if it be expounded in the Greek language, maysignify 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. THEKEL This signifies a weight, and means that God hath weighed thykingdom in a balance, and finds it going down already. --PHARES. Thisalso, in the Greek tongue, denotes a fragment. God will therefore breakthy kingdom in pieces, and divide it among the Medes and Persians. " 4. When Daniel had told the king that the writing upon the wallsignified these events, Baltasar was in great sorrow and affliction, as was to be expected, when the interpretation was so heavy upon him. However, he did not refuse what he had promised Daniel, although he werebecome a foreteller 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 to the prophet, but that it was thepart of a good and a just man to give what he had promised, although theevents were of a melancholy nature. Accordingly, the king determined soto do. Now, after a little while, both himself and the city weretaken by Cyrus, the king of Persia, who fought against him; for it wasBaltasar, under whom Babylon was taken, when he had reigned seventeenyears. And this is the end of the posterity of king Nebuchadnezzar, ashistory informs us; but when Babylon was taken by Darius, and whenhe, with his kinsman Cyrus, had put an end to the dominion of theBabylonians, he was sixty-two years old. He was the son of Astyages, andhad another name among the Greeks. Moreover, he took Daniel the prophet, and carried him with him into Media, and honored him very greatly, andkept him with him; for he was one of the three presidents whom he setover his three hundred and sixty provinces, for into so many did Dariuspart them. 5. However, while Daniel was in so great dignity, and in so great favorwith Darius, and was alone intrusted with every thing by him, a havingsomewhat divine in him, he was envied by the rest; for those that seeothers in greater honor than themselves with kings envy them; and whenthose that were grieved at the great favor Daniel was in with Dariussought for an occasion against him, he afforded them no occasion at all, for he was above all the temptations of money, and despised bribery, andesteemed it a very base thing to take any thing by way of reward, evenwhen it might be justly given him; he afforded those that envied him notthe least handle for an accusation. So when they could find nothing forwhich they might calumniate him to the king, nothing that was shamefulor reproachful, and thereby deprive him of the honor he was in with him, they sought for some other method whereby they might destroy him. Whentherefore they saw that Daniel prayed to God three times a day, theythought they had gotten an occasion by which they might ruin him; sothey came to Darius and told him that the princes and governors hadthought proper to allow the multitude a relaxation for thirty days, that no one might offer a petition or prayer either to himself or to thegods, but that, "he who shall transgress this decree shall be east intothe den of lions, and there perish. " 6. Whereupon the king, not being acquainted with their wicked design, nor suspecting that it was a contrivance of theirs against Daniel, saidhe was pleased with this decree of theirs, and he promised to confirmwhat they desired; he also published an edict to promulgate to thepeople that decree which the princes had made. Accordingly, all the resttook care not to transgress those injunctions, and rested in quiet; butDaniel had no regard to them, but, as he was wont, he stood and prayedto God in the sight of them all; but the princes having met with theoccasion they so earnestly sought to find against Daniel, came presentlyto the king, and accused him, that Daniel was the only person thattransgressed the decree, while not one of the rest durst pray to theirgods. This discovery they made, not because of his impiety, but becausethey had watched him, and observed him out of envy; for supposing thatDarius did thus out of a greater kindness to him than they expected, and that he was ready to grant him pardon for this contempt of hisinjunctions, and envying this very pardon to Daniel, they did not becomemore honorable to him, but desired he might be cast into the den oflions according to the law. So Darius, hoping that God would deliverhim, and that he would undergo nothing that was terrible by the wildbeasts, bid him bear this accident cheerfully. And when he was cast intothe den, he put his seal to the stone that lay upon the mouth of theden, and went his way, but he passed all the night without food andwithout 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 hadleft the stone sealed withal; he also opened the seal, and cried out, and called to Daniel, and asked him if he were alive. And as soon as heheard the king's voice, and said that he had suffered no harm, theking gave order that he should be drawn up out of the den. Now when hisenemies saw that Daniel had suffered nothing which was terrible, theywould not own that he was preserved by God, and by his providence; butthey said that the lions had been filled full with food, and on thataccount it was, as they supposed, that the lions would not touch Daniel, nor come to him; and this they alleged to the king. But the king, out ofan abhorrence of their wickedness, gave order that they should throw ina great deal of flesh to the lions; and when they had filled themselves, he gave further order that Daniel's enemies should be cast into the den, that he might learn whether the lions, now they were full, would touchthem or not. And it appeared plain to Darius, after the princes had beencast to the wild beasts, that it was God who preserved Daniel [25] forthe lions spared none of them, but tore them all to pieces, as if theyhad been very hungry, and wanted food. I suppose therefore it was nottheir hunger, which had been a little before satisfied with abundance offlesh, but the wickedness of these men, that provoked them [to destroythe princes]; for if it so please God, that wickedness might, by eventhose irrational creatures, be esteemed a plain foundation for theirpunishment. 7. When therefore those that had intended thus to destroy Daniel bytreachery were themselves destroyed, king Darius sent [letters] over allthe country, and praised that God whom Daniel worshipped, and said thathe was the only true God, and had all power. He had also Daniel in verygreat esteem, and made him the principal of his friends. Now when Danielwas become so illustrious and famous, on account of the opinion men hadthat 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 stillremaining, and preserved to this day; and to such as see it, it appearsto have been lately built, and to have been no older than that veryday when any one looks upon it, it is so fresh [26] flourishing, andbeautiful, and no way grown old in so long time; for buildings sufferthe same as men do, they grow old as well as they, and by numbers ofyears their strength is dissolved, and their beauty withered. Now theybury the kings of Media, of Persia, and Parthia in this tower to thisday, and he who was entrusted with the care of it was a Jewish priest;which thing is also observed to this day. But it is fit to give anaccount of what this man did, which is most admirable to hear, for hewas so happy as to have strange revelations made to him, and those as toone of the greatest of the prophets, insomuch, that while he was alivehe had the esteem and applause both of the kings and of the multitude;and now he is dead, he retains a remembrance that will never fail, forthe several books that he wrote and left behind him are still read by ustill this time; and from them we believe that Daniel conversed withGod; for he did not only prophesy of future events, as did the otherprophets, but he also determined the time of their accomplishment. Andwhile prophets used to foretell misfortunes, and on that account weredisagreeable both to the kings and to the multitude, Daniel was tothem a prophet of good things, and this to such a degree, that by theagreeable nature of his predictions, he procured the goodwill of allmen; and by the accomplishment of them, he procured the belief of theirtruth, and the opinion of [a sort of] divinity for himself, among themultitude. He also wrote and left behind him what made manifest theaccuracy and undeniable veracity of his predictions; for he saith, thatwhen he was in Susa, the metropolis of Persia, and went out into thefield with his companions, there was, on the sudden, a motion andconcussion of the earth, and that he was left alone by himself, hisfriends fleeing away from him, and that he was disturbed, and fell onhis face, and on his two hands, and that a certain person touched him, and, at the same time, bid him rise, and see what would befall hiscountrymen after many generations. He also related, that when he stoodup, he was shown a great rain, with many horns growing out of his head, and that the last was higher than the rest: that after this he looked tothe west, and saw a he-goat carried through the air from that quarter;that he rushed upon the ram with violence, and smote him twice withhis horns, and overthrew him to the ground, and trampled upon him:that afterward he saw a very great horn growing out of the head of thehe-goat, and that when it was broken off, four horns grew up that wereexposed to each of the four winds, and he wrote that out of them aroseanother lesser horn, which, as he said, waxed great; and that God showedto him that it should fight against his nation, and take their cityby force, and bring the temple worship to confusion, and forbid thesacrifices to be offered for one thousand two hundred and ninety-sixdays. Daniel wrote that he saw these visions in the Plain of Susa; andhe hath informed us that God interpreted the appearance of this visionafter the following manner: He said that the ram signified the kingdomsof the Medes and Persians, and the horns those kings that were to reignin them; and that the last horn signified the last king, and thathe should exceed all the kings in riches and glory: that the he-goatsignified that one should come and reign from the Greeks, who shouldtwice fight with the Persian, and overcome him in battle, and shouldreceive his entire dominion: that by the great horn which sprang outof the forehead of the he-goat was meant the first king; and that thespringing up of four horns upon its falling off, and the conversionof every one of them to the four quarters of the earth, signified thesuccessors that should arise after the death of the first king, and thepartition of the kingdom among them, and that they should be neither hischildren, nor of his kindred, that should reign over the habitable earthfor many years; and that from among them there should arise a certainking that should overcome our nation and their laws, and should takeaway their political government, and should spoil the temple, and forbidthe sacrifices to be offered for three years' time. And indeed it socame to pass, that our nation suffered these things under AntiochusEpiphanes, according to Daniel's vision, and what he wrote many yearsbefore they came to pass. In the very same manner Daniel also wroteconcerning the Roman government, and that our country should be madedesolate by them. All these things did this man leave in writing, as Godhad showed them to him, insomuch that such as read his prophecies, andsee how they have been fulfilled, would wonder at the honor wherewithGod honored Daniel; and may thence discover how the Epicureans are inan error, who cast Providence out of human life, and do not believe thatGod takes care of the affairs of the world, nor that the universe isgoverned and continued in being by that blessed and immortal nature, butsay that the world is carried along of its own accord, without a rulerand a curator; which, were it destitute of a guide to conduct it, as they imagine, it would be like ships without pilots, which we seedrowned by the winds, or like chariots without drivers, which areoverturned; so would the world be dashed to pieces by its being carriedwithout a Providence, and so perish, and come to nought. So that, by theforementioned predictions of Daniel, those men seem to me very much toerr from the truth, who determine that God exercises no providence overhuman affairs; for if that were the case, that the world went on bymechanical necessity, we should not see that all things would come topass according to his prophecy. Now as to myself, I have so describedthese matters as I have found them and read them; but if any one isinclined to another opinion about them, let him enjoy his differentsentiments without any blame from me. BOOK XI. Containing The Interval Of Two Hundred And Fifty-Three YearsAnd Five Months. From The First Of Cyrus To The Death Of Alexander The Great. CHAPTER 1. How Cyrus, King Of The Persians, Delivered The Jews Out OfBabylon And Suffered Them To Return To Their Own Country And To BuildTheir Temple, For Which Work He Gave Them Money. 1. In the first year of the reign of Cyrus [1] which was the seventiethfrom the day that our people were removed out of their own land intoBabylon, God commiserated the captivity and calamity of these poorpeople, according as he had foretold to them by Jeremiah the prophet, before the destruction of the city, that after they had servedNebuchadnezzar and his posterity, and after they had undergone thatservitude seventy years, he would restore them again to the land oftheir fathers, and they should build their temple, and enjoy theirancient prosperity. And these things God did afford them; for he stirredup the mind of Cyrus, and made him write this throughout all Asia: "Thussaith Cyrus the king: Since God Almighty hath appointed me to be king ofthe habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation ofthe Israelites worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country ofJudea. " 2. This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah leftbehind him of his prophecies; for this prophet said that God had spokenthus to him in a secret vision: "My will is, that Cyrus, whom I haveappointed to be king over many and great nations, send back my peopleto their own land, and build my temple. " This was foretold by Isaiah onehundred and forty years before the temple was demolished. Accordingly, when Cyrus read this, and admired the Divine power, an earnest desireand ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written; so hecalled 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 rebuildtheir city Jerusalem, [2] and the temple of God, for that he would betheir assistant, and that he would write to the rulers and governorsthat were in the neighborhood of their country of Judea, that theyshould contribute to them gold and silver for the building of thetemple, and besides that, beasts for their sacrifices. 3. When Cyrus had said this to the Israelites, the rulers of the twotribes of Judah and Benjamin, with the Levites and priests, went inhaste to Jerusalem; yet did many of them stay at Babylon, as not willingto leave their possessions; and when they were come thither, all theking's friends assisted them, and brought in, for the building of thetemple, some gold, and some silver, and some a great many cattle andhorses. So they performed their vows to God, and offered the sacrificesthat had been accustomed of old time; I mean this upon the rebuilding oftheir city, and the revival of the ancient practices relating to theirworship. Cyrus also sent back to them the vessels of God which kingNebuchadnezzar had pillaged out of the temple, and had carried toBabylon. So he committed these things to Mithridates, the treasurer, tobe sent away, with an order to give them to Sanabassar, that he mightkeep them till the temple was built; and when it was finished, he mightdeliver them to the priests and rulers of the multitude, in order totheir being restored to the temple. Cyrus also sent an epistle to thegovernors that were in Syria, the contents whereof here follow: "King Cyrus To Sisinnes And Sathrabuzanes Sendeth Greeting. "I have given leave to as many of the Jews that dwell in my country asplease to return to their own country, and to rebuild their city, andto build the temple of God at Jerusalem on the same place where it wasbefore. I have also sent my treasurer Mithridates, and Zorobabel, thegovernor of the Jews, that they may lay the foundations of the temple, and may build it sixty cubits high, and of the same latitude, makingthree edifices of polished stones, and one of the wood of the country, and the same order extends to the altar whereon they offer sacrifices toGod. I require also that the expenses for these things may be givenout of my revenues. Moreover, I have also sent the vessels which kingNebuchadnezzar pillaged out of the temple, and have given them toMithridates the treasurer, and to Zorobabel the governor of the Jews, that they may have them carried to Jerusalem, and may restore them tothe temple of God. Now their number is as follows: Fifty chargers ofgold, and five hundred of silver; forty Thericlean cups of gold, andfive hundred of silver; fifty basons of gold, and five hundred ofsilver; thirty vessels for pouring [the drink-offerings], and threehundred of silver; thirty vials of gold, and two thousand four hundredof silver; with a thousand other large vessels. [3] I permit them tohave the same honor which they were used to have from their forefathers, as also for their small cattle, and for wine and oil, two hundred andfive thousand and five hundred drachme; and for wheat flour, twentythousand and five hundred artabae; and I give order that these expensesshall be given them out of the tributes due from Samaria. The priestsshall also offer these sacrifices according to the laws of Moses inJerusalem; and when they offer them, they shall pray to God for thepreservation of the king and of his family, that the kingdom of Persiamay continue. But my will is, that those who disobey these injunctions, and make them void, shall be hung upon a cross, and their substancebrought into the king's treasury. " And such was the import of thisepistle. Now the number of those that came out of captivity toJerusalem, were forty-two thousand four hundred and sixty-two. CHAPTER 2. How Upon The Death Of Cyrus The Jews Were Hindered InBuilding Of The Temple By The Cutheans, And The Neighboring 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 Jewswere very zealous about building it, the neighboring nations, andespecially the Cutheans, whom Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, had broughtout of Persia and Media, and had planted in Samaria, when he carried thepeople of Israel captives, besought the governors, and those that hadthe care of such affairs, that they would interrupt the Jews, both inthe rebuilding of their city, and in the building of their temple. Nowas these men were corrupted by them with money, they sold the Cutheanstheir interest for rendering this building a slow and a careless work, for Cyrus, who was busy about other wars, knew nothing of all this; andit so happened, that when he had led his army against the Massagetae, heended his life. [4] But when Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, had taken thekingdom, the governors in Syria, and Phoenicia, and in the countriesof Amlnon, and Moab, and Samaria, wrote an epistle to Calnbyses;whose contents were as follow: "To our lord Cambyses. We thy servants, Rathumus the historiographer, and Semellius the scribe, and the restthat are thy judges in Syria and Phoenicia, send greeting. It is fit, O king, that thou shouldst know that those Jews which were carried toBabylon are come into our country, and are building that rebelliousand wicked city, and its market-places, and setting up its walls, and raising up the temple; know therefore, that when these things arefinished, they will not be willing to pay tribute, nor will they submitto thy commands, but will resist kings, and will choose rather to ruleover others than be ruled over themselves. We therefore thought itproper to write to thee, O king, while the works about the temple aregoing on so fast, and not to overlook this matter, that thou maystsearch into the books of thy fathers, for thou wilt find in them thatthe Jews have been rebels, and enemies to kings, as hath their city beenalso, which, for that reason, hath been till now laid waste. We thoughtproper also to inform thee of this matter, because thou mayst otherwiseperhaps be ignorant of it, that if this city be once inhabited and beentirely encompassed with walls, thou wilt be excluded from thy passageto Celesyria and Phoenicia. " 2. When Cambyses had read the epistle, being naturally wicked, he wasirritated at what they told him, and wrote back to them as follows:"Cambyses the king, to Rathumus the historiographer, to Beeltethmus, toSemellius the scribe, and the rest that are in commission, and dwellingin Samaria and Phoenicia, after this manner: I have read the epistlethat was sent from you; and I gave order that the books of myforefathers should be searched into, and it is there found that thiscity hath always been an enemy to kings, and its inhabitants have raisedseditions and wars. We also are sensible that their kings have beenpowerful and tyrannical, and have exacted tribute of Celesyria andPhoenicia. Wherefore I gave order, that the Jews shall not be permittedto build that city, lest such mischief as they used to bring uponkings be greatly augmented. " When this epistle was read, Rathumus, andSemellius the scribe, and their associates, got suddenly on horseback, and made haste to Jerusalem; they also brought a great companywith them, and forbade the Jews to build the city and the temple. Accordingly, these works were hindered from going on till the secondyear of the reign of Darius, for nine years more; for Cambyses reignedsix years, and within that time overthrew Egypt, and when he was comeback, he died at Damascus. CHAPTER 3. How After The Death Of Cambyses And The Slaughter Of The MagiBut Under The Reign Of Darius, Zorobabel Was Superior To The Rest In TheSolution Of Problems And Thereby Obtained This Favor Of The King, ThatThe Temple Should Be Built. 1. After the slaughter of file Magi, who, upon the death of Cambyses, attained the government of the Persians for a year, those families whichwere called the seven families of the Persians appointed Darius, the sonof Hystaspes, to be their king. Now he, while he was a private man, hadmade a vow to God, that if he came to be king, he would send all thevessels of God that were in Babylon to the temple at Jerusalem. Now itso fell out, that about this time Zorobabel, who had been made governorof the Jews that had been in captivity, came to Darius, from Jerusalem;for there had been an old friendship between him and the king. He wasalso, with two others, thought worthy to be guard of the king's body;and obtained that honor which he hoped for. 2. Now, in the first year of the king's reign, Darius feasted thosethat were about him, and those born in his house, with the rulers ofthe Medes, and princes of the Persians, and the toparchs of India andEthiopia, and the generals of the armies of his hundred and twenty-sevenprovinces. But when they had eaten and drunk to satiety, and abundantly, they every one departed to go to bed at their own houses, and Darius theking went to bed; but after he had rested a little part of the night, heawaked, and not being able to sleep any more, he fell into conversationwith the three guards of his body, and promised, that to him who shouldmake an oration about points that he should inquire of, such as shouldbe most agreeable to truth, and to the dictates of wisdom, he wouldgrant it as a reward of his victory, to put on a purple garment, andto drink in cups of gold, and to sleep upon gold, and to have a chariotwith bridles of gold, and a head tire of fine linen, and a chain of goldabout 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 promisedto give them these gifts, he asked the first of them, "Whether wine wasnot the strongest?"--the second, "Whether kings were not such?"--andthe third, "Whether women were not such? or whether truth was not thestrongest of all?" When he had proposed that they should make theirinquiries about these problems, he went to rest; but in the morning hesent 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, andbid each of the guards of his body to declare what they thought properconcerning the proposed questions, in the hearing of them all. 3. Accordingly, the first of them began to speak of the strength ofwine, and demonstrated it thus: "When, " said he, "I am to give myopinion of wine, O you men, I find that it exceeds every thing, by thefollowing indications: It deceives the mind of those that drink it, andreduces that of the king to the same state with that of the orphan, andhe who stands in need of a tutor; and erects that of the slave to theboldness of him that is free; and that of the needy becomes like thatof the rich man, for it changes and renews the souls of men when itgets into them; and it quenches the sorrow of those that are undercalamities, and makes men forget the debts they owe to others, and makesthem think themselves to be of all men the richest; it makes them talkof no small things, but of talents, and such other names as becomewealthy men only; nay more, it makes them insensible of theircommanders, and of their kings, and takes away the remembrance of theirfriends and companions, for it arms men even against those that aredearest to them, and makes them appear the greatest strangers to them;and when they are become sober, and they have slept out their wine inthe night, they arise without knowing any thing they have done in theircups. I take these for signs of power, and by them discover that wine isthe strongest and most insuperable of all things. " 4. As soon as the first had given the forementioned demonstrations ofthe strength of wine, he left off; and the next to him began to speakabout the strength of a king, and demonstrated that it was the strongestof all, and more powerful than any thing else that appears to have anyforce or wisdom. He began his demonstration after the following manner;and said, "They are men who govern all things; they force the earth andthe sea to become profitable to them in what they desire, and over thesemen do kings rule, and over them they have authority. Now those who ruleover that animal which is of all the strongest and most powerful, must needs deserve to be esteemed insuperable in power and force. Forexample, when these kings command their subjects to make wars, andundergo dangers, they are hearkened to; and when they send them againsttheir enemies, their power is so great that they are obeyed. Theycommand 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 whenthey have conquered, they bring what they have gained in the war to theking. Those also who are not soldiers, but cultivate the ground, andplough it, and when, after they have endured the labor and all theinconveniences of such works of husbandry, they have reaped and gatheredin their fruits, they bring tributes to the king; and whatsoever itis which the king says or commands, it is done of necessity, and thatwithout any delay, while he in the mean time is satiated with all sortsof food and pleasures, and sleeps in quiet. He is guarded by such aswatch, and such as are, as it were, fixed down to the place throughfear; for no one dares leave him, even when he is asleep, nor does anyone go away and take care of his own affairs; but he esteems this onething the only work of necessity, to guard the king, and accordingly tothis he wholly addicts himself. How then can it be otherwise, but thatit must appear that the king exceeds all in strength, while so great amultitude obeys his injunctions?" 5. Now when this man had held his peace, the third of them, who wasZorobabel, began to instruct them about women, and about truth, who saidthus: "Wine is strong, as is the king also, whom all men obey, but womenare superior to them in power; for it was a woman that brought the kinginto 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 anything which we do not receive from them; for these women weave garmentsfor us, and our household affairs are by their means taken care of, andpreserved in safety; nor can we live separate from women. And when wehave gotten a great deal of gold and silver, and any other thing thatis of great value, and deserving regard, and see a beautiful woman, we leave all these things, and with open mouth fix our eyes upon hercountenance, and are willing to forsake what we have, that we may enjoyher beauty, and procure it to ourselves. We also leave father, andmother, and the earth that nourishes us, and frequently forget ourdearest friends, for the sake of women; nay, we are so hardy as to laydown our lives for them. But what will chiefly make you take notice ofthe strength of women is this that follows: Do not we take pains, andendure a great deal of trouble, and that both by land and sea, and whenwe have procured somewhat as the fruit of our labors, do not we bringthem to the women, as to our mistresses, and bestow them upon them? Nay, I once saw the king, who is lord of so many people, smitten on the faceby Apame, the daughter of Rabsases Themasius, his concubine, and hisdiadem taken away from him, and put upon her own head, while he bore itpatiently; and when she smiled he smiled, and when she was angry he wassad; and according to the change of her passions, he flattered his wife, and drew her to reconciliation by the great humiliation of himself toher, if at my time he saw her displeased at him. " 6. And when the princes and rulers looked one upon another, he beganto speak about truth; and he said, "I have already demonstrated howpowerful women are; but both these women themselves, and the kinghimself, are weaker than truth; for although the earth be large, and theheaven high, and the course of the sun swift, yet are all these movedaccording to the will of God, who is true and righteous, for which causewe also ought to esteem truth to be the strongest of all things, andthat what is unrighteous is of no force against it. Moreover, all thingselse that have any strength are mortal and short-lived, but truth isa thing that is immortal and eternal. It affords us not indeed such abeauty as will wither away by time, nor such riches as may be taken awayby fortune, but righteous rules and laws. It distinguishes them frominjustice, and puts what is unrighteous to rebuke. " [5] 7. So when Zorobabel had left off his discourse about truth, and themultitude had cried out aloud that he had spoken the most wisely, andthat it was truth alone that had immutable strength, and such as neverwould wax old, the king commanded that he should ask for somewhat overand above what he had promised, for that he would give it him becauseof his wisdom, and that prudence wherein he exceeded the rest; "and thoushalt sit with me, " said the king, "and shalt be called my cousin. " Whenhe had said this, Zorobabel put him in mind of the vow he had made incase he should ever have the kingdom. Now this vow was, "to rebuildJerusalem, and to build therein the temple of God; as also to restorethe vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had pillaged, and carried to Babylon. And this, " said he, "is that request which thou now permittest me tomake, 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 kissedhim; and wrote to the toparchs and governors, and enjoined them toconduct Zorobabel and those that were going with him to build thetemple. He also sent letters to those rulers that were in Syria andPhoenicia to cut down and carry cedar trees from Lebanon to Jerusalem, and to assist him in building the city. He also wrote to them, that allthe captives who should go to Judea should be free; and he prohibitedhis deputies and governors to lay any king's taxes upon the Jews; healso permitted that they should have all that land which they couldpossess themselves of without tributes. He also enjoined the Idumeansand Samaritans, and the inhabitants of Celesyria, to restore thosevillages which they had taken from the Jews; and that, besides all this, fifty talents should be given them for the building of the temple. He also permitted them to offer their appointed sacrifices, and thatwhatsoever the high priest and the priests wanted, and those sacredgarments wherein they used to worship God, should be made at his owncharges; and that the musical instruments which the Levites used insinging hymns to God should be given them. Moreover, he charged them, that portions of land should be given to those that guarded the cityand the temple, as also a determinate sum of money every year for theirmaintenance; and withal he sent the vessels. And all that Cyrus intendedto do before him relating to the restoration of Jerusalem, Darius alsoordained should be done accordingly. 9. Now when Zorobabel had obtained these grants from the king, he wentout of the palace, and looking up to heaven, he began to return thanksto God for the wisdom he had given him, and the victory he had gainedthereby, even in the presence of Darius himself; for, said he, "I hadnot been thought worthy of these advantages, O Lord, unless thou hadstbeen favorable to me. " When therefore he had returned these thanks toGod for the present circumstances he was in, and had prayed to him toafford him the like favor for the time to come, he came to Babylon, andbrought the good news to his countrymen of what grants he had procuredfor them from the king; who, when they heard the same, gave thanks alsoto God that he restored the land of their forefathers to them again. Sothey betook themselves to drinking and eating, and for seven daysthey continued feasting, and kept a festival, for the rebuilding andrestoration 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 traveled to Jerusalemwith joy and pleasure, under the conduct of those whom Darius sent alongwith them, and making a noise with songs, and pipes, and cymbals. The rest of the Jewish multitude also besides accompanied them withrejoicing. 10. And thus did these men go, a certain and determinate number out ofevery family, though I do not think it proper to recite particularly thenames of those families, that I may not take off the mind of my readersfrom the connexion of the historical facts, and make it hard for themto follow the coherence of my narrations; but the sum of those that wentup, above the age of twelve years, of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, was four hundred and sixty-two myriads and eight thousand [6] theLevites were seventy-four; the number of the women and children mixedtogether was forty thousand seven hundred and forty-two; and besidesthese, there were singers of the Levites one hundred and twenty-eight, and porters one hundred and ten, and of the sacred ministers threehundred and ninety-two; there were also others besides these, whosaid they were of the Israelites, but were not able to show theirgenealogies, six hundred and sixty-two: some there were also who wereexpelled out of the number and honor of the priests, as having marriedwives whose genealogies they could not produce, nor were they found inthe genealogies of the Levites and priests; they were about five hundredand twenty-five: the multitude also of servants that followed those thatwent up to Jerusalem were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven;the singing men and singing women were two hundred and forty-five; thecamels were four hundred and thirty-five; the beasts used to the yokewere five thousand five hundred and twenty-five; and the governors ofall this multitude thus numbered were Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, of the posterity of David, and of the tribe of Judah; and Jeshua, theson of Josedek the high priest; and besides these there were Mordecaiand Serebeus, who were distinguished from the multitude, and wererulers, who also contributed a hundred pounds of gold, and five thousandof silver. By this means therefore the priests and the Levites, and acertain part of the entire people of the Jews that were in Babylon, cameand dwelt in Jerusalem; but the rest of the multitude returned every oneto their own countries. CHAPTER 4. How The Temple Was Built While The Cutheans Endeavored InVain To Obstruct The Work. 1. Now in the seventh month after they were departed out of Babylon, both Jeshua the high priest, and Zorobabel the governor, sent messengersevery way round about, and gathered those that were in the countrytogether to Jerusalem universally, who came very gladly thither. He thenbuilt the altar on the same place it had formerly been built, that theymight offer the appointed sacrifices upon it to God, according tothe laws of Moses. But while they did this, they did not please theneighboring nations, who all of them bare an ill-will to them. They alsocelebrated the feast of tabernacles at that time, as the legislator hadordained concerning it; and after they offered sacrifices, and what werecalled the daily sacrifices, and the oblations proper for the Sabbaths, and for all the holy festivals. Those also that had made vows performedthem, and offered their sacrifices from the first day of the seventhmonth. They also began to build the temple, and gave a great deal ofmoney to the masons and to the carpenters, and what was necessary forthe maintenance of the workmen. The Sidonians also were very willing andready to bring the cedar trees from Libanus, to bind them together, andto 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 atthe command of Darius. 2. In the second year of their coming to Jerusalem, as the Jews werethere in the second month, the building of the temple went on apace; andwhen they had laid its foundations on the first day of the second monthof that second year, they set, as overseers of the work, such Levitesas were full twenty years old; and Jeshua and his sons and brethren, andCodmiel the brother of Judas, the son of Aminadab, with his sons; andthe temple, by the great diligence of those that had the care of it, wasfinished sooner than any one would have expected. And when the templewas finished, the priests, adorned with their accustomed garments, stoodwith their trumpets, while the Levites, and the sons of Asaph, stoodand sung hymns to God, according as David first of all appointed themto bless God. Now the priests and Levites, and the elder part ofthe families, recollecting with themselves how much greater and moresumptuous the old temple had been, seeing that now made how muchinferior it was, on account of their poverty, to that which had beenbuilt of old, considered with themselves how much their happy state wassunk below what it had been of old, as well as their temple. Hereuponthey were disconsolate, and not able to contain their grief, andproceeded so far as to lament and shed tears on those accounts; butthe people in general were contented with their present condition; andbecause they were allowed to build them a temple, they desired nomore, and neither regarded nor remembered, nor indeed at all tormentedthemselves with the comparison of that and the former temple, as if thiswere below their expectations; but the wailing of the old men and of thepriests, on account of the deficiency of this temple, in their opinion, if compared with that which had been demolished, overcame the sounds ofthe trumpets and the rejoicing of the people. 3. But when the Samaritans, who were still enemies to the tribes ofJudah and Benjamin, heard the sound of the trumpets, they came runningtogether, and desired to know what was the occasion of this tumult;and when they perceived that it was from the Jews, who had been carriedcaptive to Babylon, and were rebuilding their temple, they came toZorobabel and to Jeshua, and to the heads of the families, and desiredthat they would give them leave to build the temple with them, and to bepartners with them in building it; for they said, "We worship theirGod, and especially pray to him, and are desirous of their religioussettlement, and this ever since Shalmanezer, the king of Assyria, transplanted us out of Cuthah and Media to this place. " When theysaid thus, Zorobabel and Jeshua the high priest, and the heads of thefamilies of the Israelites, replied to them, that it was impossible forthem to permit them to be their partners, whilst they [only] had beenappointed 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 theypleased, and that they could allow them nothing but that in common withthem, which was common to them with all other men, to come to theirtemple and worship God there. 4. When the Cuthearts heard this, for the Samaritans have thatappellation, they had indignation at it, and persuaded the nations ofSyria to desire of the governors, in the same manner as they haddone formerly in the days of Cyrus, and again in the days of Cambysesafterwards, to put a stop to the building of the temple, and to endeavorto delay and protract the Jews in their zeal about it. Now at this timeSisinnes, the governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, withcertain others, came up to Jerusalem, and asked the rulers of the Jews, by whose grant it was that they built the temple in this manner, sinceit was more like to a citadel than a temple? and for what reason it wasthat they built cloisters and walls, and those strong ones too, aboutthe city? To which Zorobabel and Jeshua the high priest replied, thatthey were the servants of God Almighty; that this temple was built forhim by a king of theirs, that lived in great prosperity, and one thatexceeded all men in virtue; and that it continued a long time, but thatbecause of their fathers' impiety towards God, Nebuchadnezzar, kingof the Babylonians and of the Chaldeans, took their city by force, and destroyed it, and pillaged the temple, and burnt it down, andtransplanted the people whom he had made captives, and removed them toBabylon; that Cyrus, who, after him, was king of Babylonia and Persia, wrote to them to build the temple, and committed the gifts and vessels, and whatsoever Nebuchadnezzar had carried out of it, to Zorobabel, and Mithridates the treasurer; and gave order to have them carried toJerusalem, and to have them restored to their own temple, when it wasbuilt; for he had sent to them to have that done speedily, and commandedSanabassar to go up to Jerusalem, and to take care of the buildingof the temple; who, upon receiving that epistle from Cyrus, came, andimmediately laid its foundations; "and although it hath been in buildingfrom that time to this, it hath not yet been finished, by reason of themalignity of our enemies. If therefore you have a mind, and think itproper, write this account to Darius, that when he hath consulted therecords of the kings, he may find that we have told you nothing that isfalse about this matter. " 5. When Zorobabel and the high priest had made this answer, Sisinnes, and those that were with him, did not resolve to hinder the building, until they had informed king Darius of all this. So they immediatelywrote to him about these affairs; but as the Jews were now underterror, and afraid lest the king should change his resolutions as to thebuilding of Jerusalem and of the temple, there were two prophets at thattime among them, Haggai and Zechariah, who encouraged them, and bid thembe 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 oneday. 6. Now Darius, when the Samaritans had written to him, and in theirepistle had accused the Jews, how they fortified the city, and builtthe temple more like to a citadel than to a temple; and said, that theirdoings were not expedient for the king's affairs; and besides, theyshowed the epistle of Cambyses, wherein he forbade them to build thetemple: and when Darius thereby understood that the restoration ofJerusalem was not expedient for his affairs, and when he had read theepistle that was brought him from Sisinnes, and those that were withhim, he gave order that what concerned these matters should be soughtfor among the royal records. Whereupon a book was found at Ecbatana, inthe tower that was in Media, wherein was written as follows: "Cyrus theking, in the first year of his reign, commanded that the temple shouldbe built in Jerusalem; and the altar in height threescore cubits, andits breadth of the same, with three edifices of polished stone, and oneedifice of stone of their own country; and he ordained that the expensesof it should be paid out of the king's revenue. He also commanded thatthe vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had pillaged [out of the temple], andhad carried to Babylon, should be restored to the people of Jerusalem;and that the care of these things should belong to Sanabassar, thegovernor and president of Syria and Phoenicia, and his associates, thatthey may not meddle with that place, but may permit the servants of God, the Jews and their rulers, to build the temple. He also ordained thatthey should assist them in the work; and that they should pay to theJews, out of the tribute of the country where they were governors, onaccount of the sacrifices, bulls, and rams, and lambs, and kids of thegoats, and fine flour, and oil, and wine, and all other things thatthe priests should suggest to them; and that they should pray for thepreservation of the king, and of the Persians; and that for such astransgressed any of these orders thus sent to them, he commanded thatthey should be caught, and hung upon a cross, and their substanceconfiscated to the king's use. He also prayed to God against them, thatif any one attempted to hinder the building of the temple, God wouldstrike him dead, and thereby restrain his wickedness. " 7. When Darius had found this book among the records of Cyrus, he wrotean answer to Sisinnes and his associates, whose contents were these:"King Darius to Sisinnes the governor, and to Sathrabuzanes, sendethgreeting. Having found a copy of this epistle among the records ofCyrus, I have sent it you; and I will that all things be done as istherein written. Fare ye well. " So when Sisinnes, and those that werewith him, understood the intention of the king, they resolved to followhis directions entirely for the time to come. So they forwarded thesacred works, and assisted the elders of the Jews, and the princes ofthe Sanhedrim; and the structure of the temple was with great diligencebrought to a conclusion, by the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, according to God's commands, and by the injunctions of Cyrus and Dariusthe kings. Now the temple was built in seven years' time. And in theninth year of the reign of Darius, on the twenty-third day of thetwelfth month, which is by us called Adar, but by the MacedoniansDystrus, the priests, and Levites, and the other multitude of theIsraelites, offered sacrifices, as the renovation of their formerprosperity after their captivity, and because they had now the templerebuilt, a hundred bulls, two hundred rains, four hundred lambs, andtwelve kids of the goats, according to the number of their tribes, [forso many are the tribes of the Israelites, ] and this last for the sins ofevery tribe. The priests also and the Levites set the porters at everygate, according to the laws of Moses. The Jews also built the cloistersof 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, according to the Macedonians, is called Xanthicus, but accordingto us Nisan, all the people ran together out of the villages to thecity, and celebrated the festival, having purified themselves, withtheir wives and children, according to the law of their country;and they offered the sacrifice which was called the Passover, on thefourteenth day of the same month, and feasted seven days, and sparedfor no cost, but offered whole burnt-offerings to God, and performedsacrifices of thanksgiving, because God had led them again to the landof their fathers, and to the laws thereto belonging, and had renderedthe mind of the king of Persia favorable to them. So these men offeredthe largest sacrifices on these accounts, and used great magnificencein the worship of God, and dwelt in Jerusalem, and made use of a form ofgovernment that was aristocratical, but mixed with an oligarchy, for thehigh priests were at the head of their affairs, until the posterity ofthe Asamoneans set up kingly government; for before their captivity, and the dissolution of their polity, they at first had kingly governmentfrom Saul and David for five hundred and thirty-two years, six months, and ten days; but before those kings, such rulers governed them as werecalled judges and monarchs. Under this form of government they continuedfor more than five hundred years after the death of Moses, and of Joshuatheir commander. And this is the account I had to give of the Jews whohad been carried into captivity, but were delivered from it in the timesof Cyrus and Darius. 9. [7] But the Samaritans, being evil and enviously disposed to theJews, wrought them many mischiefs, by reliance on their riches, and bytheir pretense that they were allied to the Persians, on account thatthence they came; and whatsoever it was that they were enjoined to paythe Jews by the king's order out of their tributes for the sacrifices, they would not pay it. They had also the governors favorable 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 Jewsdetermined to send an embassage to king Darius, in favor of the peopleof Jerusalem, and in order to accuse the Samaritans. The ambassadorswere Zorobabel, and four others of the rulers; and as soon as the kingknew from the ambassadors the accusations and complaints they broughtagainst the Samaritans, he gave them an epistle to be carried to thegovernors and council of Samaria; the contents of which epistle werethese: "King Darius to Tanganas and Sambabas, the governors of theSainaritans, to Sadraces and Bobelo, and the rest of their fellowservants that are in Samaria: Zorobabel, Ananias, and Mordecai, theambassadors of the Jews, complain of you, that you obstruct them in thebuilding of the temple, and do not supply them with the expenses which Icommanded you to do for the offering their sacrifices. My will thereforeis this, That upon the reading of this epistle, you supply them withwhatsoever they want for their sacrifices, and that out of the royaltreasury, of the tributes of Samaria, as the priest shall desire, thatthey may not leave off offering their daily sacrifices, nor prayingto God for me and the Persians. " And these were the contents of thatepistle. CHAPTER 5. How Xerxes The Son Of Darius Was Well Disposed To The Jews;As Also Concerning Esdras And Nehemiah. 1. Upon the death of Darius, Xerxes his son took the kingdom, who, as heinherited his father's kingdom, so did he inherit his piety towards God, and honor of him; for he did all things suitably to his father relatingto Divine worship, and he was exceeding friendly to the Jews. Now aboutthis 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 enjoyeda great reputation among the multitude. He was the principal priest ofthe people, and his name was Esdras. He was very skillful in the laws ofMoses, and was well acquainted with king Xerxes. He had determined togo up to Jerusalem, and to take with him some of those Jews that were inBabylon; and he desired that the king would give him an epistle to thegovernors of Syria, by which they might know who he was. Accordingly, the king wrote the following epistle to those governors: "Xerxes, kingof kings, to Esdras the priest, and reader of the Divine law, greeting. I think it agreeable to that love which I bear to mankind, to permitthose of the Jewish nation that are so disposed, as well as those ofthe priests and Levites that are in our kingdom, to go together toJerusalem. Accordingly, I have given command for that purpose; and letevery one that hath a mind go, according as it hath seemed good to me, and to my seven counselors, and this in order to their review of theaffairs of Judea, to see whether they be agreeable to the law of God. Let them also take with them those presents which I and my friends havevowed, with all that silver and gold that is found in the country ofthe Babylonians, as dedicated to God, and let all this be carried toJerusalem to God for sacrifices. Let it also be lawful for thee and thybrethren to make as many vessels of silver and gold as thou pleasest. Thou shalt also dedicate those holy vessels which have been giventhee, and as many more as thou hast a mind to make, and shall take theexpenses out of the king's treasury. I have, moreover, written to thetreasurers of Syria and Phoenicia, that they take care of those affairsthat Esdras the priest, and reader of the laws of God, is sent about. And that God may not be at all angry with me, or with my children, Igrant all that is necessary for sacrifices to God, according to thelaw, as far as a hundred cori of wheat. And I enjoin you not to lay anytreacherous imposition, or any tributes, upon their priests or Levites, or sacred singers, or porters, or sacred servants, or scribes of thetemple. And do thou, O Esdras, appoint judges according to the wisdom[given thee] of God, and those such as understand the law, that they mayjudge in all Syria and Phoenicia; and do thou instruct those also whichare ignorant of it, that if any one of thy countrymen transgress the lawof God, or that of the king, he may be punished, as not transgressing itout of ignorance, but as one that knows it indeed, but boldly despisesand 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 beganto worship God, and confessed that he had been the cause of the king'sgreat favor to him, and that for the same reason he gave all the thanksto God. So he read the epistle at Babylon to those Jews that were there;but he kept the epistle itself, and sent a copy of it to all those ofhis own nation that were in Media. And when these Jews had understoodwhat piety the king had towards God, and what kindness he had forEsdras, they were all greatly pleased; nay, many of them took theireffects with them, and came to Babylon, as very desirous of going downto Jerusalem; but then the entire body of the people of Israel remainedin that country; wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europesubject to the Iomans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates tillnow, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers. Now there came a great number of priests, and Levites, and porters, andsacred singers, and sacred servants to Esdras. So he gathered those thatwere in the captivity together beyond Euphrates, and staid there threedays, and ordained a fast for them, that they might make their prayersto God for their preservation, that they might suffer no misfortunes bythe way, either from their enemies, or from any other ill accident;for Esdras had said beforehand that he had told the king how God wouldpreserve them, and so he had not thought fit to request that he wouldsend horsemen to conduct them. So when they had finished their prayers, they removed from Euphrates on the twelfth day of the first month of theseventh year of the reign of Xerxes, and they came to Jerusalem on thefifth month of the same year. Now Esdras presented the sacred money tothe treasurers, who were of the family of the priests, of silver sixhundred and fifty talents, vessels of silver one hundred talents, vessels of gold twenty talents, vessels of brass, that was more preciousthan gold, [8] twelve talents by weight; for these Presents had beenmade by the king and his counselors, and by all the Israelites thatstaid at Babylon. So when Esdras had delivered these things tothe priests, he gave to God, as the appointed sacrifices of wholeburnt-offerings, twelve bulls on account of the common preservationof the people, ninety rams, seventy-two lambs, and twelve kids of thegoats, for the remission of sins. He also delivered the king's epistleto the king's officers, and to the governors of Celesyria and Phoenicia;and as they were under a necessity of doing what was enjoined byhim, they honored our nation, and were assistant to them in all theirnecessities. 3. Now these things were truly done under the conduct of Esdras; and hesucceeded in them, because God esteemed him worthy of the success ofhis conduct, on account of his goodness and righteousness. But sometime afterward there came some persons to him, and brought an accusationagainst certain of the multitude, and of the priests and Levites, whohad transgressed their settlement, and dissolved the laws of theircountry, by marrying strange wives, and had brought the family of thepriests into confusion. These persons desired him to support the laws, lest God should take up a general anger against them all, and reducethem to a calamitous condition again. Hereupon he rent his garmentimmediately, out of grief, and pulled off the hair of his head andbeard, and cast himself upon the ground, because this crime had reachedthe principal men among the people; and considering that if he shouldenjoin them to cast out their wives, and the children they had by them, he should not be hearkener to, he continued lying upon the ground. However, all the better sort came running to him, who also themselveswept, 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 towardsheaven, and said that he was ashamed to look towards it, because of thesins which the people had committed, while they had cast out oftheir memories what their fathers had undergone on account of theirwickedness; and he besought God, who had saved a seed and a remnant outof the calamity and captivity they had been in, and had restored themagain to Jerusalem, and to their own land, and had obliged the kings ofPersia to have compassion on them, that he would also forgive them theirsins they had now committed, which, though they deserved death, yet, wasit agreeable to the mercy of God, to remit even to these the punishmentdue to them. 4. After Esdras had said this, he left off praying; and when all thosethat came to him with their wives and children were under lamentation, one whose name was Jechonias, a principal man in Jerusalem, came tohim, and said that they had sinned in marrying strange wives; andhe persuaded him to adjure them all to cast those wives out, and thechildren born of them, and that those should be punished who would notobey the law. So Esdras hearkened to this advice, and made the heads ofthe priests, and of the Levites, and of the Israelites, swear that theywould put away those wives and children, according to the advice ofJechonias. And when he had received their oaths, he went in haste outof the temple into the chamber of Johanan, the son of Eliasib, and ashe had hitherto tasted nothing at all for grief, so he abode there thatday. And when proclamation was made, that all those of the captivityshould gather themselves together to Jerusalem, and those that did notmeet there in two or three days should be banished from the multitude, and that their substance should b appropriated to the uses of thetemple, according to the sentence of the elders, those that were of thetribes of Judah and Benjamin came together in three days, viz. On thetwentieth day of the ninth month, which, according to the Hebrews, iscalled Tebeth, and according to the Macedonians, Apelleius. Now as theywere sitting in the upper room of the temple, where the elders alsowere present, but were uneasy because of the cold, Esdras stood up andaccused them, and told them that they had sinned in marrying wives thatwere not of their own nation; but that now they would do a thing bothpleasing to God, and advantageous to themselves, if they would put thosewives away. Accordingly, they all cried out that they would do so. That, however, the multitude was great, and that the season of the year waswinter, and that this work would require more than one or two days. "Let their rulers, therefore, [said they, ] and those that have marriedstrange wives, come hither at a proper time, while the elders of everyplace, that are in common to estimate the number of those that have thusmarried, are to be there also. " Accordingly, this was resolved on bythem, and they began the inquiry after those that had married strangewives on the first day of the tenth month, and continued the inquiry tothe first day of the next month, and found a great many of theposterity of Jeshua the high priest, and of the priests and Levites, andIsraelites, who had a greater regard to the observation of the law thanto their natural affection, [9] and immediately 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 oblations to him; but it doesnot seem to me to be necessary to set down the names of these men. So when Esdras had reformed this sin about the marriages of theforementioned persons, he reduced that practice to purity, so that itcontinued in that state for the time to come. 5. Now when they kept the feast of tabernacles in the seventh month [10]and almost all the people were come together to it, they went up to theopen part of the temple, to the gate which looked eastward, and desiredof Esdras that the laws of Moses might be read to them. Accordingly, hestood in the midst of the multitude and read them; and this he didfrom morning to noon. Now, by hearing the laws read to them, they wereinstructed to be righteous men for the present and for the future; butas for their past offenses, they were displeased at themselves, andproceeded to shed tears on their account, as considering with themselvesthat if they had kept the law, they had endured none of thesemiseries which they had experienced. But when Esdras saw them in thatdisposition, he bade them go home, and not weep, for that it was afestival, and that they ought not to weep thereon, for that it was notlawful so to do. [11] He exhorted them rather to proceed immediately tofeasting, and to do what was suitable to a feast, and what was agreeableto a day of joy; but to let their repentance and sorrow for their formersins be a security and a guard to them, that they fell no more into thelike offenses. So upon Esdras's exhortation they began to feast;and when they had so done for eight days, in their tabernacles, theydeparted to their own homes, singing hymns to God, and returning thanksto Esdras for his reformation of what corruptions had been introducedinto their settlement. So it came to pass, that after he had obtainedthis reputation among the people, he died an old man, and was buried ina magnificent manner at Jerusalem. About the same time it happened alsothat Joacim, the high priest, died; and his son Eliasib succeeded inthe high priesthood. 6. Now there was one of those Jews that hadbeen carried captive who was cup-bearer to king Xerxes; his name wasNehemiah. As this man was walking before Susa, the metropolis of thePersians, he heard some strangers that were entering the city, after along journey, speaking to one another in the Hebrew tongue; so he wentto them, and asked them whence they came. And when their answer was, that they came from Judea, he began to inquire of them again in whatstate the multitude was, and in what condition Jerusalem was; and whenthey replied that they were in a bad state [12] for that their wallswere thrown down to the ground, and that the neighboring nations did agreat deal of mischief to the Jews, while in the day time they overranthe country, and pillaged it, and in the night did them mischief, insomuch that not a few were led away captive out of the country, andout of Jerusalem itself, and that the roads were in the day time foundfull of dead men. Hereupon Nehemiah shed tears, out of commiseration ofthe calamities of his countrymen; and, looking up to heaven, he said, "How long, O Lord, wilt thou overlook our nation, while it suffers sogreat miseries, and while we are made the prey and spoil of all men?"And while he staid at the gate, and lamented thus, one told him that theking was going to sit down to supper; so he made haste, and went as hewas, without wishing himself, to minister to the king in his office ofcup-bearer. But as the king was very pleasant after supper, and morecheerful than usual, he cast his eyes on Nehemiah, and seeing him looksad, he asked him why he was sad. Whereupon he prayed to God to give himfavor, and afford him the power of persuading by his words, and said, "How can I, O king, appear otherwise than thus, and not be in trouble, while I hear that the walls of Jerusalem, the city where are thesepulchers of my fathers, are thrown down to the ground, and that itsgates are consumed by fire? But do thou grant me the favor to go andbuild its wall, and to finish the building of the temple. " Accordingly, the king gave him a signal that he freely granted him what he asked;and told him that he should carry an epistle to the governors, that theymight pay him due honor, and afford him whatsoever assistance he wanted, and as he pleased. "Leave off thy sorrow then, " said the king, "andbe cheerful in the performance of thy office hereafter. " So Nehemiahworshipped God, and gave the king thanks for his promise, and cleared uphis sad and cloudy countenance, by the pleasure he had from the king'spromises. Accordingly, the king called for him the next day, and gavehim an epistle to be carried to Adeus, the governor of Syria, andPhoenicia, and Samaria; wherein he sent to him to pay due honor toNehemiah, and to supply him with what he wanted for his building. 7. Now when he was come to Babylon, and had taken with him many of hiscountrymen, who voluntarily followed him, he came to Jerusalem in thetwenty and fifth year of the reign of Xerxes. And when he had shown theepistles to God [13] he gave them to Adeus, and to the other governors. He also called together all the people to Jerusalem, and stood in themidst of the temple, and made the following speech to them: "You know, OJews, that God hath kept our fathers, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, inmind continually, and for the sake of their righteousness hath notleft off the care of you. Indeed he hath assisted me in gaining thisauthority of the king to raise up our wall, and finish what is wantingof the temple. I desire you, therefore who well know the ill-willour neighboring nations bear to us, and that when once they are madesensible that we are in earnest about building, they will come upon us, and contrive many ways of obstructing our works, that you will, inthe first place, put your trust in God, as in him that will assist usagainst their hatred, and to intermit building neither night nor day, but to use all diligence, and to hasten on the work, now we have thisespecial opportunity for it. " When he had said this, he gave order thatthe rulers should measure the wall, and part the work of it among thepeople, according to their villages and cities, as every one's abilityshould require. And when he had added this promise, that he himself, with his servants, would assist them, he dissolved the assembly. So theJews prepared for the work: that is the name they are called by fromthe day that they came up from Babylon, which is taken from the tribeof Judah, which came first to these places, and thence both they and thecountry gained that appellation. 8. But now when the Ammonites, and Moabites, and Samaritans, and allthat inhabited Celesyria, heard that the building went on apace, theytook it heinously, and proceeded to lay snares for them, and to hindertheir intentions. They also slew many of the Jews, and sought how theymight destroy Nehemiah himself, by hiring some of the foreigners tokill him. They also put the Jews in fear, and disturbed them, and spreadabroad rumors, as if many nations were ready to make an expeditionagainst them, by which means they were harassed, and had almost left offthe building. But none of these things could deter Nehemiah from beingdiligent about the work; he only set a number of men about him asa guard to his body, and so unweariedly persevered therein, and wasinsensible of any trouble, out of his desire to perfect this work. Andthus did he attentively, and with great forecast, take care of his ownsafety; not that he feared death, but of this persuasion, that if hewere dead, the walls for his citizens would never be raised. He alsogave orders that the builders should keep their ranks, and have theirarmor on while they were building. Accordingly, the mason had his swordon, as well as he that brought the materials for building. He alsoappointed that their shields should lie very near them; and he placedtrumpeters at every five hundred feet, and charged them, that if theirenemies appeared, they should give notice of it to the people, that theymight fight in their armor, and their enemies might not fall upon themnaked. He also went about the compass of the city by night, being neverdiscouraged, neither about the work itself, nor about his own diet andsleep, for he made no use of those things for his pleasure, but out ofnecessity. And this trouble he underwent for two years and four months;[14] for in so long a time was the wall built, in the twenty-eighthyear of the reign of Xerxes, in the ninth month. Now when the walls werefinished, Nehemiah and the multitude offered sacrifices to God for thebuilding of them, and they continued in feasting eight days. However, when the nations which dwelt in Syria heard that the building of thewall was finished, they had indignation at it. But when Nehemiah sawthat the city was thin of people, he exhorted the priests and theLevites that they would leave the country, and remove themselves to thecity, and there continue; and he built them houses at his own expenses;and he commanded that part of the people which were employed incultivating the land to bring the tithes of their fruits to Jerusalem, that the priests and Levites having whereof they might live perpetually, might not leave the Divine worship; who willingly hearkened to theconstitutions of Nehemiah, by which means the city Jerusalem came tobe fuller of people than it was before. So when Nehemiah had done manyother excellent things, and things worthy of commendation, in a gloriousmanner, he came to a great age, and then died. He was a man of a goodand righteous disposition, and very ambitious to make his own nationhappy; and he hath left the walls of Jerusalem as an eternal monumentfor himself. Now this was done in the days of Xerxes. CHAPTER 6. Concerning Esther And Mordecai And Haman; And How In TheReign Of Artaxerxes The Whole Nation Of The Jews Was In Danger OfPerishing. 1. After the death of Xerxes, the kingdom came to be transferred to hisson Cyrus, whom the Greeks called Artaxerxes. When this man had obtainedthe government over the Persians, the whole nation of the Jews, [15]with their wives and children, were in danger of perishing; the occasionwhereof we shall declare in a little time; for it is proper, in thefirst place, to explain somewhat relating to this king, and how he cameto marry a Jewish wife, who was herself of the royal family also, andwho is related to have saved our nation; for when Artaxerxes had takenthe kingdom, and had set governors over the hundred twenty and sevenprovinces, from India even unto Ethiopia, in the third year of hisreign, he made a costly feast for his friends, and for the nations ofPersia, and for their governors, such a one as was proper for a king tomake, 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 feastfor other nations, and for their ambassadors, at Shushan, for sevendays. Now this feast was ordered after the manner following: He causeda tent to be pitched, which was supported by pillars of gold and silver, with curtains of linen and purple spread over them, that it might affordroom for many ten thousands to sit down. The cups with which the waitersministered were of gold, and adorned with precious stones, for pleasureand for sight. He also gave order to the servants that they shouldnot force them to drink, by bringing them wine continually, as is thepractice of the Persians, but to permit every one of the guests to enjoyhimself according to his own inclination. Moreover, he sent messengersthrough the country, and gave order that they should have a remissionof their labors, and should keep a festival many days, on account of hiskingdom. In like manner did Vashti the queen gather her guests together, and made them a feast in the palace. Now the king was desirous to showher, who exceeded all other women in beauty, to those that feasted withhim, and he sent some to command her to come to his feast. But she, outof regard to the laws of the Persians, which forbid the wives to be seenby strangers, did not go to the king [16] and though he oftentimes sentthe eunuchs to her, she did nevertheless stay away, and refused to come, till the king was so much irritated, that he brake up the entertainment, and rose up, and called for those seven who had the interpretation ofthe laws committed to them, and accused his wife, and said that he hadbeen affronted by her, because that when she was frequently called byhim to his feast, she did not obey him once. He therefore gave orderthat they should inform him what could be done by the law against her. So one of them, whose name was Memucan, said that this affront wasoffered not to him alone, but to all the Persians, who were in dangerof leading their lives very ill with their wives, if they must be thusdespised by them; for that none of their wives would have any reverencefor their husbands, if they, "had such an example of arrogance in thequeen towards thee, who rulest over all. " Accordingly, he exhorted himto punish her, who had been guilty of so great an affront to him, aftera severe manner; and when he had so done, to publish to the nations whathad been decreed about the queen. So the resolution was to put Vashtiaway, and to give her dignity to another woman. 2. But the king having been fond of her, did not well bear a separation, and yet by the law he could not admit of a reconciliation; so he wasunder trouble, as not having it in his power to do what he desired todo. But when his friends saw him so uneasy, they advised him to cast thememory of his wife, and his love for her, out of his mind, but tosend abroad over all the habitable earth, and to search out for comelyvirgins, and to take her whom he should best like for his wife, becausehis passion for his former wife would be quenched by the introduction ofanother, and the kindness he had for Vashti would be withdrawn from her, and be placed on her that was with him. Accordingly, he was persuaded tofollow this advice, and gave order to certain persons to choose out ofthe virgins that were in his kingdom those that were esteemed the mostcomely. So when a great number of these virgins were gathered together, there was found a damsel in Babylon, whose parents were both dead, andshe was brought up with her uncle Mordecai, for that was her uncle'sname. This uncle was of the tribe of Benjamin, and was one of theprincipal persons among the Jews. Now it proved that this damsel, whosename was Esther, was the most beautiful of all the rest, and that thegrace of her countenance drew the eyes of the spectators principallyupon her. So she was committed to one of the eunuchs to take the careof her; and she was very exactly provided with sweet odors, in greatplenty, and with costly ointments, such as her body required to beanointed withal; and this was used for six months by the virgins, whowere in number four hundred. And when the eunuch thought the virgins hadbeen sufficiently purified, in the fore-mentioned time, and were now fitto go to the king's bed, he sent one to be with the king ever day. Sowhen he had accompanied with her, he sent her back to the eunuch; andwhen Esther had come to him, he was pleased with her, and fell in lovewith the damsel, and married her, and made her his lawful wife, and kepta wedding feast for her on the twelfth month of the seventh year of hisreign, which was called Adar. He also sent angari, as they are called, or messengers, unto every nation, and gave orders that they should keepa feast for his marriage, while he himself treated the Persians andthe Medes, and the principal men of the nations, for a whole month, on account of this his marriage. Accordingly, Esther came to his royalpalace, 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. Heruncle also removed from Babylon to Shushan, and dwelt there, being everyday about the palace, and inquiring how the damsel did, for he loved heras though she had been his own daughter. 3. Now the king had made a law, [17] that none of his own people shouldapproach him unless he were called, when he sat upon his throne andmen, with axes in their hands, stood round about his throne, in order topunish such as approached to him without being called. However, the kingsat with a golden scepter in his hand, which he held out when he hada mind to save any one of those that approached to him without beingcalled, and he who touched it was free from danger. But of this matterwe have discoursed sufficiently. 4. Some time after this [two eunuchs], Bigthan and Teresh, plottedagainst the king; and Barnabazus, the servant of one of the eunuchs, being by birth a Jew, was acquainted with their conspiracy, anddiscovered it to the queen's uncle; and Mordecai, by the means ofEsther, made the conspirators known to the king. This troubled the king;but he discovered the truth, and hanged the eunuchs upon a cross, whileat that time he gave no reward to Mordecai, who had been the occasionof his preservation. He only bid the scribes to set down his name in therecords, and bid him stay in the palace, as an intimate friend of theking. 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 Persiansworshipped him, as Artaxerxes had commanded that such honor shouldbe paid to him; but Mordecai was so wise, and so observant of hisown country's laws, that he would not worship the man [18] When Hamanobserved this, he inquired whence he came; and when he understood thathe was a Jew, he had indignation at him, and said within himself, thatwhereas the Persians, who were free men, worshipped him, this man, whowas no better than a slave, does not vouchsafe to do so. And when hedesired to punish Mordecai, he thought it too small a thing to requestof the king that he alone might be punished; he rather determined toabolish the whole nation, for he was naturally an enemy to the Jews, because the nation of the Amalekites, of which he was; had beendestroyed by them. Accordingly he came to the king, and accused them, saying, "There is a certain wicked nation, and it is dispersed over allthe habitable earth the was under his dominion; a nation separate fromothers, unsociable, neither admitting the same sort of Divine worshipthat others do, nor using laws like to the laws of others, at enmitywith thy people, and with all men, both in their manners and practices. Now, if thou wilt be a benefactor to thy subjects, thou wilt give orderto destroy them utterly, and not leave the least remains of them, norpreserve any of them, either for slaves or for captives. " But that theking might not be damnified by the loss of the tributes which theJews paid him, Haman promised to give him out of his own estate fortythousand talents whensoever he pleased; and he said he would pay thismoney very willingly, that the kingdom might be freed from such amisfortune. 6. When Haman had made this petition, the king both forgave him themoney, 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 fromthe king, to all nations, the contents whereof were these: "Artaxerxes, the great king, to the rulers of the hundred twenty and seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, sends this writing. Whereas I have governedmany nations, and obtained the dominions of all the habitable earth, according to my desire, and have not been obliged to do any thing thatis insolent or cruel to my subjects by such my power, but have showedmyself mild and gentle, by taking care of their peace and good order, and have sought how they might enjoy those blessings for all time tocome. And whereas I have been kindly informed by Haman, who, on accountof his prudence and justice, is the first in my esteem, and in dignity, and only second to myself, for his fidelity and constant good-will tome, that there is an ill-natured nation intermixed with all mankind, that is averse to our laws, and not subject to kings, and of a differentconduct of life from others, that hateth monarchy, and of a dispositionthat is pernicious to our affairs, I give order that all these men, ofwhom Haman our second father hath informed us, be destroyed, with theirwives and children, and that none of them be spared, and that noneprefer pity to them before obedience to this decree. And this I will tobe executed on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month of this presentyear, that so when all that have enmity to us are destroyed, and thisin one day, we may be allowed to lead the rest of our lives in peacehereafter. " Now when this decree was brought to the cities, and to thecountry, all were ready for the destruction and entire abolishment ofthe Jews, against the day before mentioned; and they were very hastyabout it at Shushan, in particular. Accordingly, the king and Hamanspent their time in feasting together with good cheer and wine, but thecity was in disorder. 7. Now when Mordecai was informed of what was done, he rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and sprinkled ashes upon his head, and went aboutthe city, crying out, that "a nation that had been injurious to no manwas to be destroyed. " And he went on saying thus as far as to the king'spalace, and there he stood, for it was not lawful for him to go into itin that habit. The same thing was done by all the Jews that were in theseveral cities wherein this decree was published, with lamentation andmourning, on account of the calamities denounced against them. But assoon as certain persons had told the queen that Mordecai stood beforethe court in a mourning habit, she was disturbed at this report, andsent out such as should change his garments; but when he could not beinduced to put off his sackcloth, because the sad occasion that forcedhim 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 ofhim 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 didMordecai inform the eunuch of the occasion of his mourning, and ofthe decree which was sent by the king into all the country, and of thepromise of money whereby Haman brought the destruction of their nation. He also gave him a copy of what was proclaimed at Shushan, to be carriedto Esther; and he charged her to petition the king about this matter, and not to think it a dishonorable thing in her to put on a humblehabit, for the safety of her nation, wherein she might deprecate theruin of the Jews, who were in danger of it; for that Haman, whosedignity was only inferior to that of the king, had accused the Jews, andhad irritated the king against them. When she was informed of this, she sent to Mordecai again, and told him that she was not called bythe king, and that he who goes in to him without being called, is tobe slain, unless when he is willing to save any one, he holds out hisgolden scepter to him; but that to whomsoever he does so, although he goin without being called, that person is so far from being slain, that heobtains pardon, and is entirely preserved. Now when the eunuch carriedthis message from Esther to Mordecai, he bade him also tell her thatshe must not only provide for her own preservation, but for thecommon preservation of her nation, for that if she now neglected thisopportunity, there would certainly arise help to them from God someother way, but she and her father's house would be destroyed by thosewhom she now despised. But Esther sent the very same eunuch back toMordecai [to desire him] to go to Shushan, and to gather the Jews thatwere there together to a congregation, and to fast and abstain from allsorts of food, on her account, and [to let him know that] she with hermaidens would do the same: and then she promised that she would go tothe king, though it were against the law, and that if she must die forit, she would not refuse it. 8. Accordingly, Mordecai did as Esther had enjoined him, and made thepeople fast; and he besought God, together with them, not to overlookhis nation, particularly at this time, when it was going to bedestroyed; but that, as he had often before provided for them, andforgiven, when they had sinned, so he would now deliver them from thatdestruction which was denounced against them; for although it was notall the nation that had offended, yet must they so ingloriously beslain, and that he was himself the occasion of the wrath of Haman, "Because, " said he, "I did not worship him, nor could I endure to paythat honor to him which I used to pay to thee, O Lord; for upon that hisanger hath he contrived this present mischief against those that havenot transgressed thy laws. " The same supplications did the multitude putup, and entreated that God would provide for their deliverance, and freethe Israelites that were in all the earth from this calamity which wasnow coming upon them, for they had it before their eyes, and expectedits coming. Accordingly, Esther made supplication to God after themanner of her country, by casting herself down upon the earth, andputting on her mourning garments, and bidding farewell to meat anddrink, and all delicacies, for three days' time; and she entreated Godto have mercy upon her, and make her words appear persuasive to theking, and render her countenance more beautiful than it was before, thatboth by her words and beauty she might succeed, for the averting of theking's anger, in case he were at all irritated against her, and for theconsolation of those of her own country, now they were in the utmostdanger of perishing; as also that he would excite a hatred in the kingagainst the enemies of the Jews, and those that had contrived theirfuture destruction, if they proved to be contemned by him. 9. When Esther had used this supplication for three days, she put offthose garments, and changed her habit, and adorned herself as becamea queen, and took two of her handmaids with her, the one of whichsupported her, as she gently leaned upon her, and the other followedafter, and lifted up her large train [which swept along the ground] withthe extremities of her fingers. And thus she came to the king, havinga blushing redness in her countenance, with a pleasant agreeableness inher behavior; yet did she go in to him with fear; and as soon as shewas come over against him, as he was sitting on his throne, in his royalapparel, which was a garment interwoven with gold and precious stones, which made him seem to her more terrible, especially when he looked ather somewhat severely, and with a countenance on fire with anger, herjoints failed her immediately, out of the dread she was in, and she felldown sideways in a swoon: but the king changed his mind, which happened, as I suppose, by the will of God, and was concerned for his wife, lesther fear should bring some very ill thing upon her, and he leaped fromhis throne, and took her in his arms, and recovered her, by embracingher, and speaking comfortably to her, and exhorting her to be of goodcheer, and not to suspect any thing that was sad on account of hercoming to him without being called, because that law was made forsubjects, but that she, who was a queen, as well as he a king, might beentirely secure; and as he said this, he put the scepter into her hand, and laid his rod upon her neck, on account of the law; and so freedher from her fear. And after she had recovered herself by theseencouragements, she said, "My lord, it is not easy for me, on thesudden, to say what hath happened, for as soon as I saw thee to begreat, and comely, and terrible, my spirit departed from me, and I hadno soul left in me. " And while it was with difficulty, and in a lowvoice, that she could say thus much, the king was in a great agonyand disorder, and encouraged Esther to be of good cheer, and to expectbetter fortune, since he was ready, if occasion should require it, togrant her the half of his kingdom. Accordingly, Esther desired that heand his friend Haman would come to her to a banquet, for she said shehad prepared a supper for him. He consented to it; and when they werethere, as they were drinking, he bid Esther to let him know what shedesired; for that she should not be disappointed though she shoulddesire the half of his kingdom. But she put off the discovery of herpetition till the next day, if he would come again, together with Haman, to her banquet. 10. Now when the king had promised so to do, Haman went away very glad, because he alone had the honor of supping with the king at Esther'sbanquet, and because no one else partook of the same honor with kingsbut himself; yet when he saw Mordecai in the court, he was very muchdispleased, for he paid him no manner of respect when he saw him. So hewent home and called for his wife Zeresh, and his friends, and when theywere come, he showed them what honor he enjoyed not only from the king, but from the queen also, for as he alone had that day supped with her, together with the king, so was he also invited again for the next day;"yet, " said he, "am I not pleased to see Mordecai the Jew in the court. "Hereupon his wife Zeresh advised him to give order that a gallows shouldbe made fifty cubits high, and that in the morning he should ask itof the king that Mordecai might be hanged thereon. So he commended heradvice, and gave order to his servants to prepare the gallows, and toplace it in the court, for the punishment of Mordecai thereon, which wasaccordingly prepared. But God laughed to scorn the wicked expectationsof Haman; and as he knew what the event would be, he was delighted atit, for that night he took away the king's sleep; and as the king wasnot willing to lose the time of his lying awake, but to spend it insomething that might be of advantage to his kingdom, he commanded thescribe to bring him the chronicles of the former kings, and the recordsof his own actions; and when he had brought them, and was reading them, one was found to have received a country on account of his excellentmanagement on a certain occasion, and the name of the country was setdown; another was found to have had a present made him on account of hisfidelity: then the scribe came to Bigthan and Teresh, the eunuchs thathad made a conspiracy against the king, which Mordecai had discovered;and when the scribe said no more but that, and was going on to anotherhistory, the king stopped him, and inquired "whether it was not addedthat Mordecai had a reward given him?" and when he said there was nosuch addition, he bade him leave off; and he inquired of those that wereappointed for that purpose, what hour of the night it was; and when hewas informed that it was already day, he gave order, that if they foundany one of his friends already come, and standing before the court, theyshould tell him. Now it happened that Haman was found there, for he wascome sooner than ordinary to petition the king to have Mordecai put todeath; and when the servants said that Haman was before the court, hebid them call him in; and when he was come in, he said, "Because I knowthat thou art my only fast friend, I desire thee to give me advice howI may honor one that I greatly love, and that after a manner suitable tomy magnificence. " Now Haman reasoned with himself, that what opinionhe should give it would be for himself, since it was he alone who wasbeloved by the king: so he gave that advice which he thought of allother the best; for he said, "If thou wouldst truly honor a man whomthou sayest thou dost love, give order that he may ride on horseback, with the same garment on which thou wearest, and with a gold chainabout his neck, and let one of thy intimate friends go before him, and proclaim through the whole city, that whosoever the king honorethobtaineth this mark of his honor. " This was the advice which Haman gave, out of a supposal that such a reward would come to himself. Hereupon theking was pleased with the advice, and said, "Go thou therefore, for thouhast the horse, the garment, and the chain, ask for Mordecai theJew, and give him those things, and go before his horse and proclaimaccordingly; for thou art, " said he, "my intimate friend, and hast givenme good advice; be thou then the minister of what thou hast advised meto. This shall be his reward from us, for preserving my life. " When heheard this order, which was entirely unexpected, he was confounded inhis mind, and knew not what to do. However, he went out and led thehorse, and took the purple garment, and the golden chain for the neck, and finding Mordecai before the court, clothed in sackcloth, he bid himput that garment off, and put the purple garment on. But Mordecai, not knowing the truth of the matter, but thinking that it was done inmockery, said, "O thou wretch, the vilest of all mankind, dost thouthus laugh at our calamities?" But when he was satisfied that the kingbestowed this honor upon him, for the deliverance he had procured himwhen he convicted the eunuchs who had conspired against him, he put onthat purple garment which the king always wore, and put the chain abouthis neck, and got on horseback, and went round the city, while Hamanwent before and proclaimed, "This shall be the reward which the kingwill bestow on every one whom he loves, and esteems worthy of honor. "And when they had gone round the city, Mordecai went in to the king; butHaman went home, out of shame, and informed his wife and friends of whathad happened, and this with tears; who said, that he would never be ableto be revenged of Mordecai, for that God was with him. 11. Now while these men were thus talking one to another, Esther'seunuchs hastened Haman away to come to supper; but one of the eunuchs, named Sabuchadas, saw the gallows that was fixed in Haman's house, andinquired of one of his servants for what purpose they had prepared it. So he knew that it was for the queen's uncle, because Haman was about topetition the king that he might be punished; but at present he held hispeace. Now when the king, with Haman, were at the banquet, he desiredthe queen to tell him what gifts she desired to obtain, and assured herthat she should have whatsoever she had a mind to. She then lamented thedanger her people were in; and said that "she and her nation weregiven up to be destroyed, and that she, on that account, made this herpetition; that she would not have troubled him if he had only givenorder that they should be sold into bitter servitude, for such amisfortune would not have been intolerable; but she desired that theymight be delivered from such destruction. " And when the king inquired ofher whom was the author of this misery to them, she then openly accusedHaman, and convicted him, that he had been the wicked instrument ofthis, and had formed this plot against them. When the king was hereuponin disorder, and was gone hastily out of the banquet into the 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 verybad case. And as he had fallen upon the queen's bed, and was makingsupplication to her, the king came in, and being still more provokedat what he saw, "O thou wretch, " said he, "thou vilest of mankind, dostthou aim to force in wife?" And when Haman was astonished at this, and not able to speak one word more, Sabuchadas the eunuch came in andaccused Haman, and said, He found a gallows at his house, prepared forMordecai; for that the servant told him so much upon his inquiry, whenhe was sent to him to call him to supper. He said further, that thegallows was fifty cubits high: which, when the king heard, he determinedthat Haman should be punished after no other manner than that which hadbeen devised by him against Mordecai; so he gave order immediately thathe should be hung upon those gallows, and be put to death after thatmanner. And from hence I cannot forbear to admire God, and to learnhence his wisdom and his justice, not only in punishing the wickednessof Haman, but in so disposing it, that he should undergo the very samepunishment which he had contrived for another; as also because therebyhe teaches others this lesson, that what mischiefs any one preparesagainst another, he, without knowing of it, first contrives it againsthimself. 12. Wherefore Haman, who had immoderately abused the honor he had fromthe king, was destroyed after this manner, and the king granted hisestate to the queen. He also called for Mordecai, [for Esther hadinformed him that she was akin to him, ] and gave that ring to Mordecaiwhich he had before given to Haman. The queen also gave Haman's estateto Mordecai; and prayed the king to deliver the nation of the Jews fromthe fear of death, and showed him what had been written over all thecountry by Haman the son of Ammedatha; for that if her country weredestroyed, and her countrymen were to perish, she could not bear to liveherself any longer. So the king promised her that he would not doany thing that should be disagreeable to her, nor contradict what shedesired; but he bid her write what she pleased about the Jews, in theking's name, and seal it with his seal, and send it to all his kingdom, for that those who read epistles whose authority is secured by havingthe king's seal to them, would no way contradict what was writtentherein. So he commanded the king's scribes to be sent for, and towrite to the nations, on the Jews' behalf, and to his lieutenants andgovernors, that were over his hundred twenty and seven provinces, fromIndia to Ethiopia. Now the contents of this epistle were these: "Thegreat king Artaxerxes to our rulers, and those that are our faithfulsubjects, sendeth greeting. [19] Many men there are who, on account ofthe greatness of the benefits bestowed on them, and because of the honorwhich they have obtained from the wonderful kind treatment of thosethat bestowed it, are not only injurious to their inferiors, but do notscruple to do evil to those that have been their benefactors, as if theywould take away gratitude from among men, and by their insolent abuse ofsuch benefits as they never expected, they turn the abundance they haveagainst those that are the authors of it, and suppose they shall lieconcealed from God in that case, and avoid that vengeance which comesfrom him. Some of these men, when they have had the management ofaffairs committed to them by their friends, and bearing private maliceof their own against some others, by deceiving those that have thepower, persuade them to be angry at such as have done them no harm, till they are in danger of perishing, and this by laying accusationsand calumnies: nor is this state of things to be discovered by ancientexamples, or such as we have learned by report only, but by someexamples of such impudent attempts under our own eyes; so that it isnot fit to attend any longer to calumnies and accusations, nor to thepersuasions of others, but to determine what any one knows of himselfto have been really done, and to punish what justly deserves it, and togrant favors 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 ofthe Persians, who, when he was hospitably entertained by us, and partookof that kindness which we bear to all men to so great a degree, as to becalled my father, and to be all along worshipped, and to have honor paidhim by all in the second rank after the royal honor due to ourselves, he could not bear his good fortune, nor govern the magnitude of hisprosperity with sound reason; nay, he made a conspiracy against meand my life, who gave him his authority, by endeavoring to take awayMordecai, my benefactor, and my savior, and by basely and treacherouslyrequiring to have Esther, the partner of my life, and of my dominion, brought to destruction; for he contrived by this means to deprive meof my faithful friends, and transfer the government to others: [20] butsince I perceived that these Jews, that were by this pernicious fellowdevoted to destruction, were not wicked men, but conducted their livesafter the best manner, and were men dedicated to the worship of that Godwho hath preserved the kingdom to me and to my ancestors, I do not onlyfree them from the punishment which the former epistle, which wassent by Haman, ordered to be inflicted on them, to which if you refuseobedience, you shall do well; but I will that they have all honor paidto them. Accordingly, I have hanged up the man that contrived suchthings against them, with his family, before the gates of Shushan; thatpunishment being sent upon him by God, who seeth all things. And I giveyou in charge, that you publicly propose a copy of this epistle throughall my kingdom, that the Jews may be permitted peaceably to use theirown laws, and that you assist them, that at the same season wheretotheir miserable estate did belong, they may defend themselves the verysame day from unjust violence, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar; for God hath made that day a day of salvation insteadof a day of destruction to them; and may it be a good day to thosethat wish us well, and a memorial of the punishment of the conspiratorsagainst us: and I will that you take notice, that every city, and everynation, that shall disobey any thing that is contained in this epistle, shall be destroyed by fire and sword. However, let this epistle bepublished through all the country that is under our obedience, and letall the Jews, by all means, be ready against the day before mentioned, that they may avenge themselves upon their enemies. " 13. Accordingly, the horsemen who carried the epistles proceeded on theways which they were to go with speed: but as for Mordecai, as soon ashe had assumed the royal garment, and the crown of gold, and had put thechain about his neck, he went forth in a public procession; and when theJews who were at Shushan saw him in so great honor with the king, theythought his good fortune was common to themselves also, and joy anda beam of salvation encompassed the Jews, both those that were in thecities, and those that were in the countries, upon the publication ofthe king's letters, insomuch that many even of other nations circumcisedtheir foreskin for fear of the Jews, that they might procure safetyto themselves thereby; for on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which according to the Hebrews is called Adar, but according to theMacedonians, Dystrus, those that carried the king's epistle gave themnotice, that the same day wherein their danger was to have been, on thatvery day should they destroy their enemies. But now the rulers of theprovinces, and the tyrants, and the kings, and the scribes, had the Jewsin esteem; for the fear they were in of Mordecai forced them to act withdiscretion. Now when the royal decree was come to all the country thatwas subject to the king, it fell out that the Jews at Shushan slew fivehundred of their enemies; and when the king had told Esther the numberof those that were slain in that city, but did not well know what hadbeen done in the provinces, he asked her whether she would have anything further done against them, for that it should be done accordingly:upon which she desired that the Jews might be permitted to treat theirremaining enemies in the same manner the next day; as also that theymight hang the ten sons of Haman upon the gallows. So the king permittedthe Jews so to do, as desirous not to contradict Esther. So theygathered themselves together again on the fourteenth day of the monthDystrus, and slew about three hundred of their enemies, but touchednothing of what riches they had. Now there were slain by the Jews thatwere in the country, and in the other cities, seventy-five thousand oftheir 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 Jewsthat were in Shushan gathered themselves together, and feasted on thefourteenth day, and that which followed it; whence it is that even nowall the Jews that are in the habitable earth keep these days festival, and send portions to one another. Mordecai also wrote to the Jews thatlived in the kingdom of Artaxerxes to observe these days, and celebratethem as festivals, and to deliver them down to posterity, that thisfestival might continue for all time to come, and that it might never beburied in oblivion; for since they were about to be destroyed on thesedays by Haman, they would do a right thing, upon escaping the dangerin them, and on them inflicting punishment on their enemies, to observethose days, and give thanks to God on them; for which cause the Jewsstill keep the forementioned days, and call them days of Phurim [orPurim. ] [21] And Mordecai became a great and illustrious person with theking, and assisted him in the government of the people. He also livedwith the queen; so that the affairs of the Jews were, by their means, better than they could ever have hoped for. And this was the state ofthe Jews under the reign of Artaxerxes. CHAPTER 7. How John Slew His Brother Jesus In The Temple; And HowBagoses Offered Many Injuries To The Jews; And What Sanballat Did. 1. When Eliashib the high priest was dead, his son Judas succeededin the high priesthood; and when he was dead, his son John took thatdignity; on whose account it was also that Bagoses, the general ofanother Artaxerxes's army, [22] polluted the temple, and imposedtributes on the Jews, that out of the public stock, before they offeredthe daily sacrifices, they should pay for every lamb fifty shekels. Now Jesus was the brother of John, and was a friend of Bagoses, whohad promised to procure him the high priesthood. In confidence of whosesupport, Jesus quarreled with John in the temple, and so provoked hisbrother, that in his anger his brother slew him. Now it was a horriblething for John, when he was high priest, to perpetrate so great a crime, and so much the more horrible, that there never was so cruel and impiousa thing done, neither by the Greeks nor Barbarians. However, God didnot neglect its punishment, but the people were on that very accountenslaved, and the temple was polluted by the Persians. Now when Bagoses, the general of Artaxerxes's army, knew that John, the high priest of theJews, had slain his own brother Jesus in the temple, he came upon theJews immediately, and began in anger to say to them, "Have you had theimpudence to perpetrate a murder in your temple?" And as he was aimingto 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 hadsaid these words, he went into the temple. Accordingly, Bagoses made useof this pretense, and punished the Jews seven years for the murder ofJesus. 2. Now when John had departed this life, his son Jaddua succeeded in thehigh priesthood. He had a brother, whose name was Manasseh. Now therewas one Sanballat, who was sent by Darius, the last king [of Persia], into Samaria. He was a Cutheam by birth; of which stock were theSamaritans also. This man knew that the city Jerusalem was a famouscity, and that their kings had given a great deal of trouble to theAssyrians, and the people of Celesyria; so that he willingly gave hisdaughter, whose name was Nicaso, in marriage to Manasseh, as thinkingthis alliance by marriage would be a pledge and security that the nationof the Jews should continue their good-will to him. CHAPTER 8. Concerning Sanballat And Manasseh, And The Temple Which TheyBuilt On Mount Gerizzim; As Also How Alexander Made His Entry Into TheCity Jerusalem, And What Benefits He Bestowed On The Jews. 1. About this time it was that Philip, king of Macedon, wastreacherously assaulted and slain at Egae by Pausanias, the son ofCerastes, who was derived from the family of Oreste, and his sonAlexander succeeded him in the kingdom; who, passing over theHellespont, overcame the generals of Darius's army in a battle foughtat Granicum. So he marched over Lydia, and subdued Ionia, and overranCaria, and fell upon the places of Pamphylia, as has been relatedelsewhere. 2. But the elders of Jerusalem being very uneasy that the brother ofJaddua the high priest, though married to a foreigner, should be apartner with him in the high priesthood, quarreled with him; for theyesteemed this man's marriage a step to such as should be desirous oftransgressing about the marriage of [strange] wives, and that thiswould be the beginning of a mutual society with foreigners, althoughthe offense of some about marriages, and their having married wivesthat were not of their own country, had been an occasion of their formercaptivity, and of the miseries they then underwent; so they commandedManasseh to divorce his wife, or not to approach the altar, the highpriest himself joining with the people in their indignation against hisbrother, and driving him away from the altar. Whereupon Manasseh came tohis father-in-law, Sanballat, and told him, that although he loved hisdaughter Nicaso, yet was he not willing to be deprived of his sacerdotaldignity on her account, which was the principal dignity in their nation, and always continued in the same family. And then Sanballat promised himnot only to preserve to him the honor of his priesthood, but to procurefor him the power and dignity of a high priest, and would make himgovernor of all the places he himself now ruled, if he would keep hisdaughter for his wife. He also told him further, that he would buildhim a temple like that at Jerusalem, upon Mount Gerizzini, which is thehighest of all the mountains that are in Samaria; and he promised thathe would do this with the approbation of Darius the king. Manasseh waselevated with these promises, and staid with Sanballat, upon a supposalthat he should gain a high priesthood, as bestowed on him by Darius, forit happened that Sanballat was then in years. But there was now a greatdisturbance among the people of Jerusalem, because many of those priestsand Levites were entangled in such matches; for they all revolted toManasseh, and Sanballat afforded them money, and divided among them landfor tillage, and habitations also, and all this in order every way togratify his son-in-law. 3. About this time it was that Darius heard how Alexander had passedover the Hellespont, and had beaten his lieutenants in the battle atGranicum, and was proceeding further; whereupon he gathered togetheran army of horse and foot, and determined that he would meet theMacedonians before they should assault and conquer all Asia. So hepassed over the river Euphrates, and came over Taurus, the Cilicianmountain, and at Issus of Cilicia he waited for the enemy, as readythere to give him battle. Upon which Sanballat was glad that Darius wascome down; and told Manasseh that he would suddenly perform his promisesto him, and this as soon as ever Darius should come back, after he hadbeaten his enemies; for not he only, but all those that were in Asiaalso, were persuaded that the Macedonians would not so much as come toa battle with the Persians, on account of their multitude. But the eventproved otherwise than they expected; for the king joined battle withthe Macedonians, and was beaten, and lost a great part of his army. Hismother also, and his wife and children, were taken captives, and he fledinto Persia. So Alexander came into Syria, and took Damascus; and whenhe had obtained Sidon, he besieged Tyre, when he sent all epistle to theJewish high priest, to send him some auxiliaries, and to supply his armywith provisions; and that what presents he formerly sent to Darius, hewould now send to him, and choose the friendship of the Macedonians, andthat he should never repent of so doing. But the high priest answeredthe messengers, that he had given his oath to Darius not to bear armsagainst him; and he said that he would not transgress this while Dariuswas in the land of the living. Upon hearing this answer, Alexander wasvery angry; and though he determined not to leave Tyre, which was justready to be taken, yet as soon as he had taken it, he threatened that hewould make an expedition against the Jewish high priest, and through himteach all men to whom they must keep their oaths. So when he had, witha good deal of pains during the siege, taken Tyre, and had settled itsaffairs, he came to the city of Gaza, and besieged both the city and himthat was governor of the garrison, whose name was Babemeses. 4. But Sanballat thought he had now gotten a proper opportunity to makehis attempt, so he renounced Darius, and taking with him seven thousandof his own subjects, he came to Alexander; and finding him beginning thesiege of Tyre, he said to him, that he delivered up to him these men, who came out of places under his dominion, and did gladly accept ofhim for his lord instead of Darius. So when Alexander had received himkindly, Sanballat thereupon took courage, and spake to him about hispresent affair. He told him that he had a son-in-law, Manasseh, who wasbrother to the high priest Jaddua; and that there were many others ofhis own nation, now with him, that were desirous to have a temple in theplaces subject to him; that it would be for the king's advantage to havethe strength of the Jews divided into two parts, lest when the nationis of one mind, and united, upon any attempt for innovation, it provetroublesome to kings, as it had formerly proved to the kings of Assyria. Whereupon Alexander gave Sanballat leave so to do, who used the utmostdiligence, and built the temple, and made Manasseh the priest, anddeemed it a great reward that his daughter's children should have thatdignity; but when the seven months of the siege of Tyre were over, andthe two months of the siege of Gaza, Sanballat died. Now Alexander, whenhe had taken Gaza, made haste to go up to Jerusalem; and Jaddua the highpriest, when he heard that, was in an agony, and under terror, asnot knowing how he should meet the Macedonians, since the king wasdispleased at his foregoing disobedience. He therefore ordained that thepeople should make supplications, and should join with him in offeringsacrifice to God, whom he besought to protect that nation, and todeliver them from the perils that were coming upon them; whereuponGod warned him in a dream, which came upon him after he had offeredsacrifice, that he should take courage, and adorn the city, and open thegates; that the rest should appear in white garments, but that he andthe priests should meet the king in the habits proper to their order, without the dread of any ill consequences, which the providence ofGod would prevent. Upon which, when he rose from his sleep, he greatlyrejoiced, and declared to all the warning he had received from God. According to which dream he acted entirely, and so waited for the comingof the king. 5. And when he understood that he was not far from the city, he went outin procession, with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. Theprocession was venerable, and the manner of it different from thatof other nations. It reached to a place called Sapha, which name, translated into Greek, signifies a prospect, for you have thence aprospect both of Jerusalem and of the temple. And when the Phoeniciansand the Chaldeans that followed him thought they should have liberty toplunder the city, and torment the high priest to death, which the king'sdispleasure fairly promised them, the very reverse of it happened; forAlexander, when he saw the multitude at a distance, in white garments, while the priests stood clothed with fine linen, and the high priestin purple and scarlet clothing, with his mitre on his head, having thegolden plate whereon the name of God was engraved, he approached byhimself, and adored that name, and first saluted the high priest. The Jews also did all together, with one voice, salute Alexander, andencompass him about; whereupon the kings of Syria and the rest weresurprised at what Alexander had done, and supposed him disordered in hismind. However, Parmenio alone went up to him, and asked him how itcame to pass that, when all others adored him, he should adore the highpriest of the Jews? To whom he replied, "I did not adore him, but thatGod who hath honored him with his high priesthood; for I saw this veryperson in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominionof Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over thesea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me thedominion over the Persians; whence it is that, having seen no otherin that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering thatvision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that Ibring this army under the Divine conduct, and shall therewith conquerDarius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things willsucceed according to what is in my own mind. " And when he had said thisto Parmenio, and had given the high priest his right hand, the priestsran along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up intothe temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high priest'sdirection, and magnificently treated both the high priest and thepriests. And when the Book of Daniel was showed him [23] whereinDaniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of thePersians, he supposed that himself was the person intended. And as hewas then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present; but the nextday he called them to him, and bid them ask what favors they pleased ofhim; whereupon the high priest desired that they might enjoy the lawsof their forefathers, and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He granted all they desired. And when they entreated him that he wouldpermit the Jews in Babylon and Media to enjoy their own laws also, hewillingly promised to do hereafter what they desired. And when he saidto the multitude, that if any of them would enlist themselves in hisarmy, on this condition, that they should continue under the laws oftheir forefathers, and live according to them, he was willing to takethem with him, many were ready to accompany him in his wars. 6. So when Alexander had thus settled matters at Jerusalem, he led hisarmy into the neighboring cities; and when all the inhabitants to whomhe came received him with great kindness, the Samaritans, who had thenShechem for their metropolis, [a city situate at Mount Gerizzim, andinhabited by apostates of the Jewish nation, ] seeing that Alexander hadso greatly honored the Jews, determined to profess themselves Jews; forsuch is the disposition of the Samaritans, as we have already elsewheredeclared, that when the Jews are in adversity, they deny that they areof kin to them, and then they confess the truth; but when they perceivethat some good fortune hath befallen them, they immediately pretend tohave communion with them, saying that they belong to them, and derivetheir genealogy from the posterity of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Accordingly, they made their address to the king with splendor, and showed great alacrity in meeting him at a little distance fromJerusalem. And when Alexander had commended them, the Shechemitesapproached to him, taking with them the troops that Sanballat had senthim, and they desired that he would come to their city, and do honor totheir temple also; to whom he promised, that when he returned he wouldcome to them. And when they petitioned that he would remit the tributeof the seventh year to them, because they did but sow thereon, he askedwho they were that made such a petition; and when they said that theywere Hebrews, but had the name of Sidonians, living at Shechem, he askedthem again whether they were Jews; and when they said they were notJews, "It was to the Jews, " said he, "that I granted that privilege;however, when I return, and am thoroughly informed by you of thismatter, I will do what I shall think proper. " And in this manner hetook leave of the Shechenlites; but ordered that the troops of Sanballatshould follow him into Egypt, because there he designed to give themlands, which he did a little after in Thebais, when he ordered them toguard that country. 7. Now when Alexander was dead, the government was parted among hissuccessors, but the temple upon Mount Gerizzim remained. And if any onewere accused by those of Jerusalem of having eaten things common [24] orof having broken the sabbath, or of any other crime of the like nature, he fled away to the Shechemites, and said that he was accused unjustly. About this time it was that Jaddua the high priest died, and Onias hisson took the high priesthood. This was the state of the affairs of thepeople of Jerusalem at this time. BOOK XII. Containing The Interval Of A Hundred And Seventy Years. From The Death Of Alexander The Great To The Death Of Judas Maccabeus. CHAPTER 1. How Ptolemy The Son Of Lagus Took Jerusalem And Judea ByDeceit And Treachery, And Carried Many Thence, And Planted Them InEgypt. 1. Now when Alexander, king of Macedon, had put an end to the dominionof the Persians, and had settled the affairs in Judea after theforementioned manner, he ended his life. And as his government fellamong many, Antigonus obtained Asia, Seleucus Babylon; and of theother nations which were there, Lysimachus governed the Hellespont, andCassander possessed Macedonia; as did Ptolemy the son of Lagus seizeupon Egypt. And while these princes ambitiously strove one againstanother, every one for his own principality, it came to pass that therewere continual wars, and those lasting wars too; and the cities weresufferers, and lost a great many of their inhabitants in these times ofdistress, insomuch that all Syria, by the means of Ptolemy the son ofLagus, underwent the reverse of that denomination of Savior, which hethen had. He also seized upon Jerusalem, and for that end made use ofdeceit and treachery; for as he came into the city on a sabbath day, as if he would offer sacrifices [1] he, without any trouble, gained thecity, while the Jews did not oppose him, for they did not suspect himto be their enemy; and he gained it thus, because they were freefrom suspicion of him, and because on that day they were at rest andquietness; and when he had gained it, he ruled over it in a cruelmanner. Nay, Agatharchides of Cnidus, who wrote the acts of Alexander'ssuccessors, reproaches us with superstition, as if we, by it, had lostour liberty; where he says thus: "There is a nation called the nationof the Jews, who inhabit a city strong and great, named Jerusalem. Thesemen took no care, but let it come into the hands of Ptolemy, as notwilling to take arms, and thereby they submitted to be under a hardmaster, by reason of their unseasonable superstition. " This is whatAgatharchides relates of our nation. But when Ptolemy had taken a greatmany captives, both from the mountainous parts of Judea, and from theplaces about Jerusalem and Samaria, and the places near Mount Gerizzim, he led them all into Egypt, [2] and settled them there. And as he knewthat the people of Jerusalem were most faithful in the observation ofoaths and covenants; and this from the answer they made to Alexander, when he sent an embassage to them, after he had beaten Darius in battle;so he distributed many of them into garrisons, and at Alexandria gavethem equal privileges of citizens with the Macedonians themselves;and required of them to take their oaths, that they would keep theirfidelity to the posterity of those who committed these places to theircare. 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 bythe liberality of Ptolemy. However, there were disorders among theirposterity, with relation to the Samaritans, on account of theirresolution to preserve that conduct of life which was delivered to themby their forefathers, and they thereupon contended one with another, while those of Jerusalem said that their temple was holy, and resolvedto send their sacrifices thither; but the Samaritans were resolved thatthey should be sent to Mount Gerizzim. CHAPTER 2. How Ptolemy Philadelphus Procured The Laws Of The Jews ToBe Translated Into The Greek Tongue And Set Many Captives Free, AndDedicated Many Gifts To God. 1. When Alexander had reigned twelve years, and after him Ptolemy Soterforty years, Philadelphus then took the kingdom of Egypt, and held itforty years within one. He procured the law to be interpreted, and setfree those that were come from Jerusalem into Egypt, and were in slaverythere, who were a hundred and twenty thousand. The occasion was this:Demetrius Phalerius, who was library keeper to the king, was nowendeavoring, if it were possible, to gather together all the booksthat were in the habitable earth, and buying whatsoever was anywhere valuable, or agreeable to the king's inclination, [who was veryearnestly set upon collecting of books, ] to which inclination of hisDemetrius was zealously subservient. And when once Ptolemy asked him howmany ten thousands of books he had collected, he replied, that he hadalready about twenty times ten thousand; but that, in a little time, heshould have fifty times ten thousand. But he said he had been informedthat there were many books of laws among the Jews worthy of inquiringafter, and worthy of the king's library, but which, being written incharacters and in a dialect of their own, will cause no small pains ingetting them translated into the Greek tongue; [3] that the characterin which they are written seems to be like to that which is the propercharacter of the Syrians, and that its sound, when pronounced, is liketheirs also; and that this sound appears to be peculiar to themselves. Wherefore he said that nothing hindered why they might not get thosebooks to be translated also; for while nothing is wanting that isnecessary for that purpose, we may have their books also in thislibrary. So the king thought that Demetrius was very zealous to procurehim abundance of books, and that he suggested what was exceeding properfor him to do; and therefore he wrote to the Jewish high priest, that heshould act accordingly. 2. Now there was one Aristeus, who was among the king's most intimatefriends, and on account of his modesty very acceptable to him. ThisAristeus resolved frequently, and that before now, to petition theking that he would set all the captive Jews in his kingdom free; andhe thought this to be a convenient opportunity for the making thatpetition. So he discoursed, in the first place, with the captains of theking's guards, Sosibius of Tarentum, and Andreas, and persuaded themto assist him in what he was going to intercede with the king for. Accordingly Aristeus embraced the same opinion with those that have beenbefore mentioned, and went to the king, and made the following speechto him: "It is not fit for us, O king, to overlook things hastily, orto deceive ourselves, but to lay the truth open. For since we havedetermined not only to get the laws of the Jews transcribed, butinterpreted also, for thy satisfaction, by what means can we do this, while so many of the Jews are now slaves in thy kingdom? Do thou thenwhat will be agreeable to thy magnanimity, and to thy good nature: freethem from the miserable condition they are in, because that God, whosupporteth thy kingdom, was the author of their laws as I have learnedby particular inquiry; for both these people, and we also, worship thesame God the framer of all things. We call him, and that truly, by thename of GREEK, [or life, or Jupiter, ] because he breathes life into allmen. Wherefore do thou restore these men to their own country, and thisdo to the honor of God, because these men pay a peculiarly excellentworship to him. And know this further, that though I be not of kin tothem by birth, nor one of the same country with them, yet do I desirethese favors to be done them, since all men are the workmanship of God;and I am sensible that he is well-pleased with those that do good. I dotherefore put up this petition to thee, to do good to them. " 3. When Aristeus was saying thus, the king looked upon him with acheerful and joyful countenance, and said, "How many ten thousandsdost thou suppose there are of such as want to be made free?" To whichAndreas replied, as he stood by, and said, "A few more than ten timesten thousand. " The king made answer, "And is this a small gift that thouaskest, Aristeus?" But Sosibius, and the rest that stood by, said thathe ought to offer such a thank-offering as was worthy of his greatnessof soul, to that God who had given him his kingdom. With this answer hewas much pleased; and gave order, that when they paid the soldiers theirwages, they should lay down [a hundred and] twenty drachmas [4] forevery one of the slaves? And he promised to publish a magnificentdecree, about what they requested, which should confirm what Aristeushad proposed, and especially what God willed should be done; whereby hesaid he would not only set those free who had been led away captive byhis father and his army, but those who were in this kingdom before, andthose also, if any such there were, who had been brought away since. Andwhen they said that their redemption money would amount to above fourhundred talents, he granted it. A copy of which decree I have determinedto preserve, that the magnanimity of this king may be made known. Itscontents were as follows: "Let all those who were soldiers under ourfather, and who, when they overran Syria and Phoenicia, and laid wasteJudea, took the Jews captives, and made them slaves, and brought theminto our cities, and into this country, and then sold them; as also allthose that were in my kingdom before them, and if there be any that havebeen lately brought thither, --be made free by those that possess them;and let them accept of [a hundred and] twenty drachmas for every slave. And let the soldiers receive this redemption money with their pay, butthe rest out of the king's treasury: for I suppose that they were madecaptives without our father's consent, and against equity; and thattheir country was harassed by the insolence of the soldiers, and that, by removing them into Egypt, the soldiers have made a great profit bythem. Out of regard therefore to justice, and out of pity to those thathave been tyrannized over, contrary to equity, I enjoin those that havesuch Jews in their service to set them at liberty, upon the receipt ofthe before-mentioned sum; and that no one use any deceit about them, butobey what is here commanded. And I will that they give in their nameswithin three days after the publication of this edict, to such as areappointed to execute the same, and to produce the slaves before themalso, for I think it will be for the advantage of my affairs. And letevery one that will inform against those that do not obey this decree, and I will that their estates be confiscated into the king's treasury. "When this decree was read to the king, it at first contained the restthat is here inserted, and omitted only those Jews that had formerlybeen brought, and those brought afterwards, which had not beendistinctly mentioned; so he added these clauses out of his humanity, andwith great generosity. He also gave order that the payment, whichwas likely to be done in a hurry, should be divided among the king'sministers, and among the officers of his treasury. When this was over, what the king had decreed was quickly brought to a conclusion; and thisin no more than seven days' time, the number of the talents paid forthe captives being above four hundred and sixty, and this, because theirmasters required the [hundred and] twenty drachmas for the childrenalso, the king having, in effect, commanded that these should bepaid for, when he said in his decree, that they should receive theforementioned sum for every slave. 4. Now when this had been done after so magnificent a manner, accordingto the king's inclinations, he gave order to Demetrius to give him inwriting his sentiments concerning the transcribing of the Jewish books;for no part of the administration is done rashly by these kings, but allthings are managed with great circumspection. On which account I havesubjoined a copy of these epistles, and set down the multitude of thevessels sent as gifts [to Jerusalem], and the construction of every one, that the exactness of the artificers' workmanship, as it appeared tothose that saw them, and which workman made every vessel, may bemade manifest, and this on account of the excellency of the vesselsthemselves. Now the copy of the epistle was to this purpose: "Demetriusto the great king. When thou, O king, gavest me a charge concerningthe collection of books that were wanting to fill your library, andconcerning the care that ought to be taken about such as are imperfect, I have used the utmost diligence about those matters. And I let youknow, that we want the books of the Jewish legislation, with someothers; for they are written in the Hebrew characters, and being in thelanguage of that nation, are to us unknown. It hath also happened tothem, that they have been transcribed more carelessly than they oughtto have been, because they have not had hitherto royal care taken aboutthem. Now it is necessary that thou shouldst have accurate copies ofthem. And indeed this legislation is full of hidden wisdom, and entirelyblameless, as being the legislation of God; for which cause it is, asHecateus of Abdera says, that the poets and historians make no mentionof it, nor of those men who lead their lives according to it, since itis a holy law, and ought not to be published by profane mouths. If thenit please thee, O king, thou mayst write to the high priest of the Jews, to send six of the elders out of every tribe, and those such as are mostskillful of the laws, that by their means we may learn the clear andagreeing sense of these books, and may obtain an accurate interpretationof their contents, and so may have such a collection of these as may besuitable to thy desire. " 5. When this epistle was sent to the king, he commanded that an epistleshould be drawn up for Eleazar, the Jewish high priest, concerning thesematters; and that they should inform him of the release of the Jews thathad been in slavery among them. He also sent fifty talents of gold forthe making of large basons, and vials, and cups, and an immense quantityof precious stones. He also gave order to those who had the custody ofthe chest that contained those stones, to give the artificers leave tochoose out what sorts of them they pleased. He withal appointed, thata hundred talents in money should be sent to the temple for sacrifices, and for other uses. Now I will give a description of these vessels, andthe manner of their construction, but not till after I have set down acopy of the epistle which was written to Eleazar the high priest, whohad obtained that dignity on the occasion following: When Onias the highpriest was dead, his son Simon became his successor. He was calledSimon the Just [5] because of both his piety towards God, and his kinddisposition to those of his own nation. When he was dead, and had left ayoung son, who was called Onias, Simon's brother Eleazar, of whom we arespeaking, took the high priesthood; and he it was to whom Ptolemy wrote, and that in the manner following: "King Ptolemy to Eleazar the highpriest, sendeth greeting. There are many Jews who now dwell in mykingdom, whom the Persians, when they were in power, carried captives. These were honored by my father; some of them he placed in the army, andgave them greater pay than ordinary; to others of them, when they camewith him into Egypt, he committed his garrisons, and the guarding ofthem, that they might be a terror to the Egyptians. And when I had takenthe government, I treated all men with humanity, and especially thosethat are thy fellow citizens, of whom I have set free above a hundredthousand that were slaves, and paid the price of their redemption totheir masters out of my own revenues; and those that are of a fit age, I have admitted into them number of my soldiers. And for such as arecapable of being faithful to me, and proper for my court, I have putthem in such a post, as thinking this [kindness done to them] to bea very great and an acceptable gift, which I devote to God for hisprovidence over me. And as I am desirous to do what will be gratefulto these, and to all the other Jews in the habitable earth, I havedetermined to procure an interpretation of your law, and to have ittranslated 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 goodcharacter, who are now elders in age, and six in number out of everytribe. These, by their age, must be skillful in the laws, and ofabilities to make an accurate interpretation of them; and when thisshall be finished, I shall think that I have done a work glorious tomyself. And I have sent to thee Andreas, the captain of my guard, andAristeus, men whom I have in very great esteem; by whom I have sentthose first-fruits which I have dedicated to the temple, and to thesacrifices, and to other uses, to the value of a hundred talents. Andif thou wilt send to us, to let us know what thou wouldst have further, thou wilt do a thing acceptable to me. " 6. When this epistle of the king was brought to Eleazar, he wrote ananswer to it with all the respect possible: "Eleazar the high priest toking Ptolemy, sendeth greeting. If thou and thy queen Arsinoe, [6] andthy children, be well, we are entirely satisfied. When we received thyepistle, we greatly rejoiced at thy intentions; and when the multitudewere gathered together, we read it to them, and thereby made themsensible of the piety thou hast towards God. We also showed them thetwenty vials of gold, and thirty of silver, and the five large basons, and the table for the shew-bread; as also the hundred talents for thesacrifices, and for the making what shall be needful at the temple;which things Andreas and Aristeus, those most honored friends of thine, have brought us; and truly they are persons of an excellent character, and of great learning, and worthy of thy virtue. Know then that we willgratify thee in what is for thy advantage, though we do what we usednot to do before; for we ought to make a return for the numerous actsof kindness which thou hast done to our countrymen. We immediately, therefore, offered sacrifices for thee and thy sister, with thy childrenand friends; and the multitude made prayers, that thy affairs may be tothy mind, and that thy kingdom may be preserved in peace, and that thetranslation of our law may come to the conclusion thou desirest, and befor thy advantage. We have also chosen six elders out of every tribe, whom we have sent, and the law with them. It will be thy part, outof thy piety and justice, to send back the law, when it hath beentranslated, 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 seemto me to be necessary to set down the names of the seventy [two] elderswho were sent by Eleazar, and carried the law, which yet were subjoinedat the end of the epistle. However, I thought it not improper to give anaccount of those very valuable and artificially contrived vessels whichthe king sent to God, that all may see how great a regard the king hadfor God; for the king allowed a vast deal of expenses for these vessels, and came often to the workmen, and viewed their works, and sufferednothing of carelessness or negligence to be any damage to theiroperations. And I will relate how rich they were as well as I am able, although perhaps the nature of this history may not require such adescription; but I imagine I shall thereby recommend the elegant tasteand magnanimity of this king to those that read this history. 8. And first I will describe what belongs to the table. It was indeed inthe king's mind to make this table vastly large in its dimensions; butthen he gave orders that they should learn what was the magnitude of thetable which was already at Jerusalem, and how large it was, and whetherthere was a possibility of making one larger than it. And when he wasinformed how large that was which was already there, and that nothinghindered but a larger might be made, he said that he was willing to haveone made that should be five times as large as the present table;but his fear was, that it might be then useless in their sacredministrations by its too great largeness; for he desired that the giftshe presented them should not only be there for show, but should beuseful also in their sacred ministrations. According to which reasoning, that the former table was made of so moderate a size for use, and notfor want of gold, he resolved that he would not exceed the former tablein largeness; but would make it exceed it in the variety and elegancyof its materials. And as he was sagacious in observing the nature of allthings, and in having a just notion of what was new and surprising, andwhere there was no sculptures, he would invent such as were proper byhis own skill, and would show them to the workmen, he commanded thatsuch sculptures should now be made, and that those which were delineatedshould be most accurately formed by a constant regard to theirdelineation. 9. When therefore the workmen had undertaken to make the table, theyframed it in length two cubits [and a half], in breadth one cubit, andin height one cubit and a half; and the entire structure of the workwas of gold. They withal made a crown of a hand-breadth round it, withwave-work wreathed about it, and with an engraving which imitated acord, and was admirably turned on its three parts; for as they were ofa triangular figure, every angle had the same disposition of itssculptures, that when you turned them about, the very same form of themwas turned about without any variation. Now that part of the crown-workthat was enclosed under the table had its sculptures very beautiful; butthat part which went round on the outside was more elaborately adornedwith most beautiful ornaments, because it was exposed to sight, andto the view of the spectators; for which reason it was that both thosesides which were extant above the rest were acute, and none of theangles, which we before told you were three, appeared less than another, when the table was turned about. Now into the cordwork thus turned wereprecious stones inserted, in rows parallel one to the other, enclosedin golden buttons, which had ouches in them; but the parts which were onthe side of the crown, and were exposed to the sight, were adorned witha row of oval figures obliquely placed, of the most excellent sort ofprecious stones, which imitated rods laid close, and encompassed thetable round about. But under these oval figures, thus engraven, theworkmen had put a crown all round it, where the nature of all sorts offruit was represented, insomuch that the bunches of grapes hung up. Andwhen they had made the stones to represent all the kinds of fruit beforementioned, and that each in its proper color, they made them fast withgold round the whole table. The like disposition of the oval figures, and of the engraved rods, was framed under the crown, that the tablemight on each side show the same appearance of variety and elegancy ofits ornaments; so that neither the position of the wave-work nor of thecrown might be different, although the table were turned on the otherside, but that the prospect of the same artificial contrivances mightbe extended as far as the feet; for there was made a plate of gold fourfingers broad, through the entire breadth of the table, into which theyinserted the feet, and then fastened them to the table by buttons andbutton-holes, at the place where the crown was situate, that so on whatside soever of the table one should stand, it might exhibit the verysame view of the exquisite workmanship, and of the vast expenses bestowedupon it: but upon the table itself they engraved a meander, insertinginto it very valuable stones in the middle like stars, of variouscolors; the carbuncle and the emerald, each of which sent out agreeablerays of light to the spectators; with such stones of other sorts alsoas were most curious and best esteemed, as being most precious in theirkind. Hard by this meander a texture of net-work ran round it, themiddle of which appeared like a rhombus, into which were insertedrock-crystal and amber, which, by the great resemblance of theappearance they made, gave wonderful delight to those that saw them. Thechapiters of the feet imitated the first buddings of lilies, while theirleaves were bent and laid under the table, but so that the chives wereseen standing upright within them. Their bases were made of a carbuncle;and the place at the bottom, which rested on that carbuncle, was onepalm deep, and eight fingers in breadth. Now they had engraven upon itwith a very fine tool, and with a great deal of pains, a branch of ivyand tendrils of the vine, sending forth clusters of grapes, that youwould guess they were nowise different from real tendrils; for they wereso very thin, and so very far extended at their extremities, thatthey were moved with the wind, and made one believe that they were theproduct of nature, and not the representation of art. They also made theentire workmanship of the table appear to be threefold, while the jointsof the several parts were so united together as to be invisible, and theplaces where they joined could not be distinguished. Now the thicknessof the table was not less than half a cubit. So that this gift, by theking's great generosity, by the great value of the materials, andthe variety of its exquisite structure, and the artificer's skillin imitating nature with graying tools, was at length brought toperfection, while the king was very desirous, that though in largenessit were not to be different from that which was already dedicatedto God, yet that in exquisite workmanship, and the novelty of thecontrivances, and in the splendor of its construction, it should farexceed it, and be more illustrious than that was. 10. Now of the cisterns of gold there were two, whose sculpture was ofscale-work, from its basis to its belt-like circle, with various sortsof stones enchased in the spiral circles. Next to which there was uponit a meander of a cubit in height; it was composed of stones of allsorts of colors. And next to this was the rod-work engraven; and nextto that was a rhombus in a texture of net-work, drawn out to the brim ofthe basin, while small shields, made of stones, beautiful in their kind, and of four fingers' depth, filled up the middle parts. About the topof the basin were wreathed the leaves of lilies, and of the convolvulus, and the tendrils of vines in a circular manner. And this was theconstruction of the two cisterns of gold, each containing two firkins. But those which were of silver were much more bright and splendid thanlooking-glasses, and you might in them see the images that fell uponthem 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 preciousstones, were shadowed over with the leaves of ivy and of vines, artificially engraven. And these were the vessels that were after anextraordinary manner brought to this perfection, partly by the skill ofthe workmen, who were admirable in such fine work, but much more bythe diligence and generosity of the king, who not only supplied theartificers abundantly, and with great generosity, with what they wanted, but he forbade public audiences for the time, and came and stood by theworkmen, and saw the whole operation. And this was the cause why theworkmen were so accurate in their performance, because they had regardto the king, and to his great concern about the vessels, and so the moreindefatigably kept close to the work. 11. And these were what gifts were sent by Ptolemy to Jerusalem, anddedicated to God there. But when Eleazar the high priest had devotedthem to God, and had paid due respect to those that brought them, andhad given them presents to be carried to the king, he dismissed them. And when they were come to Alexandria, and Ptolemy heard that they werecome, and that the seventy elders were come also, he presently sent forAndreas and Aristens, his ambassadors, who came to him, and deliveredhim the epistle which they brought him from the high priest, and madeanswer to all the questions he put to them by word of mouth. Hethen made haste to meet the elders that came from Jerusalem for theinterpretation of the laws; and he gave command, that every bodywho came on other occasions should be sent away, which was a thingsurprising, and what he did not use to do; for those that were drawnthither upon such occasions used to come to him on the fifth day, butambassadors at the month's end. But when he had sent those away, hewaited for these that were sent by Eleazar; but as the old men came inwith the presents, which the high priest had given them to bring to theking, and with the membranes, upon which they had their laws written ingolden letters [7] he put questions to them concerning those books;and when they had taken off the covers wherein they were wrapt up, theyshowed him the membranes. So the king stood admiring the thinness ofthose membranes, and the exactness of the junctures, which could not beperceived; [so exactly were they connected one with another;] and thishe did for a considerable time. He then said that he returned themthanks for coming to him, and still greater thanks to him that sentthem; and, above all, to that God whose laws they appeared to be. Thendid the elders, and those that were present with them, cry out with onevoice, and wished all happiness to the king. Upon which he fell intotears by the violence of the pleasure he had, it being natural to men toafford the same indications in great joy that they do under sorrows. Andwhen he had bid them deliver the books to those that were appointedto receive them, he saluted the men, and said that it was but just todiscourse, in the first place, of the errand they were sent about, andthen to address himself to themselves. He promised, however, that hewould make this day on which they came to him remarkable and eminentevery year through the whole course of his life; for their coming tohim, and the victory which he gained over Antigonus by sea, proved to beon the very same day. He also gave orders that they should sup with him;and gave it in charge that they should have excellent lodgings providedfor them in the upper part of the city. 12. Now he that was appointed to take care of the reception ofstrangers, Nicanor by name, called for Dorotheus, whose duty it was tomake provision for them, and bid him prepare for every one of them whatshould be requisite for their diet and way of living; which thing wasordered by the king after this manner: he took care that those thatbelonged to every city, which did not use the same way of living, thatall things should be prepared for them according to the custom of thosethat came to him, that, being feasted according to the usual method oftheir own way of living, they might be the better pleased, and mightnot be uneasy at any thing done to them from which they were naturallyaverse. And this was now done in the case of these men by Dorotheus, who was put into this office because of his great skill in such mattersbelonging to common life; for he took care of all such matters asconcerned the reception of strangers, and appointed them double seatsfor them to sit on, according as the king had commanded him to do; forhe had commanded that half of their seats should be set at his righthand, and the other half behind his table, and took care that no respectshould be omitted that could be shown them. And when they were thus setdown, he bid Dorotheus to minister to all those that were come to himfrom Judea, after the manner they used to be ministered to; for whichcause he sent away their sacred heralds, and those that slew thesacrifices, and the rest that used to say grace; but called to one ofthose that were come to him, whose name was Eleazar, who w a priest, anddesired him to say grace; [8] who then stood in the midst of them, andprayed, that all prosperity might attend the king, and those that werehis subjects. Upon which an acclamation was made by the whole company, with joy and a great noise; and when that was over, they fell to eatingtheir supper, and to the enjoyment of what was set before them. And ata little interval afterward, when the king thought a sufficient time hadbeen interposed, he began to talk philosophically to them, and he askedevery one of them a philosophical question [9] and such a one as mightgive light in those inquiries; and when they had explained all theproblems that had been proposed by the king about every point, he waswell-pleased with their answers. This took up the twelve days inwhich they were treated; and he that pleases may learn the particularquestions in that book of Aristeus, which he wrote on this veryoccasion. 13. And while not the king only, but the philosopher Menedemus also, admired them, and said that all things were governed by Providence, andthat it was probable that thence it was that such force or beauty wasdiscovered in these men's words, they then left off asking any more suchquestions. But the king said that he had gained very great advantagesby their coming, for that he had received this profit from them, thathe had learned how he ought to rule his subjects. And he gave order thatthey should have every one three talents given them, and that those thatwere to conduct them to their lodging should do it. Accordingly, whenthree days were over, Demetrius took them, and went over the causewayseven furlongs long: it was a bank in the sea to an island. And whenthey had gone over the bridge, he proceeded to the northern parts, andshowed them where they should meet, which was in a house that was builtnear the shore, and was a quiet place, and fit for their discoursingtogether about their work. When he had brought them thither, heentreated them [now they had all things about them which they wantedfor the interpretation of their law] that they would suffer nothingto interrupt them in their work. Accordingly, they made an accurateinterpretation, with great zeal and great pains, and this they continuedto do till the ninth hour of the day; after which time they relaxed, andtook care of their body, while their food was provided for them in greatplenty: besides, Dorotheus, at the king's command, brought them a greatdeal of what was provided for the king himself. But in the morningthey came to the court and saluted Ptolemy, and then went away to theirformer place, where, when they had washed their hands, [10] and purifiedthemselves, they betook themselves to the interpretation of the laws. Now when the law was transcribed, and the labor of interpretationwas over, which came to its conclusion in seventy-two days, Demetriusgathered all the Jews together to the place where the laws weretranslated, and where the interpreters were, and read them over. Themultitude did also approve of those elders that were the interpretersof the law. They withal commended Demetrius for his proposal, as theinventor of what was greatly for their happiness; and they desired thathe would give leave to their rulers also to read the law. Moreover, theyall, both the priest and the ancientest of the elders, and the principalmen of their commonwealth, made it their request, that since theinterpretation was happily finished, it might continue in the stateit now was, and might not be altered. And when they all commended thatdetermination of theirs, they enjoined, that if any one observed eitherany thing superfluous, or any thing omitted, that he would take a viewof it again, and have it laid before them, and corrected; which was awise action of theirs, that when the thing was judged to have been welldone, it might continue for ever. 14. So the king rejoiced when he saw that his design of this naturewas brought to perfection, to so great advantage; and he was chieflydelighted with hearing the Laws read to him; and was astonished at thedeep meaning and wisdom of the legislator. And he began to discoursewith Demetrius, "How it came to pass, that when this legislation was sowonderful, no one, either of the poets or of the historians, had mademention of it. " Demetrius made answer, "that no one durst be so bold asto touch upon the description of these laws, because they were Divineand venerable, and because some that had attempted it were afflictedby God. " He also told him, that "Theopompus was desirous of writingsomewhat about them, but was thereupon disturbed in his mind for abovethirty days' time; and upon some intermission of his distemper, heappeased God [by prayer], as suspecting that his madness proceeded fromthat cause. " Nay, indeed, he further saw in a dream, that his distemperbefell him while he indulged too great a curiosity about Divine matters, and was desirous of publishing them among common men; but when he leftoff that attempt, he recovered his understanding again. Moreover, heinformed him of Theodectes, the tragic poet, concerning whom it wasreported, that when in a certain dramatic representation he was desirousto make mention of things that were contained in the sacred books, he was afflicted with a darkness in his eyes; and that upon his beingconscious of the occasion of his distemper, and appeasing God [byprayer], he was freed from that affliction. 15. And when the king had received these books from Demetrius, as wehave said already, he adored them, and gave order that great care shouldbe taken of them, that they might remain uncorrupted. He also desiredthat the interpreters would come often to him out of Judea, and thatboth on account of the respects that he would pay them, and on accountof the presents he would make them; for he said it was now but just tosend them away, although if, of their own accord, they would come tohim hereafter, they should obtain all that their own wisdom might justlyrequire, and what his generosity was able to give them. So he then sentthem away, and gave to every one of them three garments of the bestsort, and two talents of gold, and a cup of the value of one talent, andthe furniture of the room wherein they were feasted. And these were thethings he presented to them. But by them he sent to Eleazar thehigh priest ten beds, with feet of silver, and the furniture to thembelonging, and a cup of the value of thirty talents; and besides these, ten garments, and purple, and a very beautiful crown, and a hundredpieces of the finest woven linen; as also vials and dishes, and vesselsfor pouring, and two golden cisterns to be dedicated to God. He alsodesired him, by an epistle, that he would give these interpreters leave, if any of them were desirous of coming to him, because he highly valueda conversation with men of such learning, and should be very willing tolay out his wealth upon such men. And this was what came to the Jews, and was much to their glory and honor, from Ptolemy Philadelphus. CHAPTER 3. How The Kings Of Asia Honored The Nation Of The Jews And MadeThem Citizens Of Those Cities Which They Built. 1. The Jews also obtained honors from the kings of Asia when they becametheir auxiliaries; for Seleucus Nicator made them citizens in thosecities which he built in Asia, and in the lower Syria, and in themetropolis itself, Antioch; and gave them privileges equal to thoseof the Macedonians and Greeks, who were the inhabitants, insomuch thatthese privileges continue to this very day: an argument for which youhave in this, that whereas the Jews do not make use of oil prepared byforeigners, [11] they receive a certain sum of money from the properofficers belonging to their exercises as the value of that oil; whichmoney, when the people of Antioch would have deprived them of, in thelast war, Mucianus, who was then president of Syria, preserved it tothem. And when the people of Alexandria and of Antioch did after that, at the time that Vespasian and Titus his son governed the habitableearth, pray that these privileges of citizens might be taken away, theydid not obtain their request in which behavior any one may discern theequity and generosity of the Romans, [12] especially of Vespasian andTitus, who, although they had been at a great deal of pains in the waragainst the Jews, and were exasperated against them, because they didnot deliver up their weapons to them, but continued the war to the verylast, yet did not they take away any of their forementioned privilegesbelonging to them as citizens, but restrained their anger, and overcamethe prayers of the Alexandrians and Antiochians, who were a verypowerful people, insomuch that they did not yield to them, neither outof their favor to these people, nor out of their old grudge at thosewhose wicked opposition they had subdued in the war; nor would theyalter any of the ancient favors granted to the Jews, but said, thatthose who had borne arms against them, and fought them, had sufferedpunishment already, and that it was not just to deprive those that hadnot offended of the privileges they enjoyed. 2. We also know that Marcus Agrippa was of the like disposition towardsthe Jews: for when the people of Ionia were very angry at them, andbesought Agrippa that they, and they only, might have those privilegesof citizens which Antiochus, the grandson of Seleucus, [who by theGreeks was called The God, ] had bestowed on them, and desired that, ifthe Jews were to be joint-partakers with them, they might be obliged toworship the gods they themselves worshipped: but when these matters werebrought to the trial, the Jews prevailed, and obtained leave to makeuse of their own customs, and this under the patronage of Nicolaus ofDamascus; for Agrippa gave sentence that he could not innovate. And ifany one hath a mind to know this matter accurately, let him peruse thehundred and twenty-third and hundred and twenty-fourth books of thehistory of this Nicolaus. Now as to this determination of Agrippa, it isnot so much to be admired, for at that time our nation had not made waragainst the Romans. But one may well be astonished at the generosity ofVespasian and Titus, that after so great wars and contests which theyhad from us, they should use such moderation. But I will now return tothat part of my history whence I made the present digression. 3. Now it happened that in the reign of Antiochus the Great, who ruledover all Asia, that the Jews, as well as the inhabitants of Celesyria, suffered greatly, and their land was sorely harassed; for while hewas at war with Ptolemy Philopater, and with his son, who was calledEpiphanes, it fell out that these nations were equally sufferers, bothwhen he was beaten, and when he beat the others: so that they were verylike to a ship in a storm, which is tossed by the waves on both sides;and just thus were they in their situation in the middle betweenAntiochus's prosperity and its change to adversity. But at length, whenAntiochus had beaten Ptolemy, he seized upon Judea; and when Philopaterwas dead, his son sent out a great army under Scopas, the general ofhis forces, against the inhabitants of Celesyria, who took many of theircities, and in particular our nation; which when he fell upon them, went over to him. Yet was it not long afterward when Antiochus overcameScopas, in a battle fought at the fountains of Jordan, and destroyeda great part of his army. But afterward, when Antiochus subdued thosecities of Celesyria which Scopas had gotten into his possession, andSamaria with them, the Jews, of their own accord, went over to him, andreceived him into the city [Jerusalem], and gave plentiful provisionto all his army, and to his elephants, and readily assisted him when hebesieged the garrison which was in the citadel of Jerusalem. WhereforeAntiochus thought it but just to requite the Jews' diligence and zealin his service. So he wrote to the generals of his armies, and to hisfriends, and gave testimony to the good behavior of the Jews towardshim, and informed them what rewards he had resolved to bestow onthem for that their behavior. I will set down presently the epistlesthemselves which he wrote to the generals concerning them, but willfirst produce the testimony of Polybius of Megalopolis; for thus does hespeak, in the sixteenth book of his history: "Now Scopas, the general ofPtolemy's army, went in haste to the superior parts of the country, andin the winter time overthrew the nation of the Jews?" He also saith, inthe same book, that "when Seopas was conquered by Antiochus, Antiochusreceived Batanea, and Samaria, and Abila, and Gadara; and that, a whileafterwards, there came in to him those Jews that inhabited near thattemple which was called Jerusalem; concerning which, although I havemore to say, and particularly concerning the presence of God about thattemple, yet do I put off that history till another opportunity. " Thisit is which Polybius relates. But we will return to the series of thehistory, when we have first produced the epistles of king Antiochus. King Antiochus To Ptolemy, Sendeth Greeting. "Since the Jews, upon our first entrance on their country, demonstratedtheir friendship towards us, and when we came to their city [Jerusalem], received us in a splendid manner, and came to meet us with their senate, and gave abundance of provisions to our soldiers, and to the elephants, and joined with us in ejecting the garrison of the Egyptians that werein the citadel, we have thought fit to reward them, and to retrieve thecondition of their city, which hath been greatly depopulated by suchaccidents as have befallen its inhabitants, and to bring those that havebeen scattered abroad back to the city. And, in the first place, we havedetermined, on account of their piety towards God, to bestow on them, asa pension, for their sacrifices of animals that are fit for sacrifice, for wine, and oil, and frankincense, the value of twenty thousand piecesof silver, and [six] sacred artabrae of fine flour, with one thousandfour hundred and sixty medimni of wheat, and three hundred andseventy-five medimni of salt. And these payments I would have fully paidthem, as I have sent orders to you. I would also have the work about thetemple finished, and the cloisters, and if there be any thing else thatought to be rebuilt. And for the materials of wood, let it be broughtthem out of Judea itself and out of the other countries, and out ofLibanus tax free; and the same I would have observed as to those othermaterials which will be necessary, in order to render the temple moreglorious; and let all of that nation live according to the laws of theirown country; and let the senate, and the priests, and the scribes of thetemple, and the sacred singers, be discharged from poll-money and thecrown tax and other taxes also. And that the city may the sooner recoverits inhabitants, I grant a discharge from taxes for three years to itspresent inhabitants, and to such as shall come to it, until the monthHyperheretus. We also discharge them for the future from a third partof their taxes, that the losses they have sustained may be repaired. Andall those citizens that have been carried away, and are become slaves, we grant them and their children their freedom, and give order thattheir substance be restored to them. " 4. And these were the contents of this epistle. He also published adecree through all his kingdom in honor of the temple, which containedwhat follows: "It shall be lawful for no foreigner to come within thelimits of the temple round about; which thing is forbidden also to theJews, unless to those who, according to their own custom, have purifiedthemselves. Nor let any flesh of horses, or of mules, or of asses, he brought into the city, whether they be wild or tame; nor that ofleopards, or foxes, or hares; and, in general, that of any animal whichis forbidden for the Jews to eat. Nor let their skins be brought intoit; nor let any such animal be bred up in the city. Let them only bepermitted to use the sacrifices derived from their forefathers, withwhich they have been obliged to make acceptable atonements to God. Andhe that transgresseth any of these orders, let him pay to the prieststhree thousand drachmae of silver. " Moreover, this Antiochus baretestimony to our piety and fidelity, in an epistle of his, written whenhe was informed of a sedition in Phrygia and Lydia, at which time he wasin the superior provinces, wherein he commanded Zenxis, the general ofhis forces, and his most intimate friend, to send some of our nation outof Babylon into Phrygia. The epistle was this: King Antiochus To Zeuxis His Father, Sendeth Greeting. "If you are in health, it is well. I also am in health. Having beeninformed that a sedition is arisen in Lydia and Phrygia, I thought thatmatter required great care; and upon advising with my friends whatwas fit to be done, it hath been thought proper to remove two thousandfamilies of Jews, with their effects, out of Mesopotamia and Babylon, unto the castles and places that lie most convenient; for I am persuadedthat they will be well-disposed guardians of our possessions, becauseof their piety towards God, and because I know that my predecessors haveborne witness to them, that they are faithful, and with alacrity dowhat they are desired to do. I will, therefore, though it be a laboriouswork, that thou remove these Jews, under a promise, that they shall bepermitted to use their own laws. And when thou shalt have brought themto the places forementioned, thou shalt give everyone of their familiesa place for building their houses, and a portion of the land fortheir husbandry, and for the plantation of their vines; and thou shaltdischarge them from paying taxes of the fruits of the earth for tenyears; and let them have a proper quantity of wheat for the maintenanceof 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 thenecessaries of life, that by enjoying the effects of our humanity, theymay show themselves the more willing and ready about our affairs. Takecare likewise of that nation, as far as thou art able, that they maynot have any disturbance given them by any one. " Now these testimonialswhich I have produced are sufficient to declare the friendship thatAntiochus the Great bare to the Jews. CHAPTER 4. How Antiochus Made A League With Ptolemy And How OniasProvoked Ptolemy Euergetes To Anger; And How Joseph Brought All ThingsRight Again, And Entered Into Friendship With Him; And What Other ThingsWere Done By Joseph, And His Son Hyrcanus. 1. After this Antiochus made a friendship and league with Ptolemy, and gave him his daughter Cleopatra to wife, and yielded up to himCelesyria, and Samaria, and Judea, and Phoenicia, by way of dowry. Andupon the division of the taxes between the two kings, all the principalmen framed the taxes of their several countries, and collecting the sumthat was settled for them, paid the same to the [two] kings. Now at thistime the Samaritans were in a flourishing condition, and much distressedthe Jews, cutting off parts of their land, and carrying off slaves. This happened when Onias was high priest; for after Eleazar's death, his uncle Manasseh took the priesthood, and after he had ended his life, Onias received that dignity. He was the son of Simon, who was calledThe Just: which Simon was the brother of Eleazar, as I said before. ThisOnias was one of a little soul, and a great lover of money; and for thatreason, because he did not pay that tax of twenty talents of silver, which his forefathers paid to these things out of their own estates, he provoked king Ptolemy Euergetes to anger, who was the father ofPhilopater. Euergetes sent an ambassador to Jerusalem, and complainedthat Onias did not pay his taxes, and threatened, that if he did notreceive them, he would seize upon their land, and send soldiers tolive upon it. When the Jews heard this message of the king, they wereconfounded; but so sordidly covetous was Onias, that nothing of thingsnature made him ashamed. 2. There was now one Joseph, young in age, but of great reputationamong the people of Jerusalem, for gravity, prudence, and justice. Hisfather's name was Tobias; and his mother was the sister of Onias thehigh priest, who informed him of the coming of the ambassador; for hewas then sojourning at a village named Phicol, [13] where he was born. Hereupon he came to the city [Jerusalem], and reproved Onias for nottaking care of the preservation of his countrymen, but bringing thenation into dangers, by not paying this money. For which preservation ofthem, he told him he had received the authority over them, and had beenmade 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 hiscountrymen suffer the greatest damages, he advised him to go to theking, and petition him to remit either the whole or a part of thesum demanded. Onias's answer was this: That he did not care for hisauthority, and that he was ready, if the thing were practicable, to laydown his high priesthood; and that he would not go to the king, becausehe troubled not himself at all about such matters. Joseph then asked himif he would not give him leave to go ambassador on behalf of the nation. He replied, that he would give him leave. Upon which Joseph went up intothe temple, and called the multitude together to a congregation, andexhorted them not to be disturbed nor aftrighted, because of his uncleOnias's carelessness, but desired them to be at rest, and not terrifythemselves with fear about it; for he promised them that he would betheir ambassador to the king, and persuade him that they had done himno wrong. And when the multitude heard this, they returned thanksto Joseph. So he went down from the temple, and treated Ptolemy'sambassador in a hospitable manner. He also presented him with richgifts, and feasted him magnificently for many days, and then sent him tothe king before him, and told him that he would soon follow him; forhe was now more willing to go to the king, by the encouragement of theambassador, who earnestly persuaded him to come into Egypt, and promisedhim that he would take care that he should obtain every thing that hedesired of Ptolemy; for he was highly pleased with his frank and liberaltemper, and with the gravity of his deportment. 3. When Ptolemy's ambassador was come into Egypt, he told the king ofthe thoughtless temper of Onias; and informed him of the goodness ofthe disposition of Joseph; and that he was coming to him to excusethe multitude, as not having done him any harm, for that he was theirpatron. In short, he was so very large in his encomiums upon the youngman, that he disposed both the king and his wife Cleopatra to havea kindness for him before he came. So Joseph sent to his friends atSamaria, and borrowed money of them, and got ready what was necessaryfor his journey, garments and cups, and beasts for burden, whichamounted to about twenty thousand drachmae, and went to Alexandria. Nowit happened that at this time all the principal men and rulers went upout of the cities of Syria and Phoenicia, to bid for their taxes; forevery year the king sold them to the men of the greatest power in everycity. So these men saw Joseph journeying on the way, and laughed at himfor his poverty and meanness. But when he came to Alexandria, and heardthat 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 the very person who had beenambassador at Jerusalem, and had been entertained by Joseph. As soontherefore 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 management of Onias: to which he answered, "Forgive him, on account of his age; for thou canst not certainlybe unacquainted with this, that old men and infants have their mindsexactly alike; but thou shalt have from us, who are young men, everything thou desirest, and shalt have no cause to complain. " With thisgood humor and pleasantry of the young man, the king was so delighted, that he began already, as though he had had long experience of him, tohave a still greater affection for him, insomuch that he bade him takehis diet in the king's palace, and be a guest at his own table everyday. But when the king was come to Alexandria, the principal men ofSyria saw him sitting with the king, and were much offended at it. 4. And when the day came on which the king was to let the taxes of thecities to farm, and those that were the principal men of dignity intheir several countries were to bid for them, the sum of the taxestogether, of Celesyria, and Phoenicia, and Judea, with Samaria, [asthey were bidden for, ] came to eight thousand talents. Hereupon Josephaccused the bidders, as having agreed together to estimate the value ofthe taxes at too low a rate; and he promised that he would himself givetwice as much for them: but for those who did not pay, he would send theking home their whole substance; for this privilege was sold togetherwith the taxes themselves. The king was pleased to hear that offer; andbecause it augmented his revenues, he said he would confirm the sale ofthe taxes to him. But when he asked him this question, Whether hehad any sureties that would be bound for the payment of the money?he answered very pleasantly, "I will give such security, and those ofpersons good and responsible, and which you shall have no reason todistrust. " And when he bid him name them who they were, he replied, "Igive thee no other persons, O king, for my sureties, than thyself, andthis thy wife; and you shall be security for both parties. " So Ptolemylaughed at the proposal, and granted him the farming of the taxeswithout any sureties. This procedure was a sore grief to those thatcame from the cities into Egypt, who were utterly disappointed; and theyreturned 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 suchas were refractory in the cities to pay. And borrowing of the king'sfriends at Alexandria five hundred talents, he made haste back intoSyria. And when he was at Askelon, and demanded the taxes of the peopleof Askelon, they refused to pay any thing, and affronted him also; uponwhich he seized upon about twenty of the principal men, and slew them, and gathered what they had together, and sent it all to the king, andinformed him what he had done. Ptolemy admired the prudent conduct ofthe man, and commended him for what he had done, and gave him leave todo as he pleased. When the Syrians heard of this, they were astonished;and having before them a sad example in the men of Askelon that wereslain, they opened their gates, and willingly admitted Joseph, andpaid their taxes. And when the inhabitants of Scythopolis attempted toaffront him, and would not pay him those taxes which they formerly usedto pay, without disputing about them, he slew also the principal men ofthat city, and sent their effects to the king. By this means he gatheredgreat wealth together, and made vast gains by this farming of the taxes;and he made use of what estate he had thus gotten, in order to supporthis authority, as thinking it a piece of prudence to keep what had beenthe occasion and foundation of his present good fortune; and this he didby the assistance of what he was already possessed of, for he privatelysent many presents to the king, and to Cleopatra, and to their friends, and to all that were powerful about the court, and thereby purchasedtheir good-will to himself. 6. This good fortune he enjoyed for twenty-two years, and was become thefather of seven sons by one wife; he had also another son, whose namewas Hyrcanus, by his brother Solymius's daughter, whom he married on thefollowing occasion. He once came to Alexandria with his brother, who hadalong with him a daughter already marriageable, in order to give her inwedlock to some of the Jews of chief dignity there. He then supped withthe king, and falling in love with an actress that was of great beauty, and came into the room where they feasted, he told his brother of it, and entreated him, because a Jew is forbidden by their law to come nearto a foreigner, to conceal his offense; and to be kind and subservientto him, and to give him an opportunity of fulfilling his desires. Uponwhich his brother willingly entertained the proposal of serving him, andadorned his own daughter, and brought her to him by night, and put herinto his bed. And Joseph, being disordered with drink, knew not who shewas, and so lay with his brother's daughter; and this did he many times, and loved her exceedingly; and said to his brother, that he loved thisactress so well, that he should run the hazard of his life [if he mustpart with her], and yet probably the king would not give him leave [totake her with him]. But his brother bid him be in no concern aboutthat matter, and told him he might enjoy her whom he loved without anydanger, and might have her for his wife; and opened the truth of thematter to him, and assured him that he chose rather to have his owndaughter abused, than to overlook him, and see him come to [public]disgrace. So Joseph commended him for this his brotherly love, andmarried his daughter; and by her begat a son, whose name was Hyrcanus, as we said before. And when this his youngest son showed, at thirteenyears old, a mind that was both courageous and wise, and was greatlyenvied by his brethren, as being of a genius much above them, and such aone as they might well envy, Joseph had once a mind to know which of hissons had the best disposition to virtue; and when he sent them severallyto those that had then the best reputation for instructing youth, therest of his children, by reason of their sloth and unwillingness to takepains, returned to him foolish and unlearned. After them he sent out theyoungest, Hyrcanus, and gave him three hundred yoke of oxen, and bid himgo two days' journey into the wilderness, and sow the land there, and yet kept back privately the yokes of the oxen that coupled themtogether. When Hyrcanus came to the place, and found he had no yokeswith him, he condemned the drivers of the oxen, who advised him to sendsome to his father, to bring them some yokes; but he thinking that heought not to lose his time while they should be sent to bring him theyokes, he invented a kind of stratagem, and what suited an age olderthan his own; for he slew ten yoke of the oxen, and distributed theirflesh among the laborers, and cut their hides into several pieces, andmade him yokes, and yoked the oxen together with them; by which means hesowed as much land as his father had appointed him to sow, and returnedto him. And when he was come back, his father was mightily pleased withhis sagacity, and commended the sharpness of his understanding, and hisboldness in what he did. And he still loved him the more, as if he werehis 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 allthe principal men of Syria, and the other countries subject to him, wereto keep a festival, on account of the child's birthday, and went away inhaste with great retinues to Alexandria, he was himself indeed hinderedfrom going by old age; but he made trial of his sons, whether any ofthem would be willing to go to the king. And when the elder sons excusedthemselves from going, and said they were not courtiers good enough forsuch conversation, and advised him to send their brother Hyrcanus, hegladly hearkened to that advice, and called Hyrcanus, and asked himwhether he would go to the king, and whether it was agreeable to him togo or not. And upon his promise that he would go, and his saying thathe should not want much money for his journey, because he would livemoderately, and that ten thousand drachmas would be sufficient, he waspleased with his son's prudence. After a little while, the son advisedhis father not to send his presents to the king from thence, but to givehim a letter to his steward at Alexandria, that he might furnish himwith money, for purchasing what should be most excellent and mostprecious. So he thinking that the expense of ten talents would be enoughfor presents to be made the king, and commending his son, as givinghim good advice, wrote to Arion his steward, that managed all his moneymatters at Alexandria; which money was not less than three thousandtalents on his account, for Joseph sent the money he received in Syriato Alexandria. And when the day appointed for the payment of the taxesto the king came, he wrote to Arion to pay them. So when the son hadasked his father for a letter to the steward, and had received it, hemade haste to Alexandria. And when he was gone, his brethren wrote toall 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 nomore than ten, or a little more]; he said he wanted a thousand talents. At which the steward was angry, and rebuked him, as one that intendedto live extravagantly; and he let him know how his father had gatheredtogether his estate by painstaking, and resisting his inclinations, andwished him to imitate the example of his father: he assured him withal, that he would give him but ten talents, and that for a present to theking also. The son was irritated at this, and threw Arion into prison. But when Arion's wife had informed Cleopatra of this, with her entreaty, that she would rebuke the child for what he had done, [for Arion was ingreat esteem with her, ] Cleopatra informed the king of it. And Ptolemysent for Hyrcanus, and told him that he wondered, when he was sent tohim by his father, that he had not yet come into his presence, but hadlaid the steward in prison. And he gave order, therefore, that he shouldcome to him, and give an account of the reason of what he had done. Andthey 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 tasteof the sacrifice, before he had been at the temple and sacrificed toGod. According to which way of reasoning he did not himself come to himin expectation of the present he was to make to him, as to one who hadbeen his father's benefactor; and that he had punished the slave fordisobeying his commands, for that it mattered not Whether a master waslittle or great: so that unless we punish such as these, thou thyselfmayst also expect to be despised by thy subjects. " Upon hearing this hisanswer he fell a laughing, and wondered at the great soul of the child. 9. When Arion was apprized that this was the king's disposition, and that he had no way to help himself, he gave the child a thousandtalents, and was let out of prison. So after three days were over, Hyrcanus came and saluted the king and queen. They saw him withpleasure, and feasted him in an obliging manner, out of the respect theybare to his father. So he came to the merchants privately, and bought ahundred boys, that had learning, and were in the flower of their ages, each at a talent apiece; as also he bought a hundred maidens, each atthe same price as the other. And when he was invited to feast with theking among the principal men in the country, he sat down the lowest ofthem all, because he was little regarded, as a child in age still; andthis by those who placed every one according to their dignity. Now whenall those that sat with him had laid the bones Of the several parts ona heap before Hyrcanus, [for they had themselves taken away the fleshbelonging to them, ] till the table where he sat was filled full withthem, Trypho, who was the king's jester, and was appointed for jokes andlaughter at festivals, was now asked by the guests that sat at the table[to expose him to laughter]. So he stood by the king, and said, "Dost thou not see, my lord, the bones that lie by Hyrcanus? by thissimilitude thou mayst conjecture that his father made all Syria as bareas 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? hereplied, "Very rightfully, my lord; for they are dogs that eat the fleshand the bones together, as these thy guests have done, [looking in themean time at those guests, ] for there is nothing before them; but theyare men that eat the flesh, and cast away the hones, as I, who am alsoa man, have now done. " Upon which the king admired at his answer, whichwas so wisely made; and bid them all make an acclamation, as a mark oftheir approbation of his jest, which was truly a facetious one. On thenext day Hyrcanus went to every one of the king's friends, and of themen powerful at court, and saluted them; but still inquired of theservants what present they would make the king on his son's birthday;and when some said that they would give twelve talents, and that othersof greater dignity would every one give according to the quantity oftheir riches, he pretended to every one of them to be grieved that hewas not able to bring so large a present; for that he had no more thanfive talents. And when the servants heard what he said, they toldtheir masters; and they rejoiced in the prospect that Joseph would bedisapproved, and would make the king angry, by the smallness of hispresent. When the day came, the others, even those that brought themost, offered the king not above twenty talents; but Hyrcanus gave toevery one of the hundred boys and hundred maidens that he had bought atalent apiece, for them to carry, and introduced them, the boys tothe king, and the maidens to Cleopatra; every body wondering at theunexpected richness of the presents, even the king and queen themselves. He also presented those that attended about the king with gifts to thevalue of a great number of talents, that he might escape the dangerhe was in from them; for to these it was that Hyrcanus's brethrenhad written to destroy him. Now Ptolemy admired at the young man'smagnanimity, and commanded him to ask what gift he pleased. But hedesired nothing else to be done for him by the king than to write to hisfather and brethren about him. So when the king had paid him very greatrespects, and had given him very large gifts, and had written to hisfather and his brethren, and all his commanders and officers, about him, he sent him away. But when his brethren heard that Hyrcanus had receivedsuch favors from the king, and was returning home with great honor, theywent out to meet him, and to destroy him, and that with the privity oftheir father; for he was angry at him for the [large] sum of money thathe bestowed for presents, and so had no concern for his preservation. However, Joseph concealed the anger he had at his son, out of fear ofthe king. And when Hyrcanus's brethren came to fight him, he slewmany others of those that were with them, as also two of his brethrenthemselves; but the rest of them escaped to Jerusalem to their father. But when Hyrcanus came to the city, where nobody would receive him, hewas afraid for himself, and retired beyond the river Jordan, and thereabode, but obliging the barbarians to pay their taxes. 10. At this time Seleucus, who was called Soter, reigned over Asia, being the son of Antiochus the Great. And [now] Hyrcanus's father, Joseph, died. He was a good man, and of great magnanimity; and broughtthe Jews out of a state of poverty and meanness, to one that was moresplendid. He retained the farm of the taxes of Syria, and Phoenicia, andSamaria twenty-two years. His uncle also, Onias, died [about this time], and left the high priesthood to his son Simeon. And when he was dead, Onias his son succeeded him in that dignity. To him it was that Areus, king of the Lacedemonians, sent an embassage, with an epistle; the copywhereof here follows: "Areus, King Of The Lacedemonians, To Onias, Sendeth Greeting. "We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered thatboth the Jews and the Lacedemonians are of one stock, and are derivedfrom the kindred of Abraham [14] It is but just therefore that you, whoare our brethren, should send to us about any of your concerns as youplease. We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as ourown, and will look upon our concerns as in common with yours. Demoteles, who brings you this letter, will bring your answer back to us. Thisletter is four-square; and the seal is an eagle, with a dragon in hisclaws. " 11. And these were the contents of the epistle which was sent from theking of the Lacedemonians. But, upon the death of Joseph, the peoplegrew seditious, on account of his sons. For whereas the elders made waragainst Hyrcanus, who was the youngest of Joseph's sons, the multitudewas 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 seatedhimself beyond Jordan, and was at perpetual war with the Arabians, andslew many of them, and took many of them captives. He also erected astrong castle, and built it entirely of white stone to the very roof, and had animals of a prodigious magnitude engraven upon it. He also drewround it a great and deep canal of water. He also made caves of manyfurlongs in length, by hollowing a rock that was over against him; andthen he made large rooms in it, some for feasting, and some for sleepingand living in. He introduced also a vast quantity of waters which ranalong it, and which were very delightful and ornamental in the court. But still he made the entrances at the mouth of the caves so narrow, that no more than one person could enter by them at once. And the reasonwhy he built them after that manner was a good one; it was for his ownpreservation, lest he should be besieged by his brethren, and run thehazard of being caught by them. Moreover, he built courts of greatermagnitude than ordinary, which he adorned with vastly large gardens. And when he had brought the place to this state, he named it Tyre. This place is between Arabia and Judea, beyond Jordan, not far from thecountry of Heshbon. And he ruled over those parts for seven years, evenall the time that Seleucus was king of Syria. But when he was dead, hisbrother Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, took the kingdom. Ptolemyalso, the king of Egypt, died, who was besides called Epiphanes. Heleft two sons, and both young in age; the elder of which was calledPhilometer, and the youngest Physcon. As for Hyrcanus, when he saw thatAntiochus had a great army, and feared lest he should be caught by him, and brought to punishment for what he had done to the Arabians, he endedhis life, and slew himself with his own hand; while Antiochus seizedupon all his substance. CHAPTER 5. How, Upon The Quarrels One Against Another About The HighPriesthood Antiochus Made An Expedition Against Jerusalem, Took The CityAnd Pillaged The Temples. And Distressed The Jews' As Also How ManyOf The Jews Forsook The Laws Of Their Country; And How The SamaritansFollowed The Customs Of The Greeks And Named Their Temple At MountGerizzim The Temple Of Jupiter Hellenius. 1. About this time, upon the death of Onias the high priest, they gavethe 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 willinform the reader of all the circumstances that befell this child. But this Jesus, who was the brother of Onias, was deprived of the highpriesthood by the king, who was angry with him, and gave it to hisyounger brother, whose name also was Onias; for Simon had these threesons, to each of which the priesthood came, as we have already informedthe reader. This Jesus changed his name to Jason, but Onias was calledMenelaus. Now as the former high priest, Jesus, raised a seditionagainst Menelaus, who was ordained after him, the multitude were dividedbetween them both. And the sons of Tobias took the part of Menelaus, but the greater part of the people assisted Jason; and by that meansMenelaus and the sons of Tobias were distressed, and retired toAntiochus, and informed him that they were desirous to leave the lawsof their country, and the Jewish way of living according to them, andto follow the king's laws, and the Grecian way of living. Wherefore theydesired his permission to build them a Gymnasium at Jerusalem. [15] Andwhen he had given them leave, they also hid the circumcision of theirgenitals, that even when they were naked they might appear to be Greeks. Accordingly, they left off all the customs that belonged to their owncountry, and imitated the practices of the other nations. 2. Now Antiochus, upon the agreeable situation of the affairs of hiskingdom, resolved to make an expedition against Egypt, both because hehad a desire to gain it, and because he contemned the son of Ptolemy, as now weak, and not yet of abilities to manage affairs of suchconsequence; so he came with great forces to Pelusium, and circumventedPtolemy Philometor by treachery, and seized upon Egypt. He then came tothe places about Memphis; and when he had taken them, he made haste toAlexandria, in hopes of taking it by siege, and of subduing Ptolemy, whoreigned there. But he was driven not only from Alexandria, but out ofall Egypt, by the declaration of the Romans, who charged him to let thatcountry alone; according as I have elsewhere formerly declared. I willnow give a particular account of what concerns this king, how he subduedJudea and the temple; for in my former work I mentioned those thingsvery briefly, and have therefore now thought it necessary to go overthat history again, and that with great accuracy. 3. King Antiochus returning out of Egypt [16] for fear of the Romans, made an expedition against the city Jerusalem; and when he was there, in the hundred and forty-third year of the kingdom of the Seleucidse, hetook the city without fighting, those of his own party opening the gatesto him. And when he had gotten possession of Jerusalem, he slew manyof the opposite party; and when he had plundered it of a great deal ofmoney, he returned to Antioch. 4. Now it came to pass, after two years, in the hundred forty andfifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of that month which is by us calledChasleu, and by the Macedonians Apelleus, in the hundred and fifty-thirdolympiad, that the king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, hegot possession of the city by treachery; at which time he spared not somuch as those that admitted him into it, on account of the riches thatlay in the temple; but, led by his covetous inclination, [for he sawthere was in it a great deal of gold, and many ornaments that hadbeen dedicated to it of very great value, ] and in order to plunder itswealth, he ventured to break the league he had made. So he left thetemple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the goldenaltar [of incense], and table [of shew-bread], and the altar [ofburnt-offering]; and did not abstain from even the veils, which weremade of fine linen and scarlet. He also emptied it of its secrettreasures, and left nothing at all remaining; and by this means cast theJews into great lamentation, for he forbade them to offer those dailysacrifices which they used to offer to God, according to the law. Andwhen he had pillaged the whole city, some of the inhabitants he slew, and some he carried captive, together with their wives and children, sothat the multitude of those captives that were taken alive amounted toabout ten thousand. He also burnt down the finest buildings; and when hehad overthrown the city walls, he built a citadel in the lower part ofthe city, [17] for the place was high, and overlooked the temple; onwhich account he fortified it with high walls and towers, and put intoit a garrison of Macedonians. However, in that citadel dwelt the impiousand wicked part of the [Jewish] multitude, from whom it proved that thecitizens suffered many and sore calamities. And when the king had builtan idol altar upon God's altar, he slew swine upon it, and so offered asacrifice neither according to the law, nor the Jewish religious worshipin that country. He also compelled them to forsake the worship whichthey paid their own God, and to adore those whom he took to be gods;and made them build temples, and raise idol altars in every city andvillage, and offer swine upon them every day. He also commanded them notto circumcise their sons, and threatened to punish any that should befound to have transgressed his injunction. He also appointed overseers, who should compel them to do what he commanded. And indeed many Jewsthere were who complied with the king's commands, either voluntarily, or out of fear of the penalty that was denounced. But the best men, andthose of the noblest souls, did not regard him, but did pay a greaterrespect to the customs of their country than concern as to thepunishment which he threatened to the disobedient; on which account theyevery day underwent great miseries and bitter torments; for they werewhipped with rods, and their bodies were torn to pieces, and werecrucified, while they were still alive, and breathed. They alsostrangled those women and their sons whom they had circumcised, as theking had appointed, hanging their sons about their necks as they wereupon the crosses. And if there were any sacred book of the law found, it was destroyed, and those with whom they were found miserably perishedalso. 5. When the Samaritans saw the Jews under these sufferings, they nolonger confessed that they were of their kindred, nor that the templeon Mount Gerizzim belonged to Almighty God. This was according to theirnature, as we have already shown. And they now said that they were acolony of Medes and Persians; and indeed they were a colony of theirs. So they sent ambassadors to Antiochus, and an epistle, whose contentsare these: "To king Antiochus the god, Epiphanes, a memorial from theSidonians, who live at Shechem. Our forefathers, upon certain frequentplagues, and as following a certain ancient superstition, had a customof observing that day which by the Jews is called the Sabbath. [18] Andwhen they had erected a temple at the mountain called Gerrizzim, thoughwithout a name, they offered upon it the proper sacrifices. Now, upon the just treatment of these wicked Jews, those that manage theiraffairs, supposing that we were of kin to them, and practiced as theydo, make us liable to the same accusations, although we be originallySidonians, as is evident from the public records. We therefore beseechthee, our benefactor and Savior, to give order to Apollonius, thegovernor of this part of the country, and to Nicanor, the procurator ofthy affairs, to give us no disturbance, nor to lay to our charge whatthe Jews are accused for, since we are aliens from their nation, andfrom their customs; but let our temple, which at present hath no name atall be named the Temple of Jupiter Hellenius. If this were once done, we should be no longer disturbed, but should be more intent on our ownoccupation with quietness, and so bring in a greater revenue to thee. "When the Samaritans had petitioned for this, the king sent them backthe following answer, in an epistle: "King Antiochus to Nicanor. TheSidonians, who live at Shechem, have sent me the memorial enclosed. Whentherefore we were advising with our friends about it, the messengerssent by them represented to us that they are no way concerned withaccusations which belong to the Jews, but choose to live after thecustoms of the Greeks. Accordingly, we declare them free from suchaccusations, and order that, agreeable to their petition, their templebe named the Temple of Jupiter Hellenius. " He also sent the likeepistle to Apollonius, the governor of that part of the country, in theforty-sixth year, and the eighteenth day of the month Hecatorabeom. CHAPTER 6. How, Upon Antiochus's Prohibition To The Jews To Make UseOf The Laws Of Their Country Mattathias, The Son Of Asamoneus, AloneDespised The King, And Overcame The Generals Of Antiochus's Army; AsAlso Concerning The Death Of Mattathias, And The Succession Of Judas. 1. Now at this time there was one whose name was Mattathias, who dweltat Modin, the son of John, the son of Simeon, the son of Asamoneus, apriest of the order of Joarib, and a citizen of Jerusalem. He had fivesons; John, who was called Gaddis, and Simon, who was called Matthes, and Judas, who was called Maccabeus, [19] and Eleazar, who was calledAuran, and Jonathan, who was called Apphus. Now this Mattathias lamentedto his children the sad state of their affairs, and the ravage madein the city, and the plundering of the temple, and the calamities themultitude were under; and he told them that it was better for them todie for the laws of their country, than to live so ingloriously as theythen 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 commanded, andto enjoin those that were there to offer sacrifice, as the king hadcommanded, they desired that Mattathias, a person of the greatestcharacter among them, both on other accounts, and particularly onaccount of such a numerous and so deserving a family of children, would begin the sacrifice, because his fellow citizens would followhis example, and because such a procedure would make him honored by theking. But Mattathias said he would not do it; and that if all the othernations would obey the commands of Antiochus, either out of fear, or toplease him, yet would not he nor his sons leave the religious worship oftheir country. But as soon as he had ended his speech, there came oneof the Jews into the midst of them, and sacrificed, as Antiochus hadcommanded. At which Mattathias had great indignation, and ran upon himviolently, with his sons, who had swords with them, and slew boththe man himself that sacrificed, and Apelles the king's general, who compelled them to sacrifice, with a few of his soldiers. He alsooverthrew the idol altar, and cried out, "If, " said he, "any one bezealous for the laws of his country, and for the worship of God, lethim follow me. " And when he had said this, he made haste into the desertwith his sons, and left all his substance in the village. Many othersdid the same also, and fled with their children and wives into thedesert, and dwelt in caves. But when the king's generals heard this, they took all the forces they then had in the citadel at Jerusalem, andpursued the Jews into the desert; and when they had overtaken them, theyin the first place endeavored to persuade them to repent, and to choosewhat was most for their advantage, and not put them to the necessity ofusing them according to the law of war. But when they would not complywith their persuasions, but continued to be of a different mind, theyfought against them on the sabbath day, and they burnt them as they werein the caves, without resistance, and without so much as stopping up theentrances of the caves. And they avoided to defend themselves on thatday, because they were not willing to break in upon the honor they owedthe sabbath, even in such distresses; for our law requires that werest upon that day. There were about a thousand, with their wives andchildren, who were smothered and died in these caves; but many of thosethat escaped joined themselves to Mattathias, and appointed him to betheir ruler, who taught them to fight, even on the sabbath day; and toldthem that unless they would do so, they would become their own enemies, by observing the law [so rigorously], while their adversaries wouldstill assault them on this day, and they would not then defendthemselves, and that nothing could then hinder but they must all perishwithout fighting. This speech persuaded them. And this rule continuesamong us to this day, that if there be a necessity, we may fight onsabbath days. So Mattathias got a great army about him, and overthrewtheir idol altars, and slew those that broke the laws, even all thathe could get under his power; for many of them were dispersed among thenations round about them for fear of him. He also commanded that thoseboys which were not yet circumcised should be circumcised now; and hedrove those away that were appointed to hinder such their circumcision. 3. But when he had ruled one year, and was fallen into a distemper, hecalled for his sons, and set them round about him, and said, "O mysons, I am going the way of all the earth; and I recommend to you myresolution, and beseech you not to be negligent in keeping it, but to bemindful of the desires of him who begat you, and brought you up, and topreserve the customs of your country, and to recover your ancient formof government, which is in danger of being overturned, and not to becarried away with those that, either by their own inclination, or out ofnecessity, betray it, but to become such sons as are worthy of me; tobe above all force and necessity, and so to dispose your souls, as to beready, when it shall be necessary, to die for your laws; as sensibleof this, by just reasoning, that if God see that you are so disposed hewill not overlook you, but will have a great value for your virtue, andwill restore to you again what you have lost, and will return toyou that freedom in which you shall live quietly, and enjoy your owncustoms. Your bodies are mortal, and subject to fate; but they receive asort of immortality, by the remembrance of what actions they have done. And I would have you so in love with this immortality, that you maypursue after glory, and that, when you have undergone the greatestdifficulties, you may not scruple, for such things, to lose yourlives. I exhort you, especially, to agree one with another; and in whatexcellency any one of you exceeds another, to yield to him so far, andby that means to reap the advantage of every one's own virtues. Do youthen esteem Simon as your father, because he is a man of extraordinaryprudence, and be governed by him in what counsels be gives you. TakeMaccabeus for the general of your army, because of his courage andstrength, for he will avenge your nation, and will bring vengeance onyour enemies. Admit among you the righteous and religious, and augmenttheir power. " 4. When Mattathias had thus discoursed to his sons, and had prayed toGod to be their assistant, and to recover to the people their formerconstitution, he died a little afterward, and was buried at Modin; allthe people making great lamentation for him. Whereupon his son Judastook upon him the administration of public affairs, in the hundred fortyand sixth year; and thus, by the ready assistance of his brethren, andof others, Judas cast their enemies out of the country, and put those oftheir own country to death who had transgressed its laws, and purifiedthe land of all the pollutions that were in it. CHAPTER 7. How Judas Overthrew The Forces Of Apollonius And Seron AndKilled The Generals Of Their Armies Themselves; And How When, A LittleWhile Afterwards Lysias And Gorgias Were Beaten He Went Up To JerusalemAnd Purified The Temple. 1. When Apollonius, the general of the Samaritan forces, heard this, he took his army, and made haste to go against Judas, who met him, andjoined battle with him, and beat him, and slew many of his men, andamong them Apollonius himself, their general, whose sword being thatwhich he happened then to wear, he seized upon, and kept for himself;but he wounded more than he slew, and took a great deal of prey from theenemy's camp, and went his way. But when Seron, who was general of thearmy of Celesyria, heard that many had joined themselves to Judas, andthat he had about him an army sufficient for fighting, and for makingwar, he determined to make an expedition against him, as thinking itbecame him to endeavor to punish those that transgressed the king'sinjunctions. He then got together an army, as large as he was able, andjoined to it the runagate and wicked Jews, and came against Judas. Hecame as far as Bethhoron, a village of Judea, and there pitched hiscamp; upon which Judas met him; and when he intended to give him battle, he saw that his soldiers were backward to fight, because their numberwas small, and because they wanted food, for they were fasting, heencouraged them, and said to them, that victory and conquest of enemiesare not derived from the multitude in armies, but in the exercise ofpiety towards God; and that they had the plainest instances in theirforefathers, who, by their righteousness, exerting themselves on behalfof their own laws, and their own children, had frequently conquered manyten thousands, --for innocence is the strongest army. By this speech heinduced his men to condemn the multitude of the enemy, and to fall uponSeron. And upon joining battle with him, he beat the Syrians; and whentheir general fell among the rest, they all ran away with speed, asthinking that to be their best way of escaping. So he pursued themunto the plain, and slew about eight hundred of the enemy; but the restescaped to the region which lay near to the sea. 2. When king Antiochus heard of these things, he was very angry atwhat had happened; so he got together all his own army, with manymercenaries, whom he had hired from the islands, and took them with him, and prepared to break into Judea about the beginning of the spring. Butwhen, upon his mustering his soldiers, he perceived that his treasureswere deficient, and there was a want of money in them, for all thetaxes were not paid, by reason of the seditions there had been among thenations he having been so magnanimous and so liberal, that what hehad was not sufficient for him, he therefore resolved first to go intoPersia, and collect the taxes of that country. Hereupon he left onewhose name was Lysias, who was in great repute with him governor ofthe kingdom, as far as the bounds of Egypt, and of the Lower Asia, andreaching from the river Euphrates, and committed to him a certain partof his forces, and of his elephants, and charged him to bring up his sonAntiochus with all possible care, until he came back; and that he shouldconquer Judea, and take its inhabitants for slaves, and utterly destroyJerusalem, and abolish the whole nation. And when king Antiochus hadgiven these things in charge to Lysias, he went into Persia; and in thehundred and forty-seventh year he passed over Euphrates, and went to thesuperior provinces. 3. Upon this Lysias chose Ptolemy, the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, very potent men among the king's friends, and delivered tothem forty thousand foot soldiers, and seven thousand horsemen, andsent them against Judea, who came as far as the city Emmaus, and pitchedtheir camp in the plain country. There came also to them auxiliariesout of Syria, and the country round about; as also many of the runagateJews. And besides these came some merchants to buy those that should becarried captives, [having bonds with them to bind those that should bemade prisoners, ] with that silver and gold which they were to pay fortheir price. And when Judas saw their camp, and how numerous theirenemies were, he persuaded his own soldiers to be of good courage, and exhorted them to place their hopes of victory in God, and to makesupplication to him, according to the custom of their country, clothedin sackcloth; and to show what was their usual habit of supplication inthe greatest dangers, and thereby to prevail with God to grant you thevictory over your enemies. So he set them in their ancient order ofbattle used by their forefathers, under their captains of thousands, and other officers, and dismissed such as were newly married, as well asthose that had newly gained possessions, that they might not fight ina cowardly manner, out of an inordinate love of life, in order to enjoythose blessings. When he had thus disposed his soldiers, he encouragedthem to fight by the following speech, which he made to them: "O myfellow soldiers, no other time remains more opportune than the presentfor courage and contempt of dangers; for if you now fight manfully, youmay recover your liberty, which, as it is a thing of itself agreeable toall men, so it proves to be to us much more desirable, by its affordingus the liberty of worshipping God. Since therefore you are in suchcircumstances at present, you must either recover that liberty, and soregain a happy and blessed way of living, which is that according toour laws, and the customs of our country, or to submit to the mostopprobrious sufferings; nor will any seed of your nation remain if yoube beat in this battle. Fight therefore manfully; and suppose thatyou must die, though you do not fight; but believe, that besides suchglorious rewards as those of the liberty of your country, of your laws, of your religion, you shall then obtain everlasting glory. Prepareyourselves, therefore, and put yourselves into such an agreeableposture, that you may be ready to fight with the enemy as soon as it isday tomorrow morning. " 4. And this was the speech which Judas made to encourage them. But whenthe enemy sent Gorgias, with five thousand foot and one thousand horse, that he might fall upon Judas by night, and had for that purpose certainof the runagate Jews as guides, the son of Mattathias perceived it, andresolved to fall upon those enemies that were in their camp, now theirforces were divided. When they had therefore supped in good time, andhad left many fires in their camp, he marched all night to those enemiesthat were at Emmaus. So that when Gorgias found no enemy in their camp, but suspected that they were retired, and had hidden themselves amongthe mountains, he resolved to go and seek them wheresoever they were. But about break of day Judas appeared to those enemies that were atEmmaus, with only three thousand men, and those ill armed, by reasonof their poverty; and when he saw the enemy very well and skillfullyfortified in their camp, he encouraged the Jews, and told them that theyought to fight, though it were with their naked bodies, for that God hadsometimes of old given such men strength, and that against such aswere more in number, and were armed also, out of regard to their greatcourage. So he commanded the trumpeters to sound for the battle; and bythus falling upon the enemies when they did not expect it, and therebyastonishing and disturbing their minds, he slew many of those thatresisted him, and went on pursuing the rest as far as Gadara, and theplains of Idumea, and Ashdod, and Jamnia; and of these there fell aboutthree thousand. Yet did Judas exhort his soldiers not to be too desirousof the spoils, for that still they must have a contest and battle withGorgias, and the forces that were with him; but that when they had onceovercome them, then they might securely plunder the camp, because theywere the only enemies remaining, and they expected no others. And justas he was speaking to his soldiers, Gorgias's men looked down into thatarmy which they left in their camp, and saw that it was overthrown, andthe camp burnt; for the smoke that arose from it showed them, even whenthey were a great way off, what had happened. When therefore thosethat were with Gorgias understood that things were in this posture, andperceived that those that were with Judas were ready to fight them, theyalso were affrighted, and put to flight; but then Judas, as though hehad already beaten Gorgias's soldiers without fighting, returned andseized on the spoils. He took a great quantity of gold, and silver, andpurple, and blue, and then returned home with joy, and singing hymns toGod for their good success; for this victory greatly contributed to therecovery of their liberty. 5. Hereupon Lysias was confounded at the defeat of the army which he hadsent, and the next year he got together sixty thousand chosen men. Healso took five thousand horsemen, and fell upon Judea; and he went upto the hill country of Bethsur, a village of Judea, and pitched his campthere, where Judas met him with ten thousand men; and when he saw thegreat 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 beatthem, and slew about five thousand of them, and thereby became terribleto the rest of them. Nay, indeed, Lysias observing the great spirit ofthe 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 realstrength, he took the rest of the army back with him, and returned toAntioch, where he listed foreigners into the service, and prepared tofall upon Judea with a greater army. 6. When therefore the generals of Antiochus's armies had been beaten sooften, Judas assembled the people together, and told them, that afterthese many victories which God had given them, they ought to go up toJerusalem, and purify the temple, and offer the appointed sacrifices. But as soon as he, with the whole multitude, was come to Jerusalem, andfound the temple deserted, and its gates burnt down, and plants growingin the temple of their own accord, on account of its desertion, he andthose that were with him began to lament, and were quite confounded atthe sight of the temple; so he chose out some of his soldiers, and gavethem order to fight against those guards that were in the citadel, untilhe should have purified the temple. When therefore he had carefullypurged it, and had brought in new vessels, the candlestick, the table[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 tookdown the altar [of burnt-offering], and built a new one of stones thathe gathered together, and not of such as were hewn with iron tools. Soon the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, which the Macedonianscall Apeliens, they lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, andoffered incense upon the altar [of incense], and laid the loaves uponthe table [of shew-bread], and offered burnt-offerings upon the newaltar [of burnt-offering]. Now it so fell out, that these things weredone 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 socontinued for three years. This desolation happened to the temple inthe hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of the monthApeliens, and on the hundred fifty and third olympiad: but it wasdedicated anew, on the same day, the twenty-fifth of the monthApeliens, on the hundred and forty-eighth year, and on the hundred andfifty-fourth olympiad. And this desolation came to pass according to theprophecy of Daniel, which was given four hundred and eight years before;for he declared that the Macedonians would dissolve that worship [forsome time]. 7. Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of thesacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort ofpleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendidsacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, aftera long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedomof their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that theyshould keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their templeworship, for eight days. And from that time to this we celebrate thisfestival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because thisliberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the namegiven to that festival. Judas also rebuilt the walls round about thecity, and reared towers of great height against the incursions ofenemies, and set guards therein. He also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might serve as a citadel against any distresses that might comefrom our enemies. CHAPTER 8. How Judas Subdued The Nations Round About; And How Simon BeatThe People Of Tyre And Ptolemais; And How Judas Overcame Timotheus, And Forced Him To Fly Away, And Did Many Other Things After Joseph AndAzarias Had Been Beaten 1. When these things were over, the nations round about the Jews werevery uneasy at the revival of their power, and rose up together, anddestroyed many of them, as gaining advantage over them by laying snaresfor them, and making secret conspiracies against them. Judas madeperpetual expeditions against these men, and endeavored to restrainthem from those incursions, and to prevent the mischiefs they did tothe Jews. So he fell upon the Idumeans, the posterity of Esau, atAcrabattene, and slew a great many of them, and took their spoils. Healso shut up the sons of Bean, that laid wait for the Jews; and hesat down about them, and besieged them, and burnt their towers, anddestroyed the men [that were in them]. After this he went thence inhaste against the Ammonites, who had a great and a numerous army, ofwhich Timotheus was the commander. And when he had subdued them, heseized on the city Jazer, and took their wives and their childrencaptives, and burnt the city, and then returned into Judea. But when theneighboring nations understood that he was returned, they got togetherin great numbers in the land of Gilead, and came against those Jews thatwere at their borders, who then fled to the garrison of Dathema; andsent to Judas, to inform him that Timotheus was endeavoring to take theplace whither they were fled. And as these epistles were reading, there came other messengers out of Galilee, who informed him thatthe inhabitants of Ptolemais, and of Tyre and Sidon, and strangers ofGalilee, were gotten together. 2. Accordingly Judas, upon considering what was fit to be done, withrelation to the necessity both these cases required, gave order thatSimon his brother should take three thousand chosen men, and go to theassistance of the Jews in Galilee, while he and another of his brothers, Jonathan, made haste into the land of Gilead, with eight thousandsoldiers. And he left Joseph, the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, tobe over the rest of the forces; and charged them to keep Judea verycarefully, and to fight no battles with any persons whomsoever until hisreturn. Accordingly, Simon-went into Galilee, and fought the enemy, andput them to flight, and pursued them to the very gates of Ptolemais, and slew about three thousand of them, and took the spoils of thosethat were slain, and those Jews whom they had made captives, with theirbaggage, and then returned home. 3. Now as for Judas Maccabeus, and his brother Jonathan, they passedover the river Jordan; and when they had gone three days journey, theylighted upon the Nabateans, who came to meet them peaceably, and whotold them how the affairs of those in the land of Gilead stood; and howmany of them were in distress, and driven into garrisons, and into thecities of Galilee; and exhorted him to make haste to go against theforeigners, and to endeavor to save his own countrymen out of theirhands. To this exhortation Judas hearkened, and returned to thewilderness; and in the first place fell upon the inhabitants of Bosor, and took the city, and beat the inhabitants, and destroyed all themales, and all that were able to fight, and burnt the city. Nor did hestop even when night came on, but he journeyed in it to the garrisonwhere the Jews happened to be then shut up, and where Timotheus layround the place with his army. And Judas came upon the city in themorning; and when he found that the enemy were making an assault uponthe walls, and that some of them brought ladders, on which they mightget upon those walls, and that others brought engines [to batterthem], he bid the trumpeter to sound his trumpet, and he encouraged hissoldiers cheerfully to undergo dangers for the sake of their brethrenand kindred; he also parted his army into three bodies, and fell uponthe backs of their enemies. But when Timotheus's men perceived that itwas Maccabeus that was upon them, of both whose courage and good successin war they had formerly had sufficient experience, they were put toflight; but Judas followed them with his army, and slew about eightthousand of them. He then turned aside to a city of the foreignerscalled Malle, and took it, and slew all the males, and burnt the cityitself. He then removed from thence, and overthrew Casphom and Bosor, and many other cities of the land of Gilead. 4. But not long after this, Timotheus prepared a great army, and tookmany others as auxiliaries; and induced some of the Arabians, by thepromise of rewards, to go with him in this expedition, and came with hisarmy beyond the brook, over against the city Raphon; and he encouragedhis soldiers, if it came to a battle with the Jews, to fightcourageously, and to hinder their passing over the brook; for he saidto them beforehand, that "if they come over it, we shall be beaten. " Andwhen Judas heard that Timotheus prepared himself to fight, he took allhis own army, and went in haste against Timotheus his enemy; and whenhe had passed over the brook, he fell upon his enemies, and some ofthem met him, whom he slew, and others of them he so terrified, thathe compelled them to throw down their arms and fly; and some of themescaped, but some of them fled to what was called the Temple of Camaim, and hoped thereby to preserve themselves; but Judas took the city, andslew them, and burnt the temple, and so used several ways of destroyinghis enemies. 5. When he had done this, he gathered the Jews together, with theirchildren and wives, and the substance that belonged to them, and wasgoing to bring them back into Judea; but as soon as he was come to acertain city, whose name was Ephron, that lay upon the road, [and it wasnot possible for him to go any other way, so he was not willing to goback again, ] he then sent to the inhabitants, and desired that theywould open their gates, and permit them to go on their way through thecity; for they had stopped up the gates with stones, and cut off theirpassage through it. And when the inhabitants of Ephron would notagree to this proposal, he encouraged those that were with him, andencompassed the city round, and besieged it, and, lying round it by dayand night, took the city, and slew every male in it, and burnt it alldown, and so obtained a way through it; and the multitude of those thatwere slain was so great, that they went over the dead bodies. So theycame over Jordan, and arrived at the great plain, over against which issituate the city Bethshah, which is called by the Greeks Scythopolis. [20] And going away hastily from thence, they came into Judea, singingpsalms and hymns as they went, and indulging such tokens of mirth as areusual in triumphs upon victory. They also offered thank-offerings, bothfor their good success, and for the preservation of their army, for notone of the Jews was slain in these battles. [21] 6. But as to Joseph, the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, whom Judas leftgenerals [of the rest of his forces] at the same time when Simon was inGalilee, fighting against the people of Ptolemais, and Judas himself, and his brother Jonathan, were in the land of Gilead, did these men alsoaffect the glory of being courageous generals in war, in order wheretothey took the army that was under their command, and came to Jamnia. There Gorgias, the general of the forces of Jamnia, met them; and uponjoining battle with him, they lost two thousand of their army, [22]and fled away, and were pursued to the very borders of Judea. And thismisfortune befell them by their disobedience to what injunctions Judashad given them, not to fight with any one before his return. For besidesthe rest of Judas's sagacious counsels, one may well wonder at thisconcerning the misfortune that befell the forces commanded by Josephand Azarias, which he understood would happen, if they broke any of theinjunctions he had given them. But Judas and his brethren did not leaveoff fighting with the Idumeans, but pressed upon them on all sides, and took from them the city of Hebron, and demolished all itsfortifications, and set all its towers on fire, and burnt the country ofthe foreigners, and the city Marissa. They came also to Ashdod, and tookit, and laid it waste, and took away a great deal of the spoils and preythat were in it, and returned to Judea. CHAPTER 9. Concerning The Death Of Antiochus Epiphane. How AntiochusEupator Fought Against Juda And Besieged Him In The Temple AndAfterwards Made Peace With Him And Departed; Of Alcimus And Onias. 1. About this time it was that king Antiochus, as he was going over theupper countries, heard that there was a very rich city in Persia, calledElymais; and therein a very rich temple of Diana, and that it wasfull of all sorts of donations dedicated to it; as also weapons andbreastplates, which, upon inquiry, he found had been left there byAlexander, the son of Philip, king of Macedonia. And being incitedby these motives, he went in haste to Elymais, and assaulted it, andbesieged it. But as those that were in it were not terrified at hisassault, nor at his siege, but opposed him very courageously, he wasbeaten off his hopes; for they drove him away from the city, and wentout and pursued after him, insomuch that he fled away as far as Babylon, and lost a great many of his army. And when he was grieving for thisdisappointment, some persons told him of the defeat of his commanderswhom he had left behind him to fight against Judea, and what strengththe Jews had already gotten. When this concern about these affairs wasadded to the former, he was confounded, and by the anxiety he was infell into a distemper, which, as it lasted a great while, and as hispains increased upon him, so he at length perceived he should die ina little time; so he called his friends to him, and told them that hisdistemper was severe upon him; and confessed withal, that this calamitywas sent upon him for the miseries he had brought upon the Jewishnation, while he plundered their temple, and contemned their God; andwhen he had said this, he gave up the ghost. Whence one may wonder atPolybius of Megalopolis, who, though otherwise a good man, yet saiththat "Antiochus died because he had a purpose to plunder the temple ofDiana in Persia;" for the purposing to do a thing, [23] but not actuallydoing it, is not worthy of punishment. But if Polybius could think thatAntiochus thus lost his life on that account, it is much more probablethat this king died on account of his sacrilegious plundering of thetemple at Jerusalem. But we will not contend about this matter withthose who may think that the cause assigned by this Polybius ofMegalopolis is nearer the truth than that assigned by us. 2. However, Antiochus, before he died, called for Philip, who was one ofhis companions, and made him the guardian of his kingdom; and gave himhis diadem, and his garment, and his ring, and charged him to carrythem, and deliver them to his son Antiochus; and desired him to takecare of his education, and to preserve the kingdom for him. [24] ThisAntiochus died in the hundred forty and ninth year; but it was Lysiasthat declared his death to the multitude, and appointed his sonAntiochus to be king, [of whom at present he had the care, ] and calledhim Eupator. 3. At this time it was that the garrison in the citadel of Jerusalem, with the Jewish runagates, did a great deal of harm to the Jews; forthe soldiers that were in that garrison rushed out upon the sudden, anddestroyed such as were going up to the temple in order to offer theirsacrifices, for this citadel adjoined to and overlooked the temple. Whenthese misfortunes had often happened to them, Judas resolved to destroythat garrison; whereupon he got all the people together, and vigorouslybesieged those that were in the citadel. This was in the hundred andfiftieth year of the dominion of the Seleucidse. So he made engines ofwar, and erected bulwarks, and very zealously pressed on to take thecitadel. But there were not a few of the runagates who were in the placethat went out by night into the country, and got together some otherwicked men like themselves, and went to Antiochus the king, and desiredof him that he would not suffer them to be neglected, under the greathardships that lay upon them from those of their own nation; and thisbecause their sufferings were occasioned on his father's account, whilethey left the religious worship of their fathers, and preferred thatwhich he had commanded them to follow: that there was danger lest thecitadel, and those appointed to garrison it by the king, should betaken by Judas, and those that were with him, unless he would send themsuccors. When Antiochus, who was but a child, heard this, he was angry, and sent for his captains and his friends, and gave order that theyshould get an army of mercenaries together, with such men also of hisown kingdom as were of an age fit for war. Accordingly, an army wascollected of about a hundred thousand footmen, and twenty thousandhorsemen, and thirty-two elephants. 4. So the king took this army, and marched hastily out of Antioch, withLysias, who had the command of the whole, and came to Idumea, and thencewent up to the city Bethsnra, a city that was strong, and not to betaken without great difficulty. He set about this city, and besiegedit. And while the inhabitants of Bethsura courageously opposed him, andsallied out upon him, and burnt his engines of war, a great deal of timewas spent in the siege. But when Judas heard of the king's coming, heraised the siege of the citadel, and met the king, and pitched his campin certain straits, at a place called Bethzachriah, at the distance ofseventy furlongs from the enemy; but the king soon drew his forces fromBethsura, and brought them to those straits. And as soon as it wasday, he put his men in battle-array, and made his elephants followone another through the narrow passes, because they could not be setsideways by one another. Now round about every elephant there were athousand footmen, and five hundred horsemen. The elephants also had hightowers [upon their backs], and archers [in them]. And he also made therest of his army to go up the mountains, and put his friends before therest; and gave orders for the army to shout aloud, and so he attackedthe enemy. He also exposed to sight their golden and brazen shields, sothat a glorious splendor was sent from them; and when they shouted themountains echoed again. When Judas saw this, he was not terrified, butreceived the enemy with great courage, and slew about six hundred of thefirst ranks. But when his brother Eleazar, whom they called Auran, sawthe tallest of all the elephants armed with royal breastplates, and supposed that the king was upon him, he attacked him with greatquickness and bravery. He also slew many of those that were about theelephant, and scattered the rest, and then went under the belly ofthe elephant, and smote him, and slew him; so the elephant fell uponEleazar, and by his weight crushed him to death. And thus did this mancome to his end, when he had first courageously destroyed many of hisenemies. 5. But Judas, seeing the strength of the enemy, retired to Jerusalem, and prepared to endure a siege. As for Antiochus, he sent part of hisarmy to Bethsura, to besiege it, and with the rest of his army he cameagainst Jerusalem; but the inhabitants of Bethsura were terrified at hisstrength; and seeing that their provisions grew scarce, they deliveredthemselves up on the security of oaths that they should suffer no hardtreatment 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 agarrison of his own in the city. But as for the temple of Jerusalem, helay at its siege a long time, while they within bravely defended it; forwhat engines soever the king set against them, they set other enginesagain to oppose them. But then their provisions failed them; whatfruits of the ground they had laid up were spent and the land being notploughed that year, continued unsowed, because it was the seventh year, on which, by our laws, we are obliged to let it lay uncultivated. Andwithal, so many of the besieged ran away for want of necessaries, thatbut a few only were left in the temple. 6. And these happened to be the circumstances of such as were besiegedin the temple. But then, because Lysias, the general of the army, andAntiochus the king, were informed that Philip was coming upon them outof Persia, and was endeavoring to get the management of public affairsto himself, they came into these sentiments, to leave the siege, and tomake haste to go against Philip; yet did they resolve not to let this beknown to the soldiers or to the officers: but the king commanded Lysiasto speak openly to the soldiers and the officers, without saying a wordabout the business of Philip; and to intimate to them that the siegewould be very long; that the place was very strong; that they werealready in want of provisions; that many affairs of the kingdom wantedregulation; and that it was much better to make a league with thebesieged, and to become friends to their whole nation, by permittingthem to observe the laws of their fathers, while they broke out intothis war only because they were deprived of them, and so to depart home. When Lysias had discoursed thus to them, both the army and the officerswere pleased with this resolution. 7. Accordingly the king sent to Judas, and to those that were besiegedwith them, and promised to give them peace, and to permit them to makeuse of, and live according to, the laws of their fathers; and theygladly received his proposals; and when they had gained security uponoath for their performance, they went out of the temple. But whenAntiochus came into it, and saw how strong the place was, he broke hisoaths, and ordered his army that was there to pluck down the walls tothe ground; and when he had so done, he returned to Antioch. He alsocarried with him Onias the high priest, who was also called Menelaus;for Lysias advised the king to slay Menelaus, if he would have the Jewsbe quiet, and cause him no further disturbance, for that this man wasthe origin of all the mischief the Jews had done them, by persuading hisfather to compel the Jews to leave the religion of their fathers. So theking sent Menelaus to Berea, a city of Syria, and there had him put todeath, when he had been high priest ten years. He had been a wickedand an impious man; and, in order to get the government to himself, hadcompelled his nation to transgress their own laws. After the death ofMenelaus, Alcimus, who was also called Jacimus, was made high priest. But when king Antiochus found that Philip had already possessed himselfof the government, he made war against him, and subdued him, and tookhim, and slew him. Now as to Onias, the son of the high priest, who, aswe before informed you, was left a child when his father died, whenhe saw that the king had slain his uncle Menelaus, and given the highpriesthood to Alcimus, who was not of the high priest stock, but wasinduced by Lysias to translate that dignity from his family to anotherhouse, he fled to Ptolemy, king of Egypt; and when he found he wasin great esteem with him, and with his wife Cleopatra, he desired andobtained a place in the Nomus of Heliopolis, wherein he built a templelike to that at Jerusalem; of which therefore we shall hereafter give anaccount, in a place more proper for it. CHAPTER 10. How Bacchides, The General Of Demetrius's Army, Made AnExpedition Against Judea, And Returned Without Success; And How NicanorWas Sent A Little Afterward Against Judas And Perished, Together WithHis Army; As Also Concerning The Death Of Alcimus And The Succession OfJudas. 1. About the same time Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, fled away fromRome, and took Tripoli, a city of Syria, and set the diadem on his ownhead. He also gathered certain mercenary soldiers together, and enteredinto his kingdom, and was joyfully received by all, who deliveredthemselves up to him. And when they had taken Autiochus the king, andLysias, they brought them to him alive; both which were immediately putto death by the command of Demetrius, when Antiochus had reigned twoyears, as we have already elsewhere related. But there were now manyof the wicked Jewish runagates that came together to him, and with themAlcimus the high priest, who accused the whole nation, and particularlyJudas and his brethren; and said that they had slain all his friends, and that those in his kingdom that were of his party, and waited for hisreturn, were by them put to death; that these men had ejected them outof their own country, and caused them to be sojourners in a foreignland; and they desired that he would send some one of his own friends, and know from him what mischief Judas's party had done. 2. At this Demetrius was very angry, and sent Bacchides, a friend ofAntiochus Epiphanes, [25] a good man, and one that had been intrustedwith all Mesopotamia, and gave him an army, and committed Alcimus thehigh priest to his care; and gave him charge to slay Judas, and thosethat were with him. So Bacchides made haste, and went out of Antiochwith his army; and when he was come into Judea, he sent to Judas and hisbrethren, to discourse with them about a league of friendship and peace, for he had a mind to take him by treachery. But Judas did not givecredit to him, for he saw that he came with so great an army as men donot bring when they come to make peace, but to make war. However, someof the people acquiesced in what Bacchides caused to be proclaimed; andsupposing they should undergo no considerable harm from Alcimus, whowas their countryman, they went over to them; and when they had receivedoaths from both of them, that neither they themselves, nor those of thesame sentiments, should come to any harm, they intrusted themselves withthem. But Bacchides troubled not himself about the oaths he had taken, but slew threescore of them, although, by not keeping his faith withthose that first went over, he deterred all the rest, who had intentionsto go over to him, from doing it. But as he was gone out of Jerusalem, and was at the village called Bethzetho, he sent out, and caught manyof the deserters, and some of the people also, and slew them all; andenjoined all that lived in the country to submit to Alcimus. So he lefthim there, with some part of the army, that he might have wherewith tokeep the country in obedience and returned to Antioch to king Demetrius. 3. But Alcimus was desirous to have the dominion more firmly assuredto him; and understanding that, if he could bring it about that themultitude should be his friends, he should govern with greater security, he spake kind words to them all, and discoursed to each of them afteran agreeable and pleasant manner; by which means he quickly had a greatbody of men and an army about him, although the greater part of themwere of the wicked, and the deserters. With these, whom he used as hisservants and soldiers, he went all over the country, and slew all thathe could find of Judas's party. But when Judas saw that Alcimus wasalready become great, and had destroyed many of the good and holy men ofthe country, he also went all over the country, and destroyed those thatwere of the other party. But when Alcimus saw that he was not able tooppose Judas, nor was equal to him in strength, he resolved to applyhimself to king Demetrius for his assistance; so he came to Antioch, and irritated him against Judas, and accused him, alleging that he hadundergone a great many miseries by his means, and that he would do moremischief unless he were prevented, and brought to punishment, which mustbe done by sending a powerful force against him. 4. So Demetrius, being already of opinion that it would be a thingpernicious to his own affairs to overlook Judas, now he was becoming sogreat, sent against him Nicanor, the most kind and most faithful of allhis friends; for he it was who fled away with him from the city of Rome. He also gave him as many forces as he thought sufficient for him toconquer Judas withal, and bid him not to spare the nation at all. When Nicanor was come to Jerusalem, he did not resolve to fightJudas immediately, but judged it better to get him into his power bytreachery; so he sent him a message of peace, and said there was nomanner of necessity for them to fight and hazard themselves; and that hewould give him his oath that he would do him no harm, for that he onlycame with some friends, in order to let him know what king Demetrius'sintentions were, and what opinion he had of their nation. When Nicanorhad delivered this message, Judas and his brethren complied with him, and suspecting no deceit, they gave him assurances of friendship, andreceived Nicanor and his army; but while he was saluting Judas, and theywere talking together, he gave a certain signal to his own soldiers, upon which they were to seize upon Judas; but he perceived thetreachery, and ran back to his own soldiers, and fled away with them. So upon this discovery of his purpose, and of the snares laid for Judas, Nicanor determined to make open war with him, and gathered his armytogether, and prepared for fighting him; and upon joining battle withhim at a certain village called Capharsalama, he beat Judas, [26] andforced him to fly to that citadel which was at Jerusalem. 5. And when Nicanor came down from the citadel unto the temple, someof the priests and elders met him, and saluted him; and showed himthe sacrifices which they offered to God for the king: upon which heblasphemed, and threatened them, that unless the people would deliver upJudas to him, upon his return he would pull down their temple. And whenhe had thus threatened them, he departed from Jerusalem. But the priestsfell into tears out of grief at what he had said, and besought God todeliver them from their enemies But now for Nicanor, when he was goneout of Jerusalem, and was at a certain village called Bethoron, he therepitched his camp, another army out of Syria having joined him. And Judaspitched his camp at Adasa, another village, which was thirty furlongsdistant from Bethoron, having no more than one thousand soldiers. Andwhen he had encouraged them not to be dismayed at the multitude of theirenemies, nor to regard how many they were against whom they were goingto fight, but to consider who they themselves were, and for what greatrewards they hazarded themselves, and to attack the enemy courageously, he led them out to fight, and joining battle with Nicanor, which provedto be a severe one, he overcame the enemy, and slew many of them; and atlast Nicanor himself, as he was fighting gloriously, fell:--upon whosefall the army did not stay; but when they had lost their general, theywere put to flight, and threw down their arms. Judas also pursued themand slew them, and gave notice by the sound of the trumpets to theneighboring villages that he had conquered the enemy; which, whenthe inhabitants heard, they put on their armor hastily, and met theirenemies in the face as they were running away, and slew them, insomuchthat not one of them escaped out of this battle, who were in number ninethousand This victory happened to fall on the thirteenth day of thatmonth which by the Jews is called Adar and by the Macedonians Dystrus;and the Jews thereon celebrate this victory every year, and esteem itas a festival day. After which the Jewish nation were, for a while, freefrom wars, and enjoyed peace; but afterward they returned into theirformer state of wars and hazards. 6. But now as the high priest Alcimus, was resolving to pull down thewall of the sanctuary, which had been there of old time, and had beenbuilt by the holy prophets, he was smitten suddenly by God, and felldown. [27] This stroke made him fall down speechless upon the ground;and undergoing torments for many days, he at length died, when he hadbeen high priest four years. And when he was dead, the people bestowedthe high priesthood on Judas; who hearing of the power of the Romans, and that they had conquered in war Galatia, and Iberia, and Carthage, and Libya; and that, besides these, they had subdued Greece, and theirkings, Perseus, and Philip, and Antiochus the Great also; he resolved toenter into a league of friendship with them. He therefore sent to Romesome of his friends, Eupolemus the son of John, and Jason the son ofEleazar, and by them desired the Romans that they would assist them, andbe their friends, and would write to Demetrius that he would not fightagainst the Jews. So the senate received the ambassadors that came fromJudas to Rome, and discoursed with them about the errand on which theycame, and then granted them a league of assistance. They also made adecree concerning it, and sent a copy of it into Judea. It was also laidup in the capitol, and engraven in brass. The decree itself wasthis: "The decree of the senate concerning a league of assistance andfriendship with the nation of the Jews. It shall not be lawful for anythat 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 shallassist them, as far as they are able; and again, if any attack be madeupon the Romans, the Jews shall assist them. And if the Jews have a mindto add to, or to take away any thing from, this league of assistance, that shall be done with the common consent of the Romans. And whatsoeveraddition shall thus be made, it shall be of force. " This decree waswritten by Eupolemus the son of John, and by Jason the son of Eleazar, [28] when Judas was high priest of the nation, and Simon his brother wasgeneral of the army. And this was the first league that the Romans madewith the Jews, and was managed after this manner. CHAPTER 11. That Bacchides Was Again Sent Out Against Judas; And HowJudas Fell As He Was Courageously Fighting. 1. But when Demetrius was informed of the death of Nicanor, and of thedestruction of the army that was with him, he sent Bacchides again withan army into Judea, who marched out of Antioch, and came into Judea, andpitched his camp at Arbela, a city of Galilee; and having besieged andtaken those that were there in caves, [for many of the people fled intosuch 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 certainvillage whose name was Bethzetho, he led his army against him: they weretwenty thousand foot-men, and two thousand horsemen. Now Judas had nomore soldiers than one thousand. [29] When these saw the multitude ofBacchides's men, they were afraid, and left their camp, and fled allaway, excepting eight hundred. Now when Judas was deserted by his ownsoldiers, and the enemy pressed upon him, and gave him no time to gatherhis army together, he was disposed to fight with Bacchides's army, though he had but eight hundred men with him; so he exhorted these mento undergo the danger courageously, and encouraged them to attack theenemy. And when they said they were not a body sufficient to fightso great an army, and advised that they should retire now, and savethemselves and that when he had gathered his own men together, then heshould fall upon the enemy afterwards, his answer was this: "Let not thesun ever see such a thing, that I should show my back to the enemy andalthough this be the time that will bring me to my end, and I mustdie in this battle, I will rather stand to it courageously, and bearwhatsoever comes upon me, than by now running away bring reproach uponmy former great actions, or tarnish their glory. " This was the speechhe made to those that remained with him, whereby he encouraged them toattack the enemy. 2. But Bacchldes drew his army out of their camp, and put them in arrayfor the battle. He set the horsemen on both the wings, and the lightsoldiers and the archers he placed before the whole army, but he washimself on the right wing. And when he had thus put his army in orderof battle, and was going to join battle with the enemy, he commanded thetrumpeter to give a signal of battle, and the army to make a shout, andto fall on the enemy. And when Judas had done the same, he joined battlewith them; and as both sides fought valiantly, and the battle continuedtill sun-set, Judas saw that Bacehides and the strongest part of thearmy was in the right wing, and thereupon took the most courageous menwith him, and ran upon that part of the army, and fell upon those thatwere there, and broke their ranks, and drove them into the middle, andforced them to run away, and pursued them as far as to a mountain calledAza: but when those of the left wing saw that the right wing was put toflight, they encompassed Judas, and pursued him, and came behind him, and took him into the middle of their army; so being not able to fly, but encompassed round about with enemies, he stood still, and he andthose that were with him fought; and when he had slain a great many ofthose that came against him, he at last was himself wounded, and felland gave up the ghost, and died in a way like to his former famousactions. When Judas was dead, those that were with him had no one whomthey could regard [as their commander]; but when they saw themselvesdeprived of such a general, they fled. But Simon and Jonathan, Judas'sbrethren, received his dead body by a treaty from the enemy, and carriedit to the village of Modin, where their father had been buried, andthere buried him; while the multitude lamented him many days, andperformed the usual solemn rites of a funeral to him. And this was theend that Judas came to. He had been a man of valor and a great warrior, and mindful of the commands of their father Matrathins; and hadundergone all difficulties, both in doing and suffering, for the libertyof his countrymen. And when his character was so excellent [while hewas alive], he left behind him a glorious reputation and memorial, bygaining freedom for his nation, and delivering them from slavery underthe Macedonians. And when he had retained the high priesthood threeyears, he died. BOOK XIII. Containing The Interval Of Eighty-Two Years. From The Death Of Judas Maccabeus To The Death Of Queen Alexandra. CHAPTER 1. How Jonathan Took The Government After His Brother Judas; AndHow He, Together With His Brother Simon, Waged War Against Bacchides. 1. By what means the nation of the Jews recovered their freedomwhen they had been brought into slavery by the Macedonians, and whatstruggles, and how great battles, Judas, the general of their army, ran through, till he was slain as he was fighting for them, hath beenrelated in the foregoing book; but after he was dead, all the wicked, and those that transgressed the laws of their forefathers, sprang upagain in Judea, and grew upon them, and distressed them on every side. A famine also assisted their wickedness, and afflicted the country, tillnot a few, who by reason of their want of necessaries, and because theywere not able to bear up against the miseries that both the famine andtheir enemies brought upon them, deserted their country, and went tothe Macedonians. And now Bacchides gathered those Jews together who hadapostatized from the accustomed way of living of their forefathers, and chose to live like their neighbors, and committed the care of thecountry to them, who also caught the friends of Judas, and those of hisparty, and delivered them up to Bacchides, who when he had, in the firstplace, tortured and tormented them at his pleasure, he, by that means, at length killed them. And when this calamity of the Jews was become sogreat, as they had never had experience of the like since their returnout of Babylon, those that remained of the companions of Judas, seeingthat the nation was ready to be destroyed after a miserable manner, came to his brother Jonathan, and desired him that he would imitatehis brother, and that care which he took of his countrymen, for whoseliberty in general he died also; and that he would not permit the nationto be without a governor, especially in those destructive circumstanceswherein it now was. And where Jonathan said that he was ready to die forthem, and esteemed no inferior to his brother, he was appointed to bethe general of the Jewish army. 2. When Bacchides heard this, and was afraid that Jonathan might be verytroublesome to the king and the Macedonians, as Judas had been beforehim, he sought how he might slay him by treachery. But this intentionof his was not unknown to Jonathan, nor to his brother Simon; but whenthese two were apprized of it, they took all their companions, andpresently fled into that wilderness which was nearest to the city; andwhen they were come to a lake called Asphar, they abode there. But whenBacchides was sensible that they were in a low state, and were in thatplace, he hasted to fall upon them with all his forces, and pitching hiscamp beyond Jordan, he recruited his army. But when Jonathan knew thatBacchides Was coming upon him, he sent his brother John, who was alsocalled Gaddis, to the Nabatean Arabs, that he might lodge his baggagewith them until the battle with Bacchides should be over, for they werethe Jews' friends. And the sons of Ambri laid an ambush for John fromthe city Medaba, and seized upon him, and upon those that were with him, and plundered all that they had with them. They also slew John, and allhis companions. However, they were sufficiently punished for what theynow did by John's brethren, as we shall relate presently. 3. But when Bacchides knew that Jonathan had pitched his camp amongthe lakes of Jordan, he observed when their sabbath day came, and thenassaulted him, [as supposing that he would not fight because of the lawfor resting on that day]: but he exhorted his companions [to fight]; andtold them that their lives were at stake, since they were encompassedby the river, and by their enemies, and had no way to escape, for thattheir enemies pressed upon them from before, and the river was behindthem. So after he had prayed to God to give them the victory, hejoined battle with the enemy, of whom he overthrew many; and as he sawBacchides coming up boldly to him, he stretched out his right hand tosmite him; but the other foreseeing and avoiding the stroke, Jonathanwith his companions leaped into the river, and swam over it, and by thatmeans escaped beyond Jordan while the enemies did not pass over thatriver; but Bacchides returned presently to the citadel at Jerusalem, having lost about two thousand of his army. He also fortified manycities of Judea, whose walls had been demolished; Jericho, and Emmaus, and Betboron, and Bethel, and Tinma, and Pharatho, and Tecoa, andGazara, and built towers in every one of these cities, and encompassedthem with strong walls, that were very large also, and put garrisonsinto them, that they might issue out of them, and do mischief to theJews. He also fortified the citadel at Jerusalem more than all the rest. Moreover, he took the sons of the principal Jews as pledges, and shutthem up in the citadel, and in that manner guarded it. 4. About the same time one came to Jonathan, and to his brother Simon, and told them that the sons of Ambri were celebrating a marriage, andbringing the bride from the city Gabatha, who was the daughter of oneof the illustrious men among the Arabians, and that the damsel was tobe conducted with pomp, and splendor, and much riches: so Jonathan andSimon thinking this appeared to be the fittest time for them to avengethe death of their brother, and that they had forces sufficient forreceiving satisfaction from them for his death, they made haste toMedaba, and lay in wait among the mountains for the coming of theirenemies; and as soon as they saw them conducting the virgin, and herbridegroom, and such a great company of their friends with them as wasto be expected at this wedding, they sallied out of their ambush, andslew them all, and took their ornaments, and all the prey that thenfollowed them, and so returned, and received this satisfaction for theirbrother John from the sons of Ambri; for as well those sons themselves, as their friends, and wives, and children that followed them, 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 hisgarrisons, returned to the king; and then it was that the affairs ofJudea were quiet for two years. But when the deserters and the wickedsaw that Jonathan and those that were with him lived in the countryvery quietly, by reason of the peace, they sent to king Demetrius, andexcited him to send Bacchides to seize upon Jonathan, which they saidwas to be done without any trouble, and in one night's time; and that ifthey fell upon them before they were aware, they might slay them all. Sothe king sent Bacchides, who, when he was come into Judea, wrote toall his friends, both Jews and auxiliaries, that they should seize uponJonathan, and bring him to him; and when, upon all their endeavors, theywere not able to seize upon Jonathan, for he was sensible of the snaresthey laid for him, and very carefully guarded against them, Bacchideswas angry at these deserters, as having imposed upon him, and upon theking, and slew fifty of their leaders: whereupon Jonathan, with hisbrother, and those that were with him, retired to Bethagla, a villagethat lay in the wilderness, out of his fear of Bacchides. He also builttowers in it, and encompassed it with walls, and took care that itshould be safely guarded. Upon the hearing of which Bacchides led hisown army along with him, and besides took his Jewish auxiliaries, andcame against Jonathan, and made an assault upon his fortifications, andbesieged him many days; but Jonathan did not abate of his courage atthe zeal Bacchides used in the siege, but courageously opposed him. Andwhile he left his brother Simon in the city to fight with Bacchides, hewent privately out himself into the country, and got a great body of mentogether of his own party, and fell upon Bacchides's camp in the nighttime, and destroyed a great many of them. His brother Simon knew also ofthis his falling upon them, because he perceived that the enemies wereslain by him; so he sallied out upon them, and burnt the engines whichthe Macedonians used, and made a great slaughter of them. And whenBacchides saw himself encompassed with enemies, and some of them beforeand some behind him, he fell into despair and trouble of mind, asconfounded at the unexpected ill success of this siege. However, hevented his displeasure at these misfortunes upon those deserters whosent for him from the king, as having deluded him. So he had a mind tofinish this siege after a decent manner, if it were possible for him soto do, and then to return home. 6. When Jonathan understood these his intentions, he sent ambassadorsto him about a league of friendship and mutual assistance, and that theymight restore those they had taken captive on both sides. So Bacchidesthought this a pretty decent way of retiring home, and made a league offriendship with Jonathan, when they sware that they would not any moremake war one against another. Accordingly, he restored the captives, and took his own men with him, and returned to the king at Antioch;and after this his departure, he never came into Judea again. Then didJonathan take the opportunity of this quiet state of things, and wentand lived in the city Michmash; and there governed the multitude, andpunished the wicked and ungodly, and by that means purged the nation ofthem. CHAPTER 2. How Alexander [Bala] In His War With Demetrius, GrantedJonathan Many Advantages And Appointed Him To Be High Priest AndPersuaded Him To Assist Him Although Demetrius Promised Him GreaterAdvantages On The Other Side. Concerning The Death Of Demetrius. 1. Now in the hundred and sixtieth year, it fell out that Alexander, theson of Antiochus Epiphanes, [1] came up into Syria, and took Ptolemaisthe soldiers within having betrayed it to him; for they were at enmitywith Demetrius, on account of his insolence and difficulty of access;for he shut himself up in a palace of his that had four towers whichhe had built himself, not far from Antioch and admitted nobody. He waswithal slothful and negligent about the public affairs, whereby thehatred of his subjects was the more kindled against him, as we haveelsewhere already related. When therefore Demetrius heard that Alexanderwas in Ptolemais, he took his whole army, and led it against him; healso sent ambassadors to Jonathan about a league of mutual assistanceand friendship, for he resolved to be beforehand with Alexander, lestthe other should treat with him first, and gain assistance from him; andthis he did out of the fear he had lest Jonathan should remember how illDemetrius had formerly treated him, and should join with him in this waragainst him. He therefore gave orders that Jonathan should be allowed toraise an army, and should get armor made, and should receive back thosehostages of the Jewish nation whom Baechides had shut up in the citadelof Jerusalem. When this good fortune had befallen Jonathan, by theconcession of Demetrius, he came to Jerusalem, and read the king'sletter in the audience of the people, and of those that kept thecitadel. When these were read, these wicked men and deserters, whowere in the citadel, were greatly afraid, upon the king's permissionto Jonathan to raise an army, and to receive back the hostages. So hedelivered every one of them to his own parents. And thus did Jonathanmake his abode at Jerusalem, renewing the city to a better state, andreforming the buildings as he pleased; for he gave orders that the wallsof the city should be rebuilt with square stones, that it might be moresecure from their enemies. And when those that kept the garrisonsthat were in Judea saw this, they all left them, and fled to Antioch, excepting those that were in the city Bethsura, and those that werein the citadel of Jerusalem, for the greater part of these was of thewicked Jews and deserters, and on that account these did not deliver uptheir garrisons. 2. When Alexander knew what promises Demetrius had made Jonathan, andwithal knew his courage, and what great things he had done when hefought the Macedonians, and besides what hardships he had undergone bythe means of Demetrius, and of Bacchides, the general of Demetrius'sarmy, he told his friends that he could not at present find any oneelse that might afford him better assistance than Jonathan, who wasboth courageous against his enemies, and had a particular hatred againstDemetrius, as having both suffered many hard things from him, and actedmany hard things against him. If therefore they were of opinion thatthey should make him their friend against Demetrius, it was more fortheir advantage to invite him to assist them now than at anothertime. It being therefore determined by him and his friends to send toJonathan, he wrote to him this epistle: "King Alexander to his brotherJonathan, sendeth greeting. We have long ago heard of thy courage andthy fidelity, and for that reason have sent to thee, to make with thee aleague of friendship and mutual assistance. We therefore do ordain theethis day the high priest of the Jews, and that thou beest called myfriend. I have also sent thee, as presents, a purple robe and a goldencrown, and desire that, now thou art by us honored, thou wilt in likemanner respect us also. " 3. When Jonathan had received this letter, he put on the pontifical robeat the time of the feast of tabernacles, [2] four years after the deathof his brother Judas, for at that time no high priest had been made. So he raised great forces, and had abundance of armor got ready. Thisgreatly grieved Demetrius when he heard of it, and made him blamehimself for his slowness, that he had not prevented Alexander, and gotthe good-will of Jonathan, but had given him time so to do. However, healso himself wrote a letter to Jonathan, and to the people, the contentswhereof are these: "King Demetrius to Jonathan, and to the nation of theJews, sendeth greeting. Since you have preserved your friendship forus, and when you have been tempted by our enemies, you have not joinedyourselves to them, I both commend you for this your fidelity, andexhort you to continue in the same disposition, for which you shallbe repaid, and receive rewards from us; for I will free you from thegreatest part of the tributes and taxes which you formerly paid to thekings my predecessors, and to myself; and I do now set you free fromthose tributes which you have ever paid; and besides, I forgive you thetax upon salt, and the value of the crowns which you used to offer to me[3] and instead of the third part of the fruits [of the field], and thehalf of the fruits of the trees, I relinquish my part of them from thisday: and as to the poll-money, which ought to be given me for every headof the inhabitants of Judea, and of the three toparchies that adjointo Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and Peres, that I relinquish to youfor this time, and for all time to come. I will also that the city ofJerusalem be holy and inviolable, and free from the tithe, and from thetaxes, unto its utmost bounds. And I so far recede from my title to thecitadel, as to permit Jonathan your high priest to possess it, thathe may place such a garrison in it as he approves of for fidelity andgood-will to himself, that they may keep it for us. I also make free allthose Jews who have been made captives and slaves in my kingdom. I alsogive order that the beasts of the Jews be not pressed for our service;and let their sabbaths, and all their festivals, and three days beforeeach of them, be free from any imposition. In the same manner, I setfree the Jews that are inhabitants of my kingdom, and order that noinjury be done them. I also give leave to such of them as are willingto list themselves in my army, that they may do it, and those as far asthirty thousand; which Jewish soldiers, wheresoever they go, shall havethe same pay that my own army hath; and some of them I will place in mygarrisons, and some as guards about mine own body, and as rulers overthose that are in my court. I give them leave also to use the laws oftheir forefathers, and to observe them; and I will that they have powerover the three toparchies that are added to Judea; and it shall be inthe power of the high priest to take care that no one Jew shall have anyother temple for worship but only that at Jerusalem. 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, Iwill that it shall be your own. I also release to you those tenthousand drachmae which the kings received from the temple, because theyappertain to the priests that minister in that temple. And whosoevershall fly to the temple at Jerusalem, or to the places theretobelonging, 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 giveyou leave to repair and rebuild your temple, and that all be done at myexpenses. I also allow you to build the walls of your city, and to erecthigh towers, and that they be erected at my charge. And if there be anyfortified town that would be convenient for the Jewish country to havevery strong, let it be so built at my expenses. " 4. This was what Demetrius promised and granted to the Jews by thisletter. But king Alexander raised a great army of mercenary soldiers, and of those that deserted to him out of Syria, and made an expeditionagainst Demetrius. And when it was come to a battle, the left wing ofDemetrius put those who opposed them to flight, and pursued them a greatway, and slew many of them, and spoiled their camp; but the right wing, where Demetrius happened to be, was beaten; and as for all the rest, they ran away. But Demetrius fought courageously, and slew a greatmany of the enemy; but as he was in the pursuit of the rest, his horsecarried him into a deep bog, where it was hard to get out, and there ithappened, that upon his horse's falling down, he could not escape beingkilled; for when his enemies saw what had befallen him, they returnedback, and encompassed Demetrius round, and they all threw their dartsat him; but he, being now on foot, fought bravely. But at length hereceived so many wounds, that he was not able to bear up any longer, butfell. And this is the end that Demetrius came to, when he had reignedeleven years, [4] as we have elsewhere related. CHAPTER 3. The Friendship That Was Between Onias And Ptolemy Philometor;And How Onias Built A Temple In Egypt Like To That At Jerusalem. 1. But then the son of Onias the high priest, who was of the samename with his father, and who fled to king Ptolemy, who was calledPhilometor, lived now at Alexandria, as we have said already. When thisOnias saw that Judea was oppressed by the Macedonians and their kings, out of a desire to purchase to himself a memorial and eternal fame heresolved to send to king Ptolemy and queen Cleopatra, to ask leave ofthem 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 chiefreason why he was desirous so to do, was, that he relied upon theprophet Isaiah, who lived above six hundred years before, and foretoldthat there certainly was to be a temple built to Almighty God in Egyptby a man that was a Jew. Onias was elevated with this prediction, andwrote the following epistle to Ptolemy and Cleopatra: "Having done manyand great things for you in the affairs of the war, by the assistance ofGod, and that in Celesyria and Phoenicia, I came at length with the Jewsto Leontopolis, and to other places of your nation, where I found thatthe greatest part of your people had temples in an improper manner, and that on this account they bare ill-will one against another, whichhappens to the Egyptians by reason of the multitude of their temples, and the difference of opinions about Divine worship. Now I found a veryfit place in a castle that hath its name from the country Diana; thisplace is full of materials of several sorts, and replenished with sacredanimals; I desire therefore that you will grant me leave to purge thisholy place, which belongs to no master, and is fallen down, and to buildthere a temple to Almighty God, after the pattern of that in Jerusalem, and of the same dimensions, that may be for the benefit of thyself, andthy wife and children, that those Jews which dwell in Egypt may have aplace whither they may come and meet together in mutual harmony one withanother, and he subservient to thy advantages; for the prophet Isaiahforetold that, 'there should be an altar in Egypt to the Lord God;'" [5]and many other such things did he prophesy relating to that place. 2. And this was what Onias wrote to king Ptolemy. Now any one mayobserve his piety, and that of his sister and wife Cleopatra, by thatepistle which they wrote in answer to it; for they laid the blame andthe transgression of the law upon the head of Onias. And this was theirreply: "King Ptolemy and queen Cleopatra to Onias, send greeting. Wehave read thy petition, wherein thou desirest leave to be given thee topurge that temple which is fallen down at Leontopolis, in the Nomusof Heliopolis, and which is named from the country Bubastis; on whichaccount we cannot but wonder that it should be pleasing to God to have atemple erected in a place so unclean, and so full of sacred animals. But since thou sayest that Isaiah the prophet foretold this long ago, wegive thee leave to do it, if it may be done according to your law, andso that we may not appear to have at all offended God herein. " 3. So Onias took the place, and built a temple, and an altar to God, like indeed to that in Jerusalem, but smaller and poorer. I do not thinkit proper for me now to describe its dimensions or its vessels, whichhave been already described in my seventh book of the Wars of the Jews. However, Onias found other Jews like to himself, together with priestsand Levites, that there performed Divine service. But we have saidenough about this temple. 4. Now it came to pass that the Alexandrian Jews, and those Samaritanswho paid their worship to the temple that was built in the days ofAlexander at Mount Gerizzim, did now make a sedition one againstanother, and disputed about their temples before Ptolemy himself; theJews saying that, according to the laws of Moses, the temple was to bebuilt at Jerusalem; and the Samaritans saying that it was to be built atGerizzim. They desired therefore the king to sit with his friends, andhear the debates about these matters, and punish those with death whowere baffled. Now Sabbeus and Theodosius managed the argument for theSamaritans, and Andronicus, the son of Messalamus, for the people ofJerusalem; and they took an oath by God and the king to make theirdemonstrations according to the law; and they desired of Ptolemy, thatwhomsoever he should find that transgressed what they had sworn to, he would put him to death. Accordingly, the king took several of hisfriends into the council, and sat down, in order to hear what thepleaders said. Now the Jews that were at Alexandria were in greatconcern for those men, whose lot it was to contend for the temple atJerusalem; for they took it very ill that any should take away thereputation of that temple, which was so ancient and so celebrated allover the habitable earth. Now when Sabbeus and Tlteodosius had givenleave to Andronicus to speak first, he began to demonstrate out of thelaw, and out of the successions of the high priests, how they every onein succession from his father had received that dignity, and ruled overthe temple; and how all the kings of Asia had honored that temple withtheir donations, and with the most splendid gifts dedicated thereto. Butas for that at Gerizzm, he made no account of it, and regarded it asif it had never had a being. By this speech, and other arguments, Andronicus persuaded the king to determine that the temple at Jerusalemwas built according to the laws of Moses, [6] and to put Sabbeus andTheodosius to death. And these were the events that befell the Jews atAlexandria in the days of Ptolemy Philometor. CHAPTER 4. How Alexander Honored Jonathan After An Extraordinary Manner;And How Demetrius, The Son Of Demetrius, Overcame Alexander And Made ALeague 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 Philometor, and desired his daughter in marriage; and said it was but just thathe should be joined an affinity to one that had now received theprincipality of his forefathers, and had been promoted to it by God'sprovidence, and had conquered Demetrius, and that was on other accountsnot unworthy of being related to him. Ptolemy received this proposal ofmarriage gladly; and wrote him an answer, saluting him on account of hishaving received the principality of his forefathers; and promising himthat he would give him his daughter in marriage; and assured him thathe was coming to meet him at Ptolemais, and desired that he would theremeet him, for that he would accompany her from Egypt so far, and wouldthere marry his child to him. When Ptolemy had written thus, he camesuddenly to Ptolemais, and brought his daughter Cleopatra along withhim; and as he found Alexander there before him, as he desired him tocome, he gave him his child in marriage, and for her portion gave her asmuch silver and gold as became such a king to give. 2. When the wedding was over, Alexander wrote to Jonathan the highpriest, and desired him to come to Ptolemais. So when he came to thesekings, and had made them magnificent presents, he was honored by themboth. Alexander compelled him also to put off his own garment, and totake a purple garment, and made him sit with him in his throne; andcommanded his captains that they should go with him into the middle ofthe city, and proclaim, that it was not permitted to any one to speakagainst him, or to give him any disturbance. And when the captains hadthus done, those that were prepared to accuse Jonathan, and who bore himill-will, when they saw the honor that was done him by proclamation, andthat by the king's order, ran away, and were afraid lest some mischiefshould 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 sonof Demetrius, came from Crete with a great number of mercenary soldiers, which Lasthenes, the Cretian, brought him, and sailed to Cilicia. Thisthing cast Alexander into great concern and disorder when he heard it;so he made haste immediately out of Phoenicia, and came to Antioch, thathe might put matters in a safe posture there before Demetrius shouldcome. He also left Apollonius Daus [7] governor of Celesyria, who comingto Jamnia with a great army, sent to Jonathan the high priest, and toldhim that it was not right that he alone should live at rest, and withauthority, and not be subject to the king; that this thing had made hima reproach among all men, that he had not yet made him subject to theking. "Do not thou therefore deceive thyself, and sit still among themountains, and pretend to have forces with thee; but if thou hast anydependence on thy strength, come down into the plain, and let our armiesbe compared together, and the event of the battle will demonstratewhich of us is the most courageous. However, take notice, that the mostvaliant men of every city are in my army, and that these are the verymen who have always beaten thy progenitors; but let us have the battlein such a place of the country where we may fight with weapons, andnot with stones, and where there may be no place whither those that arebeaten may fly. " 4. With this Jonathan was irritated; and choosing himself out tenthousand of his soldiers, he went out of Jerusalem in haste, with hisbrother Simon, and came to Joppa, and pitched his camp on the outside ofthe city, because the people of Joppa had shut their gates against him, for they had a garrison in the city put there by Apollonius. But whenJonathan was preparing to besiege them, they were afraid he would takethem by force, and so they opened the gates to him. But Apollonius, whenhe heard that Joppa was taken by Jonathan, took three thousand horsemen, and eight thousand footmen and came to Ashdod; and removing thence, hemade his journey silently and slowly, and going up to Joppa, he made asif he was retiring from the place, and so drew Jonathan into the plain, as valuing himself highly upon his horsemen, and having his hopes ofvictory principally in them. However, Jonathan sallied out, and pursuedApollonius to Ashdod; but as soon as Apollonius perceived that his enemywas in the plain, he came back and gave him battle. But Apollonius hadlaid a thousand horsemen in ambush in a valley, that they might be seenby their enemies as behind them; which when Jonathan perceived, hewas under no consternation, but ordering his army to stand in a squarebattle-array, he gave them a charge to fall on the enemy on both sides, and set them to face those that attacked them both before and behind;and while the fight lasted till the evening, he gave part of his forcesto his brother Simon, and ordered him to attack the enemies; but forhimself, he charged those that were with him to cover themselves withtheir armor, and receive the darts of the horsemen, who did as they werecommanded; so that the enemy's horsemen, while they threw their dartstill they had no more left, did them no harm, for the darts that werethrown did not enter into their bodies, being thrown upon the shieldsthat were united and conjoined together, the closeness of which easilyovercame the force of the darts, and they flew about without any effect. But when the enemy grew remiss in throwing their darts from morning tilllate at night, Simon perceived their weariness, and fell upon the bodyof men before him; and because his soldiers showed great alacrity, heput the enemy to flight. And when the horsemen saw that the footmen ranaway, neither did they stay themselves, but they being very weary, bythe duration of the fight till the evening, and their hope from thefootmen being quite gone, they basely ran away, and in great confusionalso, till they were separated one from another, and scattered over allthe plain. Upon which Jonathan pursued them as far as Ashdod, and slewa great many of them, and compelled the rest, in despair of escaping, tofly to the temple of Dagon, which was at Ashdod; but Jonathan took thecity on the first onset, and burnt it, and the villages about it; nordid he abstain from the temple of Dagon itself, but burnt it also, anddestroyed those that had fled to it. Now the entire multitude of theenemies that fell in the battle, and were consumed in the temple, wereeight thousand. When Jonathan therefore had overcome so great an army, he removed from Ashdod, and came to Askelon; and when he had pitchedhis camp without the city, the people of Askelon came out and met him, bringing him hospitable presents, and honoring him; so he accepted oftheir kind intentions, and returned thence to Jerusalem with a greatdeal 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 withJonathan his friend and ally against his directions. Accordingly, hesent to Jonathan, and gave testimony to his worth; and gave him honoraryrewards, as a golden button, [8] which it is the custom to give theking's kinsmen, and allowed him Ekron and its toparchy for his owninheritance. 5. About this time it was that king Ptolemy, who was called Philometor, led an army, part by the sea, and part by land, and came to Syria, tothe assistance of Alexander, who was his son-in-law; and accordingly allthe cities received him willingly, as Alexander had commanded themto do, and conducted him as far as Ashdod; where they all made loudcomplaints about the temple of Dagon, which was burnt, and accusedJonathan of having laid it waste, and destroyed the country adjoiningwith fire, and slain a great number of them. Ptolemy heard theseaccusations, but said nothing. Jonathan also went to meet Ptolemy as faras Joppa, and obtained from him hospitable presents, and those gloriousin their kinds, with all the marks of honor; and when he had conductedhim as far as the river called Eleutherus, he returned again toJerusalem. 6. But as Ptolemy was at Ptolemais, he was very near to a mostunexpected destruction; for a treacherous design was laid for his lifeby Alexander, by the means of Ammonius, who was his friend; and as thetreachery was very plain, Ptolemy wrote to Alexander, and required ofhim that he should bring Ammonius to condign punishment, informing himwhat snares had been laid for him by Ammonius, and desiring that hemight be accordingly punished for it. But when Alexander did not complywith his demands, he perceived that it was he himself who laid thedesign, and was very angry at him. Alexander had also formerly been onvery ill terms with the people of Antioch, for they had suffered verymuch by his means; yet did Ammonius at length undergo the punishmenthis insolent crimes had deserved, for he was killed in an opprobriousmanner, like a woman, while he endeavored to conceal himself in afeminine habit, as we have elsewhere related. 7. Hereupon Ptolemy blamed himself for having given his daughter inmarriage to Alexander, and for the league he had made with him to assisthim against Demetrius; so he dissolved his relation to him, and took hisdaughter away from him, and immediately sent to Demetrius, and offeredto make a league of mutual assistance and friendship with him, andagreed with him to give him his daughter in marriage, and to restore himto the principality of his fathers. Demetrius was well pleased with thisembassage, and accepted of his assistance, and of the marriage of hisdaughter. But Ptolemy had still one more hard task to do, and that wasto persuade the people of Antioch to receive Demetrius, because theywere greatly displeased at him, on account of the injuries his fatherDemetrius had done them; yet did he bring this about; for as the peopleof Antioch hated Alexander on Ammonius's account, as we have shownalready, they were easily prevailed with to cast him out of Antioch;who, thus expelled out of Antioch, came into Cilicia. Ptolemy came thento Antioch, and was made king by its inhabitants, and by the army; sothat he was forced to put on two diadems, the one of Asia, the other ofEgypt: but being naturally a good and a righteous man, and not desirousof what belonged to others, and besides these dispositions, being also awise man in reasoning about futurities, he determined to avoid theenvy of the Romans; so he called the people of Antioch together to anassembly, and persuaded them to receive Demetrius; and assured them thathe would not be mindful of what they did to his father in case he shouldbe now obliged by them; and he undertook that he would himself be a goodmonitor and governor to him, and promised that he would not permit himto attempt any bad actions; but that, for his own part, he was contentedwith the kingdom of Egypt. By which discourse he persuaded the people ofAntioch to receive Demetrius. 8. But now Alexander made haste with a numerous and great army, and cameout of Cilicia into Syria, and burnt the country belonging to Antioch, and pillaged it; whereupon Ptolemy, and his son-in-law Demetrius, brought their army against him, [for he had already given him hisdaughter in marriage, ] and beat Alexander, and put him to flight; andaccordingly he fled into Arabia. Now it happened in the time of thebattle that Ptolemy' horse, upon hearing the noise of an elephant, casthim off his back, and threw him on the ground; upon the sight of whichaccident, his enemies fell upon him, and gave him many wounds upon hishead, and brought him into danger of death; for when his guards caughthim up, he was so very ill, that for four days' time he was not ableeither to understand or to speak. However, Zabdiel, a prince amongthe Arabians, cut off Alexander's head, and sent it to Ptolemy, whorecovering of his wounds, and returning to his understanding, on thefifth day, heard at once a most agreeable hearing, and saw a mostagreeable sight, which were the death and the head of Alexander; yet alittle after this his joy for the death of Alexander, with which he wasso greatly satisfied, he also departed this life. Now Alexander, whowas called Balas, reigned over Asia five years, as we have elsewhererelated. 9. But when Demetrius, who was styled Nicator, [9] had taken thekingdom, he was so wicked as to treat Ptolemy's soldiers very hardly, neither remembering the league of mutual assistance that was betweenthem, nor that he was his son-in-law and kinsman, by Cleopatra'smarriage to him; so the soldiers fled from his wicked treatment toAlexandria; but Demetrius kept his elephants. But Jonathan the highpriest levied an army out of all Judea, and attacked the citadel atJerusalem, and besieged it. It was held by a garrison of Macedonians, and by some of those wicked men who had deserted the customs of theirforefathers. These men at first despised the attempts of Jonathan fortaking the place, as depending on its strength; but some of those wickedmen went out by night, and came to Demetrius, and informed him that thecitadel was besieged; who was irritated with what he heard, and tookhis army, and came from Antioch, against Jonathan. And when he was atAntioch, he wrote to him, and commanded him to come to him quicklyto Ptolemais: upon which Jonathan did not intermit the siege of thecitadel, but took with him the elders of the people, and the priests, and carried with him gold, and silver, and garments, and a great numberof presents of friendship, and came to Demetrius, and presented him withthem, and thereby pacified the king's anger. So he was honored by him, and received from him the confirmation of his high priesthood, as he hadpossessed it by the grants of the kings his predecessors. And when theJewish deserters accused him, Demetrius was so far from giving creditto them, that when he petitioned him that he would demand no morethan three hundred talents for the tribute of all Judea, and the threetoparchies of Samaria, and Perea, and Galilee, he complied with theproposal, and gave him a letter confirming all those grants; whosecontents were as follows: "King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother, andto the nation of the Jews, sendeth greeting. We have sent you a copy ofthat epistle which we have written to Lasthones our kinsman, that youmay know its contents. 'King Demetrus to Lasthenes our father, sendethgreeting. I have determined to return thanks, and to show favor to thenation of the Jews, which hath observed the rules of justice in ourconcerns. Accordingly, I remit to them the three prefectures, Apherims, and Lydda, and Ramatha, which have been added to Judea out of Samaria, with their appurtenances; as also what the kings my predecessorsreceived from those that offered sacrifices in Jerusalem, and whatare due from the fruits of the earth, and of the trees, and what elsebelongs to us; with the salt-pits, and the crowns that used to bepresented to us. Nor shall they be compelled to pay any of those taxesfrom this time to all futurity. Take care therefore that a copy of thisepistle be taken, and given to Jonathan, and be set up in an eminentplace of their holy temple. '" And these were the contents of thiswriting. And now when Demetrius saw that there was peace every where, and that there was no danger, nor fear of war, he disbanded the greatestpart of his army, and diminished their pay, and even retained in pay noothers than such foreigners as came up with him from Crete, and from theother islands. However, this procured him ill-will and hatred from thesoldiers; on whom he bestowed nothing from this time, while the kingsbefore him used to pay them in time of peace as they did before, thatthey might have their good-will, and that they might be very ready toundergo the difficulties of war, if any occasion should require it. CHAPTER 5. How Trypho After He Had Beaten Demetrius Delivered TheKingdom To Antiochus The Son Of Alexander, And Gained Jonathan For HisAssistant; And Concerning The Actions And Embassies Of Jonathan. 1. Now there was a certain commander of Alexander's forces, an Apanemianby birth, whose name was Diodotus, and was also called Trypho, tooknotice the ill-will of the soldiers bare to Demetrius, and went toMalchus the Arabian, who brought up Antiochus, the son of Alexander, and told him what ill-will the army bare Demetrius, and persuaded him togive him Antiochus, because he would make him king, and recover to himthe kingdom of his father. Malchus at the first opposed him in thisattempt, because he could not believe him; but when Trypho lay hardat him for a long time, he over-persuaded him to comply with Trypho'sintentions and entreaties. And this was the state Trypho was now in. 2. But Jonathan the high priest, being desirous to get clear of thosethat were in the citadel of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish deserters, andwicked men, as well as of those in all the garrisons in the country, sent presents and ambassadors to Demetrius, and entreated him to takeaway his soldiers out of the strong holds of Judea. Demetrius madeanswer, that after the war, which he was now deeply engaged in, wasover, he would not only grant him that, but greater things than thatalso; and he desired he would send him some assistance, and informed himthat his army had deserted him. So Jonathan chose out three thousand ofhis soldiers, and sent them to Demetrius. 3. Now the people of Antioch hated Demetrius, both on account of whatmischief he had himself done them, and because they were his enemiesalso on account of his father Demetrius, who had greatly abused them; sothey watched some opportunity which they might lay hold on to fall uponhim. And when they were informed of the assistance that was coming toDemetrius from Jonathan, and considered at the same time that he wouldraise a numerous army, unless they prevented him, and seized upon him, they took their weapons immediately, and encompassed his palace inthe way of a siege, and seizing upon all the ways of getting out, theysought to subdue their king. And when he saw that the people of Antiochwere become his bitter enemies and that they were thus in arms, he tookthe mercenary soldiers which he had with them, and those Jews who weresent by Jonathan, and assaulted the Antiochians; but he was overpoweredby them, for they were many ten thousands, and was beaten. But when theJews saw that the Antiochians were superior, they went up to the topof the palace, and shot at them from thence; and because they were soremote from them by their height, that they suffered nothing on theirside, but did great execution on the others, as fighting from such anelevation, they drove them out of the adjoining houses, and immediatelyset them on fire, whereupon the flame spread itself over the whole city, and burnt it all down. This happened by reason of the closeness ofthe houses, and because they were generally built of wood. So theAntioehians, when they were not able to help themselves, nor to stopthe fire, were put to flight. And as the Jews leaped from the top ofone house to the top of another, and pursued them after that manner, itthence happened that the pursuit was so very surprising. But when theking saw that the Antiochians were were busy in saving their childrenand their wives, and so did not fight any longer, he fell upon them inthe narrow passages, and fought them, and slew a great many of them, till at last they were forced to throw down their arms, and to deliverthemselves up to Demetrius. So he forgave them this their insolentbehavior, and put an end to the sedition; and when he had given rewardsto the Jews out of the rich spoils he had gotten, and had returned themthanks, as the cause of his victory, he sent them away to Jerusalem toJonathan, with an ample testimony of the assistance they had affordedhim. Yet did he prove an ill man to Jonathan afterward, and broke thepromises 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 thefirst kings [of Syria]. And this he had done, if Trypho had not hinderedhim, and diverted his preparations against Jonathan to a concern for hisown preservation; for he now returned out of Arabia into Syria, with thechild Antiochus, for he was yet in age but a youth, and put the diademon his head; and as the whole forces that had left Demetrius, becausethey had no pay, came to his assistance, he made war upon Demetrius, andjoining battle with him, overcame him in the fight, and took from himboth his elephants and the city Antioch. 4. Demetrius, upon this defeat, retired into Cilicia; but the childAntiochus sent ambassadors and an epistle to Jonathan, and made him hisfriend and confederate, and confirmed to him the high priesthood, andyielded up to him the four prefectures which had been added to Judea. Moreover, he sent him vessels and cups of gold, and a purple garment, and gave him leave to use them. He also presented him with a goldenbutton, and styled him one of his principal friends, and appointed hisbrother Simon to be the general over the forces, from the Ladder of Tyreunto Egypt. So Jonathan was so pleased with these grants made him byAntiochus, that he sent ambassadors to him and to Trypho, and professedhimself to be their friend and confederate, and said he would join withhim in a war against Demetrius, informing him that he had made no properreturns for the kindness he had done him; for that when he had receivedmany marks of kindness from him, when he stood in great need of them, he, for such good turns, had requited him with further injuries. 5. So Antiochus gave Jonathan leave to raise himself a numerous armyout of Syria and Phoenicia and to make war against Demetrius's generals;whereupon he went in haste to the several cities which received himsplendidly indeed, but put no forces into his hands. And when he wascome from thence to Askelon, the inhabitants of Askelon came and broughthim presents, and met him in a splendid manner. He exhorted them, andevery one of the cities of Celesyria, to forsake Demetrius, and to joinwith Antiochus; and, in assisting him, to endeavor to punish Demetriusfor what offenses he had been guilty of against themselves; and toldthem there were many reasons for that their procedure, if they had amind so to do. And when he had persuaded those cities to promise theirassistance to Antiochus, he came to Gaza, in order to induce them alsoto be friends to Antiochus; but he found the inhabitants of Gaza muchmore alienated from him than he expected, for they had shut their gatesagainst him; and although they had deserted Demetrius, they had notresolved to join themselves to Antiochus. This provoked Jonathan tobesiege them, and to harass their country; for as he set a part of hisarmy round about Gaza itself, so with the rest he overran theirland, and spoiled it, and burnt what was in it. When the of Gaza sawthemselves in this state of affliction, and that no assistance came tothem from Demetrius, that what distressed them was at hand, but whatshould profit them was still at a great distance, and it was uncertainwhether it would come at all or not, they thought it would be prudentconduct to leave off any longer continuance with them, and to cultivatefriendship with the other; so they sent to Jonathan, and professed theywould be his friends, and afford him assistance: for such is the temperof men, that before they have had the trial of great afflictions, they do not understand what is for their advantage; but when they findthemselves under such afflictions, they then change their minds, andwhat it had been better for them to have done before they had been atall damaged, they choose to do, but not till after they have sufferedsuch damages. However, he made a league of friendship with them, andtook from them hostages for their performance of it, and sent thesehostages to Jerusalem, while he went himself over all the country, asfar as Damascus. 6. But when he heard that the generals of Demetrius's forces were cometo the city Cadesh with a numerous army, [the place lies between theland of the Tyrians and Galilee, ]for they supposed they should herebydraw him out of Syria, in order to preserve Galilee, and that he wouldnot overlook the Galileans, who were his own people, when war was madeupon them, he went to meet them, having left Simon in Judea, who raisedas great an army as he was able out of the country, and then sat downbefore Bethsura, and besieged it, that being the strongest place inall Judea; and a garrison of Demetrius's kept it, as we have alreadyrelated. But as Simon was raising banks, and bringing his engines ofwar against Bethsura, and was very earnest about the siege of it, thegarrison 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 thesecurity of his oath, that they should come to no harm from him, andthat they would leave the place, and go away to Demetrius. Accordinglyhe gave them his oath, and ejected them out of the city, and he puttherein a garrison of his own. 7. But Jonathan removed out of Galilee, and from the waters which arecalled Gennesar, for there he was before encamped, and came into theplain that is called Asor, without knowing that the enemy was there. When therefore Demetrius's men knew a day beforehand that Jonathan wascoming against them, they laid an ambush in the mountain, who were toassault him on the sudden, while they themselves met him with an armyin the plain; which army, when Jonathan saw ready to engage him, he alsogot ready his own soldiers for the battle as well as he was able; butthose that were laid in ambush by Demetrius's generals being behindthem, the Jews were afraid lest they should be caught in the midstbetween two bodies, and perish; so they ran away in haste, and indeedall the rest left Jonathan; but a few there were, in number about fifty, who staid with him, and with them Mattathias, the son of Absalom, andJudas, the son of Chapseus, who were commanders of the whole army. Thesemarched boldly, and like men desperate, against the enemy, and so pushedthem, that by their courage they daunted them, and with their weapons intheir hands they put them to flight. And when those soldiers of Jonathanthat had retired saw the enemy giving way, they got together after theirflight, and pursued them with great violence; and this did they as faras Cadesh, where the camp of the enemy lay. 8. Jonathan having thus gotten a glorious victory, and slain twothousand of the enemy, returned to Jerusalem. So when he saw that allhis affairs prospered according to his mind, by the providence of God, he sent ambassadors to the Romans, being desirous of renewing thatfriendship which their nation had with them formerly. He enjoinedthe same ambassadors, that, as they came back, they should go to theSpartans, and put them in mind of their friendship and kindred. So whenthe ambassadors came to Rome, they went into their senate, and said whatthey were commanded by Jonathan the high priest to say, how he had sentthem to confirm their friendship. The senate then confirmed what hadbeen formerly decreed concerning their friendship with the Jews, andgave them letters to carry to all the kings of Asia and Europe, andto the governors of the cities, that they might safely conduct them totheir own country. Accordingly, as they returned, they came to Sparta, and delivered the epistle which they had received of Jonathan to them;a copy of which here follows: "Jonathan the high priest of the Jewishnation, and the senate, and body of the people of the Jews, to theephori, and senate, and people of the Lacedemonians, send greeting. Ifyou be well, and both your public and private affairs be agreeable toyour mind, it is according to our wishes. We are well also. When informer times an epistle was brought to Onias, who was then our highpriest, from Areus, who at that time was your king, by Demoteles, concerning the kindred that was between us and you, a copy of which ishere subjoined, we both joyfully received the epistle, and were wellpleased with Demoteles and Areus, although we did not need such ademonstration, because we were satisfied about it from the sacredwritings [10] yet did not we think fit first to begin the claim of thisrelation to you, lest we should seem too early in taking to ourselvesthe glory which is now given us by you. It is a long time since thisrelation of ours to you hath been renewed; and when we, upon holyand festival days, offer sacrifices to God, we pray to him for yourpreservation and victory. As to ourselves, although we have had manywars that have compassed us around, by reason of the covetousness of ourneighbors, yet did not we determine to be troublesome either to you, orto others that were related to us; but since we have now overcome ourenemies, and have occasion to send Numenius the son of Antiochus, andAntipater the son of Jason, who are both honorable men belonging to oursenate, to the Romans, we gave them this epistle to you also, that theymight renew that friendship which is between us. You will therefore dowell yourselves to write to us, and send us an account of what you standin need of from us, since we are in all things disposed to act accordingto your desires. " So the Lacedemonians received the ambassadors kindly, and made a decree for friendship and mutual assistance, and sent it tothem. 9. At this time there were three sects among the Jews, who had differentopinions concerning human actions; the one was called the sect of thePharisees, another the sect of the Sadducees, and the other the sect ofthe Essens. Now for the Pharisees, [11] they say that some actions, butnot all, are the work of fate, and some of them are in our own power, and that they are liable to fate, but are not caused by fate. Butthe sect of the Essens affirm, that fate governs all things, and thatnothing befalls men but what is according to its determination. And forthe Sadducees, they take away fate, and say there is no such thing, and that the events of human affairs are not at its disposal; butthey suppose that all our actions are in our own power, so that we areourselves the causes of what is good, and receive what is evil from ourown folly. However, I have given a more exact account of these opinionsin the second book of the Jewish War. 10. But now the generals of Demetrius being willing to recover thedefeat they had had, gathered a greater army together than they hadbefore, and came against Jonathan; but as soon as he was informed oftheir coming, he went suddenly to meet them, to the country of Hamoth, for he resolved to give them no opportunity of coming into Judea; so hepitched his camp at fifty furlongs' distance from the enemy, and sentout spies to take a view of their camp, and after what manner they wereencamped. When his spies had given him full information, and had seizedupon some of them by night, who told him the enemy would soon attackhim, he, thus apprized beforehand, provided for his security, and placedwatchmen beyond his camp, and kept all his forces armed all night; andhe gave them a charge to be of good courage, and to have their mindsprepared to fight in the night time, if they should be obliged so todo, lest their enemy's designs should seem concealed from them. Butwhen Demetrius's commanders were informed that Jonathan knew what theyintended, their counsels were disordered, and it alarmed them to findthat the enemy had discovered those their intentions; nor did theyexpect to overcome them any other way, now they had failed in the snaresthey had laid for them; for should they hazard an open battle, they didnot think they should be a match for Jonathan's army, so they resolvedto fly; and having lighted many fires, that when the enemy saw them theymight suppose they were there still, they retired. When Jonathan cameto give them battle in the morning in their camp, and found it deserted, and understood they were fled, he pursued them; yet he could notovertake them, for they had already passed over the river Eleutherus, and were out of danger. So when Jonathan was returned thence, he wentinto Arabia, and fought against the Nabateans, and drove away a greatdeal of their prey, and took [many] captives, and came to Damascus, andthere sold off what he had taken. About the same time it was that Simonhis brother went over all Judea and Palestine, as far as Askelon, andfortified the strong holds; and when he had made them very strong, bothin the edifices erected, and in the garrisons placed in them, he cameto 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 thecity to Demetrius's generals. 11. When Simon and Jonathan had finished these affairs, they returnedto Jerusalem, where Jonathan gathered all the people together, and tookcounsel to restore the walls of Jerusalem, and to rebuild the wall thatencompassed the temple, which had been thrown down, and to make theplaces adjoining stronger by very high towers; and besides that, tobuild another wall in the midst of the city, in order to exclude themarket-place from the garrison, which was in the citadel, and by thatmeans to hinder them from any plenty of provisions; and moreover, tomake the fortresses that were in the country much stronger and moredefensible than they were before. And when these things were approved ofby the multitude, as rightly proposed, Jonathan himself took care ofthe building that belonged to the city, and sent Simon away to makethe fortresses in the country more secure than formerly. But Demetriuspassed over [Euphrates], and came into Mesopotamia, as desirous toretain that country still, as well as Babylon; and when he should haveobtained the dominion of the upper provinces, to lay a foundation forrecovering his entire kingdom; for those Greeks and Macedonians whodwelt there frequently sent ambassadors to him, and promised, that if hewould come to them, they would deliver themselves up to him, and assisthim in fighting against Arsaces, [12] the king of the Parthians. Sohe was elevated with these hopes, and came hastily to them, as havingresolved, that if he had once overthrown the Parthians, and gotten anarmy of his own, he would make war against Trypho, and eject him out ofSyria; and the people of that country received him with great alacrity. So he raised forces, with which he fought against Arsaces, and lost allhis army, and was himself taken alive, as we have elsewhere related. CHAPTER 6. How Jonathan Was Slain By Treachery; And How Thereupon TheJews Made Simon Their General And High Priest: What Courageous ActionsHe Also Performed Especially Against Trypho. 1. Now when Trypho knew what had befallen Demetrius, he was no longerfirm to Antiochus, but contrived by subtlety to kill him, and then takepossession of his kingdom; but the fear that he was in of Jonathan wasan 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, andthen to set about his design relating to Antiochus; but he judgingit best to take him off by deceit and treachery, came from Antioch toBethshan, which by the Greeks is called Scythopolis, at which placeJonathan met him with forty thousand chosen men, for he thought thathe came to fight him; but when he perceived that Jonathan was ready tofight, he attempted to gain him by presents and kind treatment, and gaveorder to his captains to obey him, and by these means was desirous togive assurance of his good-will, and to take away all suspicions outof his mind, that so he might make him careless and inconsiderate, andmight take him when he was unguarded. He also advised him to dismiss hisarmy, because there was no occasion for bringing it with him when therewas no war, but all was in peace. However, he desired him to retain afew about him, and go with him to Ptolemais, for that he would deliverthe city up to him, and would bring all the fortresses that were in thecountry under his dominion; and he told him that he came with those verydesigns. 2. Yet did not Jonathan suspect any thing at all by this his management, but believed that Trypho gave him this advice out of kindness, and witha sincere design. Accordingly, he dismissed his army, and retained nomore than three thousand of them with him, and left two thousandin Galilee; and he himself, with one thousand, came with Trypho toPtolemais. But when the people of Ptolemais had shut their gates, as ithad been commanded by Trypho to do, he took Jonathan alive, and slewall that were with him. He also sent soldiers against those two thousandthat were left in Galilee, in order to destroy them; but those menhaving heard the report of what had happened to Jonathan, they preventedthe execution; and before those that were sent by Trypho came, theycovered themselves with their armor, and went away out of the country. Now when those that were sent against them saw that they were ready tofight for their lives, they gave them no disturbance, but returned backto Trypho. 3. But when the people of Jerusalem heard that Jonathan was taken, andthat the soldiers who were with him were destroyed, they deplored hissad fate; and there was earnest inquiry made about him by every body, and a great and just fear fell upon them, and made them sad, lest, nowthey were deprived of the courage and conduct of Jonathan, the nationsabout them should bear them ill-will; and as they were before quiet onaccount of Jonathan they should now rise up against them, and by makingwar with them, should force them into the utmost dangers. And indeedwhat they suspected really befell them; for when those nations heardof the death of Jonathan, they began to make war with the Jews as nowdestitute of a governor and Trypho himself got an army together, and hadintention to go up to Judea, and make war against its inhabitants. But when Simon saw that the people of Jerusalem were terrified at thecircumstances they were in, he desired to make a speech to them, andthereby to render them more resolute in opposing Trypho when he shouldcome against them. He then called the people together into the temple, and thence began thus to encourage them: "O my countrymen, you are notignorant that our father, myself, and my brethren, have ventured tohazard our lives, and that willingly, for the recovery of your liberty;since I have therefore such plenty of examples before me, and we ofour family have determined with ourselves to die for our laws, and ourDivine worship, there shall no terror be so great as to banish thisresolution from our souls, nor to introduce in its place a love oflife, and a contempt of glory. Do you therefore follow me with alacritywhithersoever I shall lead you, as not destitute of such a captain as iswilling to suffer, and to do the greatest things for you; for neither amI better than my brethren that I should be sparing of my own life, norso far worse than they as to avoid and refuse what they thought the mosthonorable of all things, --I mean, to undergo death for your laws, andfor that worship of God which is peculiar to you; I will therefore givesuch proper demonstrations as will show that I am their own brother;and I am so bold as to expect that I shall avenge their blood uponour enemies, and deliver you all with your wives and children fromthe injuries they intend against you, and, with God's assistance, topreserve your temple from destruction by them; for I see that thesenations have you in contempt, as being without a governor, and that theythence are encouraged to make war against you. " 4. By this speech of Simon he inspired the multitude with courage; andas they had been before dispirited through fear, they were now raised toa good hope of better things, insomuch that the whole multitude of thepeople cried out all at once that Simon should be their leader; andthat instead of Judas and Jonathan his brethren, he should have thegovernment over them; and they promised that they would readily obey himin whatsoever he should command them. So he got together immediately allhis own soldiers that were fit for war, and made haste in rebuildingthe walls of the city, and strengthening them by very high and strongtowers, and sent a friend of his, one Jonathan, the son of Absalom, toJoppa, and gave him order to eject the inhabitants out of the city, forhe was afraid lest they should deliver up the city to Trypho; but hehimself staid to secure Jerusalem. 5. But Trypho removed from Ptoeinais with a great army, and came intoJudea, and brought Jonathan with him in bonds. Simon also met him withhis army at the city Adida, which is upon a hill, and beneath it lie theplains of Judea. And when Trypho knew that Simon was by the Jews madetheir governor, he sent to him, and would have imposed upon him bydeceit and trencher, and desired, if he would have his brother Jonathanreleased, that he would send him a hundred talents of silver, and two ofJonathan's sons as hostages, that when he shall be released, he maynot make Judea revolt from the king; for that at present he was kept inbonds on account of the money he had borrowed of the king, and now owedit to him. But Simon was aware of the craft of Trypho; and although heknew that if he gave him the money he should lose it, and that Tryphowould not set his brother free and withal should deliver the sons ofJonathan to the enemy, yet because he was afraid that he should havea calumny raised against him among the multitude as the cause of hisbrother's death, if he neither gave the money, nor sent Jonathan's sons, he gathered his army together, and told them what offers Trypho hadmade; and added this, that the offers were ensnaring and treacherous, and yet that it was more eligible to send the money and Jonathan'ssons, than to be liable to the imputation of not complying with Trypho'soffers, and thereby refusing to save his brother. Accordingly, Simonsent the sons of Jonathan and the money; but when Trypho had receivedthem, he did not keep his promise, nor set Jonathan free, but took hisarmy, and went about all the country, and resolved to go afterward toJerusalem by the way of Idumea, while Simon went over against him withhis army, and all along pitched his own 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 themprovisions, he prepared his cavalry as though he would be at Jerusalemthat very night; but so great a quantity of snow fell in the night, thatit covered the roads, and made them so deep, that there was no passing, especially for the cavalry. This hindered him from coming to Jerusalem;whereupon Trypho removed thence, and came into Celesyria, and fallingvehemently upon the land of Gilead, he slew Jonathan there; and when hehad given order for his burial, he returned himself to Antioch. However, Simon sent some to the city Basca to bring away his brother's bones, and buried them in their own city Modin; and all the people made greatlamentation over him. Simon also erected a very large monument for hisfather and his brethren, of white and polished stone, and raised it agreat height, and so as to be seen a long way off, and made cloistersabout it, and set up pillars, which were of one stone apiece; a workit was wonderful to see. Moreover, he built seven pyramids also for hisparents and his brethren, one for each of them, which were made verysurprising, both for their largeness and beauty, and which have beenpreserved to this day; and we know that it was Simon who bestowedso much zeal about the burial of Jonathan, and the building of thesemonuments for his relations. Now Jonathan died when he had been highpriest four years [13] and had been also the governor of his nation. Andthese were the circumstances that concerned his death. 7. But Simon, who was made high priest by the multitude, on the veryfirst year of his high priesthood set his people free from their slaveryunder the Macedonians, and permitted them to pay tribute to them nolonger; which liberty and freedom from tribute they obtained after ahundred and seventy years [14] of the kingdom of the Assyrians, whichwas after Seleucus, who was called Nicator, got the dominion over Syria. Now the affection of the multitude towards Simon was so great, thatin their contracts one with another, and in their public records, theywrote, "in the first year of Simon the benefactor and ethnarch of theJews;" for under him they were very happy, and overcame the enemies thatwere round about them; for Simon overthrew the city Gazara, and Joppa, and Jamhis. He also took the citadel of Jerusalem by siege, and cast itdown to the ground, that it might not be any more a place of refuge totheir enemies when they took it, to do them a mischief, as it had beentill now. And when he had done this, he thought it their best way, andmost for their advantage, to level the very mountain itself upon whichthe citadel happened to stand, that so the temple might be higher thanit. And indeed, when he had called the multitude to an assembly, hepersuaded them to have it so demolished, and this by putting them inmind what miseries they had suffered by its garrison and the Jewishdeserters, and what miseries they might hereafter suffer in case anyforeigner should obtain the kingdom, and put a garrison into thatcitadel. This speech induced the multitude to a compliance, because heexhorted them to do nothing but what was for their own good: so they allset themselves to the work, and leveled the mountain, and in that workspent both day and night without any intermission, which cost them threewhole years before it was removed, and brought to an entire levelwith the plain of the rest of the city. After which the temple was thehighest of all the buildings, now the citadel, as well as the mountainwhereon it stood, were demolished. And these actions were thus performedunder Simon. CHAPTER 7. How Simon Confederated Himself With Antiochus Pius, AndMade War Against Trypho, And A Little Afterward, Against Cendebeus, The General Of Antiochus's Army; As Also How Simon Was Murdered By HisSon-In-Law Ptolemy, And That By Treachery. 1. [15] Now a little while after Demetrius had been carried intocaptivity, Trypho his governor destroyed Antiochus, [16] the son ofAlexander, who was also called The God, [17] and this when he hadreigned four years, though he gave it out that he died under the handsof the surgeons. He then sent his friends, and those that were mostintimate with him, to the soldiers, and promised that he would give thema great deal of money if they would make him king. He intimated to themthat Demetrius was made a captive by the Parthians; and that Demetrius'sbrother Atitiochus, if he came to be king, would do them a great deal ofmischief, in way of revenge for their revolting from his brother. So thesoldiers, in expectation of the wealth they should get by bestowing thekingdom on Trypho, made him their ruler. However, when Trypho had gainedthe management of affairs, he demonstrated his disposition to be wicked;for while he was a private person, he cultivated familiarity withthe multitude, and pretended to great moderation, and so drew themon artfully to whatsoever he pleased; but when he had once taken thekingdom, he laid aside any further dissimulation, and was the trueTrypho; which behavior made his enemies superior to him; for thesoldiery hated him, and revolted from him to Cleopatra, the wife ofDemetrius, who was then shut up in Seleucia with her children. Butas Antiochus, the brother of Demetrius who was called Soter, was notadmitted by any of the cities on account of Trypho, Cleopatra sent tohim, and invited him to marry her, and to take the kingdom. The reasonswhy she made this invitation were these: That her friends persuaded herto it, and that she was afraid for herself, in case some of the peopleof Seleucia should deliver up the city to Trypho. 2. As Antlochuswas now come to Seleucia, and his forces increased everyday, he marched to fight Trypho; and having beaten him in the battle, he ejected him out of the Upper Syria into Phoenicia, and pursued himthither, and besieged him in Dora which was a fortress hard to be taken, whither he had fled. He also sent ambassadors to Simon the Jewish highpriest, about a league of friendship and mutual assistance; who readilyaccepted of the invitation, and sent to Antiochus great sums of moneyand provisions for those that besieged Dora, and thereby supplied themvery plentifully, so that for a little while he was looked upon as oneof 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 hadreigned three years. 3. However, Antiochus forgot the kind assistance that Simon had affordedhim in his necessity, by reason of his covetous and wicked disposition, and committed an army of soldiers to his friend Cendebeus, and senthim at once to ravage Judea, and to seize Simon. When Simon heard ofAntiochus's breaking his league with him, although he were now in years, yet, provoked with the unjust treatment he had met with from Antiochus, and taking a resolution brisker than his age could well bear, he wentlike a young man to act as general of his army. He also sent his sonsbefore among the most hardy of his soldiers, and he himself marched onwith his army another way, and laid many of his men in ambushes in thenarrow valleys between the mountains; nor did he fail of success in anyone of his attempts, but was too hard for his enemies in every one ofthem. So he led the rest of his life in peace, and did also himself makea league with the Romans. 4. Now he was the ruler of the Jews in all eight years; but at a feastcame to his end. It was caused by the treachery of his son-in-lawPtolemy, who caught also his wife, and two of his sons, and kept themin bonds. He also sent some to kill John the third son, whose namewas Hyrcanus; but the young man perceiving them coming, he avoidedthe danger he was in from them, [18] and made haste into the city[Jerusalem], as relying on the good-will of the multitude, becauseof the benefits they had received from his father, and because of thehatred the same multitude bare to Ptolemy; so that when Ptolemy wasendeavoring to enter the city by another gate, they drove him away, ashaving already admitted Hyrcanus. CHAPTER 8. Hyrcanus Receives The High Priesthood, And Ejects PtolemyOut Of The Country. Antiochus Makes War Against Hyrcanus And AfterwardsMakes A League With Him. 1. So Ptolemy retired to one of the fortresses that was above Jericho, which was called Dagon. But Hyrcanus having taken the high priesthoodthat had been his father's before, and in the first place propitiatedGod by sacrifices, he then made an expedition against Ptolemy; and whenhe made his attacks upon the place, in other points he was too hard forhim, but was rendered weaker than he, by the commiseration he had forhis mother and brethren, and by that only; for Ptolemy brought them uponthe wall, and tormented them in the sight of all, and threatened thathe would throw them down headlong, unless Hyrcanus would leave off thesiege. And as he thought that so far as he relaxed as to the siegeand taking of the place, so much favor did he show to those that weredearest to him by preventing their misery, his zeal about it was cooled. However, his mother spread out her hands, and begged of him that hewould not grow remiss on her account, but indulge his indignationso much the more, and that he would do his utmost to take the placequickly, in order to get their enemy under his power, and then to avengeupon him what he had done to those that were dearest to himself; forthat death would be to her sweet, though with torment, if that enemyof theirs might but be brought to punishment for his wicked dealingsto them. Now when his mother said so, he resolved to take the fortressimmediately; but when he saw her beaten, and torn to pieces, hiscourage failed him, and he could not but sympathize with what his mothersuffered, and was thereby overcome. And as the siege was drawn out intolength by this means, that year on which the Jews used to rest cameon; for the Jews observe this rest every seventh year, as they do everyseventh day; so that Ptolemy being for this cause released from the war, [19] he slew the brethren of Hyrcanus, and his mother; and when hehad so done, he fled to Zeno, who was called Cotylas, who was then thetyrant of the city Philadelphia. 2. But Antiochus, being very uneasy at the miseries that Simon hadbrought upon him, he invaded Judea in the fourth years' of his reign, and the first year of the principality of Hyrcanus, in the hundred andsixty-second olympiad. [20] And when he had burnt the country, heshut up Hyrcanus in the city, which he encompassed round with sevenencampments; but did just nothing at the first, because of the strengthof the walls, and because of the valor of the besieged, although theywere once in want of water, which yet they were delivered from by alarge shower of rain, which fell at the setting of the Pleiades [21]However, about the north part of the wall, where it happened the citywas upon a level with the outward ground, the king raised a hundredtowers of three stories high, and placed bodies of soldiers upon them;and as he made his attacks every day, he cut a double ditch, deep andbroad, and confined the inhabitants within it as within a wall; but thebesieged contrived to make frequent sallies out; and if the enemy werenot any where upon their guard, they fell upon them, and did them agreat deal of mischief; and if they perceived them, they thenretired into the city with ease. But because Hyrcanus discerned theinconvenience of so great a number of men in the city, while theprovisions were the sooner spent by them, and yet, as is natural tosuppose, those great numbers did nothing, he separated the useless part, and excluded them out of the city, and retained that part only whichwere in the flower of their age, and fit for war. However, Antiochuswould not let those that were excluded go away, who therefore wanderingabout between the wails, and consuming away by famine, died miserably;but when the feast of tabernacles was at hand, those that were withincommiserated their condition, and received them in again. And whenHyrcanus sent to Antiochus, and desired there might be a truce for sevendays, because of the festival, he gave way to this piety towardsGod, and made that truce accordingly. And besides that, he sent in amagnificent sacrifice, bulls with their horns gilded, with all sorts ofsweet spices, and with cups of gold and silver. So those that were atthe gates received the sacrifices from those that brought them, and ledthem to the temple, Antiochus the mean while feasting his army, whichwas a quite different conduct from Antiochus Epiphanes, who, when he hadtaken the city, offered swine upon the altar, and sprinkled the templewith the broth of their flesh, in order to violate the laws of the Jews, and the religion they derived from their forefathers; for which reasonour nation made war with him, and would never be reconciled to him;but for this Antiochus, all men called him Antiochus the Pious, for thegreat zeal he had about religion. 3. Accordingly, Hyrcanus took this moderation of his kindly; and when heunderstood how religious he was towards the Deity, he sent an embassageto him, and desired that he would restore the settlements they receivedfrom their forefathers. So he rejected the counsel of those that wouldhave him utterly destroy the nation, [23] by reason of their way ofliving, which was to others unsociable, and did not regard what theysaid. But being persuaded that all they did was out of a religious mind, he answered the ambassadors, that if the besieged would deliver up theirarms, and pay tribute for Joppa, and the other cities which borderedupon Judea, and admit a garrison of his, on these terms he would makewar against them no longer. But the Jews, although they were contentwith the other conditions, did not agree to admit the garrison, becausethey could not associate with other people, nor converse with them; yetwere they willing, instead of the admission of the garrison, to give himhostages, and five hundred talents of silver; of which they paid downthree hundred, and sent the hostages immediately, which king Antiochusaccepted. One of those hostages was Hyrcanus's brother. But still hebroke down the fortifications that encompassed the city. And upon theseconditions Antiochus broke up the siege, and departed. 4. But Hyrcanus opened the sepulcher of David, who excelled all otherkings in riches, and took out of it three thousand talents. He was alsothe first of the Jews that, relying on this wealth, maintained foreigntroops. There was also a league of friendship and mutual assistancemade between them; upon which Hyrcanus admitted him into the city, andfurnished him with whatsoever his army wanted in great plenty, and withgreat generosity, and marched along with him when he made an expeditionagainst the Parthians; of which Nicolaus of Damascus is a witness forus; who in his history writes thus: "When Antiochus had erected a trophyat the river Lycus, upon his conquest of Indates, the general of theParthians, he staid there two days. It was at the desire of Lyrcanusthe Jew, because it was such a festival derived to them from theirforefathers, whereon the law of the Jews did not allow them to travel. "And truly he did not speak falsely in saying so; for that festival, which we call Pentecost, did then fall out to be the next day to theSabbath. Nor is it lawful for us to journey, either on the Sabbath day, or on a festival day [24] But when Antiochus joined battle with Arsaces, the king of Parthin, he lost a great part of his army, and was himselfslain; and his brother Demetrius succeeded in the kingdom of Syria, bythe permission of Arsaces, who freed him from his captivity at thesame time that Antiochus attacked Parthin, as we have formerly relatedelsewhere. CHAPTER 9. How, After The Death Of Antiochus, Hyrcanus Made AnExpedition Against Syria, And Made A League With The Romans. ConcerningThe Death Of King Demetrius And Alexander. 1. But when Hyrcanus heard of the death of Antiochus, he presently madean expedition against the cities of Syria, hoping to find them destituteof fighting men, and of such as were able to defend them. However, itwas not till the sixth month that he took Medaba, and that not withoutthe greatest distress of his army. After this he took Samega, and theneighboring places; and besides these, Shechem and Gerizzim, and thenation of the Cutheans, who dwelt at the temple which resembled thattemple which was at Jerusalem, and which Alexander permitted Sanballat, the general of his army, to build for the sake of Manasseh, who wasson-in-law to Jaddua the high priest, as we have formerly related; whichtemple was now deserted two hundred years after it was built. Hyrcanustook also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all theIdumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they wouldcircumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews; andthey were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, [25] and of the restof the Jewish ways of living; at which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews. 2. But Hyrcanus the high priest was desirous to renew that league offriendship they had with the Romans. Accordingly, he sent an embassageto them; and when the senate had received their epistle, they made aleague of friendship with them, after the manner following: "Fanius, theson of Marcus, the praetor, gathered the senate together on the eighthday before the Ides of February, in the senate-house, when LuciusManlius, the son of Lucius, of the Mentine tribe, and Caius Sempronius, the son of Caius, of the Falernian tribe, were present. The occasionwas, that the ambassadors sent by the people of the Jews [26] Simon, theson of Dositheus, and Apollonius, the son of Alexander, and Diodorus, the son of Jason, who were good and virtuous men, had somewhat topropose about that league of friendship and mutual assistance whichsubsisted between them and the Romans, and about other public affairs, who desired that Joppa, and the havens, and Gazara, and the springs [ofJordan], and the several other cities and countries of theirs, whichAntiochus had taken from them in the war, contrary to the decree of thesenate, might be restored to them; and that it might not be lawful forthe king's troops to pass through their country, and the countries ofthose that are subject to them; and that what attempts Antiochus hadmade during that war, without the decree of the senate, might be madevoid; and that they would send ambassadors, who should take care thatrestitution be made them of what Antiochus had taken from them, and thatthey should make an estimate of the country that had been laid wastein the war; and that they would grant them letters of protection tothe kings and free people, in order to their quiet return home. Itwas therefore decreed, as to these points, to renew their league offriendship and mutual assistance with these good men, and who were sentby a good and a friendly people. " But as to the letters desired, theiranswer was, that the senate would consult about that matter when theirown affairs would give them leave; and that they would endeavor, for thetime to come, that no like injury should be done to them; and that theirpraetor Fanius should give them money out of the public treasury to beartheir expenses home. And thus did Fanius dismiss the Jewish ambassadors, and gave them money out of the public treasury; and gave the decree ofthe senate to those that were to conduct them, and to take care thatthey should return home in safety. 3. And thus stood the affairs of Hyrcanus the high priest. But as forking Demetrius, who had a mind to make war against Hyrcanus, there wasno opportunity nor room for it, while both the Syrians and the soldiersbare ill-will to him, because he was an ill man. But when they had sentambassadors to Ptolemy, who was called Physcon, that he would send themone of the family at Seleueus, in order to take the kingdom, and he hadsent them Alexander, who was called Zebina, with an army, and there hadbeen a battle between them, Demetrius was beaten in the fight, and fledto Cleopatra his wife, to Ptolemais; but his wife would not receive him. He went thence to Tyre, and was there caught; and when he had sufferedmuch from his enemies before his death, he was slain by them. SoAlexander took the kingdom, and made a league with Hyrcanus, who yet, when he afterward fought with Antiochus the son of Demetrius, who wascalled Grypus, was also beaten in the fight, and slain. CHAPTER 10. How Upon The Quarrel Between Antiochus Grypus And AntiochusCyzicenus About The Kingdom Hyrcanus Tooksamaria, And Utterly DemolishedIt; And How Hyrcaus Joined Himself To The Sect Of The Sadducees, AndLeft That Of The Pharisees. 1. When Antiochus had taken the kingdom, he was afraid to make waragainst Judea, because he heard that his brother by the same mother, who was also called Antiochus, was raising an army against him out ofCyzicum; so he staid in his own land, and resolved to prepare himselffor the attack he expected from his brother, who was called Cyzicenus, because he had been brought up in that city. He was the son of Antiochusthat was called Soter, who died in Parthia. He was the brother ofDemetrius, the father of Grypus; for it had so happened, that one andthe same Cleopatra was married to two who were brethren, as we haverelated elsewhere. But Antiochus Cyzicenus coming into Syria, continuedmany years at war with his brother. Now Hyrcanus lived all this whilein peace; for after the death of Antlochus, he revolted from theMacedonians, [27] nor did he any longer pay them the least regard, either as their subject or their friend; but his affairs were in a veryimproving and flourishing condition in the times of Alexander Zebina, and especially under these brethren, for the war which they had withone another gave Hyrcanus the opportunity of enjoying himself in Judeaquietly, insomuch that he got an immense quantity of money. How ever, when Antiochus Cyzicenus distressed his land, he then openly showedwhat he meant. And when he saw that Antiochus was destitute of Egyptianauxiliaries, and that both he and his brother were in an ill conditionin the struggles they had one with another, he despised them both. 2. So he made an expedition against Samaria which was a very strongcity; of whose present name Sebaste, and its rebuilding by Herod, weshall speak at a proper time; but he made his attack against it, andbesieged it with a great deal of pains; for he was greatly displeasedwith the Samaritans for the injuries they had done to the people ofMerissa, a colony of the Jews, and confederate with them, and this incompliance to the kings of Syria. When he had therefore drawn a ditch, and built a double wall round the city, which was fourscore furlongslong, he set his sons Antigonus and Arisrobulna over the siege; whichbrought the Samaritans to that great distress by famine, that theywere forced to eat what used not to be eaten, and to call for AntiochusCyzicenus to help them, who came readily to their assistance, but wasbeaten by Aristobulus; and when he was pursued as far as Scythopolisby the two brethren, he got away. So they returned to Samaria, and shutthem again within the wall, till they were forced to send for the sameAntiochus a second time to help them, who procured about six thousandmen from Ptolemy Lathyrus, which were sent them without his mother'sconsent, who had then in a manner turned him out of his government. Withthese Egyptians Antiochus did at first overrun and ravage the country ofHyrcanus after the manner of a robber, for he durst not meet him inthe face to fight with him, as not having an army sufficient for thatpurpose, but only from this supposal, that by thus harassing his land heshould force Hyrcanus to raise the siege of Samaria; but because hefell into snares, and lost many of his soldiers therein, he went awayto Tripoli, and committed the prosecution of the war against the Jews toCallimander and Epicrates. 3. But as to Callimander, he attacked the enemy too rashly, and was putto flight, and destroyed immediately; and as to Epicrates, he was sucha lover of money, that he openly betrayed Scythopolis, and other placesnear it, to the Jews, but was not able to make them raise the siege ofSamaria. And when Hyrcanus had taken that city, which was not done tillafter a year's siege, he was not contented with doing that only, but hedemolished it entirely, and brought rivulets to it to drown it, for hedug such hollows as might let the water run under it; nay, he took awaythe very marks that there had ever been such a city there. Now a verysurprising thing is related of this high priest Hyrcanus, how God cameto discourse with him; for they say that on the very same day on whichhis sons fought with Antiochus Cyzicenus, he was alone in the temple, ashigh priest, offering incense, and heard a voice, that his sons hadjust then overcome Antiochus. And this he openly declared before all themultitude upon his coming out of the temple; and it accordingly provedtrue; and in this posture were the affairs of Hyrcanus. 4. Now it happened at this time, that not only those Jews who were atJerusalem and in Judea were in prosperity, but also those of them thatwere at Alexandria, and in Egypt and Cyprus; for Cleopatra the queen wasat variance with her son Ptolemy, who was called Lathyrus, and appointedfor her generals Chelcias and Ananias, the sons of that Onias who builtthe temple in the prefecture of Heliopolis, like to that at Jerusalem, as we have elsewhere related. Cleopatra intrusted these men with herarmy, and did nothing without their advice, as Strabo of Cappadociaattests, when he saith thus, "Now the greater part, both those that cameto Cyprus with us, and those that were sent afterward thither, revoltedto Ptolemy immediately; only those that were called Onias's party, beingJews, continued faithful, because their countrymen Chelcias and Ananiaswere in chief favor with the queen. " These are the words of Strabo. 5. However, this prosperous state of affairs moved the Jews to envyHyrcanus; but they that were the worst disposed to him were thePharisees, [28] who were one of the sects of the Jews, as we haveinformed you already. These have so great a power over the multitude, that when they say any thing against the king, or against the highpriest, they are presently believed. Now Hyrcanus was a disciple oftheirs, and greatly beloved by them. And when he once invited them toa feast, and entertained them very kindly, when he saw them in a goodhumor, he began to say to them, that they knew he was desirous to be arighteous man, and to do all things whereby he might please God, whichwas the profession of the Pharisees also. However, he desired, that ifthey observed him offending in any point, and going out of the rightway, they would call him back and correct him. On which occasion theyattested to his being entirely virtuous; with which commendation he waswell pleased. But still there was one of his guests there, whosename was Eleazar, a man of an ill temper, and delighting in seditiouspractices. This man said, "Since thou desirest to know the truth, ifthou wilt be righteous in earnest, lay down the high priesthood, andcontent thyself with the civil government of the people, " And when hedesired to know for what cause he ought to lay down the high priesthood, the other replied, "We have heard it from old men, that thy mother hadbeen a captive under the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. [29]" This storywas false, and Hyrcanus was provoked against him; and all the Phariseeshad a very great indignation against him. 6. Now there was one Jonathan, a very great friend of Hyrcanus's, but ofthe sect of the Sadducees, whose notions are quite contrary to those ofthe Pharisees. He told Hyrcanus that Eleazar had cast such a reproachupon him, according to the common sentiments of all the Pharisees, andthat this would be made manifest if he would but ask them the question, What punishment they thought this man deserved? for that he might dependupon it, that the reproach was not laid on him with their approbation, if they were for punishing him as his crime deserved. So the Phariseesmade answer, that he deserved stripes and bonds, but that it did notseem right to punish reproaches with death. And indeed the Pharisees, even upon other occasions, are not apt to be severe in punishments. Atthis gentle sentence, Hyrcanus was very angry, and thought that this manreproached him by their approbation. It was this Jonathan who chieflyirritated him, and influenced him so far, that he made him leave theparty of the Pharisees, and abolish the decrees they had imposed on thepeople, and to punish those that observed them. From this source arosethat hatred which he and his sons met with from the multitude: but ofthese matters we shall speak hereafter. What I would now explain isthis, that the Pharisees have delivered to the people a great manyobservances by succession from their fathers, which are not written inthe laws of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducees rejectthem, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatorywhich are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derivedfrom the tradition of our forefathers. And concerning these things itis that great disputes and differences have arisen among them, whilethe Sadducees are able to persuade none but the rich, and have not thepopulace obsequious to them, but the Pharisees have the multitude ontheir side. But about these two sects, and that of the Essens, I havetreated accurately in the second book of Jewish affairs. 7. But when Hyrcanus had put an end to this sedition, he after thatlived happily, and administered the government in the best manner forthirty-one years, and then died, [30] leaving behind him five sons. Hewas esteemed by God worthy of three of the greatest privileges, --thegovernment of his nation, the dignity of the high priesthood, andprophecy; for God was with him, and enabled him to know futurities;and to foretell this in particular, that, as to his two eldest sons, heforetold that they would not long continue in the government of publicaffairs; whose unhappy catastrophe will be worth our description, thatwe may thence learn how very much they were inferior to their father'shappiness. CHAPTER 11. How Aristobulus, When He Had Taken The Government FirstOf All Put A Diadem On His Head, And Was Most Barbarously Cruel ToHis Mother And His Brethren; And How, After He Had Slain Antigonus, HeHimself Died. 1. Now when their father Hyrcanus was dead, the eldest son Aristobulus, intending to change the government into a kingdom, for so he resolved todo, first of all put a diadem on his head, four hundred eighty and oneyears and three months after the people had been delivered from theBabylonish slavery, and were returned to their own country again. ThisAristobulus loved his next brother Antigonus, and treated him as hisequal; but the others he held in bonds. He also cast his mother intoprison, because she disputed the government with him; for Hyrcanus hadleft her to be mistress of all. He also proceeded to that degree ofbarbarity, as to kill her in prison with hunger; nay, he was alienatedfrom his brother Antigonus by calumnies, and added him to the rest whomhe slew; yet he seemed to have an affection for him, and made him abovethe rest a partner with him in the kingdom. Those calumnies he at firstdid not give credit to, partly because he loved him, and so did not giveheed to what was said against him, and partly because he thoughtthe reproaches were derived from the envy of the relaters. But whenAntigonus was once returned from the army, and that feast was then athand when they make tabernacles to [the honor of God, ] it happened thatArlstobulus was fallen sick, and that Antigonus went up most splendidlyadorned, and with his soldiers about him in their armor, to the templeto celebrate the feast, and to put up many prayers for the recovery ofhis brother, when some wicked persons, who had a great mind to raisea difference between the brethren, made use of this opportunity of thepompous appearance of Antigonus, and of the great actions which he haddone, and went to the king, and spitefully aggravated the pompous showof his at the feast, and pretended that all these circumstances were notlike those of a private person; that these actions were indications ofan affectation of royal authority; and that his coming with a strongbody of men must be with an intention to kill him; and that his way ofreasoning was this: That it was a silly thing in him, while it was inhis power to reign himself, to look upon it as a great favor that he washonored with a lower dignity by his brother. 2. Aristobulus yielded to these imputations, but took care both that hisbrother should not suspect him, and that he himself might not run thehazard of his own safety; so he ordered his guards to lie in a certainplace that was under ground, and dark; [he himself then lying sick inthe tower which was called Antonia;] and he commanded them, that in caseAntigonus came in to him unarmed, they should not touch any body, but ifarmed, they should kill him; yet did he send to Antigonus, and desiredthat he would come unarmed; but the queen, and those that joined withher in the plot against Antigonus, persuaded the messenger to tell himthe direct contrary: how his brother had heard that he had made himselfa fine suit of armor for war, and desired him to come to him in thatarmor, that he might see how fine it was. So Antigonus suspectingno treachery, but depending on the good-will of his brother, came toAristobulus armed, as he used to be, with his entire armor, in orderto show it to him; but when he was come to a place which was calledStrato's Tower, where the passage happened to be exceeding dark, the guards slew him; which death of his demonstrates that nothing isstronger than envy and calumny, and that nothing does more certainlydivide the good-will and natural affections of men than those passions. But here one may take occasion to wonder at one Judas, who was ofthe sect of the Essens, [31] and who never missed the truth in hispredictions; for this man, when he saw Antigonus passing by the temple, cried out to his companions and friends, who abode with him as hisscholars, 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 aboutAntigonus, who is still alive, and I see him passing by, although he hadforetold he should die at the place called Strato's Tower that very day, while yet the place is six hundred furlongs off, where he had foretoldhe should be slain; and still this day is a great part of it alreadypast, so that he was in danger of proving a false prophet. " As he wassaying this, and that in a melancholy mood, the news came that Antigonuswas slain in a place under ground, which itself was called also Strato'sTower, or of the same name with that Cesarea which is seated at the sea. This event put the prophet into a great disorder. 3. But Aristobulus repented immediately of this slaughter of hisbrother; on which account his disease increased upon him, and he wasdisturbed in his mind, upon the guilt of such wickedness, insomuch thathis entrails were corrupted by his intolerable pain, and he vomitedblood: at which time one of the servants that attended upon him, andwas carrying his blood away, did, by Divine Providence, as I cannot butsuppose, slip down, and shed part of his blood at the very place wherethere were spots of Antigonus's blood, there slain, still remaining; andwhen there was a cry made by the spectators, as if the servant had onpurpose shed the blood on that place, Aristobulus heard it, and inquiredwhat the matter was; and as they did not answer him, he was the moreearnest to know what it was, it being natural to men to suspect thatwhat is thus concealed is very bad: so upon his threatening, and forcingthem by terrors to speak, they at length told him the truth; whereuponhe shed many tears, in that disorder of mind which arose from hisconsciousness of what he had done, and gave a deep groan, and said, "Iam not therefore, I perceive, to be concealed from God, in the impiousand horrid crimes I have been guilty of; but a sudden punishment iscoming upon me for the shedding the blood of my relations. And now, Othou most impudent body of mine, how long wilt thou retain a soulthat ought to die, in order to appease the ghosts of my brother and mymother? Why dost thou not give it all up at once? And why do I deliverup my blood drop by drop to those whom I have so wickedly murdered?" Insaying which last words he died, having reigned a year. He was calleda lover of the Grecians; and had conferred many benefits on his owncountry, and made war against Iturea, and added a great part of it toJudea, and compelled the inhabitants, if they would continue in thatcountry, to be circumcised, and to live according to the Jewish laws. He was naturally a man of candor, and of great modesty, as Strabo bearswitness, in the name of Timagenes; who says thus: "This man was a personof candor, and very serviceable to the Jews; for he added a country tothem, and obtained a part of the nation of the Itureans for them, andbound them to them by the bond of the circumcision of their genitals. " CHAPTER 12. How Alexander When He Had Taken The Government Made AnExpedition Against Ptolemais, And Then Raised The Siege Out Of Fear OfPtolemy Lathyrus; And How Ptolemy Made War Against Him, Because He HadSent To Cleopatra To Persuade Her To Make War Against Ptolemy, And YetPretended To Be In Friendship With Him, When He Beat The Jews In TheBattle. 1. When Aristobulus was dead, his wife Salome, who, by the Greeks, wascalled Alexandra, let his brethren out of prison, [for Aristobulus hadkept them in bonds, as we have said already, ] and made Alexander Janneusking, who was the superior in age and in moderation. This child happenedto be hated by his father as soon as he was born, and could neverbe permitted to come into his father's sight till he died. [32] Theoccasion of which hatred is thus reported: when Hyrcanus chiefly lovedthe two eldest of his sons, Antigonus and Aristobutus, God appeared tohim in his sleep, of whom he inquired which of his sons should be hissuccessor. Upon God's representing to him the countenance of Alexander, he was grieved that he was to be the heir of all his goods, and sufferedhim to be brought up in Galilee However, God did not deceive Hyrcanus;for after the death of Aristobulus, he certainly took the kingdom; andone of his brethren, who affected the kingdom, he slew; and the other, who chose to live a private and quiet life, he had in esteem. 2. When Alexander Janneus had settled the government in the manner thathe judged best, he made an expedition against Ptolemais; and havingovercome the men in battle, he shut them up in the city, and sat roundabout it, and besieged it; for of the maritime cities there remainedonly Ptolemais and Gaza to be conquered, besides Strato's Towerand Dora, which were held by the tyrant Zoilus. Now while AntiochusPhilometor, and Antiochus who was called Cyzicenus, were making warone against another, and destroying one another's armies, the peopleof Ptolemais could have no assistance from them; but when they weredistressed with this siege, Zoilus, who possessed Strato's Tower andDora, and maintained a legion of soldiers, and, on occasion of thecontest between the kings, affected tyranny himself, came and broughtsome small assistance to the people of Ptolemais; nor indeed had thekings such a friendship for them, as that they should hope for anyadvantage from them. Both those kings were in the case of wrestlers, who finding themselves deficient in strength, and yet being ashamed toyield, put off the fight by laziness, and by lying still as long as theycan. The only hope they had remaining was from the kings of Egypt, andfrom Ptolemy Lathyrus, who now held Cyprus, and who came to Cyprus whenhe was driven from the government of Egypt by Cleopatra his mother. Sothe people of Ptolemais sent to this Ptolemy Lathyrus, and desired himto come as a confederate, 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 Gazaon the side of those of Ptolemais; as also they said, that Zoilus, andbesides these the Sidonians, and many others, would assist them; so hewas elevated at this, and got his fleet ready as soon as possible. 3. But in this interval Demenetus, one that was of abilities to persuademen to do as he would have them, and a leader of the populace, madethose of Ptolemais change their opinions; and said to them, that it wasbetter to run the hazard of being subject to the Jews, than to admitof evident slavery by delivering themselves up to a master; and besidesthat, to have not only a war at present, but to expect a much greaterwar from Egypt; for that Cleopatra would not overlook an army raised byPtolemy for himself out of the neighborhood, but would come against themwith a great army of her own, and this because she was laboring toeject her son out of Cyprus also; that as for Ptolemy, if he fail of hishopes, he can still retire to Cyprus, but that they will be left inthe greatest danger possible. Now Ptolemy, although he had heard of thechange that was made in the people of Ptolemais, yet did he still go onwith his voyage, and came to the country called Sycamine, and thereset his army on shore. This army of his, in the whole horse and foottogether, were about thirty thousand, with which he marched near toPtolemais, and there pitched his camp. But when the people of Ptolemaisneither received his ambassadors, nor would hear what they had to say, he was under a very great concern. 4. But when Zoilus and the people of Gaza came to him, and desired hisassistance, because their country was laid waste by the Jews, and byAlexander, Alexander raised the siege, for fear of Ptolemy: and whenhe had drawn off his army into his own country, he used a stratagemafterwards, by privately inviting Cleopatra to come against Ptolemy, but publicly pretending to desire a league of friendship and mutualassistance with him; and promising to give him four hundred talents ofsilver, he desired that, by way of requital, he would take off Zoilusthe tyrant, and give his country to the Jews. And then indeed Ptolemy, with pleasure, made such a league of friendship with Alexander, andsubdued Zoilus; but when he afterwards heard that he had privily sentto Cleopatra his mother, he broke the league with him, which yet hehad confirmed with an oath, and fell upon him, and besieged Ptolemais, because it would not receive him. However, leaving his generals, withsome part of his forces, to go on with the siege, he went himselfimmediately with the rest to lay Judea waste; and when Alexanderunderstood this to be Ptolemy's intention, he also got together aboutfifty thousand soldiers out of his own country; nay, as some writershave said, eighty thousand [33] He then took his army, and went to meetPtolemy; but Ptolemy fell upon Asochis, a city of Galilee, and tookit by force on the sabbath day, and there he took about ten thousandslaves, and a great deal of other prey. 5. He then tried to take Sepphoris, which was a city not far from thatwhich was destroyed, but lost many of his men; yet did he then go tofight with Alexander; which Alexander met him at the river Jordan, neara certain place called Saphoth, [not far from the river Jordan, ] andpitched his camp near to the enemy. He had however eight thousand inthe first rank, which he styled Hecatontomachi, having shields of brass. Those in the first rank of Ptolemy's soldiers also had shields coveredwith brass. But Ptolemy's soldiers in other respects were inferior tothose of Alexander, and therefore were more fearful of running hazards;but Philostephanus, the camp-master, put great courage into them, andordered them to pass the river, which was between their camps. Nor didAlexander think fit to hinder their passage over it; for he thought, that if the enemy had once gotten the river on their back, that heshould the easier take them prisoners, when they could not flee outof the battle: in the beginning of which, the acts on both sides, withtheir hands, and with their alacrity, were alike, and a greatslaughter was made by both the armies; but Alexander was superior, tillPhilostephanus opportunely brought up the auxiliaries, to help thosethat were giving way; but as there were no auxiliaries to afford helpto that part of the Jews that gave way, it fell out that they fled, andthose near them did no assist them, but fled along with them. However, Ptolemy's soldiers acted quite otherwise; for they followed the Jews, and killed them, till at length those that slew them pursued after themwhen they had made them all run away, and slew them so long, that theirweapons of iron were blunted, and their hands quite tired with theslaughter; for the report was, that thirty thousand men were then slain. Timagenes says they were fifty thousand. As for the rest, they werepart of them taken captives, and the other part ran away to their owncountry. 6. After this victory, Ptolemy overran all the country; and when nightcame on, he abode in certain villages of Judea, which when he found fullof women and children, he commanded his soldiers to strangle them, andto cut them in pieces, and then to cast them into boiling caldrons, andthen to devour their limbs as sacrifices. This commandment was given, that such as fled from the battle, and came to them, might suppose theirenemies were cannibals, and eat men's flesh, and might on that accountbe still more terrified at them upon such a sight. And both Strabo andNicholaus [of Damascus] affirm, that they used these people after thismanner, as I have already related. Ptolemy also took Ptolemais by force, as we have declared elsewhere. CHAPTER 13. How Alexander, upon the League of Mutual Defense WhichCleopatra Had Agreed with Him, Made an Expedition Against Coelesyria, and Utterly Overthrew the City of Gaza; and How He Slew Many TenThousands of Jews That Rebelled Against Him. Also Concerning AntiochusGrypus, Seleucus Antiochus Cyziceius, and Antiochus Pius, and Others. 1. When Cleopatra saw that her son was grown great, and laid Judeawaste, without disturbance, and had gotten the city of Gaza under hispower, she resolved no longer to overlook what he did, when he wasalmost at her gates; and she concluded, that now he was so muchstronger than before, he would be very desirous of the dominion over theEgyptians; but she immediately marched against him, with a fleet atsea and an army of foot on land, and made Chelcias and Ananias the Jewsgenerals of her whole army, while she sent the greatest part of herriches, her grandchildren, and her testament, to the people of Cos [34]Cleopatra also ordered her son Alexander to sail with a great fleet toPhoenicia; and when that country had revolted, she came to Ptolemais;and because the people of Ptolemais did not receive her, she besiegedthe city; but Ptolemy went out of Syria, and made haste unto Egypt, supposing that he should find it destitute of an army, and soon take it, though he failed of his hopes. At this time Chelcias, one of Cleopatra'sgenerals, happened to die in Celesyria, as he was in pursuit of Ptolemy. 2. When Cleopatra heard of her son's attempt, and that his Egyptianexpedition did not succeed according to his expectations, she sentthither part of her army, and drove him out of that country; so when hewas returned out of Egypt again, he abode during the winter at Gaza, inwhich time Cleopatra took the garrison that was in Ptolemais by siege, as well as the city; and when Alexander came to her, he gave herpresents, and such marks of respect as were but proper, since under themiseries he endured by Ptolemy he had no other refuge but her. Now therewere some of her friends who persuaded her to seize Alexander, and tooverrun and take possession of the country, and not to sit still and seesuch a multitude of brave Jews subject to one man. But Ananias's counselwas contrary to theirs, who said that she would do an unjust action ifshe deprived a man that was her ally of that authority which belongedto him, and this a man who is related to us; "for [said he] I would nothave thee ignorant of this, that what in justice thou dost to him willmake all us that are Jews to be thy enemies. " This desire of AnaniasCleopatra complied with, and did no injury to Alexander, but madea league of mutual assistance with him at Scythopolis, a city ofCelesyria. 3. So when Alexander was delivered from the fear he was in of Ptolemy, he presently made an expedition against Coelesyria. He also took Gadara, after a siege of ten months. He took also Areathus, a very strongfortress belonging to the inhabitants above Jordan, where Theodorus, theson of Zeno, had his chief treasure, and what he esteemed most precious. This Zeno fell unexpectedly upon the Jews, and slew ten thousand ofthem, and seized upon Alexander's baggage. Yet did not this misfortuneterrify Alexander; but he made an expedition upon the maritime partsof the country, Raphia and Anthedon, [the name of which king Herodafterwards changed to Agrippias, ] and took even that by force. But whenAlexander saw that Ptolemy was retired from Gaza to Cyprus, and hismother Cleopatra was returned to Egypt, he grew angry at the peopleof Gaza, because they had invited Ptolemy to assist them, and besiegedtheir city, and ravaged their country. But as Apollodotus, the generalof the army of Gaza, fell upon the camp of the Jews by night, with twothousand foreign and ten thousand of his own forces, while the nightlasted, those of Gaza prevailed, because the enemy was made to believethat it was Ptolemy who attacked them; but when day was come on, andthat 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 themabout a thousand. But as those of Gaza stoutly resisted them, andwould not yield for either their want of any thing, nor for the greatmultitude that were slain, [for they would rather suffer any hardshipwhatever than come under the power of their enemies, ] Aretas, king ofthe Arabians, a person then very illustrious, encouraged them to go onwith alacrity, and promised them that he would come to their assistance;but it happened that before he came Apollodotus was slain; for hisbrother Lysimachus envying him for the great reputation he had gainedamong the citizens, slew him, and got the army together, and deliveredup the city to Alexander, who, when he came in at first, lay quiet, butafterward set his army upon the inhabitants of Gaza, and gave them leaveto punish them; so some went one way, and some went another, and slewthe inhabitants of Gaza; yet were not they of cowardly hearts, butopposed those that came to slay them, and slew as many of the Jews; andsome of them, when they saw themselves deserted, burnt their own houses, that the enemy might get none of their spoils; nay, some of them, withtheir own hands, slew their children and their wives, having no otherway but this of avoiding slavery for them; but the senators, who were inall five hundred, fled to Apollo's temple, [for this attack happenedto be made as they were sitting, ] whom Alexander slew; and when he hadutterly overthrown their city, he returned to Jerusalem, having spent ayear in that siege. 4. About this very time Antiochus, who was called Grypus, died [35] Hisdeath was caused by Heracleon's treachery, when he had lived forty-fiveyears, and had reigned twenty-nine. [36] His son Seleucus succeeded himin the kingdom, and made war with Antiochus, his father's brother, whowas called Antiochus Cyzicenus, and beat him, and took him prisoner, and slew him. But after a while Antiochus, the son of Cyzicenus, whowas called Pius, came to Aradus, and put the diadem on his own head, andmade 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 leviedmoney upon them; but the people of Mopsuestin had indignation at what hedid, and burnt down his palace, and slew him, together with his friends. But when Antiochus, the son of Cyzicenus, was king of Syria, Antiochus, [37] the brother of Seleucus, made war upon him, and was overcome, anddestroyed, he and his army. After him, his brother Philip put on thediadem, and reigned over some part of Syria; but Ptolemy Lathyrus sentfor his fourth brother Demetrius, who was called Eucerus, from Cnidus, and made him king of Damascus. Both these brothers did Antiochusvehemently oppose, but presently died; for when he was come as anauxiliary to Laodice, queen of the Gileadites, [38] when she was makingwar against the Parthians, and he was fighting courageously, he fell, while Demetrius and Philip governed Syria, as hath been elsewhererelated. 5. As to Alexander, his own people were seditious against him; for ata festival which was then celebrated, when he stood upon the altar, andwas going to sacrifice, the nation rose upon him, and pelted him withcitrons [which they then had in their hands, because] the law of theJews required that at the feast of tabernacles every one should havebranches of the palm tree and citron tree; which thing we have elsewhererelated. They also reviled him, as derived from a captive, and sounworthy 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 ofwood round the altar and the temple, as far as that partition withinwhich it was only lawful for the priests to enter; and by this meanshe obstructed the multitude from coming at him. He also maintainedforeigners of Pisidie and Cilicia; for as to the Syrians, he was at warwith them, and so made no use of them. He also overcame the Arabians, such as the Moabites and Gileadites, and made them bring tribute. Moreover, he demolished Amathus, while Theodorus [39] durst not fightwith him; but as he had joined battle with Obedas, king of the Arabians, and fell into an ambush in the places that were rugged and difficultto be traveled over, he was thrown down into a deep valley, by themultitude of the camels at Gadurn, a village of Gilead, and hardlyescaped with his life. From thence he fled to Jerusalem, where, besideshis other ill success, the nation insulted him, and he fought againstthem for six years, and slew no fewer than fifty thousand of them. Andwhen he desired that they would desist from their ill-will to him, theyhated him so much the more, on account of what had already happened; andwhen he had asked them what he ought to do, they all cried out, that heought to kill himself. They also sent to Demetrius Eucerus, and desiredhim to make a league of mutual defense with them. CHAPTER 14. How Demetrius Eucerus Overcame Alexander And Yet In A LittleTime Retired Out Of The Country For Fear; As Also How Alexander SlewMany Of The Jews And Thereby Got Clear Of His Troubles. Concerning TheDeath Of Demetrius. 1. So Demetrius came with an army, and took those that invited him, andpitched his camp near the city Shechem; upon which Alexander, with hissix thousand two hundred mercenaries, and about twenty thousand Jews, who were of his party, went against Demetrius, who had three thousandhorsemen, and forty thousand footmen. Now there were great endeavorsused on both sides, --Demetrius trying to bring off the mercenaries thatwere with Alexander, because they were Greeks, and Alexander trying tobring off the Jews that were with Demetrius. However, when neither ofthem could persuade them so to do, they came to a battle, and Demetriuswas the conqueror; in which all Alexander's mercenaries were killed, when they had given demonstration of their fidelity and courage. A greatnumber of Demetrius's soldiers were slain also. 2. Now as Alexander fled to the mountains, six thousand of the Jewshereupon came together [from Demetrius] to him out of pity at the changeof his fortune; upon which Demetrius was afraid, and retired out ofthe country; after which the Jews fought against Alexander, and beingbeaten, were slain in great numbers in the several battles which theyhad; and when he had shut up the most powerful of them in the cityBethome, he besieged them therein; and when he had taken the city, andgotten the men into his power, he brought them to Jerusalem, and didone of the most barbarous actions in the world to them; for as he wasfeasting with his concubines, in the sight of all the city, he orderedabout eight hundred of them to be crucified; and while they were living, he ordered the throats of their children and wives to be cut beforetheir eyes. This was indeed by way of revenge for the injuries theyhad done him; which punishment yet was of an inhuman nature, thoughwe suppose that he had been never so much distressed, as indeed he hadbeen, by his wars with them, for he had by their means come to the lastdegree of hazard, both of his life and of his kingdom, while they werenot satisfied by themselves only to fight against him, but introducedforeigners also for the same purpose; nay, at length they reduced him tothat degree of necessity, that he was forced to deliver back to the kingof Arabia the land of Moab and Gilead, which he had subdued, and theplaces that were in them, that they might not join with them in the waragainst him, as they had done ten thousand other things that tended toaffront and reproach him. However, this barbarity seems to have beenwithout any necessity, on which account he bare the name of a Thracianamong the Jews [40] whereupon the soldiers that had fought against him, being about eight thousand in number, ran away by night, and continuedfugitives all the time that Alexander lived; who being now freed fromany further disturbance from them, reigned the rest of his time in theutmost tranquillity. 3. But when Demetrius was departed out of Judea, he went to Berea, andbesieged his brother Philip, having with him ten thousand footmen, and athousand horsemen. However Strato, the tyrant of Berea, the confederateof Philip, called in Zizon, the ruler of the Arabian tribes, andMithridates Sinax, the ruler of the Parthians, who coming with a greatnumber of forces, and besieging Demetrius in his encampment, into whichthey had driven them with their arrows, they compelled those that werewith him by thirst to deliver up themselves. So they took a great manyspoils out of that country, and Demetrius himself, whom they sent toMithridates, who was then king of Parthis; but as to those whom theytook captives of the people of Antioch, they restored them to theAntiochinus without any reward. Now Mithridates, the king of Parthis, had Demetrius in great honor, till Demetrius ended his life by sickness. So Philip, presently after the fight was over, came to Antioch, and tookit, and reigned over Syria. CHAPTER 15. How Antiochus, Who Was Called Dionysus, And After Him AretasMade Expeditions Into Judea; As Also How Alexander Took Many Cities AndThen Returned To Jerusalem, And After A Sickness Of Three Years Died;And What Counsel He Gave To Alexandra. 1. After this, Antiochus, who was called Dionysus, [41] and was Philip'sbrother, aspired to the dominion, and came to Damascus, and got thepower into his hands, and there he reigned; but as he was making waragainst the Arabians, his brother Philip heard of it, and came toDamascus, where Milesius, who had been left governor of the citadel, and the Damascens themselves, delivered up the city to him; yet becausePhilip was become ungrateful to him, and had bestowed upon him nothingof that in hopes whereof he had received him into the city, but had amind to have it believed that it was rather delivered up out of fearthan by the kindness of Milesius, and because he had not rewarded him ashe ought to have done, he became suspected by him, and so he was obligedto leave Damascus again; for Milesius caught him marching out intothe Hippodrome, and shut him up in it, and kept Damascus for Antiochus[Eucerus], who hearing how Philip's affairs stood, came back out ofArabia. He also came immediately, and made an expedition against Judea, with eight thousand armed footmen, and eight hundred horsemen. SoAlexander, out of fear of his coming, dug a deep ditch, beginning atChabarzaba, which is now called Antipatris, to the sea of Joppa, onwhich part only his army could be brought against him. He also raiseda wall, and erected wooden towers, and intermediate redoubts, for onehundred and fifty furlongs in length, and there expected the coming ofAntiochus; but he soon burnt them all, and made his army pass by thatway into Arabia. The Arabian king [Aretas] at first retreated, butafterward appeared on the sudden with ten thousand horsemen. Antiochusgave them the meeting, and fought desperately; and indeed when he hadgotten the victory, and was bringing some auxiliaries to that part ofhis army that was in distress, he was slain. When Antiochus was fallen, his army fled to the village Cana, where the greatest part of themperished by famine. 2. After him [42] Arems reigned over Celesyria, being called to thegovernment by those that held Damascus, by reason of the hatred theybare to Ptolemy Menneus. He also made thence an expedition againstJudea, and beat Alexander in battle, near a place called Adida; yet didhe, upon certain conditions agreed on between them, retire out of Judea. 3. But Alexander marched again to the city Dios, and took it; and thenmade an expedition against Essa, where was the best part of Zeno'streasures, and there he encompassed the place with three walls; and whenhe had taken the city by fighting, he marched to Golan and Seleucia; andwhen he had taken these cities, he, besides them, took that valley whichis called The Valley of Antiochus, as also the fortress of Gamala. He also accused Demetrius, who was governor of those places, of manycrimes, and turned him out; and after he had spent three years in thiswar, he returned to his own country, when the Jews joyfully received himupon this his good success. 4. Now at this time the Jews were in possession of the following citiesthat had belonged to the Syrians, and Idumeans, and Phoenicians: Atthe sea-side, Strato's Tower, Apollonia, Joppa, Jamhis, Ashdod, Gaza, Anthedon, Raphia, and Rhinocolura; in the middle of the country, near toIdumea, Adorn, and Marissa; near the country of Samaria, Mount Carmel, and Mount Tabor, Scythopolis, and Gadara; of the country of Gaulonitis, Seleucia and Gabala; in the country of Moab, Heshbon, and Medaba, Lemba, and Oronas, Gelithon, Zorn, the valley of the Cilices, and Pollo; whichlast they utterly destroyed, because its inhabitants would not bear tochange their religious rites for those peculiar to the Jews. [43] TheJews also possessed others of the principal cities of Syria, which hadbeen destroyed. 5. After this, king Alexander, although he fell into a distemper by harddrinking, and had a quartan ague, which held him three years, yet wouldnot leave off going out with his army, till he was quite spent with thelabors he had undergone, and died in the bounds of Ragaba, a fortressbeyond Jordan. But when his queen saw that he was ready to die, and hadno longer any hopes of surviving, she came to him weeping and lamenting, and bewailed herself and her sons on the desolate condition they shouldbe left in; and said to him, "To whom dost thou thus leave me and mychildren, who are destitute of all other supports, and this when thouknowest how much ill-will thy nation bears thee?" But he gave her thefollowing advice: That she need but follow what he would suggest to her, in order to retain the kingdom securely, with her children: that sheshould conceal his death from the soldiers till she should have takenthat place; after this she should go in triumph, as upon a victory, to Jerusalem, and put some of her authority into the hands of thePharisees; for that they would commend her for the honor she had donethem, and would reconcile the nation to her for he told her they hadgreat authority among the Jews, both to do hurt to such as they hated, and to bring advantages to those to whom they were friendly disposed;for that they are then believed best of all by the multitude when theyspeak any severe thing against others, though it be only out of envy atthem. And he said that it was by their means that he had incurredthe displeasure of the nation, whom indeed he had injured. "Do thou, therefore, " said he, "when thou art come to Jerusalem, send for theleading men among them, and show them my body, and with great appearanceof sincerity, give them leave to use it as they themselves please, whether they will dishonor the dead body by refusing it burial, ashaving severely suffered by my means, or whether in their anger theywill offer any other injury to that body. Promise them also that thouwilt do nothing without them in the affairs of the kingdom. If thou dostbut say this to them, I shall have the honor of a more glorious Funeralfrom them than thou couldst have made for me; and when it is in theirpower to abuse my dead body, they will do it no injury at all, and thouwilt rule in safety. " [44] So when he had given his wife this advice, he died, after he had reigned twenty-seven years, and lived fifty yearswithin one. CHAPTER 16. How Alexandra By Gaining The Good-Will Of The Pharisees, Retained The Kingdom Nine Years, And Then, Having Done Many GloriousActions Died. 1. So Alexandra, when she had taken the fortress, acted as her husbandhad suggested to her, and spake to the Pharisees, and put all thingsinto their power, both as to the dead body, and as to the affairs of thekingdom, and thereby pacified their anger against Alexander, and madethem bear goodwill and friendship to him; who then came among themultitude, and made speeches to them, and laid before them the actionsof Alexander, and told them that they had lost a righteous king; and bythe commendation they gave him, they brought them to grieve, and to bein heaviness for him, so that he had a funeral more splendid thanhad any of the kings before him. Alexander left behind him two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, but committed the kingdom to Alexandra. Now, as to these two sons, Hyrcanus was indeed unable to managepublic affairs, and delighted rather in a quiet life; but the younger, Aristobulus, was an active and a bold man; and for this woman herself, Alexandra, she was loved by the multitude, because she seemed displeasedat the offenses her husband had been guilty of. 2. So she made Hyrcanus high priest, because he was the elder, but muchmore because he cared not to meddle with politics, and permitted thePharisees to do every thing; to whom also she ordered the multitude tobe obedient. She also restored again those practices which the Phariseeshad introduced, according to the traditions of their forefathers, andwhich her father-in-law, Hyrcanus, had abrogated. So she had indeed thename of the regent, but the Pharisees had the authority; for it was theywho restored such as had been banished, and set such as were prisonersat liberty, and, to say all at once, they differed in nothing fromlords. However, the queen also took care of the affairs of the kingdom, and got together a great body of mercenary soldiers, and increased herown army to such a degree, that she became terrible to the neighboringtyrants, and took hostages of them: and the country was entirely atpeace, excepting the Pharisees; for they disturbed the queen, anddesired that she would kill those who persuaded Alexander to slay theeight hundred men; after which they cut the throat of one of them, Diogenes; and after him they did the same to several, one after another, till the men that were the most potent came into the palace, andAristobulus with them, for he seemed to be displeased at what was done;and it appeared openly, that if he had an opportunity, he would notpermit his mother to go on so. These put the queen in mind what greatdangers they had gone through, and great things they had done, wherebythey had demonstrated the firmness of their fidelity to their master, insomuch that they had received the greatest marks of favor from him;and they begged of her, that she would not utterly blast their hopes, asit now happened, that when they had escaped the hazards that arose fromtheir [open] enemies, they were to be cut off at home by their [private]enemies, like brute beasts, without any help whatsoever. They said also, that if their adversaries would be satisfied with those that had beenslain already, they would take what had been done patiently, on accountof their natural love to their governors; but if they must expect thesame for the future also, they implored of her a dismission from herservice; for they could not bear to think of attempting any method fortheir deliverance without her, but would rather die willingly before thepalace gate, in case she would not forgive them. And that it was agreat shame, both for themselves and for the queen, that when theywere neglected by her, they should come under the lash of her husband'senemies; for that Aretas, the Arabian king, and the monarchs, would giveany reward, if they could get such men as foreign auxiliaries, to whomtheir very names, before their voices be heard, may perhaps be terrible;but if they could not obtain this their second request, and if she haddetermined to prefer the Pharisees before them, they still insistedthat she would place them every one in her fortresses; for if some fataldemon hath a constant spite against Alexander's house, they would bewilling to bear their part, and to live in a private station there. 3. As these men said thus, and called upon Alexander's ghost forcommiseration of those already slain, and those in danger of it, all thebystanders brake out into tears. But Aristobulus chiefly made manifestwhat were his sentiments, and used many reproachful expressions to hismother, [saying, ] "Nay, indeed, the case is this, that they have beenthemselves the authors of their own calamities, who have permitted awoman who, against reason, was mad with ambition, to reign over them, when there were sons in the flower of their age fitter for it. " SoAlexandra, not knowing what to do with any decency, committed thefortresses to them, all but Hyrcania, and Alexandrium, and Macherus, where her principal treasures were. After a little while also, she senther son Aristobulus with an army to Damascus against Ptolemy, who wascalled Menneus, who was such a bad neighbor to the city; but he didnothing 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 thousand soldiers, [45] and was coming against Judea. This news, as may well be supposed, terrified the queen and the nation. Accordingly, they sent him manyand very valuable presents, as also ambassadors, and that as he wasbesieging Ptolemais; for Selene the queen, the same that was also calledCleopatra, ruled then over Syria, who had persuaded the inhabitants toexclude Tigranes. So the Jewish ambassadors interceded with him, andentreated him that he would determine nothing that was severe abouttheir queen or nation. He commended them for the respects they paid himat so great a distance, and gave them good hopes of his favor. But assoon as Ptolemais was taken, news came to Tigranes, that Lucullus, inhis pursuit of Mithridates, could not light upon him, who was fled intoIberia, but was laying waste Armenia, and besieging its cities. Now whenTigranes knew this, he returned home. 5. After this, when the queen was fallen into a dangerous distemper, Aristobulus resolved to attempt the seizing of the government; so hestole away secretly by night, with only one of his servants, and went tothe fortresses, wherein his friends, that were such from the days of hisfather, were settled; for as he had been a great while displeased at hismother's conduct, so he was now much more afraid, lest, upon her death, their whole family should be under the power of the Pharisees; for hesaw the inability of his brother, who was to succeed in the government;nor was any one conscious of what he was doing but only his wife, whomhe left at Jerusalem with their children. He first of all came to Agaba, where was Galestes, one of the potent men before mentioned, and wasreceived by him. When it was day, the queen perceived that Aristobuluswas fled; and for some time she supposed that his departure was not inorder to make any innovation; but when messengers came one after anotherwith the news that he had secured the first place, the second place, andall the places, for as soon as one had begun they all submitted to hisdisposal, then it was that the queen and the nation were in the greatestdisorder, for they were aware that it would not be long ere Aristobuluswould be able to settle himself firmly in the government. What they wereprincipally afraid of was this, that he would inflict punishment uponthem for the mad treatment his house had had from them. So they resolvedto take his wife and children into custody, and keep them in thefortress that was over the temple. [46] Now there was a mighty confluxof people that came to Aristobulus from all parts, insomuch that he hada kind of royal attendants about him; for in a little more than fifteendays he got twenty-two strong places, which gave him the opportunity ofraising an army from Libanus and Trachonitis, and the monarchs; for menare easily led by the greater number, and easily submit to them. Andbesides this, that by affording him their assistance, when he could notexpect it, they, as well as he, should have the advantages that wouldcome by his being king, because they had been the occasion of hisgaining the kingdom. Now the eiders of the Jews, and Hyrcanus withthem, went in unto the queen, and desired that she would give them hersentiments about the present posture of affairs, for that Aristobuluswas in effect lord of almost all the kingdom, by possessing of so manystrong holds, and that it was absurd for them to take any counsel bythemselves, how ill soever she were, whilst she was alive, and that thedanger would be upon them in no long time. But she bid them do what theythought proper to be done; that they had many circumstances in theirfavor still remaining, a nation in good heart, an army, and money intheir several treasuries; for that she had small concern about publicaffairs now, when the strength of her body already failed her. 6. Now a little while after she had said this to them, she died, whenshe had reigned nine years, and had in all lived seventy-three. A womanshe was who showed no signs of the weakness of her sex, for she wassagacious to the greatest degree in her ambition of governing; anddemonstrated by her doings at once, that her mind was fit for action, and that sometimes men themselves show the little understanding theyhave by the frequent mistakes they make in point of government; for shealways preferred the present to futurity, and preferred the power of animperious dominion above all things, and in comparison of that had noregard to what was good, or what was right. However, she brought theaffairs of her house to such an unfortunate condition, that she was theoccasion of the taking away that authority from it, and that in no longtime afterward, which she had obtained by a vast number of hazardsand misfortunes, and this out of a desire of what does not belong to awoman, and all by a compliance in her sentiments with those that bareill-will to their family, and by leaving the administration destituteof a proper support of great men; and, indeed, her management during heradministration while she was alive, was such as filled the palace afterher death with calamities and disturbance. However, although this hadbeen her way of governing, she preserved the nation in peace. And thisis the conclusion of the affairs of, Alexandra. BOOK XIV. Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Two Years. From The Death Of Queen Alexandra To The Death Of Antigonus. CHAPTER 1. The War Between Aristobulus And Hyrcanus About The Kingdom;And How They Made Anagreement That Aristobulus Should Be King, AndHyrcanus Live A Private Life; As Also How Hyrcanus A Little AfterwardWas Persuaded By Antipater To Fly To Aretas. 1. We have related the affairs of queen Alexandra, and her death, in theforegoing book and will now speak of what followed, and was connectedwith those histories; declaring, before we proceed, that we have nothingso much at heart as this, that we may omit no facts, either throughignorance or laziness; [1] for we are upon the history and explicationof such things as the greatest part are unacquainted withal, because oftheir distance from our times; and we aim to do it with a proper beautyof style, so far as that is derived from proper words harmonicallydisposed, and from such ornaments of speech also as may contribute tothe pleasure of our readers, that they may entertain the knowledge ofwhat we write with some agreeable satisfaction and pleasure. But theprincipal scope that authors ought to aim at above all the rest, is tospeak accurately, and to speak truly, for the satisfaction of thosethat are otherwise unacquainted with such transactions, and obliged tobelieve what these writers inform them of. 2. Hyrcanus then began his high priesthood on the third year of thehundred and seventy-seventh olympiad, when Quintus Hortensius andQuintus Metellus, who was called Metellus of Crete, were consuls atRome; when presently Aristobulus began to make war against him; andas it came to a battle with Hyrcanus at Jericho, many of his soldiersdeserted him, and went over to his brother; upon which Hyrcanus fledinto the citadel, where Aristobulus's wife and children were imprisonedby their mother, as we have said already, and attacked and overcamethose his adversaries that had fled thither, and lay within the walls ofthe temple. So when he had sent a message to his brother about agreeingthe matters between them, he laid aside his enmity to him on theseconditions, that Aristobulus should be king, that he should live withoutintermeddling with public affairs, and quietly enjoy the estate he hadacquired. When they had agreed upon these terms in the temple, and hadconfirmed the agreement with oaths, and the giving one another theirright hands, and embracing one another in the sight of the wholemultitude, they departed; the one, Aristobulus, to the palace; andHyrcanus, as a private man, to the former house of Aristobulus. 3. But there was a certain friend of Hyrcanus, an Idumean, calledAntipater, who was very rich, and in his nature an active and aseditious man; who was at enmity with Aristobulus, and had differenceswith him on account of his good-will to Hyrcanus. It is true thatNicolatls of Damascus says, that Antipater was of the stock of theprincipal Jews who came out of Babylon into Judea; but that assertionof his was to gratify Herod, who was his son, and who, by certainrevolutions of fortune, came afterward to be king of the Jews, whosehistory we shall give you in its proper place hereafter. However, thisAntipater was at first called Antipas, [2] and that was his father'sname also; of whom they relate this: That king Alexander and his wifemade him general of all Idumea, and that he made a league of friendshipwith those Arabians, and Gazites, and Ascalonites, that were of his ownparty, and had, by many and large presents, made them his fastfriends. But now this younger Antipater was suspicious of the power ofAristobulus, and was afraid of some mischief he might do him, because ofhis hatred to him; so he stirred up the most powerful of the Jews, andtalked against him to them privately; and said that it was unjust tooverlook the conduct of Aristobulus, who had gotten the governmentunrighteously, and ejected his brother out of it, who was the elder, andought to retain what belonged to him by prerogative of his birth. Andthe same speeches he perpetually made to Hyrcanus; and told him that hisown life would be in danger, unless he guarded himself, and got shutof Aristobulus; for he said that the friends of Aristobulus omitted noopportunity of advising him to kill him, as being then, and not before, sure to retain his principality. Hyrcanus gave no credit to these wordsof his, as being of a gentle disposition, and one that did not easilyadmit of calumnies against other men. This temper of his not disposinghim to meddle with public affairs, and want of spirit, occasioned him toappear to spectators to be degenerous and unmanly; while. Aristo-buluswas of a contrary temper, an active man, and one of a great and generoussoul. 4. Since therefore Antipater saw that Hyrcanus did not attend to whathe said, he never ceased, day by day, to charge reigned crimes uponAristobulus, and to calumniate him before him, as if he had a mindto kill him; and so, by urging him perpetually, he advised him, andpersuaded him to fly to Aretas, the king of Arabia; and promised, thatif he would comply with his advice, he would also himself assist himand go with him. When Hyrcanus heard this, he said that it was for hisadvantage to fly away to Aretas. Now Arabia is a country that bordersupon Judea. However, Hyrcanus sent Antipater first to the king ofArabia, in order to receive assurances from him, that when he shouldcome in the manner of a supplicant to him, he would not deliver him upto his enemies. So Antipater having received such assurances, returnedto Hyrcanus to Jerusalem. A while afterward he took Hyrcanus, and stoleout of the city by night, and went a great journey, and came and broughthim to the city called Petra, where the palace of Aretas was; and as hewas a very familiar friend of that king, he persuaded him to bring backHyrcanus into Judea, and this persuasion he continued every day withoutany intermission. He also proposed to make him presents on that account. At length he prevailed with Aretas in his suit. Moreover, Hyrcanuspromised him, that when he had been brought thither, and had receivedhis kingdom, he would restore that country, and those twelve citieswhich his father Alexander had taken from the Arabians, which werethese, Medaba, Naballo, Libias, Tharabasa, Agala, Athone, Zoar, Orone, Marissa, Rudda, Lussa, and Oruba. CHAPTER 2. How Aretas And Hyrcanus Made An Expedition AgainstAristobulus And Besieged Jerusalem; And How Scaurus The Roman GeneralRaised The Siege. Concerning The Death Of Onias. 1. After these promises had been given to Aretas, he made an expeditionagainst Aristobulus with an army of fifty thousand horse and foot, andbeat him in the battle. And when after that victory many went overto Hyrcanus as deserters, Aristobulus was left desolate, and fled toJerusalem; upon which the king of Arabia took all his army, and made anassault upon the temple, and besieged Aristobulus therein, the peoplestill supporting Hyreanus, and assisting him in the siege, while nonebut the priests continued with Aristobulus. So Aretas united the forcesof the Arabians and of the Jews together, and pressed on the siegevigorously. As this happened at the time when the feast of unleavenedbread was celebrated, which we call the passover, the principal menamong the Jews left the country, and fled into Egypt. Now there was one, whose name was Onias, a righteous man he was, and beloved of God, who, in a certain drought, had prayed to God to put an end to the intenseheat, and whose prayers God had heard, and had sent them rain. This manhad hid himself, because he saw that this sedition would last a greatwhile. However, they brought him to the Jewish camp, and desired, thatas by his prayers he had once put an end to the drought, so he would inlike manner make imprecations on Aristobulus and those of his faction. And when, upon his refusal, and the excuses that he made, he was stillby 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 standnow with me are thy people, and those that are besieged are also thypriests, I beseech thee, that thou wilt neither hearken to the prayersof those against these, nor bring to effect what these pray againstthose. " Whereupon such wicked Jews as stood about him, as soon as he hadmade this prayer, stoned him to death. 2. But God punished them immediately for this their barbarity, and tookvengeance of them for the murder of Onias, in the manner following:While the priests and Aristobulus were besieged, it happened that thefeast called the passover was come, at which it is our custom to offer agreat number of sacrifices to God; but those that were with Aristobuluswanted sacrifices, and desired that their countrymen without wouldfurnish them with such sacrifices, and assured them they should have asmuch money for them as they should desire; and when they required themto pay a thousand drachmae for each head of cattle, Aristobulus andthe priests willingly undertook to pay for them accordingly, and thosewithin let down the money over the walls, and gave it them. But when theothers had received it, they did not deliver the sacrifices, but arrivedat that height of wickedness as to break the assurances they had given, and to be guilty of impiety towards God, by not furnishing those thatwanted them with sacrifices. And when the priests found they had beencheated, and that the agreements they had made were violated, theyprayed to God that he would avenge them on their countrymen. Nor didhe delay that their punishment, but sent a strong and vehement storm ofwind, that destroyed the fruits of the whole country, till a modius ofwheat was then bought for eleven drachmae. 3. In the mean time Pompey sent Scaurus into Syria, while he was himselfin Armenia, and making war with Tigranes; but when Scaurus was come toDamascus, and found that Lollins and Metellus had newly taken thecity, he came himself hastily into Judea. And when he was come thither, ambassadors came to him, both from Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, and bothdesired he would assist them. And when both of them promised to givehim money, Aristobulus four hundred talents, and Hyrcanus no less, heaccepted of Aristobulus's promise, for he was rich, and had a greatsoul, and desired to obtain nothing but what was moderate; whereas theother was poor, and tenacious, and made incredible promises in hopes ofgreater advantages; for it was not the same thing to take a city thatwas exceeding strong and powerful, as it was to eject out of the countrysome fugitives, with a greater number of Mabateans, who were no verywarlike people. He therefore made an agreement with Aristobulus, for thereasons before mentioned, and took his money, and raised the siege, andordered Aretas to depart, or else he should be declared an enemy to theRomans. So Scaurus returned to Damascus again; and Aristobulus, witha great army, made war with Aretas and Hyrcanus, and fought them at aplace called Papyron, and beat them in the battle, and slew about sixthousand of the enemy, with whom fell Phalion also, the brother ofAntipater. CHAPTER 3. How Aristobulus And Hyrcanus Came To Pompey In Order To ArgueWho Ought To Have The Kingdom; And How Upon The Plight Of Aristobulus ToThe Fortress Alexandrium Pompey Led His Army Against Him And Ordered HimTo Deliver Up The Fortresses Whereof He Was Possessed. 1. A Little afterward Pompey came to Damascus, and marched overCelesyria; at which time there came ambassadors to him from all Syria, and Egypt, and out of Judea also, for Aristobulus had sent him a greatpresent, which was a golden vine [3] of the value of five hundredtalents. Now Strabo of Cappadocia mentions this present in these words:"There came also an embassage out of Egypt, and a crown of the valueof four thousand pieces of gold; and out of Judea there came another, whether you call it a vine or a garden; they call the thing Terpole, theDelight. However, we ourselves saw that present reposited at Rome, inthe temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, with this inscription, 'The gift ofAlexander, the king of the Jews. ' It was valued at five hundred talents;and the report is, that Aristobulus, the governor of the Jews, sent it. " 2. In a little time afterward came ambassadors again to him, Antipaterfrom Hyrcanus, and Nicodemus from Aristobulus; which last also accusedsuch as had taken bribes; first Gabinius, and then Scaurus, --the onethree hundred talents, and the other four hundred; by which procedure hemade these two his enemies, besides those he had before. And when Pompeyhad ordered those that had controversies one with another to come to himin the beginning of the spring, he brought his army out of their winterquarters, and marched into the country of Damascus; and as he went alonghe demolished the citadel that was at Apamia, which Antiochus Cyzicenushad built, and took cognizance of the country of Ptolemy Menneus, awicked man, and not less so than Dionysius of Tripoli, who had beenbeheaded, who was also his relation by marriage; yet did he buy off thepunishment of his crimes for a thousand talents, with which moneyPompey paid the soldiers their wages. He also conquered the place calledLysias, of which Silas a Jew was tyrant. And when he had passed over thecities of Heliopolis and Chalcis, and got over the mountain which is onthe limit of Colesyria, he came from Pella to Damascus; and there it wasthat he heard the causes of the Jews, and of their governors Hyrcanusand Aristobulus, who were at difference one with another, as also ofthe nation against them both, which did not desire to be under kingly'government, because the form of government they received from theirforefathers was that of subjection to the priests of that God whomthey worshipped; and [they complained], that though these two were theposterity of priests, yet did they seek to change the governmentof their nation to another form, in order to enslave them. Hyrcanuscomplained, that although he were the elder brother, he was deprived ofthe prerogative of his birth by Aristobulus, and that he had but a smallpart of the country under him, Aristobulus having taken away the restfrom him by force. He also accused him, that the incursions which hadbeen made into their neighbors' countries, and the piracies that hadbeen at sea, were owing to him; and that the nation would not haverevolted, unless Aristobulus had been a man given to violence anddisorder; and there were no fewer than a thousand Jews, of the bestesteem among them, who confirmed this accusation; which confirmation wasprocured by Antipater. But Aristobulus alleged against him, that itwas Hyrcanus's own temper, which was inactive, and on that accountcontemptible, which caused him to be deprived of the government; andthat for himself, he was necessitated to take it upon him, for fear lestit should be transferred to others. And that as to his title [of king], it was no other than what his father had taken [before him]. He alsocalled for witnesses of what he said some persons who were both youngand insolent; whose purple garments, fine heads of hair, and otherornaments, were detested [by the court], and which they appeared in, notas though they were to plead their cause in a court of justice, but asif they were marching in a pompous procession. 3. When Pompey had heard the causes of these two, and had condemnedAristobulus for his violent procedure, he then spake civilly to them, and sent them away; and told them, that when he came again into theircountry, he would settle all their affairs, after he had first taken aview of the affairs of the Nabateans. In the mean time, he ordered themto be quiet; and treated Aristobulus civilly, lest he should make thenation revolt, and hinder his return; which yet Aristobulus did; forwithout expecting any further determination, which Pompey had promisedthem, he went to the city Delius, and thence marched into Judea. 4. At this behavior Pompey was angry; and taking with him that armywhich he was leading against the Nabateans, and the auxiliaries thatcame from Damascus, and the other parts of Syria, with the otherRoman legions which he had with him, he made an expedition againstAristobulus; but as he passed by Pella and Scythopolis, he came toCorem, which is the first entrance into Judea when one passes over themidland countries, where he came to a most beautiful fortress that wasbuilt on the top of a mountain called Alexandrium, whither Aristobulushad fled; and thence Pompey sent his commands to him, that he shouldcome to him. Accordingly, at the persuasions of many that he would notmake war with the Romans, he came down; and when he had disputed withhis brother about the right to the government, he went up again to thecitadel, as Pompey gave him leave to do; and this he did two or threetimes, as flattering himself with the hopes of having the kingdomgranted him; so that he still pretended he would obey Pompey inwhatsoever he commanded, although at the same time he retired to hisfortress, that he might not depress himself too low, and that he mightbe prepared for a war, in case it should prove as he feared, that Pompeywould transfer the government to Hyrcanus. But when Pompey enjoinedAristobulus to deliver up the fortresses he held, and to send aninjunction to their governors under his own hand for that purpose, forthey had been forbidden to deliver them up upon any other commands, he submitted indeed to do so; but still he retired in displeasure toJerusalem, and made preparation for war. A little after this, certainpersons came out of Pontus, and informed Pompey, as he was on the way, and conducting his army against Aristobulus, that Mithridates was dead, and was slain by his son Pharmaces. CHAPTER 4. How Pompey When The Citizens Of Jerusalem Shut Their GatesAgainst Him Besieged The City And Took It By Force; As Also What OtherThings He Did In Judea. 1. Now when Pompey had pitched his camp at Jericho, [where the palm treegrows, and that balsam which is an ointment of all the most precious, which upon any incision made in the wood with a sharp stone, distillsout thence like a juice, ] [4] he marched in the morning to Jerusalem. Hereupon Aristobulus repented of what he was doing, and came to Pompey, had [promised to] give him money, and received him into Jerusalem, and desired that he would leave off the war, and do what he pleasedpeaceably. So Pompey, upon his entreaty, forgave him, and sent Gabinius, and soldiers with him, to receive the money and the city: yet was nopart of this performed; but Gabinius came back, being both excludedout of the city, and receiving none of the money promised, becauseAristobulus's soldiers would not permit the agreements to be executed. At this Pompey was very angry, and put Aristobulus into prison, andcame himself to the city, which was strong on every side, excepting thenorth, which was not so well fortified, for there was a broad and deepditch that encompassed the city [5] and included within it the temple, 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, whodid not agree what was to be done in their present circumstances, whilesome thought it best to deliver up the city to Pompey; but Aristobulus'sparty exhorted them to shut the gates, because he was kept in prison. Now these prevented the others, and seized upon the temple, and cut offthe bridge which reached from it to the city, and prepared themselves toabide a siege; but the others admitted Pompey's army in, and deliveredup both the city and the king's palace to him. So Pompey sent hislieutenant Piso with an army, and placed garrisons both in the city andin the palace, to secure them, and fortified the houses that joined tothe temple, and all those which were more distant and without it. And inthe first place, he offered terms of accommodation to those within; butwhen they would not comply with what was desired, he encompassed all theplaces thereabout with a wall, wherein Hyrcanus did gladly assist himon all occasions; but Pompey pitched his camp within [the wall], on thenorth part of the temple, where it was most practicable; but even onthat side there were great towers, and a ditch had been dug, and a deepvalley begirt it round about, for on the parts towards the city wereprecipices, and the bridge on which Pompey had gotten in was brokendown. However, a bank was raised, day by day, with a great deal oflabor, while the Romans cut down materials for it from the places roundabout. And when this bank was sufficiently raised, and the ditch filledup, though but poorly, by reason of its immense depth, he brought hismechanical engines and battering-rams from Tyre, and placing them on thebank, he battered the temple with the stones that were thrown againstit. And had it not been our practice, from the days of our forefathers, to rest on the seventh day, this bank could never have been perfected, by reason of the opposition the Jews would have made; for though ourlaw gives us leave then to defend ourselves against those that begin tofight with us and assault us, yet does it not permit us to meddle withour enemies while they do any thing else. 3. Which thing when the Romans understood, on those days which we callSabbaths they threw nothing at the Jews, nor came to any pitched battlewith them; but raised up their earthen banks, and brought their enginesinto such forwardness, that they might do execution the next day. Andany one may hence learn how very great piety we exercise towards God, and the observance of his laws, since the priests were not at allhindered from their sacred ministrations by their fear during thissiege, but did still twice a-day, in the morning and about the ninthhour, offer their sacrifices on the altar; nor did they omit thosesacrifices, if any melancholy accident happened by the stones that werethrown among them; for although the city was taken on the third month, on the day of the fast, [6] upon the hundred and seventy-ninth olympiad, when Caius Antonius and Marcus Tullius Cicero were consuls, and theenemy then fell upon them, and cut the throats of those that were in thetemple; yet could not those that offered the sacrifices be compelled torun away, neither by the fear they were in of their own lives, nor bythe number that were already slain, as thinking it better to sufferwhatever came upon them, at their very altars, than to omit any thingthat their laws required of them. And that this is not a mere brag, oran encomium to manifest a degree of our piety that was false, but is thereal truth, I appeal to those that have written of the acts of Pompey;and, among them, to Strabo and Nicolaus [of Damascus]; and besidesthese two, Titus Livius, the writer of the Roman History, who will bearwitness to this thing. [7] 4. But when the battering-engine was brought near, the greatest of thetowers was shaken by it, and fell down, and broke down a part of thefortifications, so the enemy poured in apace; and Cornelius Faustus, the son of Sylla, with his soldiers, first of all ascended the wall, andnext to him Furius the centurion, with those that followed on the otherpart, 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;nay, some there were who threw themselves down the precipices, or putfire to their houses, and burnt them, as not able to bear the miseriesthey were under. Of the Jews there fell twelve thousand, but of theRomans very few. Absalom, who was at once both uncle and father-in-lawto Aristobulus, was taken captive; and no small enormities werecommitted about the temple itself, which, in former ages, had beeninaccessible, and seen by none; for Pompey went into it, and not a fewof those that were with him also, and saw all that which it was unlawfulfor any other men to see but only for the high priests. There were inthat temple the golden table, the holy candlestick, and the pouringvessels, and a great quantity of spices; and besides these there wereamong the treasures two thousand talents of sacred money: yet did Pompeytouch nothing of all this, [8] on account of his regard to religion; andin 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 templeto cleanse it, and to bring what offerings the law required to God;and restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus, both because he had beenuseful to him in other respects, and because he hindered the Jews in thecountry from giving Aristobulus any assistance in his war againsthim. He also cut off those that had been the authors of that war; andbestowed proper rewards on Faustus, and those others that mounted thewall with such alacrity; and he made Jerusalem tributary to the Romans, and took away those cities of Celesyria which the inhabitants of Judeahad subdued, and put them under the government of the Roman president, and confined the whole nation, which had elevated itself so high before, within its own bounds. Moreover, he rebuilt Gadara, [9] which had beendemolished a little before, to gratify Demetrius of Gadara, who was hisfreedman, and restored the rest of the cities, Hippos, and Scythopolis, and Pella, and Dios, and Samaria, as also Marissa, and Ashdod, andJamnia, and Arethusa, to their own inhabitants: these were in the inlandparts. Besides those that had been demolished, and also of the maritimecities, Gaza, and Joppa, and Dora, and Strato's Tower; which last Herodrebuilt after a glorious manner, and adorned with havens and temples, and changed its name to Caesarea. All these Pompey left in a state offreedom, and joined them to the province of Syria. 5. Now the occasions of this misery which came upon Jerusalem wereHyrcanus and Aristobulus, by raising a sedition one against the other;for now we lost our liberty, and became subject to the Romans, andwere deprived of that country which we had gained by our arms from theSyrians, and were compelled to restore it to the Syrians. Moreover, theRomans exacted of us, in a little time, above ten thousand talents; andthe royal authority, which was a dignity formerly bestowed on those thatwere high priests, by the right of their family, became the property ofprivate men. But of these matters we shall treat in their proper places. Now Pompey committed Celesyria, as far as the river Euphrates and Egypt, to Scaurus, with two Roman legions, and then went away to Cilicia, andmade haste to Rome. He also carried bound along with him Aristobulusand his children; for he had two daughters, and as many sons; the oneof which ran away, but the younger, Antigonus, was carried to Rome, together with his sisters. CHAPTER 5. How Scaurus Made A League Of Mutual Assistance With Aretas;And What Gabinius Did In Judea, After He Had Conquered Alexander, TheSon Of Aristobulus. 1. Scaurus made now an expedition against Petrea, in Arabia, and set onfire all the places round about it, because of the great difficulty ofaccess to it. And as his army was pinched by famine, Antipater furnishedhim with corn out of Judea, and with whatever else he wanted, andthis at the command of Hyrcanus. And when he was sent to Aretas, asan ambassador by Scaurus, because he had lived with him formerly, hepersuaded Aretas to give Scaurus a sum of money, to prevent the burningof his country, and undertook to be his surety for three hundredtalents. So Scaurus, upon these terms, ceased to make war any longer;which 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 anincursion into Judea, Gabinius came from Rome into Syria, as commanderof the Roman forces. He did many considerable actions; and particularlymade war with Alexander, since Hyrcanus was not yet able to oppose hispower, but was already attempting to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, which Pompey had overthrown, although the Romans which were thererestrained him from that his design. However, Alexander went over allthe country round about, and armed many of the Jews, and suddenly gottogether ten thousand armed footmen, and fifteen hundred horsemen, andfortified Alexandrium, a fortress near to Corem, and Macherus, nearthe mountains of Arabia. Gabinius therefore came upon him, having sentMarcus Antonius, with other commanders, before. These armed such Romansas followed them; and, together with them, such Jews as were subject tothem, whose leaders were Pitholaus and Malichus; and they took with themalso their friends that were with Antipater, and met Alexander, whileGabinius himself followed with his legion. Hereupon Alexander retired tothe neighborhood of Jerusalem, where they fell upon one another, andit came to a pitched battle, in which the Romans slew of their enemiesabout three thousand, and took a like number alive. 3. At which time Gabinius [10] came to Alexandrium, and invited thosethat were in it to deliver it up on certain conditions, and promisedthat then their former offenses should be forgiven. But as a greatnumber of the enemy had pitched their camp before the fortress, whomthe Romans attacked, Marcus Antonius fought bravely, and slew a greatnumber, and seemed to come off with the greatest honor. So Gabinius leftpart of his army there, in order to take the place, and he himself wentinto other parts of Judea, and gave order to rebuild all the citiesthat he met with that had been demolished; at which time were rebuiltSamaria, Ashdod, Scythopolis, Anthedon, Raphia, and Dora; Marissa also, and Gaza, and not a few others besides. And as the men acted accordingto Gabinius's command, it came to pass, that at this time these citieswere securely inhabited, which had been desolate for a long time. 4. When Gabinius had done thus in the country, he returned toAlexandrium; and when he urged on the siege of the place, Alexander sentan embassage to him, desiring that he would pardon his former offenses;he also delivered up the fortresses, Hyrcania and Macherus, and atlast Alexandrium itself which fortresses Gabinius demolished. But whenAlexander's mother, who was of the side of the Romans, as havingher husband and other children at Rome, came to him, he granted herwhatsoever she asked; and when he had settled matters with her, hebrought Hyrcanus to Jerusalem, and committed the care of the temple tohim. And when he had ordained five councils, he distributed the nationinto the same number of parts. So these councils governed the people;the first was at Jerusalem, the second at Gadara, the third at Amathus, the fourth at Jericho, and the fifth at Sepphoris in Galilee. So theJews were now freed from monarchic authority, and were governed by anaristocracy. CHAPTER 6. How Gabinius Caught Aristobulus After He Had Fled FromRome, And Sent Him Back To Rome Again; And Now The Same Gabinius As HeReturned Out Of Egypt Overcame Alexander And The Nabateans In Battle. 1. Now Aristobulus ran away from Rome to Judea, and set about therebuilding of Alexandrium, which had been newly demolished. HereuponGabinius sent soldiers against him, add for their commanders Sisenna, and Antonius, and Servilius, in order to hinder him from gettingpossession of the country, and to take him again. And indeed many of theJews ran to Aristobulus, on account of his former glory, as also becausethey 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 whenAristobulus had resolved to go to Macherus, he dismissed those people, because they were unarmed; for they could not be useful to him in whatactions he was going about; but he took with him eight thousand thatwere armed, and marched on; and as the Romans fell upon them severely, the Jews fought valiantly, but were beaten in the battle; and when theyhad fought with alacrity, but were overborne by the enemy, they were putto flight; of whom were slain about five thousand, and the rest beingdispersed, tried, as well as they were able, to save themselves. However, Aristobulus had with him still above a thousand, and with themhe fled to Macherus, and fortified the place; and though he had hadill success, he still had good hope of his affairs; but when he hadstruggled against the siege for two days' time, and had received manywounds, he was brought as a captive to Gabinius, with his sonAntigonus, who also fled with him from Rome. And this was the fortune ofAristobulus, who was sent back again to Rome, and was there retainedin bonds, having been both king and high priest for three years andsix months; and was indeed an eminent person, and one of a great soul. However, the senate let his children go, upon Gabinius's writing tothem that he had promised their mother so much when she delivered up thefortresses to him; and accordingly they then returned into Judea. 2. Now when Gabinius was making an expedition against the Parthians, andhad already passed over Euphrates, he changed his mind, and resolved toreturn into Egypt, in order to restore Ptolemy to his kingdom. [11] Thishath also been related elsewhere. However, Antipater supplied his army, which he sent against Archelaus, with corn, and weapons, and money. He also made those Jews who were above Pelusium his friends andconfederates, and had been the guardians of the passes that led intoEgypt. But when he came back out of Egypt, he found Syria in disorder, with seditions and troubles; for Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, having seized on the government a second time by force, made many ofthe Jews revolt to him; and so he marched over the country with a greatarmy, and slew all the Romans he could light upon, and proceeded tobesiege the mountain called Gerizzim, whither they had retreated. 3. But when Gabinius found Syria in such a state, he sent Antipater, whowas a prudent man, to those that were seditious, to try whether he couldcure them of their madness, and persuade them to return to a bettermind; 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 restrainAlexander, for he had an army of thirty thousand Jews, and met Gabinius, and joining battle with him, was beaten, and lost ten thousand of hismen about Mount Tabor. 4. So Gabinius settled the affairs which belonged to the city Jerusalem, as was agreeable to Antipater's inclination, and went against theNabateans, and overcame them in battle. He also sent away in a friendlymanner Mithridates and Orsanes, who were Parthian deserters, and came tohim, though the report went abroad that they had run away from him. And when Gabinius had performed great and glorious actions, in hismanagement of the affairs of war, he returned to Rome, and deliveredthe government to Crassus. Now Nicolaus of Damascus, and Strabo ofCappadocia, both describe the expeditions of Pompey and Gabinius againstthe Jews, while neither of them say anything new which is not in theother. CHAPTER 7. How Crassus Came Into Judea, And Pillaged The Temple; AndThen Marched Against The Parthians And Perished, With His Army. Also HowCassius Obtained Syria, And Put A Stop To The Parthians And Then Went UpTo Judea. 1. Now Crassus, as he was going upon his expedition against theParthians, came into Judea, and carried off the money that was in thetemple, which Pompey had left, being two thousand talents, and wasdisposed to spoil it of all the gold belonging to it, which was eightthousand talents. He also took a beam, which was made of solid beatengold, of the weight of three hundred minae, each of which weighed twopounds and a half. It was the priest who was guardian of the sacredtreasures, and whose name was Eleazar, that gave him this beam, not outof a wicked design, for he was a good and a righteous man; but beingintrusted with the custody of the veils belonging to the temple, whichwere of admirable beauty, and of very costly workmanship, and hung downfrom 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 thisbeam of gold as a ransom for the whole, but this not till he had givenhis oath that he would remove nothing else out of the temple, but besatisfied with this only, which he should give him, being worth many tenthousand [shekels]. Now this beam was contained in a wooden beam thatwas hollow, but was known to no others; but Eleazar alone knew it; yetdid Crassus take away this beam, upon the condition of touching nothingelse that belonged to the temple, and then brake his oath, and carriedaway 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 thatworshipped God, nay, even those of Asia and Europe, sent theircontributions to it, and this from very ancient times. Nor is thelargeness of these sums without its attestation; nor is that greatnessowing to our vanity, as raising it without ground to so great aheight; but there are many witnesses to it, and particularly Strabo ofCappadocia, who says thus: "Mithridates sent to Cos, and took the moneywhich queen Cleopatra had deposited there, as also eight hundred talentsbelonging to the Jews. " Now we have no public money but only whatappertains to God; and it is evident that the Asian Jews removed thismoney out of fear of Mithridates; for it is not probable that those ofJudea, 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 shoulddo so neither, since they were ill no fear of Mithridates. And Strabohimself bears witness to the same thing in another place, that at thesame time that Sylla passed over into Greece, in order to fight againstMithridates, he sent Lucullus to put an end to a sedition that ournation, of whom the habitable earth is full, had raised in Cyrene; wherehe speaks thus: "There were four classes of men among those of Cyrene;that of citizens, that of husbandmen, the third of strangers, and thefourth of Jews. Now these Jews are already gotten into all cities; andit is hard to find a place in the habitable earth that hath not admittedthis tribe of men, and is not possessed by them; and it hath come topass that Egypt and Cyrene, as having the same governors, and a greatnumber of other nations, imitate their way of living, and maintaingreat bodies of these Jews in a peculiar manner, and grow up to greaterprosperity with them, and make use of the same laws with that nationalso. Accordingly, the Jews have places assigned them in Egypt, whereinthey inhabit, besides what is peculiarly allotted to this nationat Alexandria, which is a large part of that city. There is also anethnarch allowed them, who governs the nation, and distributes justiceto them, and takes care of their contracts, and of the laws to thembelonging, as if he were the ruler of a free republic. In Egypt, therefore, this nation is powerful, because the Jews were originallyEgyptians, and because the land wherein they inhabit, since they wentthence, is near to Egypt. They also removed into Cyrene, because thatthis land adjoined to the government of Egypt, as well as does Judea, orrather was formerly under the same government. " And this is what Strabosays. 3. So when Crassus had settled all things as he himself pleased, hemarched into Parthia, where both he himself and all his army perished, as hath been related elsewhere. But Cassius, as he fled from Rome toSyria, took possession of it, and was an impediment to the Parthians, who by reason of their victory over Crassus made incursions upon it. And as he came back to Tyre, he went up into Judea also, and fell uponTarichee, and presently took it, and carried about thirty thousand Jewscaptives; and slew Pitholaus, who succeeded Aristobulus in his seditiouspractices, and that by the persuasion of Antipater, who proved to havegreat interest in him, and was at that time in great repute with theIdumeans also: out of which nation he married a wife, who was thedaughter of one of their eminent men, and her name was Cypros, [12] bywhom he had four sons, Phasael, and Herod, who was afterwards made king, and Joseph, and Pheroras; and a daughter, named Salome. This Antipatercultivated also a friendship and mutual kindness with other potentates, but especially with the king of Arabia, to whom he committed hischildren, while he fought against Aristobulus. So Cassius removed hiscamp, and marched to Euphrates, to meet those that were coming to attackhim, as hath been related by others. 4. But some time afterward Cesar, when he had taken Rome, and afterPompey and the senate were fled beyond the Ionian Sea, freed Aristobulusfrom his bonds, and resolved to send him into Syria, and delivered twolegions to him, that he might set matters right, as being a potent manin that country. But Aristobulus had no enjoyment of what he hoped forfrom the power that was given him by Cesar; for those of Pompey's partyprevented it, and destroyed him by poison; and those of Caesar's partyburied him. His dead body also lay, for a good while, embalmed in honey, till Antony afterward sent it to Judea, and caused him to be buried inthe royal sepulcher. But Scipio, upon Pompey's sending to him to slayAlexander, the son of Aristobulus, because the young man was accused ofwhat offenses he had been guilty of at first against the Romans, cutoff his head; and thus did he die at Antioch. But Ptolemy, the son ofMenneus, who was the ruler of Chalcis, under Mount Libanus, took hisbrethren to him, and sent his son Philippion to Askelon to Aristobulus'swife, and desired her to send back with him her son Antigonus, and herdaughters; the one of which, whose name was Alexandra, Philippion fellin love with, and married her, though afterward his father Ptolemy slewhim, and married Alexandra, and continued to take care of her brethren. CHAPTER 8. The Jews Become Confederates With Caesar When He FoughtAgainst Egypt. The Glorious Actions Of Antipater, And His FriendshipWith Caesar. The Honors Which The Jews Received From The Romans AndAthenians. 1. Now after Pompey was dead, and after that victory Caesar had gainedover him, Antipater, who managed the Jewish affairs, became very usefulto Caesar when he made war against Egypt, and that by the orderof Hyrcanus; for when Mithridates of Pergainus was bringing hisauxiliaries, and was not able to continue his march through Pelusium, but obliged to stay at Askelon, Antipater came to him, conducting threethousand of the Jews, armed men. He had also taken care the principalmen of the Arabians should come to his assistance; and on his accountit was that all the Syrians assisted him also, as not willing to appearbehindhand in their alacrity for Cesar, viz. Jamblicus the ruler, andPtolemy his son, and Tholomy the son of Sohemus, who dwelt at MountLibanus, and almost all the cities. So Mithridates marched out of Syria, and came to Pelusium; and when its inhabitants would not admit him, hebesieged the city. Now Antipater signalized himself here, and was thefirst who plucked down a part of the wall, and so opened a way to therest, whereby they might enter the city, and by this means Pelusium wastaken. But it happened that the Egyptian Jews, who dwelt in the countrycalled Onion, would not let Antipater and Mithridates, with theirsoldiers, pass to Caesar; but Antipater persuaded them to come overwith their party, because he was of the same people with them, andthat chiefly by showing them the epistles of Hyrcanus the high priest, wherein he exhorted them to cultivate friendship with Caesar, and tosupply his army with money, and all sorts of provisions which theywanted; and accordingly, when they saw Antipater and the high priest ofthe same sentiments, they did as they were desired. And when the Jewsabout Memphis heard that these Jews were come over to Caesar, they alsoinvited Mithridates to come to them; so he came and received them alsointo his army. 2. And when Mithridates had gone over all Delta, as the place is called, he came to a pitched battle with the enemy, near the place called theJewish 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 runningto him with his own soldiers along the shore, when he had already beatenthe enemy that opposed him; so he delivered Mithridates, and put thoseEgyptians who had been too hard for him to flight. He also tooktheir camp, and continued in the pursuit of them. He also recalledMithridates, who had been worsted, and was retired a great way off;of whose soldiers eight hundred fell, but of Antipater's fifty. SoMithridates sent an account of this battle to Caesar, and openlydeclared that Antipater was the author of this victory, and of his ownpreservation, insomuch that Caesar commended Antipater then, and madeuse of him all the rest of that war in the most hazardous undertakings;he happened also to be wounded in one of those engagements. 3. However, when Caesar, after some time, had finished that war, andwas sailed away for Syria, he honored Antipater greatly, and confirmedHyrcanus in the high priesthood; and bestowed on Antipater the privilegeof a citizen of Rome, and a freedom from taxes every where; and itis reported by many, that Hyrcanus went along with Antipater in thisexpedition, and came himself into Egypt. And Strabo of Cappadocia bearswitness to this, when he says thus, in the name of Aslnius: "AfterMithridates had invaded Egypt, and with him Hyrcanus the high priest ofthe Jews. " Nay, the same Strabo says thus again, in another place, inthe name of Hypsicrates, that "Mithridates at first went out alone; butthat Antipater, who had the care of the Jewish affairs, was called byhim to Askelon, and that he had gotten ready three thousand soldiers togo along with him, and encouraged other governors of the country to goalong with him also; and that Hyrcanus the high priest was also presentin this expedition. " This is what Strabo says. 4. But Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, came at this time toCaesar, and lamented his father's fate; and complained, that it wasby Antipater's means that Aristobulus was taken off by poison, and hisbrother was beheaded by Scipio, and desired that he would take pity ofhim who had been ejected out of that principality which was due tohim. He also accused Hyrcanus and Antipater as governing the nation byviolence, and offering injuries to himself. Antipater was present, andmade his defense as to the accusations that were laid against him. Hedemonstrated that Antigonus and his party were given to innovation, and were seditious persons. He also put Caesar in mind what difficultservices he had undergone when he assisted him in his wars, anddiscoursed about what he was a witness of himself. He added, thatAristobulus was justly carried away to Rome, as one that was an enemy tothe Romans, and could never be brought to be a friend to them, and thathis brother had no more than he deserved from Scipio, as being seized incommitting robberies; and that this punishment was not inflicted on himin a way of violence or injustice by him that did it. 5. When Antipater had made this speech, Caesar appointed Hyrcauus tobe high priest, and gave Antipater what principality he himself shouldchoose, leaving the determination to himself; so he made him procuratorof Judea. He also gave Hyrcanus leave to raise up the walls of his owncity, upon his asking that favor of him, for they had been demolished byPompey. And this grant he sent to the consuls to Rome, to be engravenin the capitol. The decree of the senate was this that follows: [13]"Lucius Valerius, the son of Lucius the praetor, referred this to thesenate, upon the Ides of December, in the temple of Concord. There werepresent at the writing of this decree Lucius Coponius, the son of Luciusof the Colline tribe, and Papirius of the Quirine tribe, concerningthe affairs which Alexander, the son of Jason, and Numenius, the son ofAntiochus, and Alexander, the son of Dositheus, ambassadors of the Jews, good and worthy men, proposed, who came to renew that league of goodwilland friendship with the Romans which was in being before. They alsobrought a shield of gold, as a mark of confederacy, valued at fiftythousand pieces of gold; and desired that letters might be given them, directed both to the free cities and to the kings, that their countryand their havens might be at peace, and that no one among them mightreceive any injury. It therefore pleased [the senate] to make a leagueof friendship and good-will with them, and to bestow on them whatsoeverthey stood in need of, and to accept of the shield which was brought bythem. This was done in the ninth year of Hyrcanus the high priest andethnarch, in the month Panemus. " Hyreanus also received honors from thepeople of Athens, as having been useful to them on many occasions. Andwhen they wrote to him, they sent him this decree, as it here follows"Under the prutaneia and priesthood of Dionysius, the son of Esculapius, on the fifth day of the latter part of the month Panemus, this decree ofthe Athenians was given to their commanders, when Agathocles was archon, and Eucles, the son of Menander of Alimusia, was the scribe. In themonth Munychion, on the eleventh day of the prutaneia, a council of thepresidents was held in the theater. Dorotheus the high priest, and thefellow presidents with him, put it to the vote of the people. Dionysius, the son of Dionysius, gave the sentence. Since Hyrcanus, the son ofAlexander, the high priest and ethnareh of the Jews, continues to beargood-will to our people in general, and to every one of our citizens inparticular, and treats them with all sorts of kindness; and when any ofthe Athenians come to him, either as ambassadors, or on any occasion oftheir own, he receives them in an obliging manner, and sees that theyare conducted back in safety, of which we have had several formertestimonies; it is now also decreed, at the report of Theodosius, theson of Theodorus, and upon his putting the people in mind of the virtueof this man, and that his purpose is to do us all the good that is inhis power, to honor him with a crown of gold, the usual reward accordingto the law, and to erect his statue in brass in the temple of Demusand of the Graces; and that this present of a crown shall be proclaimedpublicly in the theater, in the Dionysian shows, while the new tragediesare acting; and in the Panathenean, and Eleusinian, and Gymnical showsalso; and that the commanders shall take care, while he continues in hisfriendship, and preserves his good-will to us, to return all possiblehonor and favor to the man for his affection and generosity; that bythis treatment it may appear how our people receive the good kindly, andrepay them a suitable reward; and he may be induced to proceed in hisaffection towards us, by the honors we have already paid him. Thatambassadors be also chosen out of all the Athenians, who shall carrythis decree to him, and desire him to accept of the honors we do him, and to endeavor always to be doing some good to our city. " And thisshall suffice us to have spoken as to the honors that were paid by theRomans and the people of Athens to Hyrcanus. CHAPTER 9. How Antipater Committed The Care Of Galilee To Herod, AndThat Of Jerusalem To Phasaelus; As Also How Herod Upon The Jews' Envy AtAntipater Was Accused Before Hyrcanus. 1. Now when Caesar had settled the affairs of Syria, he sailed away. Andas soon as Antipater had conducted Caesar out of Syria, he returned toJudea. He then immediately raised up the wall which had been thrown downby Pompey; and, by coming thither, he pacified that tumult which hadbeen in the country, and this by both threatening and advising them tobe quiet; for that if they would be of Hyrcanus's side, they would livehappily, and lead their lives without disturbance, and in the enjoymentof their own possessions; but if they were addicted to the hopes of whatmight come by innovation, and aimed to get wealth thereby, they shouldhave him a severe master instead of a gentle governor, and Hyrcanus atyrant instead of a king, and the Romans, together with Caesar, theirbitter enemies instead of rulers, for that they would never bear him tobe set aside whom they had appointed to govern. And when Antipater hadsaid this to them, he himself settled the affairs of this country. 2. And seeing that Hyrcanus was of a slow and slothful temper, he madePhasaelus, his eldest son, governor of Jerusalem, and of the places thatwere about it, but committed Galilee to Herod, his next son, who wasthen a very young man, for he was but fifteen years of age [14] But thatyouth of his was no impediment to him; but as he was a youth of greatmind, he presently met with an opportunity of signalizing his courage;for finding that there was one Hezekiah, a captain of a band of robbers, who overran the neighboring parts of Syria with a great troop of them, he seized him and slew him, as well as a great number of the otherrobbers that were with him; for which action he was greatly belovedby the Syrians; for when they were very desirous to have their countryfreed from this nest of robbers, he purged it of them. So they sungsongs in his commendation in their villages and cities, as havingprocured them peace, and the secure enjoyment of their possessions; andon this account it was that he became known to Sextus Caesar, who wasa relation of the great Caesar, and was now president of Syria. NowPhasaetus, Herod's brother, was moved with emulation at his actions, andenvied the fame he had thereby gotten, and became ambitious not tobe behindhand with him in deserving it. So he made the inhabitantsof Jerusalem bear him the greatest good-will while he held the cityhimself, but did neither manage its affairs improperly, nor abuse hisauthority therein. This conduct procured from the nation to Antipatersuch respect as is due to kings, and such honors as he might partake ofif he were an absolute lord of the country. Yet did not this splendor ofhis, as frequently happens, in the least diminish in him that kindnessand fidelity which he owed to Hyrcanus. 3. But now the principal men among the Jews, when they saw Antipater andhis sons to grow so much in the good-will the nation bare to them, andin the revenues which they received out of Judea, and out of Hyrcanus'sown wealth, they became ill-disposed to him; for indeed Antipaterhad contracted a friendship with the Roman emperors; and when he hadprevailed with Hyrcanus to send them money, he took it to himself, andpurloined the present intended, and sent it as if it were his own, andnot Hyrcanus's gift to them. Hyrcanus heard of this his management, buttook no care about it; nay, he rather was very glad of it. But the chiefmen of the Jews were therefore in fear, because they saw that Herod wasa violent and bold man, and very desirous of acting tyrannically; sothey came to Hyrcanus, and now accused Antipater openly, and said tohim, "How long wilt thou be quiet under such actions as are now done? Ordost thou not see that Antipater and his sons have already seized uponthe government, and that it is only the name of a king which is giventhee? But do not thou suffer these things to be hidden from thee, nor dothou think to escape danger by being so careless of thyself and ofthy kingdom; for Antipater and his sons are not now stewards of thineaffairs: do not thou deceive thyself with such a notion; they areevidently absolute lords; for Herod, Antipater's son, hath slainHezekiah, and those that were with him, and hath thereby transgressedour law, which hath forbidden to slay any man, even though he were awicked man, unless he had been first condemned to suffer death by theSanhedrim [15] yet hath he been so insolent as to do this, and thatwithout any authority from thee. " 4. Upon Hyrcanus hearing this, he complied with them. The mothers alsoof those that had been slain by Herod raised his indignation; for thosewomen continued every day in the temple, persuading the king and thepeople that Herod might undergo a trial before the Sanhedrim for whathe had done. Hyrcanus was so moved by these complaints, that he summonedHerod to come to his trial for what was charged upon him. Accordingly hecame; but his father had persuaded him to come not like a private man, but with a guard, for the security of his person; and that when he hadsettled the affairs of Galilee in the best manner he could for his ownadvantage, he should come to his trial, but still with a body of mensufficient for his security on his journey, yet so that he should notcome with so great a force as might look like terrifying Hyrcanus, butstill such a one as might not expose him naked and unguarded [to hisenemies. ] However, Sextus Caesar, president of Syria, wrote to Hyrcanus, and desired him to clear Herod, and dismiss him at his trial, andthreatened him beforehand if he did not do it. Which epistle of his wasthe occasion of Hyrcanus delivering Herod from suffering any harm fromthe Sanhedrim, for he loved him as his own son. But when Herod stoodbefore the Sanhedrim, with his body of men about him, he aftrighted themall, and no one of his former accusers durst after that bring any chargeagainst him, but there was a deep silence, and nobody knew what wasto be done. When affairs stood thus, one whose name was Sameas, [16] arighteous man he was, and for that reason above all fear, rose up, andsaid, "O you that are assessors with me, and O thou that art our king, I neither have ever myself known such a case, nor do I suppose that anyone of you can name its parallel, that one who is called to take histrial by us ever stood in such a manner before us; but every one, whosoever he be, that comes to be tried by this Sanhedrim, presentshimself in a submissive manner, and like one that is in fear of himself, and that endeavors to move us to compassion, with his hair dishevelled, and in a black and mourning garment: but this admirable man Herod, who is accused of murder, and called to answer so heavy an accusation, stands here clothed in purple, and with the hair of his head finelytrimmed, and with his armed men about him, that if we shall condemnhim by our law, he may slay us, and by overbearing justice may himselfescape death. Yet do not I make this complaint against Herod himself;he is to be sure more concerned for himself than for the laws; but mycomplaint is against yourselves, and your king, who gave him a licenseso to do. However, take you notice, that God is great, and that thisvery man, whom you are going to absolve and dismiss, for the sake ofHyrcanus, will one day punish both you and your king himself also. " Nordid Sameas mistake in any part of this prediction; for when Herod hadreceived the kingdom, he slew all the members of this Sanhedrim, andHyrcanus himself also, excepting Sameas, for he had a great honor forhim on account of his righteousness, and because, when the city wasafterward besieged by Herod and Sosius, he persuaded the people to admitHerod into it; and told them that for their sins they would not be ableto escape his hands:--which things will be related by us in their properplaces. 5. But when Hyrcanus saw that the members of the Sanhedrim were readyto pronounce the sentence of death upon Herod, he put off the trial toanother day, and sent privately to Herod, and advised him to fly outof the city, for that by this means he might escape. So he retired toDamascus, as though he fled from the king; and when he had been withSextus Caesar, and had put his own affairs in a sure posture, heresolved to do thus; that in case he were again summoned before theSanhedrim to take his trial, he would not obey that summons. Hereuponthe members of the Sanhedrim had great indignation at this posture ofaffairs, and endeavored to persuade Hyrcanus that all these things wereagainst him; which state of matters he was not ignorant of; but histemper was so unmanly, and so foolish, that he was able to do nothingat all. But when Sextus had made Herod general of the army of Celesyria, for he sold him that post for money, Hyrcanus was in fear lest Herodshould make war upon him; nor was the effect of what he feared long incoming upon him; for Herod came and brought an army along with him tofight with Hyrcanus, as being angry at the trial he had been summoned toundergo before the Sanhedrim; but his father Antipater, and his brother[Phasaelus], met him, and hindered him from assaulting Jerusalem. Theyalso pacified his vehement temper, and persuaded him to do no overtaction, but only to affright them with threatenings, and to proceedno further against one who had given him the dignity he had: they alsodesired him not only to be angry that he was summoned, and obliged tocome to his trial, but to remember withal how he was dismissed withoutcondemnation, and how he ought to give Hyrcanus thanks for the same;and that he was not to regard only what was disagreeable to him, and beunthankful for his deliverance. So they desired him to consider, thatsince it is God that turns the scales of war, there is great uncertaintyin the issue of battles, and that therefore he ought of to expect thevictory when he should fight with his king, and him that had supportedhim, and bestowed many benefits upon him, and had done nothing itselfvery severe to him; for that his accusation, which was derived fromevil counselors, and not from himself, had rather the suspicion of someseverity, than any thing really severe in it. Herod was persuaded bythese arguments, and believed that it was sufficient for his futurehopes to have made a show of his strength before the nation, and done nomore to it--and in this state were the affairs of Judea at this time. CHAPTER 10. The Honors That Were Paid The Jews; And The Leagues ThatWere Made By The Romans And Other Nations, With Them. 1. Now when Caesar was come to Rome, he was ready to sail into Africato fight against Scipio and Cato, when Hyrcanus sent ambassadors to him, and by them desired that he would ratify that league of friendshipand mutual alliance which was between them, And it seems to me to benecessary here to give an account of all the honors that the Romansand their emperor paid to our nation, and of the leagues of mutualassistance they have made with it, that all the rest of mankind may knowwhat regard the kings of Asia and Europe have had to us, and that theyhave been abundantly satisfied of our courage and fidelity; for whereasmany will not believe what hath been written about us by the Persiansand Macedonians, because those writings are not every where to be metwith, nor do lie in public places, but among us ourselves, and certainother barbarous nations, while there is no contradiction to be madeagainst the decrees of the Romans, for they are laid up in the publicplaces of the cities, and are extant still in the capitol, and engravenupon pillars of brass; nay, besides this, Julius Caesar made a pillar ofbrass for the Jews at Alexandria, and declared publicly that they werecitizens of Alexandria. Out of these evidences will I demonstrate whatI say; and will now set down the decrees made both by the senate and byJulius Caesar, which relate to Hyrcanus and to our nation. 2. "Caius Julius Caesar, imperator and high priest, and dictator thesecond time, to the magistrates, senate, and people of Sidon, sendethgreeting. If you be in health, it is well. I also and the army are well. I have sent you a copy of that decree, registered on the tables, whichconcerns Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the high priest and ethnarchof the Jews, that it may be laid up among the public records; and I willthat it be openly proposed in a table of brass, both in Greek and inLatin. It is as follows: I Julius Caesar, imperator the second time, andhigh priest, have made this decree, with the approbation of the senate. Whereas Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander the Jew, hath demonstrated hisfidelity and diligence about our affairs, and this both now and informer times, both in peace and in war, as many of our generals haveborne witness, and came to our assistance in the last Alexandrianwar, [17] with fifteen hundred soldiers; and when he was sent by me toMithridates, showed himself superior in valor to all the rest of thatarmy;--for these reasons I will that Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, andhis children, be ethnarchs of the Jews, and have the high priesthood ofthe Jews for ever, according to the customs of their forefathers, and that he and his sons be our confederates; and that besides this, everyone of them be reckoned among our particular friends. I also ordainthat he and his children retain whatsoever privileges belong to theoffice of high priest, or whatsoever favors have been hitherto grantedthem; and if at any time hereafter there arise any questions about theJewish customs, I will that he determine the same. And I think it notproper that they should be obliged to find us winter quarters, or thatany money should be required of them. " 3. "The decrees of Caius Caesar, consul, containing what hath beengranted and determined, are as follows: That Hyrcanus and his childrenbear rule over the nation of the Jews, and have the profits of theplaces to them bequeathed; and that he, as himself the high priestand ethnarch of the Jews, defend those that are injured; and thatambassadors be sent to Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the high priestof the Jews, that may discourse with him about a league of friendshipand mutual assistance; and that a table of brass, containing thepremises, be openly proposed in the capitol, and at Sidon, and Tyre, andAskelon, and in the temple, engraven in Roman and Greek letters: thatthis decree may also be communicated to the quaestors and praetorsof the several cities, and to the friends of the Jews; and that theambassadors may have presents made them; and that these decrees be sentevery where. " 4. "Caius Caesar, imperator, dictator, consul, hath granted, That outof regard to the honor, and virtue, and kindness of the man, and for theadvantage of the senate, and of the people of Rome, Hyrcanus, the sonof Alexander, both he and his children, be high priests and priests ofJerusalem, and of the Jewish nation, by the same right, and according tothe same laws, by which their progenitors have held the priesthood. " 5. "Caius Caesar, consul the fifth time, hath decreed, That the Jewsshall possess Jerusalem, and may encompass that city with walls; andthat Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the high priest and ethnarch of theJews, retain it in the manner he himself pleases; and that the Jews beallowed to deduct out of their tribute, every second year the land islet [in the Sabbatic period], a corus of that tribute; and that thetribute they pay be not let to farm, nor that they pay always the sametribute. " 6. "Caius Caesar, imperator the second time, hath ordained, That all thecountry of the Jews, excepting Joppa, do pay a tribute yearly for thecity Jerusalem, excepting the seventh, which they call the sabbaticalyear, because thereon they neither receive the fruits of their trees, nor do they sow their land; and that they pay their tribute in Sidon onthe second year [of that sabbatical period], the fourth part of what wassown: and besides this, they are to pay the same tithes to Hyrcanus andhis sons which they paid to their forefathers. And that no one, neitherpresident, nor lieutenant, nor ambassador, raise auxiliaries withinthe bounds of Judea; nor may soldiers exact money of them for winterquarters, or under any other pretense; but that they be free from allsorts of injuries; and that whatsoever they shall hereafter have, andare in possession of, or have bought, they shall retain them all. It isalso our pleasure that the city Joppa, which the Jews had originally, when they made a league of friendship with the Romans, shall belong tothem, as it formerly did; and that Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, andhis sons, have as tribute of that city from those that occupy the landfor the country, and for what they export every year to Sidon, twentythousand six hundred and seventy-five modii every year, the seventhyear, which they call the Sabbatic year, excepted, whereon they neitherplough, nor receive the product of their trees. It is also the pleasureof the senate, that as to the villages which are in the great plain, which Hyrcanus and his forefathers formerly possessed, Hyrcanus and theJews have them with the same privileges with which they formerly hadthem also; and that the same original ordinances remain still in forcewhich concern the Jews with regard to their high priests; and that theyenjoy the same benefits which they have had formerly by the concessionof the people, and of the senate; and let them enjoy the like privilegesin Lydda. It is the pleasure also of the senate that Hyrcanus theethnarch, and the Jews, retain those places, countries, and villageswhich belonged to the kings of Syria and Phoenicia, the confederates ofthe Romans, and which they had bestowed on them as their free gifts. Itis also granted to Hyrcanus, and to his sons, and to the ambassadors bythem sent to us, that in the fights between single gladiators, and inthose with beasts, they shall sit among the senators to see those shows;and that when they desire an audience, they shall be introduced into thesenate by the dictator, or by the general of the horse; and when theyhave introduced them, their answers shall be returned them in ten daysat the furthest, after the decree of the senate is made about theiraffairs. " 7. "Caius Caesar, imperator, dictator the fourth time, and consulthe fifth time, declared to be perpetual dictator, made this speechconcerning the rights and privileges of Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the high priest and ethnarch of the Jews. Since those imperators thathave been in the provinces before me have borne witness to Hyrcanus, thehigh priest of the Jews, and to the Jews themselves, and this beforethe senate and people of Rome, when the people and senate returnedtheir thanks to them, it is good that we now also remember the same, andprovide that a requital be made to Hyrcanus, to the nation of the Jews, and to the sons of Hyrcanus, by the senate and people of Rome, and thatsuitably to what good-will they have shown us, and to the benefits theyhave bestowed upon us. " 8. "Julius Caius, praetor [consul] of Rome, to the magistrates, senate, and people of the Parians, sendeth greeting. The Jews of Delos, andsome 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 useof the customs of their forefathers, and their way of sacred worship. Now it does not please me that such decrees should be made against ourfriends and confederates, whereby they are forbidden to live accordingto their own customs, or to bring in contributions for common suppersand holy festivals, while they are not forbidden so to do even at Romeitself; for even Caius Caesar, our imperator and consul, in that decreewherein he forbade the Bacchanal rioters to meet in the city, did yetpermit these Jews, and these only, both to bring in their contributions, and to make their common suppers. Accordingly, when I forbid otherBacchanal rioters, I permit these Jews to gather themselves together, according to the customs and laws of their forefathers, and to persisttherein. It will be therefore good for you, that if you have made anydecree against these our friends and confederates, to abrogate the same, by reason of their virtue and kind disposition towards us. " 9. Now after Caius was slain, when Marcus Antonius and Publius Dolabellawere consuls, they both assembled the senate, and introduced Hyrcanus'sambassadors into it, and discoursed of what they desired, and made aleague of friendship with them. The senate also decreed to grant themall they desired. I add the decree itself, that those who read thepresent work may have ready by them a demonstration of the truth of whatwe say. The decree was this: 10. "The decree of the senate, copied out of the treasury, from thepublic tables belonging to the quaestors, when Quintus Rutilius andCaius Cornelius were quaestors, and taken out of the second table of thefirst class, on the third day before the Ides of April, in the templeof Concord. There were present at the writing of this decree, LuciusCalpurnius Piso of the Menenian tribe, Servius Papinins Potitus of theLemonian tribe, Caius Caninius Rebilius of the Terentine tribe, PubliusTidetius, Lucius Apulinus, the son of Lucius, of the Sergian tribe, Flavius, the son of Lucius, of the Lemonian tribe, Publius Platins, the son of Publius, of the Papyrian tribe, Marcus Acilius, the son ofMarcus, of the Mecian tribe, Lucius Erucius, the son of Lucius, of theStellatine tribe, Mareils Quintus Plancillus, the son of Marcus, ofthe Pollian tribe, and Publius Serius. Publius Dolabella and MarcusAntonius, the consuls, made this reference to the senate, that asto those things which, by the decree of the senate, Caius Caesar hadadjudged about the Jews, and yet had not hitherto that decree beenbrought into the treasury, it is our will, as it is also the desireof Publius Dolabella and Marcus Antonius, our consuls, to have thesedecrees put into the public tables, and brought to the city quaestors, that they may take care to have them put upon the double tables. Thiswas done before the fifth of the Ides of February, in the temple ofConcord. Now the ambassadors from Hyrcanus the high priest were these:Lysimachus, the son of Pausanias, Alexander, the son of Theodorus, Patroclus, the son of Chereas, and Jonathan the son of Onias. " 11. Hyrcanus sent also one of these ambassadors to Dolabella, who wasthen the prefect of Asia, and desired him to dismiss the Jews frommilitary services, and to preserve to them the customs of theirforefathers, and to permit them to live according to them. Andwhen Dolabella had received Hyrcanus's letter, without any furtherdeliberation, he sent an epistle to all the Asiatics, and particularlyto the city of the Ephesians, the metropolis of Asia, about the Jews; acopy of which epistle here follows: 12. "When Artermon was prytanis, on the first day of the month Leneon, Dolabella, imperator, to the senate, and magistrates, and people ofthe Ephesians, sendeth greeting. Alexander, the son of Theodorus, the ambassador of Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the high priest andethnarch of the Jews, appeared before me, to show that his countrymencould not go into their armies, because they are not allowed to beararms or to travel on the sabbath days, nor there to procure themselvesthose sorts of food which they have been used to eat from the times oftheir forefathers;--I do therefore grant them a freedom from going intothe army, as the former prefects have done, and permit them to use thecustoms of their forefathers, in assembling together for sacred andreligious purposes, as their law requires, and for collecting oblationsnecessary for sacrifices; and my will is, that you write this to theseveral cities under your jurisdiction. " 13. And these were the concessions that Dolabella made to our nationwhen Hyrcanus sent an embassage to him. But Lucius the consul's decreeran thus: "I have at my tribunal set these Jews, who are citizens ofRome, and follow the Jewish religious rites, and yet live at Ephesus, free from going into the army, on account of the superstition they areunder. This was done before the twelfth of the calends of October, whenLucius Lentulus and Caius Marcellus were consuls, in the presence ofTitus Appius Balgus, the son of Titus, and lieutenant of the Horatiantribe; of Titus Tongins, the son of Titus, of the Crustumine tribe; ofQuintus Resius, the son of Quintus; of Titus Pompeius Longinus, the sonof Titus; of Catus Servilius, the son of Caius, of the Terentine tribe;of Bracchus the military tribune; of Publius Lucius Gallus, the son ofPublius, of the Veturian tribe; of Caius Sentins, the son of Caius, of the Sabbatine tribe; of Titus Atilius Bulbus, the son of Titus, lieutenant and vice-praetor to the magistrates, senate, and people ofthe Ephesians, sendeth greeting. Lucius Lentulus the consul freed theJews that are in Asia from going into the armies, at my intercessionfor them; and when I had made the same petition some time afterwardto Phanius the imperator, and to Lucius Antonius the vice-quaestor, Iobtained that privilege of them also; and my will is, that you take carethat no one give them any disturbance. " 14. The decree of the Delians. "The answer of the praetors, when Beotuswas archon, on the twentieth day of the month Thargeleon. While MarcusPiso the lieutenant lived in our city, who was also appointed over thechoice of the soldiers, he called us, and many other of the citizens, and gave order, that if there be here any Jews who are Roman citizens, no one is to give them any disturbance about going into the army, because Cornelius Lentulus, the consul, freed the Jews from goinginto the army, on account of the superstition they are under;--you aretherefore obliged to submit to the praetor. " And the like decree wasmade by the Sardians about us also. 15. "Caius Phanius, the son of Caius, imperator and consul, to themagistrates of Cos, sendeth greeting. I would have you know that theambassadors of the Jews have been with me, and desired they might havethose decrees which the senate had made about them; which decrees arehere subjoined. My will is, that you have a regard to and take care ofthese men, according to the senate's decree, that they may be safelyconveyed home through your country. " 16. The declaration of Lucius Lentulus the consul: "I have dismissedthose Jews who are Roman citizens, and who appear to me to have theirreligious rites, and to observe the laws of the Jews at Ephesus, onaccount of the superstition they are under. This act was done before thethirteenth of the calends of October. " 17. "Lucius Antonius, the son of Marcus, vice-quaestor, andvice-praetor, to the magistrates, senate, and people of the Sardians, sendeth greeting. Those Jews that are our fellow citizens of Romecame to me, and demonstrated that they had an assembly of their own, according to the laws of their forefathers, and this from the beginning, as also a place of their own, wherein they determined their suits andcontroversies with one another. Upon their petition therefore to me, that these might be lawful for them, I gave order that these theirprivileges be preserved, and they be permitted to do accordingly. " 18. The declaration of Marcus Publius, the son of Spurius, and ofMarcus, the son of Marcus, and of Lucius, the son of Publius: "Wewent to the proconsul, and informed him of what Dositheus, the son ofCleopatrida of Alexandria, desired, that, if he thought good, he woulddismiss those Jews who were Roman citizens, and were wont to observe therites of the Jewish religion, on account of the superstition theywere under. Accordingly, he did dismiss them. This was done before thethirteenth of the calends of October. " 19. "In the month Quntius, when Lucius Lentulus and Caius Mercellus wereconsuls; and there were present Titus Appius Balbus, the son of Titus, lieutenant of the Horatian tribe, Titus Tongius of the Crustumine tribe, Quintus Resius, the son of Quintus, Titus Pompeius, the son of Titus, Cornelius Longinus, Caius Servilius Bracchus, the son of Caius, amilitary tribune, of the Terentine tribe, Publius Clusius Gallus, theson of Publius, of the Veturian tribe, Caius Teutius, the son of Caius, a milital tribune, of the EmilJan tribe, Sextus Atilius Serranus, theson of Sextus, of the Esquiline tribe, Caius Pompeius, the son of Caius, of the Sabbatine tribe, Titus Appius Menander, the son of Titus, PubliusServilius Strabo, the son of Publius, Lucius Paccius Capito, the son ofLucius, of the Colline tribe, Aulus Furius Tertius, the son of Aulus, and Appius Menus. In the presence of these it was that Lentuluspronounced this decree: I have before the tribunal dismissed those Jewsthat are Roman citizens, and are accustomed to observe the sacred ritesof the Jews at Ephesus, on account of the superstition they are under. " 20. "The magistrates of the Laodiceans to Caius Rubilius, the son ofCaius, the consul, sendeth greeting. Sopater, the ambassador of Hyrcanusthe high priest, hath delivered us an epistle from thee, whereby helets us know that certain ambassadors were come from Hyrcanus, the highpriest of the Jews, and brought an epistle written concerning theirnation, wherein they desire that the Jews may be allowed to observetheir Sabbaths, and other sacred rites, according to the laws of theirforefathers, and that they may be under no command, because they areour friends and confederates, and that nobody may injure them in ourprovinces. Now although the Trallians there present contradicted them, and were not pleased with these decrees, yet didst thou give order thatthey should be observed, and informedst us that thou hadst been desiredto write this to us about them. We therefore, in obedience to theinjunctions we have received from thee, have received the epistle whichthou 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 willtake care that no complaint be made against us. " 21. "Publius Servilius, the son of Publius, of the Galban tribe, theproconsul, to the magistrates, senate, and people of the Mileslans, sendeth greeting. Prytanes, the son of Hermes, a citizen of yours, cameto me when I was at Tralles, and held a court there, and informed methat you used the Jews in a way different from my opinion, and forbadethem to celebrate their Sabbaths, and to perform the Sacred ritesreceived from their forefathers, and to manage the fruits of the land, according to their ancient custom; and that he had himself been thepromulger of your decree, according as your laws require: I wouldtherefore have you know, that upon hearing the pleadings on both sides, I gave sentence that the Jews should not be prohibited to make use oftheir own customs. " 22. The decree of those of Pergamus. "When Cratippus was prytanis, onthe first day of the month Desius, the decree of the praetors was this:Since the Romans, following the conduct of their ancestors, undertakedangers for the common safety of all mankind, and are ambitious tosettle their confederates and friends in happiness, and in firm peace, and since the nation of the Jews, and their high priest Hyrcanus, sentas ambassadors to them, Strato, the son of Theodatus, and Apollonius, the son of Alexander, and Eneas, the son of Antipater, and Aristobulus, the son of Amyntas, and Sosipater, the son of Philip, worthy andgood men, who gave a particular account of their affairs, the senatethereupon made a decree about what they had desired of them, thatAntiochus the king, the son of Antiochus, should do no injury to theJews, the confederates of the Romans; and that the fortresses, and thehavens, 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 exporttheir goods out of their own havens; and that no king nor people mayhave leave to export any goods, either out of the country of Judea, orout of their havens, without paying customs, but only Ptolemy, theking of Alexandria, because he is our confederate and friend; and that, according to their desire, the garrison that is in Joppa may be ejected. Now Lucius Pettius, one of our senators, a worthy and good man, gave order that we should take care that these things should be doneaccording to the senate's decree; and that we should take care also thattheir ambassadors might return home in safety. Accordingly, we admittedTheodorus into our senate and assembly, and took the epistle out hishands, as well as the decree of the senate. And as he discoursedwith great zeal about the Jews, and described Hyrcanus's virtue andgenerosity, and how he was a benefactor to all men in common, andparticularly to every body that comes to him, we laid up the epistle inour public records; and made a decree ourselves, that since we also arein confederacy with the Romans, we would do every thing we could for theJews, according to the senate's decree. Theodorus also, who brought theepistle, desired of our praetors, that they would send Hyrcanus a copyof that decree, as also ambassadors to signify to him the affectionof our people to him, and to exhort them to preserve and augment theirfriendship for us, and be ready to bestow other benefits upon us, asjustly expecting to receive proper requitals from us; and desiring themto remember that our ancestors [19] were friendly to the Jews even inthe days of Abraham, who was the father of all the Hebrews, as we have[also] found it set down in our public records. " 23. The decree of those of Halicarnassus. "When Memnon, the son ofOrestidas by descent, but by adoption of Euonymus, was priest, on the---- day of the month Aristerion, the decree of the people, upon therepresentation of Marcus Alexander, was this: Since we have ever a greatregard to piety towards God, and to holiness; and since we aim to followthe people of the Romans, who are the benefactors of all men, andwhat they have written to us about a league of friendship and mutualassistance between the Jews and our city, and that their sacred officesand accustomed festivals and assemblies may be observed by them; we havedecreed, that as many men and women of the Jews as are willing so to do, may celebrate their Sabbaths, and perform their holy offices, accordingto Jewish laws; and may make their proseuchae at the sea-side, accordingto the customs of their forefathers; and if any one, whether he be amagistrate or private person, hindereth them from so doing, he shall beliable 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 andpeople, upon the representation of the praetors: Whereas those Jews whoare fellow citizens, and live with us in this city, have ever had greatbenefits heaped upon them by the people, and have come now into thesenate, and desired of the people, that upon the restitution of theirlaw and their liberty, by the senate and people of Rome, they mayassemble together, according to their ancient legal custom, and that wewill not bring any suit against them about it; and that a place may begiven them where they may have their congregations, with their wivesand children, and may offer, as did their forefathers, their prayers andsacrifices to God. Now the senate and people have decreed to permitthem to assemble together on the days formerly appointed, and to actaccording to their own laws; and that such a place be set apart for themby the praetors, for the building and inhabiting the same, as theyshall esteem fit for that purpose; and that those that take care of theprovision for the city, shall take care that such sorts of food as theyesteem fit for their eating may be imported into the city. " 25. The decree of the Ephesians. "When Menophilus was prytanis, on thefirst day of the month Artemisius, this decree was made by the people:Nicanor, the son of Euphemus, pronounced it, upon the representationof the praetors. Since the Jews that dwell in this city have petitionedMarcus Julius Pompeius, the son of Brutus, the proconsul, that theymight be allowed to observe their Sabbaths, and to act in all thingsaccording to the customs of their forefathers, without impediment fromany body, the praetor hath granted their petition. Accordingly, it wasdecreed by the senate and people, that in this affair that concerned theRomans, 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 thingsaccording to their own laws. " 26. Now there are many such decrees of the senate and imperators of theRomans [20] and those different from these before us, which have beenmade in favor of Hyrcanus, and of our nation; as also, there have beenmore decrees of the cities, and rescripts of the praetors, to suchepistles as concerned our rights and privileges; and certainly such asare not ill-disposed to what we write may believe that they are allto this purpose, and that by the specimens which we have inserted;for since we have produced evident marks that may still be seen of thefriendship we have had with the Romans, and demonstrated that thosemarks are engraven upon columns and tables of brass in the capitol, thataxe still in being, and preserved to this day, we have omitted to setthem all down, as needless and disagreeable; for I cannot suppose anyone so perverse as not to believe the friendship we have had with theRomans, while they have demonstrated the same by such a great number oftheir decrees relating to us; nor will they doubt of our fidelity as tothe rest of those decrees, since we have shown the same in those we haveproduced, And thus have we sufficiently explained that friendship andconfederacy we at those times had with the Romans. CHAPTER 11. How Marcus, Succeeded Sextus When He Had Been Slain ByBassus's Treachery; And How, After The Death Of Caesar, Cassius CameInto Syria, And Distressed Judea; As Also How Malichus Slew AntipaterAnd Was Himself Slain By Herod. 1. Now it so fell out, that about this very time the affairs of Syriawere in great disorder, and this on the occasion following: CeciliusBassus, one of Pompey's party, laid a treacherous design against SextusCaesar, and slew him, and then took his army, and got the managementof public affairs into his own hand; so there arose a great war aboutApamia, while Caesar's generals came against him with an army ofhorsemen and footmen; to these Antipater also sent succors, and hissons with them, as calling to mind the kindnesses they had received fromCaesar, and on that account he thought it but just to require punishmentfor him, and to take vengeance on the man that had murdered him. And asthe war was drawn out into a great length, Marcus [21] came from Rome totake Sextus's government upon him. But Caesar was slain by Cassius andBrutus in the senate-house, after he had retained the government threeyears and six months. This fact however, is related elsewhere. 2. As the war that arose upon the death of Caesar was now begun, and theprincipal men were all gone, some one way, and some another, to raisearmies, Cassius came from Rome into Syria, in order to receive the [armythat lay in the] camp at Apamia; and having raised the siege, he broughtover both Bassus and Marcus to his party. He then went over the cities, and got together weapons and soldiers, and laid great taxes upon thosecities; and he chiefly oppressed Judea, and exacted of it sevenhundred talents: but Antipater, when he saw the state to be in so greatconsternation and disorder, he divided the collection of that sum, andappointed his two sons to gather it; and so that part of it was to beexacted by Malichus, who was ill-disposed to him, and part by others. And because Herod did exact what is required of him from Galilee beforeothers, he was in the greatest favor with Cassius; for he thought it apart of prudence to cultivate a friendship with the Romans, and to gaintheir goodwill at the expense of others; whereas the curators of theother cities, with their citizens, were sold for slaves; and Cassiusreduced four cities into a state of slavery, the two most potent ofwhich were Gophna and Emmaus; and, besides these, Lydia and Thamna. Nay, Cassius was so very angry at Malichus, that he had killed him, [for heassaulted him, ] had not Hyrcanus, by the means of Antipater, sent him ahundred talents of his own, and thereby pacified his anger against him. 3. But after Cassius was gone out of Judea, Malichus laid snares forAntipater, as thinking that his death would-be the preservation ofHyrcanus's government; but his design was not unknown to Antipater, which when he perceived, he retired beyond Jordan, and got togetheran army, partly of Arabs, and partly of his own countrymen. However, Malichus, being one of great cunning, denied that he had laid any snaresfor him, and made his defense with an oath, both to himself and hissons; and said that while Phasaelus had a garrison in Jerusalem, andHerod had the weapons of war in his custody, he could never have athought of any such thing. So Antipater, perceiving the distress thatMalichus was in, was reconciled to him, and made an agreement with him:this was when Marcus was president of Syria; who yet perceiving thatthis Malichus was making a disturbance in Judea, proceeded so far thathe had almost killed him; but still, at the intercession of Antipater, he saved him. 4. However, Antipater little thought that by saving Malichus he hadsaved his own murderer; for now Cassius and Marcus had got togetheran army, and intrusted the entire care of it with Herod, and made himgeneral of the forces of Celesyria, and gave him a fleet of ships, andan army of horsemen and footmen; and promised him, that after the warwas over they would make him king of Judea; for a war was already begunbetween Antony and the younger Caesar: but as Malichus was most afraidof Antipater, he took him out of the way; and by the offer of money, persuaded the butler of Hyrcanus, with whom they were both to feast, tokill 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 andPhasaelus, were acquainted with this conspiracy against their father, and had indignation at it, Malichus denied all, and utterly renouncedany knowledge of the murder. And thus died Antipater, a man that haddistinguished himself for piety and justice, and love to his country. And whereas one of his sons, Herod, resolved immediately to revengetheir father's death, and was coming upon Malichus with an army for thatpurpose, the elder of his sons, Phasaelus, thought it best rather to getthis man into their hands by policy, lest they should appear to begina civil war in the country; so he accepted of Malichus's defense forhimself, and pretended to believe him that he had had no hand in theviolent death of Antipater his father, but erected a fine monumentfor him. Herod also went to Samaria; and when he found them in greatdistress, 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 city; whereupon Malichus was aftrighted, and persuaded Hyrcanus not to permit him to come into the city. Hyrcanuscomplied; and, for a pretense of excluding him, alleged, that a routof strangers ought not to be admitted when the multitude were purifyingthemselves. But Herod had little regard to the messengers that were sentto him, and entered the city in the night time, and aftrighted Malichus;yet did he remit nothing of his former dissimulation, but wept forAntipater, and bewailed him as a friend of his with a loud voice;but Herod and his friends though, it proper not openly to contradictMalichus's hypocrisy, but to give him tokens of mutual friendship, inorder to prevent his suspicion of them. 6. However, Herod sent to Cassius, and informed him of the murder of hisfather; who knowing what sort of man Malichus was as to his morals, senthim back word that he should revenge his father's death; and also sentprivately to the commanders of his army at Tyre, with orders to assistHerod in the execution of a very just design of his. Now when Cassiushad taken Laodicea, they all went together to him, and carried himgarlands and money; and Herod thought that Malichus might be punishedwhile he was there; but he was somewhat apprehensive of the thing, anddesigned to make some great attempt, and because his son was then ahostage at Tyre, he went to that city, and resolved to steal him awayprivately, and to march thence into Judea; and as Cassius was in hasteto march against Antony, he thought to bring the country to revolt, and to procure the government for himself. But Providence opposedhis counsels; and Herod being a shrewd man, and perceiving what hisintention was, he sent thither beforehand a servant, in appearanceindeed to get a supper ready, for he had said before that he would feastthem all there, but in reality to the commanders of the army, whom hepersuaded to go out against Malichus, with their daggers. So they wentout and met the man near the city, upon the sea-shore, and there stabbedhim. Whereupon Hyrcanus was so astonished at what had happened, thathis speech failed him; and when, after some difficulty, he had recoveredhimself, he asked Herod what the matter could be, and who it was thatslew Malichus; and when he said that it was done by the command ofCassius, he commended the action; for that Malichus was a very wickedman, and one that conspired against his own country. And this was thepunishment that was inflicted on Malichus for what he wickedly did toAntipater. 7. But when Cassius was marched out of Syria, disturbances arose inJudea; for Felix, who was left at Jerusalem with an army, made a suddenattempt against Phasaelus, and the people themselves rose in arms; butHerod went to Fabius, the prefect of Damascus, and was desirous to runto his brother's assistance, but was hindered by a distemper that seizedupon him, till Phasaelus by himself had been too hard for Felix, and hadshut him up in the tower, and there, on certain conditions, dismissedhim. Phasaelus also complained of Hyrcanus, that although he hadreceived a great many benefits from them, yet did he support theirenemies; for Malichus's brother had made many places to revolt, and keptgarrisons in them, and particularly Masada, the strongest fortress ofthem all. In the mean time, Herod was recovered of his disease, andcame and took from Felix all the places he had gotten; and, upon certainconditions, dismissed him also. CHAPTER 12. Herod Ejects Antigonus, The Son Of Aristobulus Out Of Judea, And Gains The Friendship Of Antony, Who Was Now Come Into Syria, BySending Him Much Money; On Which Account He Would Not Admit Of ThoseThat Would Have Accused Herod: And What It Was That Antony Wrote To TheTyrians In Behalf. 1. Now [22] Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, brought back into JudeaAntigonus, the son of Aristobulus, who had already raised an army, andhad, by money, made Fabius to be his friend, add this because he was ofkin to him. Marion also gave him assistance. He had been left by Cassiusto tyrannize over Tyre; for this Cussiris was a man that seized onSyria, and then kept it under, in the way of a tyrant. Marion alsomarched into Galilee, which lay in his neighborhood, and took three ofhis fortresses, and put garrisons into them to keep them. But when Herodcame, he took all from him; but the Tyrian garrison he dismissed in avery civil manner; nay, to some of the soldiers he made presents outof the good-will he bare to that city. When he had despatched theseaffairs, and was gone to meet Antigonus, he joined battle with him, andbeat him, and drove him out of Judea presently, when he was just comeinto its borders. But when he was come to Jerusalem, Hyrcanus and thepeople put garlands about his head; for he had already contracted anaffinity with the family of Hyrcanus by having espoused a descendant ofhis, and for that reason Herod took the greater care of him, as beingto marry the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, add thegranddaughter of Hyrcanus, by which wife he became the father of threemale and two female children. He had also married before this anotherwife, out of a lower family of his own nation, whose name was Doris, bywhom he had his eldest son Antipater. 2. Now Antonius and Caesar had beaten Cassius near Philippi, as othershave related; but after the victory, Caesar went into Gaul, [Italy, ] andAntony marched for Asia, who, when he was arrived at Bithynia, he hadambassadors that met him from all parts. The principal men also of theJews came thither, to accuse Phasaelus and Herod; and they said thatHyrcanus had indeed the appearance of reigning, but that these men hadall the power: but Antony paid great respect to Herod, who was cometo him to make his defense against his accusers, on which account hisadversaries could not so much as obtain a hearing; which favor Herod hadgained of Antony by money. But still, when Antony was come to Ephesus, Hyrcanus the high priest, and our nation, sent an embassage to him, which carried a crown of gold with them, and desired that he would writeto the governors of the provinces, to set those Jews free who had beencarried captive by Cassius, and this without their having fought againsthim, and to restore them that country, which, in the days of Cassius, had been taken from them. Antony thought the Jews' desires were just, and wrote immediately to Hyrcanus, and to the Jews. He also sent, at thesame time, a decree to the Tyrians; the contents of which were to thesame purpose. 3. "Marcus Antonius, imperator, to Hyrcanus the high priest and ethnarchof the Jews, sendeth greeting. It you be in health, it is well; I amalso in health, with the army. Lysimachus, the son of Pausanias, andJosephus, the son of Menneus, and Alexander, the son of Theodorus, yourambassadors, met me at Ephesus, and have renewed the embassage whichthey had formerly been upon at Rome, and have diligently acquittedthemselves of the present embassage, which thou and thy nation haveintrusted to them, and have fully declared the goodwill thou hast forus. I am therefore satisfied, both by your actions and your words, thatyou are well-disposed to us; and I understand that your conduct of lifeis constant and religious: so I reckon upon you as our own. But whenthose that were adversaries to you, and to the Roman people, abstainedneither from cities nor temples, and did not observe the agreement theyhad confirmed by oath, it was not only on account of our contest withthem, but on account of all mankind in common, that we have takenvengeance on those who have been the authors of great injustice towardsmen, and of great wickedness towards the gods; for the sake of whichwe suppose it was that the sun turned away his light from us, [23] asunwilling to view the horrid crime they were guilty of in the case ofCaesar. We have also overcome their conspiracies, which threatened thegods themselves, which Macedonia received, as it is a climate peculiarlyproper for impious and insolent attempts; and we have overcome thatconfused rout of men, half mad with spite against us, which they gottogether at Philippi in Macedonia, when they seized on the places thatwere proper for their purpose, and, as it were, walled them round withmountains to the very sea, and where the passage was open only througha single gate. This victory we gained, because the gods had condemnedthose men for their wicked enterprises. Now Brutus, when he had fled asfar as Philippi, was shut up by us, and became a partaker of the sameperdition with Cassius; and now these have received their punishment, wesuppose that we may enjoy peace for the time to come, and that Asia maybe at rest from war. We therefore make that peace which God hath givenus common to our confederates also, insomuch that the body of Asia isnow recovered out of that distemper it was under by the means of ourvictory. I, therefore, bearing in mind both thee and your nation, shalltake care of what may be for your advantage. I have also sent epistlesin writing to the several cities, that if any persons, whether free-menor bond-men, have been sold under the spear by Caius Cassius, or hissubordinate officers, they may be set free. And I will that you kindlymake use of the favors which I and Dolabella have granted you. I alsoforbid the Tyrians to use any violence with you; and for what places ofthe Jews they now possess, I order them to restore them. I have withalaccepted of the crown which thou sentest me. " 4. "Marcus Antonius, imperator, to the magistrates, senate, and peopleof Tyre, sendeth greeting. The ambassadors of Hyrcanus, the high priestand ethnarch [of the Jews], appeared before me at Ephesus, and told methat you are in possession of part of their country, which you enteredupon under the government of our adversaries. Since, therefore, we haveundertaken a war for the obtaining the government, and have taken careto do what was agreeable to piety and justice, and have brought topunishment those that had neither any remembrance of the kindnesses theyhad received, nor have kept their oaths, I will that you be at peacewith those that are our confederates; as also, that what you have takenby the means of our adversaries shall not be reckoned your own, but bereturned to those from whom you took them; for none of them took theirprovinces or their armies by the gift of the senate, but they seizedthem by force, and bestowed them by violence upon such as became usefulto them in their unjust proceedings. Since, therefore, those men havereceived the punishment due to them, we desire that our confederatesmay retain whatsoever it was that they formerly possessed withoutdisturbance, and that you restore all the places which belong toHyrcanus, the ethnarch of the Jews, which you have had, though it werebut one day before Caius Cassius began an unjustifiable war against us, and entered into our province; nor do you use any force against him, inorder to weaken him, that he may not be able to dispose of that whichis his own; but if you have any contest with him about your respectiverights, it shall be lawful for you to plead your cause when we come uponthe places concerned, for we shall alike preserve the rights and hearall the causes of our confederates. " 5. "Marcus Antonius, imperator, to the magistrates, senate, and peopleof Tyre, sendeth greeting. I have sent you my decree, of which I willthat ye take care that it be engraven on the public tables, in Romanand Greek letters, and that it stand engraven in the most illustriousplaces, that it may be read by all. Marcus Antonius, imperator, one ofthe triumvirate over the public affairs, made this declaration: SinceCaius Cassius, in this revolt he hath made, hath pillaged that provincewhich belonged not to him, and was held by garrisons there encamped, while they were our confederates, and hath spoiled that nation of theJews that was in friendship with the Roman people, as in war; and sincewe have overcome his madness by arms, we now correct by our decrees andjudicial determinations what he hath laid waste, that those things maybe restored to our confederates. And as for what hath been sold of theJewish possessions, whether they be bodies or possessions, let them bereleased; the bodies into that state of freedom they were originallyin, and the possessions to their former owners. I also will that hewho shall not comply with this decree of mine shall be punished for hisdisobedience; and if such a one be caught, I will take care that theoffenders suffer condign punishment. " 6. The same thing did Antony write to the Sidonians, and theAntiochians, and the Aradians. We have produced these decrees, therefore, as marks for futurity of the truth of what we have said, thatthe Romans had a great concern about our nation. CHAPTER 13. How Antony Made Herod And Phasaelus Tetrarchs, After TheyHad Been Accused To No Purpose; And How The Parthians When They BroughtAntigonus Into Judea Took Hyrcanus And Phasaelus Captives. Herod'sFlight; And What Afflictions Hyrcanus And Phasaelus Endured. 1. When after this Antony came into Syria, Cleopatra met him in Cilicia, and brought him to fall in love with her. And there came now also ahundred of the most potent of the Jews to accuse Herod and those abouthim, and set the men of the greatest eloquence among them to speak. ButMessala contradicted them, on behalf of the young men, and all this inthe presence of Hyrcanus, who was Herod's father-in-law [24] already. When Antony had heard both sides at Daphne, he asked Hyrcanus who theywere that governed the nation best. He replied, Herod and his friends. Hereupon Antony, by reason of the old hospitable friendship he had madewith his father [Antipater], at that time when he was with Gabinius, he made both Herod and Phasaelus tetrarchs, and committed the publicaffairs of the Jews to them, and wrote letters to that purpose. He alsobound fifteen of their adversaries, and was going to kill them, but thatHerod obtained their pardon. 2. Yet did not these men continue quiet when they were come back, but athousand of the Jews came to Tyre to meet him there, whither the reportwas that he would come. But Antony was corrupted by the money whichHerod and his brother had given him; and so he gave order to thegovernor of the place to punish the Jewish ambassadors, who were formaking innovations, and to settle the government upon Herod; but Herodwent out hastily to them, and Hyrcanus was with him, [for they stoodupon the shore before the city, ] and he charged them to go their ways, because great mischief would befall them if they went on with theiraccusation. But they did not acquiesce; whereupon the Romans ran uponthem with their daggers, and slew some, and wounded more of them, andthe rest fled away and went home, and lay still in great consternation. And when the people made a clamor against Herod, Antony was so provokedat it, that he slew the prisoners. 3. Now, in the second year, Pacorus, the king of Parthia's son, andBarzapharnes, a commander of the Parthians, possessed themselves ofSyria. Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, also was now dead, and Lysanias hisson took his government, and made a league of friendship with Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus; and in order to obtain it, made use of thatcommander, who had great interest in him. Now Antigonus had promisedto give the Parthians a thousand talents, and five hundred women, uponcondition they would take the government away from Hyrcanus, and bestowit upon him, and withal kill Herod. And although he did not give themwhat he had promised, yet did the Parthians make an expedition intoJudea on that account, and carried Antigonus with them. Pacorus wentalong the maritime parts, but the commander Barzapharnes through themidland. Now the Tyrians excluded Pacorus, but the Sidontans and thoseof Ptolemais received him. However, Pacorus sent a troop of horsemeninto Judea, to take a view of the state of the country, and to assistAntigonus; and sent also the king's butler, of the same name withhimself. So when the Jews that dwelt about Mount Carmel came toAntigonus, and were ready to march with him into Judea, Antigonus hopedto get some part of the country by their assistance. The place is calledDrymi; and when some others came and met them, the men privately fellupon Jerusalem; and when some more were come to them, they got togetherin great numbers, and came against the king's palace, and besieged it. But as Phasaelus's and Herod's party came to the other's assistance, anda battle happened between them in the market-place, the young men beattheir enemies, and pursued them into the temple, and sent some armed meninto the adjoining houses to keep them in, who yet being destitute ofsuch as should support them, were burnt, and the houses with them, bythe people who rose up against them. But Herod was revenged on theseseditious adversaries of his a little afterward for this injury they hadoffered him, when he fought with them, and slew a great number of them. 4. But while there were daily skirmishes, the enemy waited for thecoming of the multitude out of the country to Pentecost, a feast of oursso called; and when that day was come, many ten thousands of thepeople were gathered together about the temple, some in armor, andsome without. Now those that came guarded both the temple and the city, excepting what belonged to the palace, which Herod guarded with a fewof 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 thesuburbs, and fought courageously, and put many ten thousands to flight, some flying into the city, and some into the temple, and some into theouter fortifications, for some such fortifications there were in thatplace. Phasaelus came also to his assistance; yet was Pacorus, thegeneral of the Parthians, at the desire of Antigonus, admitted into thecity, with a few of his horsemen, under pretence indeed as if he wouldstill the sedition, but in reality to assist Antigonus in obtaining thegovernment. And when Phasaelus met him, and received him kindly, Pacoruspersuaded him to go himself as ambassador to Barzapharnes, which wasdone fraudulently. Accordingly, Phasaelus, suspecting no harm, compliedwith his proposal, while Herod did not give his consent to what wasdone, because of the perfidiousness of these barbarians, but desiredPhasaelus rather to fight those that were come into the city. 5. So both Hyrcanus and Phasaelus went on the embassage; but Pacorusleft with Herod two hundred horsemen, and ten men, who were called thefreemen, and conducted the others on their journey; and when they werein Galilee, the governors of the cities there met them in their arms. Barzaphanles also received them at the first with cheerfulness, andmade them presents, though he afterward conspired against them; andPhasaelus, with his horsemen, were conducted to the sea-side. But whenthey heard that Antigonus had promised to give the Parthians a thousandtalents, and five hundred women, to assist him against them, they soonhad a suspicion of the barbarians. Moreover, there was one who informedthem that snares were laid for them by night, while a guard came aboutthem secretly; and they had then been seized upon, had not they waitedfor the seizure of Herod by the Parthians that were about Jerusalem, lest, upon the slaughter of Hyrcanus and Phasaelus, he should have anintimation of it, and escape out of their hands. And these were thecircumstances they were now in; and they saw who they were that guardedthem. Some persons indeed would have persuaded Phasaelus to fly awayimmediately on horseback, and not stay any longer; and there was oneOphellius, who, above all the rest, was earnest with him to do so; forhe had heard of this treachery from Saramalla, the richest of all theSyrians at that time, who also promised to provide him ships to carryhim off; for the sea was just by them. But he had no mind todesert Hyrcanus, nor bring his brother into danger; but he went toBarzapharnes, and told him he did not act justly when he made such acontrivance against them; for that if he wanted money, he would give himmore than Antigonus; and besides, that it was a horrible thing to slaythose that came to him upon the security of their oaths, and that whenthey had done them no injury. But the barbarian swore to him that therewas no truth in any of his suspicions, but that he was troubled withnothing but false proposals, and then went away to Pacorus. 6. But as soon as he was gone away, some men came and bound Hyrcanus andPhasaelus, while Phasaelus greatly reproached the Parthians for theirperjury; However, that butler who was sent against Herod had it incommand to get him without the walls of the city, and seize uponhim; but messengers had been sent by Phasaelus to inform Herod of theperfidiousness of the Parthians. And when he knew that the enemy hadseized upon them, he went to Pacorus, and to the most potent of theParthians, as to the lord of the rest, who, although they knew the wholematter, dissembled with him in a deceitful way; and said that he oughtto go out with them before the walls, and meet those which were bringinghim his letters, for that they were not taken by his adversaries, butwere coming to give him an account of the good success Phasaelus hadhad. Herod did not give credit to what they said; for he had heardthat his brother was seized upon by others also; and the daughter ofHyrcanus, whose daughter he had espoused, was his monitor also [not tocredit them], which made him still more suspicious of the Parthians; foralthough other people did not give heed to her, yet did he believe heras a woman of very great wisdom. 7. Now while the Parthians were in consultation what was fit to be done;for they did not think it proper to make an open attempt upon a personof his character; and while they put off the determination to the nextday, Herod was under great disturbance of mind, and rather inclining tobelieve the reports he heard about his brother and the Parthians, thanto give heed to what was said on the other side, he determined, thatwhen the evening came on, he would make use of it for his flight, andnot make any longer delay, as if the dangers from the enemy were not yetcertain. He therefore removed with the armed men whom he had with him;and set his wives upon the beasts, as also his mother, and sister, andher whom he was about to marry, [Mariamne, ] the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, with her mother, the daughter of Hyrcanus, and his youngest brother, and all their servants, and the rest of themultitude that was with him, and without the enemy's privity pursued hisway to Idumea. Nor could any enemy of his who then saw him in this casebe so hardhearted, but would have commiserated his fortune, while thewomen drew along their infant children and left their own country, andtheir friends in prison, with tears in their eyes, and sad lamentations, and in expectation of nothing but what was of a melancholy nature. 8. But for Herod himself, he raised his mind above the miserable statehe was in, and was of good courage in the midst of his misfortunes; andas he passed along, he bid them every one to be of good cheer, and notto give themselves up to sorrow, because that would hinder them intheir flight, which was now the only hope of safety that they had. Accordingly, they tried to bear with patience the calamity they wereunder, as he exhorted them to do; yet was he once almost going to killhimself, upon the overthrow of a waggon, and the danger his mother wasthen in of being killed; and this on two accounts, because of his greatconcern for her, and because he was afraid lest, by this delay, theenemy should overtake him in the pursuit: but as he was drawing hissword, and going to kill himself therewith, those that were presentrestrained him, and being so many in number, were too hard for him;and told him that he ought not to desert them, and leave them a preyto their enemies, for that it was not the part of a brave man to freehimself from the distresses he was in, and to overlook his friends thatwere in the same distresses also. So he was compelled to let that horridattempt alone, partly out of shame at what they said to him, and partlyout of regard to the great number of those that would not permit him todo what he intended. So he encouraged his mother, and took all the careof her the time would allow, and proceeded on the way he proposed to gowith the utmost haste, and that was to the fortress of Masada. And ashe had many skirmishes with such of the Parthians as attacked him andpursued him, he was conqueror in them all. 9. Nor indeed was he free from the Jews all along as he was in hisflight; for by that time he was gotten sixty furlongs out of the city, and was upon the road, they fell upon him, and fought hand to hand withhim, whom he also put to flight, and overcame, not like one that was indistress and in necessity, but like one that was excellently preparedfor war, and had what he wanted in great plenty. And in this very placewhere he overcame the Jews it was that he some time afterward builda most excellent palace, and a city round about it, and called itHerodium. And when he was come to Idumea, at a place called Thressa, hisbrother Joseph met him, and he then held a council to take advice aboutall his affairs, and what was fit to be done in his circumstances, since he had a great multitude that followed him, besides his mercenarysoldiers, and the place Masada, whither he proposed to fly, was toosmall to contain so great a multitude; so he sent away the greater partof his company, being above nine thousand, and bid them go, some oneway, and some another, and so save themselves in Idumea, and gave themwhat would buy them provisions in their journey. But he took with himthose 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 sufficientquantity of corn and water, and other necessaries, and went directlyfor Petra, in Arabia. But when it was day, the Parthians plundered allJerusalem, and the palace, and abstained from nothing but Hyrcanus'smoney, which was three hundred talents. A great deal of Herod's moneyescaped, and principally all that the man had been so provident as tosend into Idumea beforehand; nor indeed did what was in the city sufficethe Parthians, but they went out into the country, and plundered it, anddemolished the city Marissa. 10. And thus was Antigonus brought back into Judea by the king of theParthians, and received Hyrcanus and Phasaelus for his prisoners; but hewas greatly cast down because the women had escaped, whom he intended tohave given the enemy, as having promised they should have them, with themoney, for their reward: but being afraid that Hyrcanus, who was underthe guard of the Parthians, might have his kingdom restored to him bythe multitude, he cut off his ears, and thereby took care that the highpriesthood should never come to him any more, because he was maimed, while the law required that this dignity should belong to none but suchas had all their members entire [25] But now one cannot but here admirethe fortitude of Phasaelus, who, perceiving that he was to be put todeath, did not think death any terrible thing at all; but to die thus bythe means of his enemy, this he thought a most pitiable and dishonorablething; and therefore, since he had not his hands at liberty, but thebonds he was in prevented him from killing himself thereby, he dashedhis 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 ashe was in, and thereby put it out of the power of the enemy to bring himto any death he pleased. It is also reported, that when he had made agreat wound in his head, Antigonus sent physicians to cure it, and, by ordering them to infuse poison into the wound, killed him. However, Phasaelus hearing, before he was quite dead, by a certain woman, thathis brother Herod had escaped the enemy, underwent his death cheerfully, since he now left behind him one who would revenge his death, and whowas able to inflict punishment on his enemies. CHAPTER 14. How Herod Got Away From The King Of Arabia And Made HasteTo Go Into Egypt And Thence Went Away In Haste Also To Rome; And How, ByPromising A Great Deal Of Money To Antony He Obtained Of The Senate AndOf Caesar 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 wentto Malchus, king of Arabia, whom he had formerly been very kind to, inorder to receive somewhat by way of requital, now he was in more thanordinary 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 manybenefits he had received from him; for not knowing what was becomeof his brother, he was in haste to redeem him out of the hand of hisenemies, as willing to give three hundred talents for the price of hisredemption. He also took with him the son of Phasaelus, who was a childof but seven years of age, for this very reason, that he might be ahostage for the repayment of the money. But there came messengers fromMalchus to meet him, by whom he was desired to be gone, for that theParthians had laid a charge upon him not to entertain Herod. This wasonly a pretense which he made use of, that he might not be obliged torepay him what he owed him; and this he was further induced to by theprincipal men among the Arabians, that they might cheat him of whatsums they had received from [his father] Antipater, and which he hadcommitted to their fidelity. He made answer, that he did not intend tobe troublesome to them by his coning thither, but that he desired onlyto discourse with them about certain affairs that were to him of thegreatest importance. 2. Hereupon he resolved to go away, and did go very prudently the roadto Egypt; and then it was that he lodged in a certain temple; for hehad left a great many of his followers there. On the next day he cameto Rhinocolura, and there it was that he heard what was befallen hisbrother. Though Malehus soon repented of what he had done, and camerunning after Herod; but with no manner of success, for he was gotten avery great way off, and made haste into the road to Pelusium; andwhen the stationary ships that lay there hindered him from sailing toAlexandria, he went to their captains, by whose assistance, and that outof much reverence of and great regard to him, he was conducted into thecity [Alexandria], and was retained there by Cleopatra; yet was she notable to prevail with him to stay there, because he was making haste toRome, even though the weather was stormy, and he was informed that theaffairs of Italy were very tumultuous, and in great disorder. 3. So he set sail from thence to Pamphylia, and falling into a violentstorm, he had much ado to escape to Rhodes, with the loss of theship's burden; and there it was that two of his friends, Sappinas andPtolemeus, met with him; and as he found that city very much damagedin the war against Cassius, though he were in necessity himself, heneglected not to do it a kindness, but did what he could to recover itto its former state. He also built there a three-decked ship, andset sail thence, with his friends, for Italy, and came to the port ofBrundusium; and when he was come from thence to Rome, he first relatedto Antony what had befallen him in Judea, and how Phasaelus his brotherwas seized on by the Parthians, and put to death by them, and howHyrcanus was detained captive by them, and how they had made Antigonusking, who had promised them a sum of money, no less than a thousandtalents, with five hundred women, who were to be of the principalfamilies, and of the Jewish stock; and that he had carried off the womenby night; and that, by undergoing a great many hardships, he had escapedthe hands of his enemies; as also, that his own relations were in dangerof being besieged and taken, and that he had sailed through a storm, andcontemned all these terrible dangers of it, in order to come, as soon aspossible, to him, who was his hope and only succor at this time. 4. This account made Antony commiserate the change that had happenedin Herod's condition; [26] and reasoning with himself that this was acommon case among those that are placed in such great dignities, andthat they are liable to the mutations that come from fortune, he wasvery ready to give him the assistance he desired, and this because hecalled to mind the friendship he had had with Antipater because Herodoffered him money to make him king, as he had formerly given it him tomake him tetrarch, and chiefly because of his hatred to Antigonus; forhe took him to be a seditious person, and an enemy to the Romans. Caesarwas also the forwarder to raise Herod's dignity, and to give him hisassistance in what he desired, on account of the toils of war which hehad himself undergone with Antipater his father in Egypt, and of thehospitality he had treated him withal, and the kindness he had alwaysshowed him, as also to gratify Antony, who was very zealous for Herod. So a senate was convocated; and Messala first, and then Atratinus, introduced Herod into it, and enlarged upon the benefits they hadreceived from his father, and put them in mind of the good-will hehad borne to the Romans. At the same time, they accused Antigonus, anddeclared him an enemy, not only because of his former oppositionto them, but that he had now overlooked the Romans, and taken thegovernment from the Parthians. Upon this the senate was irritated; andAntony informed them further, that it was for their advantage in theParthian war that Herod should be king. This seemed good to all thesenators; 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 hedid not come with an intention to ask the kingdom for himself, whichhe did not suppose the Romans would grant him, who used to bestow iton some of the royal family, but intended to desire it for his wife'sbrother, who was grandson by his father to Aristobulus, and to Hyrcanusby his mother, ] but that he procured it for him so suddenly, that heobtained what he did not expect, and departed out of Italy in so fewdays as seven in all. This young man [the grandson] Herod afterward tookcare to have slain, as we shall show in its proper place. But when thesenate was dissolved, Antony and Caesar went out of the senate housewith Herod between them, and with the consuls and other magistratesbefore them, in order to offer sacrifices, and to lay up their decreesin the capitol. Antony also feasted Herod the first day of his reign. And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on thehundred and eighty-fourth olympiad, when Caius Domitius Calvinus wasconsul the second time, and Caius Asinius Pollio [the first time]. 6. All this while Antigonus besieged those that were in Masada, who hadplenty of all other necessaries, but were only in want of water [27]insomuch that on this occasion Joseph, Herod's brother, was contrivingto run away from it, with two hundred of his dependents, to theArabians; for he had heard that Malchus repented of the offenses he hadbeen guilty of with regard to Herod; but God, by sending rain in thenight time, prevented his going away, for their cisterns were therebyfilled, and he was under no necessity of running away on that account;but they were now of good courage, and the more so, because the sendingthat plenty of water which they had been in want of seemed a mark ofDivine Providence; so they made a sally, and fought hand to hand withAntigonus's soldiers, [with some openly, with some privately, ] anddestroyed a great number of them. At the same time Ventidius, thegeneral of the Romans, was sent out of Syria, to drive the Parthians outof it, and marched after them into Judea, in pretense indeed to succorJoseph; but in reality the whole affair was no more than a stratagem, inorder to get money of Antigonus; so they pitched their camp very near toJerusalem, and stripped Antigonus of a great deal of money, and thenhe retired himself with the greater part of the army; but, that thewickedness he had been guilty of might be found out, he left Silo there, with a certain part of his soldiers, with whom also Antigonus cultivatedan acquaintance, that he might cause him no disturbance, and was stillin hopes that the Parthians would come again and defend him. CHAPTER 15. How Herod Sailed Out Of Italy To Judea, And Fought WithAntigonus And What Other Things Happened In Judea About That Time. 1. By this time Herod had sailed out of Italy to Ptolemais, andhad gotten together no small army, both of strangers and of his owncountrymen, and marched through Galilee against Antignus. Silo also, andVentidius, came and assisted him, being persuaded by Dellius, who wassent by Antony to assist in bringing back Herod. Now for Ventidius, hewas employed in composing the disturbances that had been made in thecities by the means of the Parthians; and for Silo, he was in Judeaindeed, but corrupted by Antigonus. However, as Herod went along hisarmy increased every day, and all Galilee, with some small exception, joined him; but as he was to those that were in Masada, [for he wasobliged to endeavor to save those that were in that fortress now theywere besieged, because they were his relations, ] Joppa was a hinderanceto him, for it was necessary for him to take that place first, it beinga city at variance with him, that no strong hold might be left in hisenemies' hands behind him when he should go to Jerusalem. And when Silomade this a pretense for rising up from Jerusalem, and was thereuponpursued by the Jews, Herod fell upon them with a small body of men, andboth put the Jews to flight and saved Silo, when he was very poorly ableto defend himself; but when Herod had taken Joppa, he made haste to setfree those of his family that were in Masada. Now of the people of thecountry, some joined him because of the friendship they had had with hisfather, and some because of the splendid appearance he made, and othersby way of requital for the benefits they had received from both of them;but the greatest number came to him in hopes of getting somewhat fromhim afterward, if he were once firmly settled in the kingdom. 2. Herod had now a strong army; and as he marched on, Antigonus laidsnares and ambushes in the passes and places most proper for them;but in truth he thereby did little or no damage to the enemy. So Herodreceived those of his family out of Masada, and the fortress Ressa, and then went on for Jerusalem. The soldiery also that was with Siloaccompanied him all along, as did many of the citizens, being afraid ofhis power; and as soon as he had pitched his camp on the west sideof the city, the soldiers that were set to guard that part shot theirarrows and threw their darts at him; and when some sallied out in acrowd, and came to fight hand to hand with the first ranks of Herod'sarmy, he gave orders that they should, in the first place, makeproclamation 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 ateven his most open enemies, but ready to forget the offenses which hisgreatest adversaries had done him. But Antigonus, by way of reply towhat Herod had caused to be proclaimed, and this before the Romans, andbefore Silo also, said that they would not do justly, if they gave thekingdom to Herod, who was no more than a private man, and an Idumean, i. E. A half Jew, [28] whereas they ought to bestow it on one of theroyal family, as their custom was; for that in case they at present bearan ill-will to him, and had resolved to deprive him of the kingdom, ashaving received it from the Parthians, yet were there many others ofhis family that might by their law take it, and these such as had no wayoffended the Romans; and being of the sacerdotal family, it would be anunworthy thing to put them by. Now while they said thus one to another, and fell to reproaching one another on both sides, Antigonus permittedhis own men that were upon the wall to defend themselves, who usingtheir bows, and showing great alacrity against their enemies, easilydrove them away from the towers. 3. And now it was that Silo discovered that he had taken bribes; forhe set a good number of his soldiers to complain aloud of the want ofprovisions they were in, and to require money to buy them food; and thatit was fit to let them go into places proper for winter quarters, sincethe places near the city were a desert, by reason that Antigonus'ssoldiers had carried all away; so he set the army upon removing, andendeavored to march away; but Herod pressed Silo not to depart, andexhorted Silo's captains and soldiers not to desert him, when Caesar, and Antony, and the senate had sent him thither, for that he wouldprovide them plenty of all the things they wanted, and easily procurethem a great abundance of what they required; after which entreaty, heimmediately went out into the country, and left not the least pretenseto Silo for his departure; for he brought an unexpected quantity ofprovisions, and sent to those friends of his who inhabited aboutSamaria to bring down corn, and wine, and oil, and cattle, and all otherprovisions, to Jericho, that those might be no want of a supply for thesoldiers for the time to come. Antigonus was sensible of this, and sentpresently over the country such as might restrain and lie in ambush forthose that went out for provisions. So these men obeyed the orders ofAntigonus, and got together a great number of armed men about Jericho, and sat upon the mountains, and watched those that brought theprovisions. However, Herod was not idle in the mean time, for he tookten bands of soldiers, of whom five were of the Romans, and five of theJews, with some mercenaries among them, and with some few horsemen, and came to Jericho; and as they found the city deserted, but that fivehundred of them had settled themselves on the tops of the hills, withtheir wives and children, those he took and sent away; but the Romansfell upon the city, and plundered it, and found the houses full of allsorts of good things. So the king left a garrison at Jericho, and cameback again, and sent the Roman army to take their winter quarters in thecountries that were come over to him, Judea, and Galilee, 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 Lydda, in order to pleaseAntony. So the Romans laid their weapons aside, and lived in plenty ofall things. 4. But Herod was not pleased with lying still, but sent out his brotherJoseph against Idumea with two thousand armed footmen, and four hundredhorsemen, while he himself came to Samaria, and left his mother and hisother relations there, for they were already gone out of Masada, and went into Galilee, to take certain places which were held by thegarrisons of Antigonus; and he passed on to Sepphoris, as God sent asnow, while Antigonus's garrisons withdrew themselves, and had greatplenty of provisions. He also went thence, and resolved to destroy thoserobbers that dwelt in the caves, and did much mischief in the country;so he sent a troop of horsemen, and three companies of armed footmen, against them. They were very near to a village called Arbela; and onthe fortieth day after, he came himself with his whole army: and as theenemy sallied out boldly upon him, the left wing of his army gaveway; but he appearing with a body of men, put those to flight who werealready conquerors, and recalled his men that ran away. He also pressedupon his enemies, and pursued them as far as the river Jordan, thoughthey ran away by different roads. So he brought over to him all Galilee, excepting those that dwelt in the caves, and distributed money to everyone of his soldiers, giving them a hundred and fifty drachmae apiece, and much more to their captains, and sent them into winter quarters;at which time Silo came to him, and his commanders with him, becauseAntigonus would not give them provisions any longer, for he suppliedthem for no more than one month; nay, he had sent to all the countryabout, and ordered them to carry off the provisions that were there, and retire to the mountains, that the Romans might have no provisions tolive upon, and so might perish by famine. But Herod committed the careof that matter to Pheroras, his youngest brother, and ordered him torepair Alexandrium also. Accordingly, he quickly made the soldiersabound with great plenty of provisions, and rebuilt Alexandrium, whichhad been before desolate. 5. About this time it was that Antony continued some time at Athens, andthat Ventidius, who was now in Syria, sent for Silo, and commanded himto assist Herod, in the first place, to finish the present war, and thento send for their confederates for the war they were themselves engagedin; but as for Herod, he went in haste against the robbers that werein the caves, and sent Silo away to Ventidius, while he marched againstthem. These caves were in mountains that were exceeding abrupt, and intheir middle were no other than precipices, with certain entrances intothe caves, and those caves were encompassed with sharp rocks, and inthese did the robbers lie concealed, with all their families about them;but the king caused certain chests to be made, in order to destroy them, and to be hung down, bound about with iron chains, by an engine, fromthe top of the mountain, it being not possible to get up to them, byreason of the sharp ascent of the mountains, nor to creep down to themfrom above. Now these chests were filled with armed men, who had longhooks in their hands, by which they might pull out such as resistedthem, and then tumble them down, and kill them by so doing; but theletting the chests down proved to be a matter of great danger, becauseof the vast depth they were to be let down, although they had theirprovisions 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 armor, and by both their hands took hold of the chain by which the chests werelet down, and went into the mouths of the caves, because they frettedthat such delay was made by the robbers not daring to come out of thecaves; and when they were at any of those mouths, they first killed manyof those that were in the mouths with their darts, and afterwards pulledthose to them that resisted them with their hooks, and tumbled themdown the precipices, and afterwards went into the caves, and killed manymore, and then went into their chests again, and lay still there; but, upon this, terror seized the rest, when they heard the lamentations thatwere made, and they despaired of escaping. However, when the night cameon, that put an end to the whole work; and as the king proclaimed pardonby a herald to such as delivered themselves up to him, many accepted ofthe offer. The same method of assault was made use of the next day; andthey went further, and got out in baskets to fight them, and fought themat their doors, and sent fire among them, and set their caves on fire, for there was a great deal of combustible matter within them. Now therewas one old man who was caught within one of these caves, with sevenchildren and a wife; these prayed him to give them leave to go out, andyield themselves up to the enemy; but he stood at the cave's mouth, andalways slew that child of his who went out, till he had destroyed themevery one, and after that he slew his wife, and cast their dead bodiesdown the precipice, and himself after them, and so underwent deathrather than slavery: but before he did this, he greatly reproached Herodwith the meanness of his family, although he was then king. Herod alsosaw what he was doing, and stretched out his hand, and offered him allmanner of security for his life; by which means all these caves were atlength subdued entirely. 6. And when the king had set Ptolemy over these parts of the country ashis general, he went to Samaria, with six hundred horsemen, and threethousand armed footmen, as intending to fight Antigonus. But still thiscommand of the army did not succeed well with Ptolemy, but those thathad been troublesome to Galilee before attacked him, and slew him; andwhen they had done this, they fled among the lakes and places almostinaccessible laying waste and plundering whatsoever they could come atin those places. But Herod soon returned, and punished them for whatthey had done; for some of these rebels he slew, and others of them, who had fled to the strong holds he besieged, and both slew them, anddemolished their strong holds. And when he had thus put an end to theirrebellion, he laid a fine upon the cities of a hundred talents. 7. In the mean time, Pacorus was fallen in a battle, and the Parthianswere defeated, when Ventidius sent Macheras to the assistance of Herod, with two legions, and a thousand horsemen, while Antony encouraged himto make haste. But Macheras, at the instigation of Antigonus, withoutthe approbation of Herod, as being corrupted by money, went about totake a view of his affairs; but Antigonus suspecting this intention ofhis 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, andthat he had made a mistake himself in not hearkening 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 whathardships he had undergone. The king was provoked at this conduct ofhis, and went to Samaria, and resolved to go to Antony about theseaffairs, and to inform him that he stood in no need of such helpers, whodid him more mischief than they did his enemies; and that he was able ofhimself to beat Antigonus. But Macheras followed him, and desired thathe would not go to Antony; or if he was resolved to go, that he wouldjoin his brother Joseph with them, and let them fight against Antigonus. So he was reconciled to Macheras, upon his earnest entreaties. Accordingly, he left Joseph there with his army, but charged him to runno hazards, nor to quarrel with Macheras. 8. But for his own part, he made haste to Antony [who was then atthe siege of Samosata, a place upon Euphrates] with his troops, bothhorsemen and footmen, to be auxiliaries to him. And when he came toAntioch, and met there a great number of men gotten together that werevery desirous to go to Antony, but durst not venture to go, out of fear, because the barbarians fell upon men on the road, and slew many, so heencouraged them, and became their conductor upon the road. Now whenthey were within two days' march of Samosata, the barbarians had laid anambush there to disturb those that came to Antony, and where the woodsmade the passes narrow, as they led to the plains, there they laid not afew of their horsemen, who were to lie still until those passengers weregone by into the wide place. Now as soon as the first ranks were goneby, [for Herod brought on the rear, ] those that lay in ambush, who wereabout five hundred, fell upon them on the sudden, and when they had putthe foremost to flight, the king came riding hard, with the forces thatwere about him, and immediately drove back the enemy; by which means hemade the minds of his own men courageous, and imboldened them to goon, insomuch that those who ran away before now returned back, and thebarbarians were slain on all sides. The king also went on killing them, and recovered all the baggage, among which were a great number of beastsfor burden, and of slaves, and proceeded on in his march; and whereasthere 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 uponthese also with a strong body of men, and put them to flight, and slewmany of them, and thereby rendered the way safe for those that cameafter; and these called Herod their savior and protector. 9. And when he was near to Samosata, Antony sent out his army inall their proper habiliments to meet him, in order to pay Herod thisrespect, and because of the assistance he had given him; for he hadheard what attacks the barbarians had made upon him [in Judea]. He alsowas very glad to see him there, as having been made acquainted with thegreat actions he had performed upon the road. So he entertained him verykindly, and could not but admire his courage. Antony also embraced himas soon as he saw him, and saluted him after a most affectionate manner, and gave him the upper hand, as having himself lately made him a king;and in a little time Antiochus delivered up the fortress, and on thataccount this war was at an end; then Antony committed the rest toSosius, and gave him orders to assist Herod, and went himself to Egypt. Accordingly, Sosius sent two legions before into Judea to the assistanceof Herod, and he followed himself with the body of the army. 10. Now Joseph was already slain in Judea, in the manner following:He forgot what charge his brother Herod had given him when he wentto Antony; and when he had pitched his camp among the mountains, forMacheras had lent him five regiments, with these he went hastily toJericho, in order to reap the corn thereto belonging; and as the Romanregiments were but newly raised, and were unskillful in war, for theywere 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 hewas fighting bravely, and the whole army was lost, for there weresix regiments slain. So when Antigonus had got possession of the deadbodies, he cut off Joseph's head, although Pheroras his brother wouldhave redeemed it at the price of fifty talents. After which defeat, the Galileans revolted from their commanders, and took those of Herod'sparty, and drowned them in the lake, and a great part of Judea wasbecome seditious; but Macheras fortified the place Gitta [in Samaria]. 11. At this time messengers came to Herod, and informed him of what hadbeen done; and when he was come to Daphne by Antioch, they told him ofthe ill fortune that had befallen his brother; which yet he expected, from certain visions that appeared to him in his dreams, which clearlyforeshowed his brother's death. So he hastened his march; and when hecame to Mount Libanus, he received about eight hundred of the men ofthat place, having already with him also one Roman legion, and withthese he came to Ptolemais. He also marched thence by night with hisarmy, and proceeded along Galilee. Here it was that the enemy methim, and fought him, and were beaten, and shut up in the same place ofstrength whence they had sallied out the day before. So he attacked theplace in the morning; but by reason of a great storm that was thenvery violent, he was able to do nothing, but drew off his army into theneighboring villages; yet as soon as the other legion that Antony senthim was come to his assistance, those that were in garrison in the placewere afraid, and deserted it in the night time. Then did the king marchhastily to Jericho, intending to avenge himself on the enemy for theslaughter of his brother; and when he had pitched his tents, he made afeast for the principal commanders; and after this collation was over, and he had dismissed his guests, he retired to his own chamber; and heremay one see what kindness God had for the king, for the upper part ofthe house fell down when nobody was in it, and so killed none, insomuchthat all the people believed that Herod was beloved of God, since he hadescaped such a great and surprising danger. 12. But the next day six thousand of the enemy came down from the topsof the mountains to fight the Romans, which greatly terrified them; andthe soldiers that were in light armor came near, and pelted the king'sguards that were come out with darts and stones, and one of them hithim on the side with a dart. Antigonus also sent a commander againstSamaria, whose name was Pappus, with some forces, being desirous to showthe enemy how potent he was, and that he had men to spare in his warwith them. He sat down to oppose Macheras; but Herod, when he had takenfive cities, took such as were left in them, being about two thousand, and slew them, and burnt the cities themselves, and then returned to goagainst Pappus, who was encamped at a village called Isanas; and thereran in to him many out of Jericho and Judea, near to which places hewas, 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 fight; and in orderto be revenged on them for the slaughter of his brother, he pursued themsharply, and killed them as they ran away; and as the houses werefull of armed men, [29] and many of them ran as far as the tops of thehouses, he got them under his power, and pulled down the roofs of thehouses, and saw the lower rooms full of soldiers that were caught, andlay all on a heap; so they threw stones down upon them as they laypiled one upon another, and thereby killed them; nor was there a morefrightful spectacle in all the war than this, where beyond the walls animmense multitude of dead men lay heaped one upon another. This actionit was which chiefly brake the spirits of the enemy, who expected nowwhat would come; for there appeared a mighty number of people that camefrom places far distant, that were now about the village, but then ranaway; and had it not been for the depth of winter, which then restrainedthem, the king's army had presently gone to Jerusalem, as being verycourageous at this good success, and the whole work had been doneimmediately; for Antigonus was already looking about how he might flyaway and leave the city. 13. At this time the king gave order that the soldiers should go tosupper, for it was late at night, while he went into a chamber to usethe bath, for he was very weary; and here it was that he was in thegreatest danger, which yet, by God's providence, he escaped; for as hewas naked, and had but one servant that followed him, to be with himwhile he was bathing in an inner room, certain of the enemy, who were intheir armor, and had fled thither, out of fear, were then in the place;and as he was bathing, the first of them came out with his naked sworddrawn, and went out at the doors, and after him a second, and a third, armed in like manner, and were under such a consternation, that they didno hurt to the king, and thought themselves to have come off very wellill suffering no harm themselves in their getting out of the house. However, on the next day, he cut off the head of Pappus, for he wasalready slain, and sent it to Pheroras, as a punishment of what theirbrother had suffered by his means, for he was the man that slew him withhis own hand. 14. When the rigor of winter was over, Herod removed his army, and camenear to Jerusalem, and pitched his camp hard by the city. Now this wasthe third year since he had been made king at Rome; and as he removedhis camp, and came near that part of the wall where it could be mosteasily assaulted, he pitched that camp before the temple, intending tomake his attacks in the same manner as did Pompey. So he encompassed theplace with three bulwarks, and erected towers, and employed a great manyhands about the work, and cut down the trees that were round about thecity; and when he had appointed proper persons to oversee the works, even while the army lay before the city, he himself went to Samaria, tocomplete his marriage, and to take to wife the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus; for he had betrothed her already, as I havebefore related. CHAPTER 16. How Herod, When He Had Married Mariamne Took JerusalemWith The Assistance Of Sosius By Force; And How The Government Of HeAsamoneans Was Put An End To 1. After the wedding was over, came Sosius through Phoenicia, havingsent out his army before him over the midland parts. He also, who wastheir commander, came himself, with a great number of horsemen andfootmen. The king also came himself from Samaria, and brought with himno small army, besides that which was there before, for they were aboutthirty thousand; and they all met together at the walls of Jerusalem, and encamped at the north wall of the city, being now an army of elevenlegions, armed men on foot, and six thousand horsemen, with otherauxiliaries out of Syria. The generals were two: Sosius, sent by Antonyto assist Herod, and Herod on his own account, in order to take thegovernment from Antigonus, who was declared all enemy at Rome, and thathe might himself be king, according to the decree of the Senate. 2. Now the Jews that were enclosed within the walls of the city foughtagainst Herod with great alacrity and zeal [for the whole nation wasgathered together]; they also gave out many prophecies about the temple, and many things agreeable to the people, as if God would deliver themout of the dangers they were in; they had also carried off what was outof the city, that they might not leave any thing to afford sustenanceeither for men or for beasts; and by private robberies they made thewant of necessaries greater. When Herod understood this, he opposedambushes in the fittest places against their private robberies, and hesent legions of armed men to bring its provisions, and that from remoteplaces, so that in a little time they had great plenty of provisions. Now the three bulwarks were easily erected, because so many hands werecontinually at work upon it; for it was summer time, and there wasnothing to hinder them in raising their works, neither from the air norfrom the workmen; so they brought their engines to bear, and shook thewalls of the city, and tried all manner of ways to get it; yet didnot those within discover any fear, but they also contrived not a fewengines to oppose their engines withal. They also sallied out, and burntnot only those engines that were not yet perfected, but those that were;and when they came hand to hand, their attempts were not less bold thanthose of the Romans, though they were behind them in skill. Theyalso erected new works when the former were ruined, and making minesunderground, they met each other, and fought there; and making use ofbrutish courage rather than of prudent valor, they persisted in this warto the very last; and this they did while a mighty army lay roundabout them, and while they were distressed by famine and the want ofnecessaries, for this happened to be a Sabbatic year. The firstthat scaled the walls were twenty chosen men, the next were Sosius'scenturions; for the first wall was taken in forty days, and the secondin fifteen more, when some of the cloisters that were about the templewere burnt, which Herod gave out to have been burnt by Antigonus, inorder to expose him to the hatred of the Jews. And when the outer courtof the temple and the lower city were taken, the Jews fled into theinner court of the temple, and into the upper city; but now fearing lestthe Romans should hinder them from offering their daily sacrifices toGod, they sent an embassage, and desired that they would only permitthem to bring in beasts for sacrifices, which Herod granted, hoping theywere going to yield; but when he saw that they did nothing of what hesupposed, but bitterly opposed him, in order to preserve the kingdom toAntigonus, he made an assault upon the city, and took it by storm; andnow all parts were full of those that were slain, by the rage of theRomans at the long duration of the siege, and by the zeal of the Jewsthat were on Herod's side, who were not willing to leave one of theiradversaries alive; so they were murdered continually in the narrowstreets and in the houses by crowds, and as they were flying to thetemple for shelter, and there was no pity taken of either infants or theaged, nor did they spare so much as the weaker sex; nay, although theking sent about, and besought them to spare the people, yet nobodyrestrained their hand from slaughter, but, as if they were a companyof madmen, they fell upon persons of all ages, without distinction;and then Antigonus, without regard to either his past or presentcircumstances, came down from the citadel, and fell down at the feetof Sosius, who took no pity of him, in the change of his fortune, butinsulted him beyond measure, and called him Antigone [i. E. A woman, andnot a man;] yet did he not treat him as if he were a woman, by lettinghim go at liberty, but put him into bonds, and kept him in closecustody. 3. And now Herod having overcome his enemies, his care was to governthose foreigners who had been his assistants, for the crowd of strangersrushed to see the temple, and the sacred things in the temple; but theking, thinking a victory to be a more severe affliction than a defeat, if any of those things which it was not lawful to see should be seen bythem, used entreaties and threatenings, and even sometimes force itself, to restrain them. He also prohibited the ravage that was made in thecity, and many times asked Sosius whether the Romans would empty thecity both of money and men, and leave him king of a desert; and told himthat he esteemed the dominion over the whole habitable earth as by nomeans an equivalent satisfaction for such a murder of his citizens'; andwhen he said that this plunder was justly to be permitted the soldiersfor the siege they had undergone, he replied, that he would give everyone their reward out of his own money; and by this means be redeemedwhat remained of the city from destruction; and he performed what hehad promised him, for he gave a noble present to every soldier, and aproportionable present to their commanders, but a most royal present toSosius himself, till they all went away full of money. 4. This destruction befell the city of Jerusalem when Marcus Agrippaand Caninius Gallus were consuls of Rome [30] on the hundred eighty andfifth olympiad, on the third month, on the solemnity of the fast, asif a periodical revolution of calamities had returned since that whichbefell the Jews under Pompey; for the Jews were taken by him on the sameday, and this was after twenty-seven years' time. So when Sosius haddedicated a crown of gold to God, he marched away from Jerusalem, andcarried Antigonus with him in bonds to Antony; but Herod was afraid lestAntigonus should be kept in prison [only] by Antony, and that when hewas carried to Rome by him, he might get his cause to be heard by thesenate, and might demonstrate, as he was himself of the royal blood, andHerod but a private man, that therefore it belonged to his sons howeverto have the kingdom, on account of the family they were of, in case hehad himself offended the Romans by what he had done. Out of Herod'sfear of this it was that he, by giving Antony a great deal of money, endeavored to persuade him to have Antigonus slain, which if it wereonce done, he should be free from that fear. And thus did the governmentof the Asamoneans cease, a hundred twenty and six years after it wasfirst set up. This family was a splendid and an illustrious one, both onaccount of the nobility of their stock, and of the dignity of thehigh priesthood, as also for the glorious actions their ancestors hadperformed for our nation; but these men lost the government bytheir dissensions one with another, and it came to Herod, the son ofAntipater, who was of no more than a vulgar family, and of no eminentextraction, but one that was subject to other kings. And this is whathistory tells us was the end of the Asamonean family. BOOK XV. Containing The Interval Of Eighteen Years. From The Death Of Antigonus To The Finishing Of The Temple By Herod. CHAPTER 1. Concerning Pollio And Sameas. Herod Slays The Principal OfAntigonus's Friends, And Spoils The City Of Its Wealth. Antony BeheadsAntigonus. 1. How Sosius and Herod took Jerusalem by force; and besides that, howthey took Antigonus captive, has been related by us in the foregoingbook. We will now proceed in the narration. And since Herod had nowthe government of all Judea put into his hands, he promoted such of theprivate men in the city as had been of his party, but never left offavenging and punishing every day those that had chosen to be of theparty of his enemies. But Pollio the Pharisee, and Sameas, a discipleof his, were honored by him above all the rest; for when Jerusalem wasbesieged, they advised the citizens to receive Herod, for which advicethey were well requited. But this Pollio, at the time when Herod wasonce upon his trial of life and death, foretold, in way of reproach, toHyrcanus and the other judges, how this Herod, whom they suffered nowto escape, would afterward inflict punishment on them all; which had itscompletion in time, while God fulfilled the words he had spoken. 2. At this time Herod, now he had got Jerusalem under his power, carriedoff all the royal ornaments, and spoiled the wealthy men of what theyhad gotten; and when, by these means, he had heaped together a greatquantity of silver and gold, he gave it all to Antony, and his friendsthat were about him. He also slew forty-five of the principal men ofAntigonus's party, and set guards at the gates of the city, that nothingmight be carried out together with their dead bodies. They also searchedthe dead, and whatsoever was found, either of silver or gold, or othertreasure, it was carried to the king; nor was there any end of themiseries he brought upon them; and this distress was in part occasionedby the covetousness of the prince regent, who was still in want of more, and in part by the Sabbatic year, which was still going on, and forcedthe country to lie still uncultivated, since we are forbidden to sowour land in that year. Now when Antony had received Antigonus as hiscaptive, he determined to keep him against his triumph; but when heheard that the nation grew seditious, and that, out of their hatred toHerod, they continued to bear good-will to Antigonus, he resolved tobehead him at Antioch, for otherwise the Jews could no way be brought tobe quiet. And Strabo of Cappadocia attests to what I have said, when hethus speaks: "Antony ordered Antigonus the Jew to be brought to Antioch, and there to be beheaded. And this Antony seems to me to have been thevery first man who beheaded a king, as supposing he could no other waybend the minds of the Jews so as to receive Herod, whom he had made kingin his stead; for by no torments could they he forced to call him king, so great a fondness they had for their former king; so he thoughtthat this dishonorable death would diminish the value they had forAntigonus's memory, and at the same time would diminish the hatred theybare to Herod. " Thus far Strabo. CHAPTER 2. How Hyrcanus Was Set At Liberty By The Parthians, AndReturned To Herod; And What Alexandra Did When She Heard That AnanelusWas Made High Priest. 1. Now after Herod was in possession of the kingdom, Hyrcanus the highpriest, who was then a captive among the Parthians, came to himagain, and was set free from his captivity, in the manner following:Barzapharnes and Pacorus, the generals of the Parthians, took Hyreanus, who was first made high priest and afterward king, and Herod's brother, Phasaelus captives, and were them away into Parthis. Phasaelus indeedcould not bear the reproach of being in bonds; and thinking that deathwith glory was better than any life whatsoever, he became his ownexecutioner, as I have formerly related. 2. But when Hyrcanus was brought into Parthia the king Phraates treatedhim after a very gentle manner, as having already learned of what anillustrious family he was; on which account he set him free from hisbonds, and gave him a habitation at Babylon, [1] where there were Jewsin great numbers. These Jews honored Hyrcanus as their high priest andking, as did all the Jewish nation that dwelt as far as Euphrates; whichrespect was very much to his satisfaction. But when he was informed thatHerod had received the kingdom, new hopes came upon him, as having beenhimself still of a kind disposition towards him, and expecting thatHerod would bear in mind what favor he had received from him; and whenhe was upon his trial, and when he was in danger that a capital sentencewould be pronounced against him, he delivered him from that danger, andfrom all punishment. Accordingly, he talked of that matter with theJew that came often to him with great affection; but they endeavored toretain him among them, and desired that he would stay with them, puttinghim in mind of the kind offices and honors they did him, and that thosehonors they paid him were not at all inferior to what they could pay toeither their high priests or their kings; and what was a greater motiveto determine him, they said, was this, that he could not have thosedignities [in Judea] because of that maim in his body, which had beeninflicted on him by Antigonus; and that kings do not use to requite menfor those kindnesses which they received when they were private persons, the height of their fortune making usually no small changes in them. 3. Now although they suggested these arguments to him for his ownadvantage, yet did Hyrcanus still desire to depart. Herod also wroteto him, and persuaded him to desire of Phraates, and the Jews that werethere, that they should not grudge him the royal authority, which heshould have jointly with himself, for that now was the proper time forhimself to make him amends for the favors he had received from him, ashaving been brought up by him, and saved by him also, as well as forHyrcanus to receive it. And as he wrote thus to Hyrcanus, so did he sendalso Saramallas, his ambassador, to Phraates, and many presents withhim, and desired him in the most obliging way that he would be nohinderance to his gratitude towards his benefactor. But this zeal ofHerod's did not flow from that principle, but because he had been madegovernor of that country without having any just claim to it, he wasafraid, and that upon reasons good enough, of a change in his condition, and so made what haste he could to get Hyrcanus into his power, orindeed to put him quite out of the way; which last thing he compassedafterward. 4. Accordingly, when Hyrcanus came, full of assurance, by the permissionof the king of Parthia, and at the expense of the Jews, who supplied himwith money, Herod received him with all possible respect, and gave himthe upper place at public meetings, and set him above all the restat feasts, and thereby deceived him. He called him his father, andendeavored, by all the ways possible, that he might have no suspicion ofany treacherous design against him. He also did other things, in orderto secure his government, which yet occasioned a sedition in his ownfamily; for being cautious how he made any illustrious person the highpriest of God, [2] he sent for an obscure priest out of Babylon, whosename was Ananelus, and bestowed the high priesthood upon him. 5. However, Alexandra, the daughter of Hyrcanus, and wife of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus the king, who had also brought Alexander [two]children, could not bear this indignity. Now this son was one of thegreatest comeliness, and was called Aristobulus; and the daughter, Mariamne, was married to Herod, and eminent for her beauty also. ThisAlexandra was much disturbed, and took this indignity offered to her sonexceeding ill, that while he was alive, any one else should be sentfor to have the dignity of the high priesthood conferred upon him. Accordingly, she wrote to Cleopatra [a musician assisting her in takingcare to have her letters carried] to desire her intercession withAntony, in order to gain the high priesthood for her son. 6. But as Antony was slow in granting this request, his friend Dellius[3] came into Judea upon some affairs; and when he saw Aristobulus, hestood in admiration at the tallness and handsomeness of the child, andno less at Mariarune, the king's wife, and was open in his commendationsof Alexandra, as the mother of most beautiful children. And when shecame to discourse with him, he persuaded her to get pictures drawn ofthem both, and to send them to Antony, for that when he saw them, hewould deny her nothing that she should ask. Accordingly, Alexandrawas elevated with these words of his, and sent the pictures to Antony. Dellius also talked extravagantly, and said that these children seemednot derived from men, but from some god or other. His design in doing sowas to entice Antony into lewd pleasures with them, who was ashamed tosend for the damsel, as being the wife of Herod, and avoided it, becauseof the reproaches he should have from Cleopatra on that account; but hesent, in the most decent manner he could, for the young man; but addedthis withal, unless he thought it hard upon him so to do. When thisletter was brought to Herod, he did not think it safe for him to sendone so handsome as was Aristobulus, in the prime of his life, for he wassixteen years of age, and of so noble a family, and particularly not toAntony, the principal man among the Romans, and one that would abusehim in his amours, and besides, one that openly indulged himself in suchpleasures as his power allowed him without control. He therefore wroteback to him, that if this boy should only go out of the country, allwould be in a state of war and uproar, because the Jews were in hopes ofa change in the government, and to have another king over them. 7. When Herod had thus excused himself to Antony, he resolved thathe would not entirely permit the child or Alexandra to be treateddishonorably; but his wife Mariamne lay vehemently at him to restore thehigh priesthood to her brother; and he judged it was for his advantageso to do, because if he once had that dignity, he could not go outof the country. So he called his friends together, and told themthat Alexandra privately conspired against his royal authority, andendeavored, by the means of Cleopatra, so to bring it about, that hemight be deprived of the government, and that by Antony's means thisyouth might have the management of public affairs in his stead; andthat this procedure of hers was unjust, since she would at the sametime deprive her daughter of the dignity she now had, and would bringdisturbances upon the kingdom, for which he had taken a great deal ofpains, and had gotten it with extraordinary hazards; that yet, while hewell remembered her wicked practices, he would not leave off doingwhat was right himself, but would even now give the youth the highpriesthood; and that he formerly set up Ananelus, because Aristobuluswas then so very young a child. Now when he had said this, not atrandom, but as he thought with the best discretion he had, in orderto deceive the women, and those friends whom he had taken to consultwithal, Alexandra, out of the great joy she had at this unexpectedpromise, and out of fear from the suspicions she lay under, fell aweeping; and made the following apology for herself; and said, that asto the [high] priesthood, she was very much concerned for the disgraceher son was under, and so did her utmost endeavors to procure it forhim; but that as to the kingdom, she had made no attempts, and that ifit were offered her [for her son], she would not accept it; and that nowshe would be satisfied with her son's dignity, while he himself held thecivil government, and she had thereby the security that arose from hispeculiar ability in governing to all the remainder of her family; thatshe was now overcome by his benefits, and thankfully accepted of thishonor showed by him to her son, and that she would hereafter be entirelyobedient. And she desired him to excuse her, if the nobility of herfamily, and that freedom of acting which she thought that allowed her, had made her act too precipitately and imprudently in this matter. Sowhen they had spoken thus to one another, they came to an agreement, andall suspicions, so far as appeared, were vanished away. CHAPTER 3. How Herod Upon His Making Aristobulus High Priest Took CareThat He Should Be Murdered In A Little Time; And What Apology He Made ToAntony About Aristobulus; As Also Concerning Joseph And Mariamne. 1. So king Herod immediately took the high priesthood away fromAnanelus, who, as we said before, was not of this country, but one ofthose Jews that had been carried captive beyond Euphrates; for therewere not a few ten thousands of this people that had been carriedcaptives, and dwelt about Babylonia, whence Ananelus came. He was oneof the stock of the high priests [4] and had been of old a particularfriend of Herod; and when he was first made king, he conferred thatdignity upon him, and now put him out of it again, in order to quiet thetroubles in his family, though what he did was plainly unlawful, for atno other time [of old] was any one that had once been in that dignitydeprived of it. It was Antiochus Epiphanes who first brake that law, and deprived Jesus, and made his brother Onias high priest in his stead. Aristobulus was the second that did so, and took that dignity from hisbrother [Hyrcanus]; and this Herod was the third, who took thathigh office away [from Arianflus], and gave it to this young man, Aristobulus, 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 peopleseeming to be reconciled to one another, but thought that, as Alexandrahad already made attempts tending to innovations, so did he fear thatshe would go on therein, if she found a fit opportunity for so doing; sohe gave a command that she should dwell in the palace, and meddle withno public affairs. Her guards also were so careful, that nothing she didin private life every day was concealed. All these hardships put her outof patience, by little and little and she began to hate Herod; foras she had the pride of a woman to the utmost degree, she had greatindignation at this suspicious guard that was about her, as desirousrather to undergo any thing that could befall her, than to be deprivedof her liberty of speech, and, under the notion of an honorary guard, tolive in a state of slavery and terror. She therefore sent to Cleopatra, and made a long complaint of the circumstances she was in, and entreatedher to do her utmost for her assistance. Cleopatra hereupon advised herto take 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 bodiesand put herself into one, and her son into the other and gave orders tosuch of her servants as knew of her intentions to carry them away in thenight time. Now their road was to be thence to the sea-side and therewas a ship ready to carry them into Egypt. Now Aesop, one of herservants, happened to fall upon Sabion, one of her friends, and spake ofthis matter to him, as thinking he had known of it before. When Sabionknew this, [who had formerly been an enemy of Herod, and been esteemedone of those that laid snares for and gave the poison to [his father]Antipater, ] he expected that this discovery would change Herod'shatred into kindness; so he told the king of this private stratagem ofAlexandra: whereupon be suffered her to proceed to the execution of herproject, and caught her in the very fact; but still he passed by heroffense; and though he had a great mind to do it, he durst not inflictany thing that was severe upon her, for he knew that Cleopatra would notbear that he should have her accused, on account of her hatred to him;but made a show as if it were rather the generosity of his soul, and hisgreat moderation, that made him forgive them. However, he fully proposedto himself to put this young man out of the way, by one means or other;but he thought he might in probability be better concealed in doingit, if he did it not presently, nor immediately after what had latelyhappened. 3. And now, upon the approach of the feast of tabernacles, which is afestival very much observed among us, he let those days pass over, andboth he and the rest of the people were therein very merry; yet did theenvy which at this time arose in him cause him to make haste to do whathe was about, and provoke him to it; for when this youth Aristobulus, who was now in the seventeenth year of his age, went up to the altar, according to the law, to offer the sacrifices, and this with theornaments of his high priesthood, and when he performed the sacredoffices, [5] he seemed to be exceedingly comely, and taller than menusually were at that age, and to exhibit in his countenance a greatdeal of that high family he was sprung from, --a warm zeal and affectiontowards him appeared among the people, and the memory of the actionsof his grandfather Aristobulus was fresh in their minds; and theiraffections got so far the mastery of them, that they could not forbearto show their inclinations to him. They at once rejoiced and wereconfounded, and mingled with good wishes their joyful acclamationswhich they made to him, till the good-will of the multitude was made tooevident; and they more rashly proclaimed the happiness they had receivedfrom his family than was fit under a monarchy to have done. Upon allthis, Herod resolved to complete what he had intended against theyoung man. When therefore the festival was over, and he was feasting atJericho [6] with Alexandra, who entertained them there, he was then verypleasant with the young man, and drew him into a lonely place, and atthe same time played with him in a juvenile and ludicrous manner. Nowthe nature of that place was hotter than ordinary; so they went out ina body, and of a sudden, and in a vein of madness; and as they stoodby the fish-ponds, of which there were large ones about the house, theywent to cool themselves [by bathing], because it was in the midst ofa hot day. At first they were only spectators of Herod's servants andacquaintance as they were swimming; but after a while, the young man, atthe instigation of Herod, went into the water among them, while such ofHerod's acquaintance, as he had appointed to do it, dipped him as he wasswimming, and plunged him under water, in the dark of the evening, as ifit had been done in sport only; nor did they desist till he was entirelysuffocated. And thus was Aristobulus murdered, having lived no more inall than eighteen years, [7] and kept the high priesthood one year only;which high priesthood Ananelus now recovered again. 4. When this sad accident was told the women, their joy was soon changedto lamentation, at the sight of the dead body that lay before them, and their sorrow was immoderate. The city also [of Jerusalem], upon thespreading of this news, were in very great grief, every family lookingon this calamity as if it had not belonged to another, but that one ofthemselves was slain. But Alexandra was more deeply affected, uponher knowledge that he had been destroyed [on purpose]. Her sorrowwas greater than that of others, by her knowing how the murder wascommitted; but she was under the necessity of bearing up under it, outof her prospect of a greater mischief that might otherwise follow; andshe oftentimes came to an inclination to kill herself with her own hand, but still she restrained herself, in hopes she might live long enoughto revenge the unjust murder thus privately committed; nay, she furtherresolved to endeavor to live longer, and to give no occasion to thinkshe suspected that her son was slain on purpose, and supposed that shemight thereby be in a capacity of revenging it at a proper opportunity. Thus did she restrain herself, that she might not be noted forentertaining any such suspicion. However, Herod endeavored that noneabroad should believe that the child's death was caused by any designof his; and for this purpose he did not only use the ordinary signsof sorrow, but fell into tears also, and exhibited a real confusion ofsoul; and perhaps his affections were overcome on this occasion, whenhe saw the child's countenance so young and so beautiful, although hisdeath was supposed to tend to his own security. So far at least thisgrief served as to make some apology for him; and as for his funeral, that he took care should be very magnificent, by making greatpreparation for a sepulcher to lay his body in, and providing a greatquantity of spices, and burying many ornaments together with him, tillthe very women, who were in such deep sorrow, were astonished at it, andreceived in this way some consolation. 5. However, no such things could overcome Alexandra's grief; but theremembrance of this miserable case made her sorrow, both deep andobstinate. Accordingly, she wrote an account of this treacherous sceneto Cleopatra, and how her son was murdered; but Cleopatra, as she hadformerly been desirous to give her what satisfaction she could, andcommiserating Alexandra's misfortunes, made the case her own, and wouldnot let Antony be quiet, but excited him to punish the child's murder;for that it was an unworthy thing that Herod, who had been by him madeking of a kingdom that no way belonged to him, should be guilty of suchhorrid crimes against those that were of the royal blood in reality. Antony was persuaded by these arguments; and when he came to Laodicea, he sent and commanded Herod to come and make his defense, as to what hehad done to Aristobulus, for that such a treacherous design was notwell done, if he had any hand in it. Herod was now in fear, both of theaccusation, and of Cleopatra's ill-will to him, which was such that shewas ever endeavoring to make Antony hate him. He therefore determined toobey his summons, for he had no possible way to avoid it. So he left hisuncle Joseph procurator for his government, and for the public affairs, and gave him a private charge, that if Antony should kill him, he alsoshould kill Mariamne immediately; for that he had a tender affection forthis 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 someother man: but his intimation was nothing but this at the bottom, thatAntony had fallen in love with her, when he had formerly heard somewhatof her beauty. So when Herod had given Joseph this charge, and hadindeed 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 hisbusiness required it, and because of the respects he ought to pay to thequeen, he frequently let himself into discourses about Herod's kindness, and great affection towards her; and when the women, especiallyAlexandra, used to turn his discourses into feminine raillery, Josephwas so over-desirous to demonstrate the kings inclinations, that heproceeded so far as to mention the charge he had received, and thencedrew his demonstration, that Herod was not able to live without her; andthat if he should come to any ill end, he could not endure a separationfrom her, even after he was dead. Thus spake Joseph. But the women, as was natural, did not take this to be an instance of Herod's strongaffection for them, but of his severe usage of them, that they couldnot escape destruction, nor a tyrannical death, even when he was deadhimself. And this saying [of Joseph] was a foundation for the women'ssevere suspicions about him afterwards. 7. At this time a report went about the city Jerusalem among Herod'senemies, that Antony had tortured Herod, and put him to death. Thisreport, as is natural, disturbed those that were about the palace, butchiefly the women; upon which Alexandra endeavored to persuade Joseph togo out of the palace, and fly away with them to the ensigns of theRoman legion, which then lay encamped about the city, as a guard to thekingdom, under the command of Julius; for that by this means, if anydisturbance should happen about the palace, they should be in greatersecurity, as having the Romans favorable to them; and that besides, they hoped to obtain the highest authority, if Antony did but oncesee Mariamne, by whose means they should recover the kingdom, and wantnothing which was reasonable for them to hope for, because of theirroyal extraction. 8. But as they were in the midst of these deliberations, letters werebrought from Herod about all his affairs, and proved contrary to thereport, and of what they before expected; for when he was come toAntony, he soon recovered his interest with him, by the presents he madehim, which he had brought with him from Jerusalem; and he soon inducedhim, upon discoursing with him, to leave off his indignation at him, so that Cleopatra's persuasions had less force than the arguments andpresents he brought to regain his friendship; for Antony said that itwas not good to require an account of a king, as to the affairs of hisgovernment, for at this rate he could be no king at all, but that thosewho 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 best for hernot busily to meddle with the acts of the king's government. Herod wrotean account of these things, and enlarged upon the other honors which hehad received from Antony; how he sat by him at his hearing causes, andtook his diet with him every day, and that he enjoyed those favors fromhim, notwithstanding the reproaches that Cleopatra so severely laidagainst him, who having a great desire of his country, and earnestlyentreating Antony that the kingdom might be given to her, labored withher utmost diligence to have him out of the way; but that he stillfound Antony just to him, and had no longer any apprehensions of hardtreatment from him; and that he was soon upon his return, with a firmeradditional assurance of his favor to him, in his reigning and managingpublic affairs; and that there was no longer any hope for Cleopatra'scovetous temper, since Antony had given her Celesyria instead of whatshe had desired; by which means he had at once pacified her, and gotclear of the entreaties which she made him to have Judea bestowed uponher. 9. When these letters were brought, the women left off their attempt forflying to the Romans, which they thought of while Herod was supposed tobe dead; yet was not that purpose of theirs a secret; but when the kinghad conducted Antony on his way against the Partnians, he returnedto Judea, when both his sister Salome and his mother informed him ofAlexandra's intentions. Salome also added somewhat further againstJoseph, though it was no more than a calumny, that he had often hadcriminal conversation with Mariamne. The reason of her saying so wasthis, that she for a long time bare her ill-will; for when theyhad differences with one another, Mariamne took great freedoms, andreproached the rest for the meanness of their birth. But Herod, whoseaffection to Mariamne was always very warm, was presently disturbedat this, and could not bear the torments of jealousy, but was stillrestrained from doing any rash thing to her by the love he had forher; yet did his vehement affection and jealousy together make him askMariamne by herself about this matter of Joseph; but she denied it uponher oath, and said all that an innocent woman could possibly say in herown defense; so that by little and little the king was prevailed uponto drop the suspicion, and left off his anger at her; and being overcomewith his passion for his wife, he made an apology to her for havingseemed to believe what he had heard about her, and returned her agreat many acknowledgments of her modest behavior, and professed theextraordinary affection and kindness he had for her, till at last, asis usual between lovers, they both fell into tears, and embraced oneanother with a most tender affection. But as the king gave more and moreassurances of his belief of her fidelity, and endeavored to draw her toa like confidence in him, Marianme said, "Yet was not that command thougavest, that if any harm came to thee from Antony, I, who had been nooccasion 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, andpresently let her go out of his arms, and cried out, and tore his hairwith his own hands, and said, that "now he had an evident demonstrationthat Joseph had had criminal conversation" with his wife; for that hewould never have uttered what he had told him alone by himself, unlessthere had been such a great familiarity and firm confidence betweenthem. And while he was in this passion he had like to have killed hiswife; but being still overborne by his love to her, he restrained thishis passion, though not without a lasting grief and disquietness ofmind. However, he gave order to slay Joseph, without permitting him tocome into his sight; and as for Alexandra, he bound her, and kept her incustody, as the cause of all this mischief. CHAPTER 4. How Cleopatra, When She Had Gotten From Antony Some Parts OfJudea And Arabia Came Into Judea; And How Herod Gave Her Many PresentsAnd Conducted Her On Her Way Back To Egypt. 1. Now at this time the affairs of Syria were in confusion byCleopatra's constant persuasions to Antony to make an attempt upon everybody's dominions; for she persuaded him to take those dominions awayfrom their several princes, and bestow them upon her; and she had amighty influence upon him, by reason of his being enslaved to her byhis affections. She was also by nature very covetous, and stuck at nowickedness. She had already poisoned her brother, because she knew thathe was to be king of Egypt, and this when he was but fifteen years old;and she got her sister Arsinoe to be slain, by the means of Antony, whenshe was a supplicant at Diana's temple at Ephesus; for if there werebut any hopes of getting money, she would violate both temples andsepulchers. Nor was there any holy place that was esteemed the mostinviolable, from which she would not fetch the ornaments it had init; nor any place so profane, but was to suffer the most flagitioustreatment possible from her, if it could but contribute somewhat to thecovetous humor of this wicked creature: yet did not all this sufficeso extravagant a woman, who was a slave to her lusts, but she stillimagined that she wanted every thing she could think of, and did herutmost to gain it; for which reason she hurried Antony on perpetually todeprive others of their dominions, and give them to her. And as she wentover Syria with him, she contrived to get it into her possession; sohe slew Lysanias, the son of Ptolemy, accusing him of his bringing theParthians upon those countries. She also petitioned Antony to giveher Judea and Arabia; and, in order thereto, desired him to take thesecountries away from their present governors. As for Antony, he wasso entirely overcome by this woman, that one would not think herconversation only could do it, but that he was some way or otherbewitched to do whatsoever she would have him; yet did the grossestparts of her injustice make him so ashamed, that he would not alwayshearken to her to do those flagrant enormities she would have persuadedhim to. That therefore he might not totally deny her, nor, by doingevery thing which she enjoined him, appear openly to be an ill man, he took some parts of each of those countries away from their formergovernors, and gave them to her. Thus he gave her the cities that werewithin the river Eleutherus, as far as Egypt, excepting Tyre and Sidon, which he knew to have been free cities from their ancestors, althoughshe pressed him very often to bestow those on her also. 2. When Cleopatra had obtained thus much, and had accompanied Antony inhis expedition to Armenia as far as Euphrates, she returned back, andcame to Apamia and Damascus, and passed on to Judea, where Herod mether, and farmed of her parts of Arabia, and those revenues that came toher from the region about Jericho. This country bears that balsam, whichis the most precious drug that is there, and grows there alone. Theplace bears also palm trees, both many in number, and those excellentin their kind. When she was there, and was very often with Herod, sheendeavored to have criminal conversation with the king; nor did sheaffect secrecy in the indulgence of such sort of pleasures; and perhapsshe had in some measure a passion of love to him; or rather, what ismost probable, she laid a treacherous snare for him, by aiming to obtainsuch adulterous conversation from him: however, upon the whole, sheseemed overcome with love to him. Now Herod had a great while borne nogood-will to Cleopatra, as knowing that she was a woman irksome to all;and at that time he thought her particularly worthy of his hatred, ifthis attempt proceeded out of lust; he had also thought of preventingher intrigues, by putting her to death, if such were her endeavors. However, he refused to comply with her proposals, and called a counselof his friends to consult with them whether he should not kill her, nowhe had her in his power; for that he should thereby deliver all thosefrom a multitude of evils to whom she was already become irksome, andwas expected to be still so for the time to come; and that this verything would be much for the advantage of Antony himself, since she wouldcertainly not be faithful to him, in case any such season or necessityshould come upon him as that he should stand in need of her fidelity. But when he thought to follow this advice, his friends would not lethim; and told him that, in the first place, it was not right to attemptso great a thing, and run himself thereby into the utmost danger; andthey laid hard at him, and begged of him to undertake nothing rashly, for that Antony would never bear it, no, not though any one shouldevidently lay before his eyes that it was for his own advantage; andthat the appearance of depriving him of her conversation, by thisviolent and treacherous method, would probably set his affections moreon a flame than before. Nor did it appear that he could offer any thingof tolerable weight in his defense, this attempt being against such awoman as was of the highest dignity of any of her sex at that timein the world; and as to any advantage to be expected from such anundertaking, if any such could be supposed in this case, it would appearto deserve condemnation, on account of the insolence he must take uponhim in doing it: which considerations made it very plain that in sodoing he would find his government filled with mischief, both great andlasting, both to himself and his posterity, whereas it was still in hispower to reject that wickedness she would persuade him to, and tocome off honorably at the same time. So by thus affrighting Herod, andrepresenting to him the hazard he must, in all probability, run bythis undertaking, they restrained him from it. So he treated Cleopatrakindly, and made her presents, and conducted her on 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 apresent of them, and of all the royal ornaments which he had taken outof that kingdom, to Cleopatra. And Artaxias, the eldest of his sons, who had escaped at that time, took the kingdom of Armenia; who yet wasejected by Archclaus and Nero Caesar, when they restored Tigranes, his younger brother, to that kingdom; but this happened a good whileafterward. 4. But then, as to the tributes which Herod was to pay Cleopatra forthat country which Antony had given her, he acted fairly with her, asdeeming it not safe for him to afford any cause for Cleopatra to hatehim. As for the king of Arabia, whose tribute Herod had undertaken topay her, for some time indeed he paid him as much as came to twohundred talents; but he afterwards became very niggardly and slow in hispayments, and could hardly be brought to pay some parts of it, and wasnot willing to pay even them without some deductions. CHAPTER 5. How Herod Made War With The King Of Arabia, And After TheyHad Fought Many Battles, At Length Conquered Him, And Was Chosen ByThe Arabs To Be Governor Of That Nation; As Also Concerning A GreatEarthquake. 1. Hereupon Herod held himself ready to go against the king of Arabia, because of his ingratitude to him, and because, after all, he woulddo nothing that was just to him, although Herod made the Roman war anoccasion of delaying his own; for the battle at Actium was now expected, which fell into the hundred eighty and seventh olympiad, where Caesarand Antony were to fight for the supreme power of the world; but Herodhaving enjoyed a country that was very fruitful, and that now for along time, and having received great taxes, and raised great armiestherewith, got together a body of men, and carefully furnished them withall necessaries, and designed them as auxiliaries for Antony. But Antonysaid he had no want of his assistance; but he commanded him to punishthe king of Arabia; for he had heard both from him, and from Cleopatra, how perfidious he was; for this was what Cleopatra desired, who thoughtit for her own advantage that these two kings should do one anotheras great mischief as possible. Upon this message from Antony, Herodreturned back, but kept his army with him, in order to invade Arabiaimmediately. So when his army of horsemen and footmen was ready, hemarched to Diospolis, whither the Arabians came also to meet them, forthey were not unapprized of this war that was coming upon them; andafter a great battle had been fought, the Jews had the victory. Butafterward there were gotten together another numerous army of theArabians, at Cana, which is a place of Celesyria. Herod was informed ofthis beforehand; so he came marching against them with the greatest partof the forces he had; and when he was come near to Cana, he resolved toencamp himself; and he cast up a bulwark, that he might take a properseason for attacking the enemy; but as he was giving those orders, themultitude of the Jews cried out that he should make no delay, but leadthem against the Arabians. They went with great spirit, as believingthey were in very good order; and those especially were so that had beenin the former battle, and had been conquerors, and had not permittedtheir enemies so much as to come to a close fight with them. And whenthey were so tumultuous, and showed such great alacrity, the kingresolved to make use of that zeal the multitude then exhibited; and whenhe had assured them he would not be behindhand with them in courage, heled them on, and stood before them all in his armor, all the regimentsfollowing him in their several ranks: whereupon a consternation fellupon the Arabians; for when they perceived that the Jews were not to beconquered, and were full of spirit, the greater part of them ran away, and avoided fighting; and they had been quite destroyed, had not Anthonyfallen upon the Jews, and distressed them; for this man was Cleopatra'sgeneral over the soldiers she had there, and was at enmity with Herod, and very wistfully looked on to see what the event of the battle wouldbe. He had also resolved, that in case the Arabians did any thing thatwas brave and successful, he would lie still; but in case they werebeaten, as it really happened, he would attack the Jews with thoseforces he had of his own, and with those that the country had gottentogether for him. So he fell upon the Jews unexpectedly, when they werefatigued, and thought they had already vanquished the enemy, and madea great slaughter of them; for as the Jews had spent their courage upontheir known enemies, and were about to enjoy themselves in quietnessafter their victory, they were easily beaten by these that attackedthem afresh, and in particular received a great loss in places wherethe horses could not be of service, and which were very stony, and wherethose that attacked them were better acquainted with the places thanthemselves. And when the Jews had suffered this loss, the Arabiansraised their spirits after their defeat, and returning back again, slewthose that were already put to flight; and indeed all sorts of slaughterwere now frequent, and of those that escaped, a few only returned intothe camp. So king Herod, when he despaired of the battle, rode up tothem to bring them assistance; yet did he not come time enough to dothem any service, though he labored hard to do it; but the Jewishcamp was taken; so that the Arabians had unexpectedly a most glorioussuccess, having gained that victory which of themselves they were noway likely to have gained, and slaying a great part of the enemy's army:whence afterward Herod could only act like a private robber, and makeexcursions upon many parts of Arabia, and distress them by suddenincursions, while he encamped among the mountains, and avoided by anymeans to come to a pitched battle; yet did he greatly harass the enemyby his assiduity, and the hard labor he took in this matter. He alsotook great care of his own forces, and used all the means he could torestore his affairs to their old state. 2. At this time it was that the fight happened at Actium, betweenOctavius Caesar and Antony, in the seventh year of the reign of Herod[8] and then it was also that there was an earthquake in Judea, such aone as had not happened at any other time, and which earthquake broughta great destruction upon the cattle in that country. About ten thousandmen also perished by the fall of houses; but the army, which lodged inthe field, received no damage by this sad accident. When the Arabianswere informed of this, and when those that hated the Jews, and pleasedthemselves with aggravating the reports, told them of it, they raisedtheir spirits, as if their enemy's country was quite overthrown, and themen were utterly destroyed, and thought there now remained nothing thatcould oppose them. Accordingly, they took the Jewish ambassadors, whocame to them after all this had happened, to make peace with them, andslew them, and came with great alacrity against their army; but the Jewsdurst not withstand them, and were so cast down by the calamitiesthey were under, that they took no care of their affairs, but gave upthemselves to despair; for they had no hope that they should be upon alevel again with them in battles, nor obtain any assistance elsewhere, while their affairs at home were in such great distress also. Whenmatters were in this condition, the king persuaded the commanders byhis words, and tried to raise their spirits, which were quite sunk; andfirst he endeavored to encourage and embolden some of the better sortbeforehand, and then ventured to make a speech to the multitude, whichhe had before avoided to do, lest he should find them uneasy thereat, because of the misfortunes which had happened; so he made a consolatoryspeech to the multitude, in the manner following: 3. "You are not unacquainted, my fellow soldiers, that we have had, notlong since, many accidents that have put a stop to what we are about, and it is probable that even those that are most distinguished aboveothers for their courage can hardly keep up their spirits in suchcircumstances; but since we cannot avoid fighting, and nothing that hathhappened is of such a nature but it may by ourselves be recovered intoa good state, and this by one brave action only well performed, I haveproposed to myself both to give you some encouragement, and, at the sametime, some information; both which parts of my design will tend to thispoint; that you may still continue in your own proper fortitude. I willthen, in the first place, demonstrate to you that this war is a justone on our side, and that on this account it is a war of necessity, and occasioned by the injustice of our adversaries; for if you be oncesatisfied of this, it will be a real cause of alacrity to you; afterwhich I will further demonstrate, that the misfortunes we are under areof no great consequence, and that we have the greatest reason to hopefor victory. I shall begin with the first, and appeal to yourselves aswitnesses to what I shall say. You are not ignorant certainly ofthe wickedness of the Arabians, which is to that degree as to appearincredible to all other men, and to include somewhat that shows thegrossest barbarity and ignorance of God. The chief things wherein theyhave affronted us have arisen from covetousness and envy; and they haveattacked us in an insidious manner, and on the sudden. And what occasionis there for me to mention many instances of such their procedure? Whenthey were in danger of losing their own government of themselves, andof being slaves to Cleopatra, what others were they that freed them fromthat fear? for it was the friendship. I had with Antony, and the kinddisposition he was in towards us, that hath been the occasion that eventhese Arabians have not been utterly undone, Antony being unwilling toundertake any thing which might be suspected by us of unkindness: butwhen he had a mind to bestow some parts of each of our dominions onCleopatra, I also managed that matter so, that by giving him presentsof my own, I might obtain a security to both nations, while I undertookmyself to answer for the money, and gave him two hundred talents, andbecame surety for those two hundred more which were imposed upon theland that was subject to this tribute; and this they have defrauded usof, although it was not reasonable that Jews should pay tribute to anyman living, or allow part of their land to be taxable; but although thatwas to be, yet ought we not to pay tribute for these Arabians, whom wehave ourselves preserved; nor is it fit that they, who have professed[and that with great integrity and sense of our kindness] that it isby our means that they keep their principality, should injure us, anddeprive us of what is our due, and this while we have been still nottheir enemies, but their friends. And whereas observation of covenantstakes place among the bitterest enemies, but among friends is absolutelynecessary, this is not observed among these men, who think gain to bethe best of all things, let it be by any means whatsoever, and thatinjustice is no harm, if they may but get money by it: is it thereforea question with you, whether the unjust are to be punished or not? whenGod himself hath declared his mind that so it ought to be, and hathcommanded that we ever should hate injuries and injustice, which is notonly just, but necessary, in wars between several nations; for theseArabians have done what both the Greeks and barbarians own to be aninstance of the grossest wickedness, with regard to our ambassadors, which they have beheaded, while the Greeks declare that such ambassadorsare sacred and inviolable. [9] And for ourselves, we have learned fromGod the most excellent of our doctrines, and the most holy part of ourlaw, by angels or ambassadors; for this name brings God to the knowledgeof mankind, and is sufficient to reconcile enemies one to another. Whatwickedness then can be greater than the slaughter of ambassadors, whocome to treat about doing what is right? And when such have been theiractions, how is it possible they can either live securely in commonlife, or be successful in war? In my opinion, this is impossible; butperhaps some will say, that what is holy, and what is righteous, isindeed on our side, but that the Arabians are either more courageous ormore numerous than we are. Now, as to this, in the first place, it isnot fit for us to say so, for with whom is what is righteous, with themis God himself; now where God is, there is both multitude and courage. But to examine our own circumstances a little, we were conquerors in thefirst 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; butwhen we had conquered them, then came Athenion, and made war against uswithout declaring it; and pray, is this an instance of their manhood? oris it not a second instance of their wickedness and treachery? Why arewe therefore of less courage, on account of that which ought to inspireus with stronger hopes? and why are we terrified at these, who, whenthey fight upon the level, are continually beaten, and when they seemto be conquerors, they gain it by wickedness? and if we suppose that anyone should deem them to be men of real courage, will not he be excitedby that very consideration to do his utmost against them? for true valoris not shown by fighting against weak persons, but in being able toovercome the most hardy. But then if the distresses we are ourselvesunder, and the miseries that have come by the earthquake, hathaftrighted any one, let him consider, in the first place, that thisvery thing will deceive the Arabians, by their supposal that what hathbefallen us is greater than it really is. Moreover, it is not right thatthe same thing that emboldens them should discourage us; for these men, you see, do not derive their alacrity from any advantageous virtue oftheir own, but from their hope, as to us, that we are quite cast downby our misfortunes; but when we boldly march against them, we shall soonpull down their insolent conceit of themselves, and shall gain this byattacking them, that they will not be so insolent when we come to thebattle; for our distresses are not so great, nor is what hath happenedall indication of the anger of God against us, as some imagine; for suchthings are accidental, and adversities that come in the usual course ofthings; and if we allow that this was done by the will of God, we mustallow that it is now over by his will also, and that he is satisfiedwith what hath already happened; for had he been willing to afflict usstill more thereby, he had not changed his mind so soon. And as for thewar we are engaged in, he hath himself demonstrated that he is willingit should go on, and that he knows it to be a just war; for while someof the people in the country have perished, all you who were in armshave suffered nothing, but are all preserved alive; whereby God makes itplain to us, that if you had universally, with your children and wives, been in the army, it had come to pass that you had not undergone anything that would have much hurt you. Consider these things, and, whatis more than all the rest, that you have God at all times for yourProtector; and prosecute these men with a just bravery, who, in point offriendship, are unjust, in their battles perfidious, towards ambassadorsimpious, and always inferior to you in valor. " 4. When the Jews heard this speech, they were much raised in theirminds, and more disposed to fight than before. So Herod, when he hadoffered the sacrifices appointed by the law [10] made haste, and tookthem, and led them against the Arabians; and in order to that passedover Jordan, and pitched his camp near to that of the enemy. He alsothought fit to seize upon a certain castle that lay in the midst ofthem, as hoping it would be for his advantage, and would the soonerproduce a battle; and that if there were occasion for delay, heshould by it have his camp fortified; and as the Arabians had the sameintentions upon that place, a contest arose about it; at first they werebut skirmishes, after which there came more soldiers, and it proved asort of fight, and some fell on both sides, till those of the Arabianside were beaten and retreated. This was no small encouragement to theJews immediately; and when Herod observed that the enemy's army wasdisposed to any thing rather than to come to an engagement, he venturedboldly to attempt the bulwark itself, and to pull it to pieces, and soto get nearer to their camp, in order to fight them; for when they wereforced out of their trenches, they went out in disorder, and had notthe least alacrity, or hope of victory; yet did they fight hand to hand, because they were more in number than the Jews, and because they were insuch a disposition of war that they were under a necessity of coming onboldly; so they came to a terrible battle, while not a few fell on eachside. However, at length the Arabians fled; and so great a slaughter wasmade upon their being routed, that they were not only killed by theirenemies, but became the authors of their own deaths also, and weretrodden down by the multitude, and the great current of people indisorder, and were destroyed by their own armor; so five thousand menlay dead upon the spot, while the rest of the multitude soon ran withinthe bulwark for safety, but had no firm hope of safety, by reason oftheir want of necessaries, and especially of water. The Jews pursuedthem, but could not get in with them, but sat round about the bulwark, and watched any assistance that would get in to them, and prevented anythere, that had a mind to it, from running away. 5. When the Arabians were in these circumstances, they sent ambassadorsto Herod, in the first place, to propose terms of accommodation, andafter that to offer him, so pressing was their thirst upon them, toundergo whatsoever he pleased, if he would free them from theirpresent distress; but he would admit of no ambassadors, of no priceof redemption, nor of any other moderate terms whatever, being verydesirous to revenge those unjust actions which they had been guiltyof towards his nation. So they were necessitated by other motives, andparticularly by their thirst, to come out, and deliver themselves up tohim, to be carried away captives; and in five days' time the number offour thousand were taken prisoners, while all the rest resolved to makea sally upon their enemies, and to fight it out with them, choosingrather, if so it must be, to die therein, than to perish gradually andingloriously. When they had taken this resolution, they came out oftheir trenches, but could no way sustain the fight, being toomuch disabled, both in mind and body, and having not room to exertthemselves, and thought it an advantage to be killed, and a misery tosurvive; 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 calamities;so for the future they yielded, and made him ruler of their nation;whereupon he was greatly elevated at so seasonable a success, andreturned home, taking great authority upon him, on account of so boldand glorious an expedition as he had made. CHAPTER 6. How Herod Slew Hyrcanus And Then Hasted Away To Caesar, AndObtained The Kingdom From Him Also; And How A Little Time Afterward, HeEntertained Caesar In A Most Honorable Manner. 1. Herod's other affairs were now very prosperous, and he was not to beeasily assaulted on any side. Yet did there come upon him a danger thatwould hazard his entire dominions, after Antony had been beaten at thebattle of Actium by Caesar [Octarian]; for at that time both Herod'senemies and friends despaired of his affairs, for it was not probablethat he would remain without punishment, who had showed so muchfriendship for Antony. So it happened that his friends despaired, andhad no hopes of his escape; but for his enemies, they all outwardlyappeared to be troubled at his case, but were privately very glad of it, as hoping to obtain a change for the better. As for Herod himself he sawthat there was no one of royal dignity left but Hyrcanus, and thereforehe thought it would be for his advantage not to suffer him to be anobstacle in his way any longer; for that in case he himself survived, and escaped the danger he was in, he thought it the safest way to put itout of the power of such a man to make any attempt against him, at suchjunctures of affairs, as was more worthy of the kingdom than himself;and in case he should be slain by Caesar, his envy prompted him todesire to slay him that would otherwise be king after him. 2. While Herod had these things in his mind, there was a certainoccasion afforded him: for Hyrcanus was of so mild a temper, both thenand at other times, that he desired not to meddle with public affairs, nor to concern himself with innovations, but left all to fortune, and contented himself with what that afforded him: but Alexandra [hisdaughter] was a lover of strife, and was exceeding desirous of a changeof the government, and spake to her father not to bear for ever Herod'sinjurious treatment of their family, but to anticipate their futurehopes, as he safely might; and desired him to write about these mattersto Malchus, who was then governor of Arabia, to receive them, andto secure them [from Herod], for that if they went away, and Herod'saffairs proved to be as it was likely they would be, by reason ofCaesar's enmity to him, they should then be the only persons that couldtake the government; and this, both on account of the royal family theywere of, and on account of the good disposition of: the multitude tothem. While she used these persuasions, Hyrcanus put off her suit; butas she showed that she was a woman, and a contentious woman too, andwould not desist either night or day, but would always be speaking tohim about these matters, and about Herod's treacherous designs, she atlast prevailed with him to intrust Dositheus, one of his friends, with aletter, wherein his resolution was declared; and he desired the Arabiangovernor to send to him some horsemen, who should receive him, andconduct him to the lake Asphaltites, which is from the bounds ofJerusalem three hundred furlongs: and he did therefore trust Dositheuswith this letter, because he was a careful attendant on him, and onAlexandra, and had no small occasions to bear ill-will to Herod; for hewas a kinsman of one Joseph, whom he had slain, and a brother of thosethat were formerly slain at Tyre by Antony: yet could not these motivesinduce Dositheus to serve Hyrcanus in this affair; for, preferring thehopes he had from the present king to those he had from him, he gaveHerod the letter. So he took his kindness in good part, and bid himbesides do what he had already done, that is, go on in serving him, by rolling up the epistle and sealing it again, and delivering it toMalchus, and then to bring back his letter in answer to it; for it wouldbe much better if he could know Malchus's intentions also. And whenDositheus was very ready to serve him in this point also, the Arabiangovernor returned back for answer, that he would receive Hyrcanus, andall that should come with him, and even all the Jews that were of hisparty; that he would, moreover, send forces sufficient to secure them intheir journey; and that he should be in no want of any thing he shoulddesire. Now as soon as Herod had received this letter, he immediatelysent for Hyrcanus, and questioned him about the league he had made withMalchus; 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 thecommentaries of king Herod: but other historians do not agree withthem, for they suppose that Herod did not find, but rather make, this anoccasion for thus putting him to death, and that by treacherously layinga snare for him; for thus do they write: That Herod and he were once ata treat, and that Herod had given no occasion to suspect [that he wasdispleased at him], but put this question to Hyrcanus, Whether he hadreceived any letters from Malchus? and when he answered that he hadreceived letters, but those of salutation only; and when he askedfurther, whether he had not received any presents from him? and when hehad replied that he had received no more than four horses to ride on, which Malchus had sent him; they pretended that Herod charged these uponhim as the crimes of bribery and treason, and gave order that he shouldbe led away and slain. And in order to demonstrate that he had beenguilty of no offense, when he was thus brought to his end, they allegedhow mild his temper had been, and that even in his youth he had nevergiven any demonstration of boldness or rashness, and that the case wasthe same when he came to be king, but that he even then committed themanagement of the greatest part of public affairs to Antipater; and thathe was now above fourscore years old, and knew that Herod's governmentwas in a secure state. He also came over Euphrates, and left those whogreatly honored him beyond that river, though he were to be entirelyunder Herod's government; and that it was a most incredible thing thathe should enterprise any thing by way of innovation, and not atall agreeable to his temper, but that this was a plot of Herod'scontrivance. 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 hislifetime. For he was made high priest of the Jewish nation in thebeginning of his mother Alexandra's reign, who held the government nineyears; and when, after his mother's death, he took the kingdom himself, and held it three months, he lost it, by the means of his brotherAristobulus. He was then restored by Pompey, and received all sortsof honor from him, and enjoyed them forty years; but when he was againdeprived by Antigonus, and was maimed in his body, he was made a captiveby the Parthians, and thence returned home again after some time, onaccount of the hopes that Herod had given him; none of which came topass according to his expectation, but he still conflicted with manymisfortunes through the whole course of his life; and, what was theheaviest calamity of all, as we have related already, he came to an endwhich was undeserved by him. His character appeared to be that of a manof a mild and moderate disposition, and suffered the administration ofaffairs to be generally done by others under him. He was averse to muchmeddling with the public, nor had shrewdness enough to govern a kingdom. And both Antipater and Herod came to their greatness by reason of hismildness; and at last he met with such an end from them as was notagreeable either to justice or piety. 5. Now Herod, as soon as he had put Hyrcanus out of the way, made hasteto Caesar; and because he could not have any hopes of kindness from him, on account of the friendship he had for Antony, he had a suspicion ofAlexandra, lest she should take this opportunity to bring the multitudeto a revolt, and introduce a sedition into the affairs of the kingdom;so he committed the care of every thing to his brother Pheroras, andplaced his mother Cypros, and his sister [Salome], and the whole familyat Masada, and gave him a charge, that if he should hear any sad newsabout him, he should take care of the government. But as to Mariamne hiswife, because of the misunderstanding between her and his sister, andhis sister's mother, which made it impossible for them to live together, he placed her at Alexandrium, with Alexandra her mother, and left histreasurer Joseph and Sohemus of Iturea to take care of that fortress. These two had been very faithful to him from the beginning, and were nowleft as a guard to the women. They also had it in charge, that if theyshould 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, andfor his brother Pheroras. 6. When he had given them this charge, he made haste to Rhodes, to meetCaesar; and when he had sailed to that city, he took off his diadem, butremitted nothing else of his usual dignity. And when, upon his meetinghim, he desired that he would let him speak to him, he therein exhibiteda much more noble specimen of a great soul; for he did not betakehimself to supplications, as men usually do upon such occasions, noroffered him any petition, as if he were an offender; but, after anundaunted manner, gave an account of what he had done; for he spake thusto Caesar: That he had the greatest friendship for Antony, and did everything he could that he might attain the government; that he was notindeed in the army with him, because the Arabians had diverted him; butthat he had sent him both money and corn, which was but too little incomparison of what he ought to have done for him; "for if a man ownshimself to be another's friend, and knows him to be a benefactor, he isobliged to hazard every thing, to use every faculty of his soul, everymember of his body, and all the wealth he hath, for him, in which Iconfess I have been too deficient. However, I am conscious to myself, that so far I have done right, that I have not deserted him upon hisdefeat at Actium; nor upon the evident change of his fortune have Itransferred my hopes from him to another, but have preserved myself, though not as a valuable fellow soldier, yet certainly as a faithfulcounselor, to Antony, when I demonstrated to him that the only way thathe had to save himself, and not to lose all his authority, was to slayCleopatra; for when she was once dead, there would be room for him toretain his authority, and rather to bring thee to make a compositionwith him, than to continue at enmity any longer. None of which adviseswould he attend to, but preferred his own rash resolution before them, which have happened unprofitably for him, but profitably for thee. Now, therefore, in case thou determinest about me, and my alacrity in servingAntony, according to thy anger at him, I own there is no room for me todeny what I have done, nor will I be ashamed to own, and that publiclytoo, that I had a great kindness for him. But if thou wilt put him outof the case, and only examine how I behave myself to my benefactors ingeneral, and what sort of friend I am, thou wilt find by experiencethat we shall do and be the same to thyself, for it is but changing thenames, and the firmness of friendship that we shall bear to thee willnot be disapproved by thee. " 7. By this speech, and by his behavior, which showed Caesar thefrankness of his mind, he greatly gained upon him, who was himself of agenerous and magnificent temper, insomuch that those very actions, whichwere the foundation of the accusation against him, procured him Caesar'sgood-will. Accordingly, he restored him his diadem again; and encouragedhim to exhibit himself as great a friend to himself as he had been toAntony, and then had him in great esteem. Moreover, he added this, thatQuintus Didius had written to him that Herod had very readily assistedhim in the affair of the gladiators. So when he had obtained such a kindreception, and had, beyond all his hopes, procured his crown to be moreentirely and firmly settled upon him than ever by Caesar's donation, aswell as by that decree of the Romans, which Caesar took care to procurefor his greater security, he conducted Caesar on his way to Egypt, andmade presents, even beyond his ability, to both him and his friends, andin general behaved himself with great magnanimity. He also desired thatCaesar would not put to death one Alexander, who had been a companionof Antony; but Caesar had sworn to put him to death, and so he couldnot obtain that his petition. And now he returned to Judea again withgreater honor and assurance than ever, and affrighted those that hadexpectations to the contrary, as still acquiring from his very dangersgreater splendor than before, by the favor of God to him. So he preparedfor the reception of Caesar, as he was going out of Syria to invadeEgypt; and when he came, he entertained him at Ptolemais with all royalmagnificence. He also bestowed presents on the army, and brought themprovisions in abundance. He also proved to be one of Caesar's mostcordial friends, and put the army in array, and rode along with Caesar, and had a hundred and fifty men, well appointed in all respects, aftera rich and sumptuous manner, for the better reception of him and hisfriends. He also provided them with what they should want, as theypassed over the dry desert, insomuch that they lacked neither winenor water, which last the soldiers stood in the greatest need of; andbesides, he presented Caesar with eight hundred talents, and procured tohimself the good-will of them all, because he was assisting to them ina much greater and more splendid degree than the kingdom he had obtainedcould afford; by which means he more and more demonstrated to Caesar thefirmness of his friendship, and his readiness to assist him; and whatwas of the greatest advantage to him was this, that his liberality cameat a seasonable time also. And when they returned again out of Egypt, his assistances were no way inferior to the good offices he had formerlydone them. CHAPTER 7. How Herod Slew Sohemus And Mariamne And Afterward AlexandraAnd Costobarus, And His Most Intimate Friends, And At Last The Sons OfBabbas Also. 1. However, when he came into his kingdom again, he found his house allin disorder, and his wife Mariamne and her mother Alexandra very uneasy;for as they supposed [what was easy to be supposed] that they were notput into that fortress [Alexandrium] for the security of their persons, but as into a garrison for their imprisonment, and that they had nopower over any thing, either of others or of their own affairs, theywere very uneasy; and Mariamne supposing that the king's love to her wasbut hypocritical, and rather pretended [as advantageous to himself] thanreal, she looked upon it as fallacious. She also was grieved that hewould not allow her any hopes of surviving him, if he should come to anyharm himself. She also recollected what commands he had formerly givento Joseph, insomuch that she endeavored to please her keepers, andespecially Sohemus, as well apprized how all was in his power. Andat the first Sohemus was faithful to Herod, and neglected none of thethings he had given him in charge; but when the women, by kind wordsand liberal presents, had gained his affections over to them, he wasby degrees overcome, and at length discovered to them all the king'sinjunctions, and this on that account principally, that he did not somuch as hope he would come back with the same authority he had before;so that he thought he should both escape any danger from him, midsupposed that he did hereby much gratify the women, who were likely notto be overlooked in the settling of the government; nay, that they wouldbe able to make him abundant recompense, since they must either reignthemselves, or be very near to him that should reign. He had a furtherground of hope also, that though Herod should have all the success hecould wish for, and should return again, he could not contradict hiswife in what she desired, for he knew that the king's fondness for hiswife was inexpressible. These were the motives that drew Sohemus todiscover what injunctions had been given him. So Mariamne was greatlydispleased to hear that there was no end of the dangers she was underfrom Herod, and was greatly uneasy at it, and wished that he mightobtain no favors [from Caesar], and esteemed it almost an insupportabletask to live with him any longer; and this she afterward openlydeclared, without concealing her resentment. 2. And now Herod sailed home with joy, at the unexpected good successhe had had; and went first of all, as was proper, to this his wife, and told her, and her only, the good news, as preferring her before therest, on account of his fondness for her, and the intimacy there hadbeen between them, and saluted her; but so it happened, that as he toldher of the good success he had had, she was so far from rejoicing atit, that she rather was sorry for it; nor was she able to conceal herresentments, but, depending on her dignity, and the nobility of herbirth, in return for his salutations, she gave a groan, and declaredevidently that she rather grieved than rejoiced at his success, and thistill Herod was disturbed at her, as affording him, not only marks of hersuspicion, but evident signs of her dissatisfaction. This much troubledhim, to see that this surprising hatred of his wife to him was notconcealed, but open; and he took this so ill, and yet was so unable tobear it, on account of the fondness he had for her, that he could notcontinue long in any one mind, but sometimes was angry at her, andsometimes reconciled himself to her; but by always changing onepassion for another, he was still in great uncertainty, and thus washe entangled between hatred and love, and was frequently disposed toinflict punishment on her for her insolence towards him; but beingdeeply in love with her in his soul, he was not able to get quit of thiswoman. In short, as he would gladly have her punished, so was he afraidlest, ere he were aware, he should, by putting her to death, bring aheavier punishment upon himself at the same time. 3. When Herod's sister and mother perceived that he was in this temperwith regard to Mariamne they thought they had now got an excellentopportunity to exercise their hatred against her and provoked Herodto wrath by telling him, such long stories and calumnies about her, as might at once excite his hatred and his jealousy. Now, though hewillingly enough heard their words, yet had not he courage enough to doany thing to her as if he believed them; but still he became worseand worse disposed to her, and these ill passions were more and moreinflamed on both sides, while she did not hide her disposition towardshim, and he turned his love to her into wrath against her. But when hewas just going to put this matter past all remedy, he heard the newsthat Caesar was the victor in the war, and that Antony and Cleopatrawere both dead, and that he had conquered Egypt; whereupon he madehaste to go to meet Caesar, and left the affairs of his family in theirpresent state. However, Mariamne recommended Sohemus to him, as he wassetting out on his journey, and professed that she owed him thanks forthe care he had taken of her, and asked of the king for him a place inthe government; upon which an honorable employment was bestowed upon himaccordingly. Now when Herod was come into Egypt, he was introduced toCaesar with great freedom, as already a friend of his, and received verygreat favors from him; for he made him a present of those four hundredGalatians who had been Cleopatra's guards, and restored that country tohim again, which, by her means, had been taken away from him. He alsoadded to his kingdom Gadara, Hippos, and Samaria; and, besides those, the maritime cities, Gaza, and Anthedon, and Joppa, and Strato's Tower. 4. Upon these new acquisitions, he grew more magnificent, and conductedCaesar as far as Antioch; but upon his return, as much as his prosperitywas augmented by the foreign additions that had been made him, so muchthe greater were the distresses that came upon him in his own family, and chiefly in the affair of his wife, wherein he formerly appeared tohave been most of all fortunate; for the affection he had for Mariamnewas no way inferior to the affections of such as are on that accountcelebrated in history, and this very justly. As for her, she was inother respects a chaste woman, and faithful to him; yet had she somewhatof 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. Shedid not also consider seasonably with herself that she lived under amonarchy, and that she was at another's disposal, and accordingly wouldbehave herself after a saucy manner to him, which yet he usually put offin a jesting way, and bore with moderation and good temper. She wouldalso expose his mother and his sister openly, on account of the meannessof their birth, and would speak unkindly of them, insomuch that therewas before this a disagreement and unpardonable hatred among the women, and it was now come to greater reproaches of one another than formerly, which suspicions increased, and lasted a whole year after Herod returnedfrom Caesar. However, these misfortunes, which had been kept under somedecency for a great while, burst out all at once upon such an occasionas was now offered; for as the king was one day about noon lain down onhis bed to rest him, he called for Mariamne, out of the great affectionhe had always for her. She came in accordingly, but would not lie downby him; and when he was very desirous of her company, she showed hercontempt of him; and added, by way of reproach, that he had caused herfather and her brother to be slain. [11] And when he took this injuryvery unkindly, and was ready to use violence to her, in a precipitatemanner, the king's sister Salome, observing that he was more thanordinarily disturbed, sent in to the king his cup-bearer, who had beenprepared long beforehand for such a design, and bid him tell the kinghow Mariamne had persuaded him to give his assistance in preparing alove potion for him; and if he appeared to be greatly concerned, and toask what that love potion was, to tell him that she had the potion, andthat he was desired only to give it him; but that in case he did notappear to be much concerned at this potion, to let the thing drop; andthat if he did so, no harm should thereby come to him. When she hadgiven him these instructions, she sent him in at this time to make sucha speech. So he went in, after a composed manner, to gain credit towhat he should say, and yet somewhat hastily, and said that Mariamnehad given him presents, and persuaded him to give him a love potion. And when this moved the king, he said that this love potion was acomposition that she had given him, whose effects he did not know, whichwas the reason of his resolving to give him this information, as thesafest course he could take, both for himself and for the king. WhenHerod heard what he said, and was in an ill disposition before, hisindignation grew more violent; and he ordered that eunuch of Mariamne, who was most faithful to her, to be brought to torture about thispotion, as well knowing it was not possible that any thing small orgreat could be done without him. And when the man was under the utmostagonies, he could say nothing concerning the thing he was torturedabout, but so far he knew, that Mariamne's hatred against him wasoccasioned by somewhat that Sohemus had said to her. Now as he wassaying this, Herod cried out aloud, and said that Sohemus, who had beenat all other times most faithful to him, and to his government, wouldnot have betrayed what injunctions he had given him, unless he had hada nearer conversation than ordinary with Mariamne. So he gave order thatSohemus should be seized on and slain immediately; but he allowed hiswife to take her trial; and got together those that were most faithfulto him, and laid an elaborate accusation against her for this lovepotion and composition, which had been charged upon her by way ofcalumny only. However, he kept no temper in what he said, and was in toogreat a passion for judging well about this matter. Accordingly, whenthe court was at length satisfied that he was so resolved, they passedthe sentence of death upon her; but when the sentence was passed uponher, this temper was suggested by himself, and by some others of thecourt, that she should not be thus hastily put to death, but be laid inprison in one of the fortresses belonging to the kingdom: but Salomeand her party labored hard to have the woman put to death; and theyprevailed with the king to do so, and advised this out of caution, lestthe multitude should be tumultuous if she were suffered to live; andthus was Mariamne led to execution. 5. When Alexandra observed how things went, and that there were smallhopes that she herself should escape the like treatment from Herod, she changed her behavior to quite the reverse of what might have beenexpected from her former boldness, and this after a very indecentmanner; for out of her desire to show how entirely ignorant she wasof the crimes laid against Mariamne, she leaped out of her place, andreproached her daughter in the hearing of all the people; and cried outthat she had been an ill woman, and ungrateful to her husband, and thather punishment came justly upon her for such her insolent behavior, forthat she had not made proper returns to him who had been their commonbenefactor. And when she had for some time acted after this hypocriticalmanner, and been so outrageous as to tear her hair, this indecent anddissembling behavior, as was to be expected, was greatly condemned bythe rest of the spectators, as it was principally by the poor womanwho was to suffer; for at the first she gave her not a word, nor wasdiscomposed at her peevishness, and only looked at her, yet did she outof a greatness of soul discover her concern for her mother's offense, and especially for her exposing herself in a manner so unbecoming her;but as for herself, she went to her death with an unshaken firmness ofmind, and without changing the color of her face, and thereby evidentlydiscovered the nobility of her descent to the spectators, even in thelast moments of her life. 6. And thus died Mariamne, a woman of an excellent character, both forchastity and greatness of soul; but she wanted moderation, and had toomuch of contention in her nature; yet had she all that can be said inthe beauty of her body, and her majestic appearance in conversation; andthence arose the greatest part of the occasions why she did not proveso agreeable to the king, nor live so pleasantly with him, as she mightotherwise have done; for while she was most indulgently used by theking, out of his fondness for her, and did not expect that he could doany hard thing to her, she took too unbounded a liberty. Moreover, thatwhich most afflicted her was, what he had done to her relations, and sheventured to speak of all they had suffered by him, and at last greatlyprovoked both the king's mother and sister, till they became enemies toher; and even he himself also did the same, on whom alone she dependedfor her expectations of escaping the last of punishments. 7. But when she was once dead, the king's affections for her werekindled in a more outrageous manner than before, whose old passion forher we have already described; for his love to her was not of a calmnature, nor such as we usually meet with among other husbands; for atits commencement it was of an enthusiastic kind, nor was it by theirlong cohabitation and free conversation together brought under his powerto manage; but at this time his love to Mariamne seemed to seize him insuch a peculiar manner, as looked like Divine vengeance upon him forthe taking away her life; for he would frequently call for her, andfrequently lament for her in a most indecent manner. Moreover, hebethought him of every thing he could make use of to divert his mindfrom thinking of her, and contrived feasts and assemblies for thatpurpose, but nothing would suffice; he therefore laid aside theadministration of public affairs, and was so far conquered by hispassion, that he would order his servants to call for Mariamne, as ifshe were still alive, and could still hear them. And when he was in thisway, there arose a pestilential disease, and carried off the greatestpart of the multitude, and of his best and most esteemed friends, andmade all men suspect that this was brought upon them by the anger ofGod, for the injustice that had been done to Mariamne. This circumstanceaffected the king still more, till at length he forced himself togo into desert places, and there, under pretense of going a hunting, bitterly afflicted himself; yet had he not borne his grief there manydays before he fell into a most dangerous distemper himself: he had aninflammation upon him, and a pain in the hinder part of his head, joinedwith madness; and for the remedies that were used, they did him no goodat all, but proved contrary to his case, and so at length brought him todespair. All the physicians also that were about him, partly becausethe medicines they brought for his recovery could not at all conquerthe disease, and partly because his diet could be no other than what hisdisease 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 ofthat diet, and committed him to fortune. And thus did his distemper goon, while he was at Samaria, now called Sebaste. 8. Now Alexandra abode at this time at Jerusalem; and being informedwhat condition Herod was in, she endeavored to get possession of thefortified places that were about the city, which were two, the onebelonging to the city itself, the other belonging to the temple; andthose that could get them into their hands had the whole nation undertheir power, for without the command of them it was not possible tooffer their sacrifices; and to think of leaving on those sacrifices isto every Jew plainly impossible, who are still more ready to lose theirlives than to leave off that Divine worship which they have been wont topay unto God. Alexandra, therefore, discoursed with those that had thekeeping of these strong holds, that it was proper for them to deliverthe same to her, and to Herod's sons, lest, upon his death, any otherperson should seize upon the government; and that upon his recovery nonecould keep them more safely for him than those of his own family. Thesewords were not by them at all taken in good part; and as they had beenin former times faithful [to Herod], they resolved to continue so morethan ever, both because they hated Alexandra, and because they thoughtit a sort of impiety to despair of Herod's recovery while he was yetalive, for they had been his old friends; and one of them, whose namewas Achiabus, was his cousin-german. They sent messengers therefore toacquaint him with Alexandra's design; so he made no longer delay, butgave orders to have her slain; yet was it still with difficulty, andafter he had endured great pain, that he got clear of his distemper. Hewas still sorely afflicted, both in mind and body, and made very uneasy, and readier than ever upon all occasions to inflict punishment uponthose that fell under his hand. He also slew the most intimate of hisfriends, Costobarus, and Lysimachus, and Cadias, who was also calledAntipater; as also Dositheus, and that upon the following occasion. 9. Costobarus was an Idumean by birth, and one of principal dignityamong them, and one whose ancestors had been priests to the Koze, whomthe Idumeans had [formerly] esteemed as a god; but after Hyrcanus hadmade a change in their political government, and made them receive theJewish customs and law, Herod made Costobarus governor of Idumea andGaza, and gave him his sister Salome to wife; and this was upon theslaughter of [his uncle] Joseph, who had that government before, aswe have related already. When Costobarus had gotten to be so highlyadvanced, it pleased him and was more than he hoped for, and he wasmore and more puffed up by his good success, and in a little while heexceeded all bounds, and did not think fit to obey what Herod, as theirruler, commanded him, or that the Idumeans should make use of the Jewishcustoms, or be subject to them. He therefore sent to Cleopatra, andinformed her that the Idumeans had been always under his progenitors, and that for the same reason it was but just that she should desirethat country for him of Antony, for that he was ready to transfer hisfriendship to her; and this he did, not because he was better pleased tobe under Cleopatra's government, but because he thought that, upon thediminution of Herod's power, it would not be difficult for him to obtainhimself the entire government over the Idumeans, and somewhat more also;for he raised his hopes still higher, as having no small pretenses, bothby his birth and by these riches which he had gotten by his constantattention to filthy lucre; and accordingly it was not a small matterthat he aimed at. So Cleopatra desired this country of Antony, butfailed of her purpose. An account of this was brought to Herod, whowas thereupon ready to kill Costobarus; yet, upon the entreaties ofhis sister and mother, he forgave him, and vouchsafed to pardon himentirely; though he still had a suspicion of him afterward for this hisattempt. 10. But some time afterward, when Salome happened to quarrel withCostobarus, she sent him a bill of divorce [12] and dissolved hermarriage with him, though this was not according to the Jewish laws; forwith us it is lawful for a husband to do so; but a wife; if she departsfrom her husband, cannot of herself be married to another, unless herformer husband put her away. However, Salome chose to follow not thelaw of her country, but the law of her authority, and so renounced herwedlock; and told her brother Herod, that she left her husband out ofher good-will to him, because she perceived that he, with Antipater, andLysimachus, and Dositheus, were raising a sedition against him; as anevidence whereof, she alleged the case of the sons of Babas, that theyhad been by him preserved alive already for the interval of twelveyears; which proved to be true. But when Herod thus unexpectedly heardof it, he was greatly surprised at it, and was the more surprised, because the relation appeared incredible to him. As for the factrelating to these sons of Babas, Herod had formerly taken great pains tobring them to punishment, as being enemies to his government; but theywere now forgotten by him, on account of the length of time [since hehad ordered them to be slain]. Now the cause of his ill-will and hatredto them arose hence, that while Antigonus was king, Herod, with hisarmy, besieged the city of Jerusalem, where the distress and miserieswhich the besieged endured were so pressing, that the greater number ofthem invited Herod into the city, and already placed their hopes on him. Now the sons of Babas were of great dignity, and had power among themultitude, and were faithful to Antigonus, and were always raisingcalumnies against Herod, and encouraged the people to preserve thegovernment to that royal family which held it by inheritance. Sothese men acted thus politically, and, as they thought, for theirown advantage; but when the city was taken, and Herod had gotten thegovernment into his hands, and Costobarus was appointed to hindermen from passing out at the gates, and to guard the city, that thosecitizens that were guilty, and of the party opposite to the king, mightnot get out of it, Costobarus, being sensible that the sons of Babaswere had in respect and honor by the whole multitude, and supposing thattheir preservation might be of great advantage to him in the changes ofgovernment afterward, he set them by themselves, and concealed them inhis own farms; and when the thing was suspected, he assured Herod uponoath that he really knew nothing of that matter, and so overcamethe suspicions that lay upon him; nay, after that, when the king hadpublicly proposed a reward for the discovery, and had put in practiceall sorts of methods for searching out this matter, he would not confessit; but being persuaded that when he had at first denied it, if the menwere found, he should not escape unpunished, he was forced to keep themsecret, not only out of his good-will to them, but out of a necessaryregard 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 theintimation they were concealed, and ordered both them, and those thatwere accused as guilty with them, to be slain, insomuch that there werenow none at all left of the kindred of Hyrcanus, and the kingdom wasentirely in Herod's own power, and there was nobody remaining of suchdignity as could put a stop to what he did against the Jewish laws. CHAPTER 8. How Ten Men Of The Citizens [Of Jerusalem] Made A ConspiracyAgainst Herod, For The Foreign Practices He Had Introduced, Which Was ATransgression Of The Laws Of Their Country. Concerning The Building OfSebaste And Cesarea, And Other Edifices Of Herod. 1. On this account it was that Herod revolted from the laws of hiscountry, and corrupted their ancient constitution, by the introductionof foreign practices, which constitution yet ought to have beenpreserved inviolable; by which means we became guilty of greatwickedness afterward, while those religious observances which used tolead the multitude to piety were now neglected; for, in the first place, he appointed solemn games to be celebrated every fifth year, in honorof Caesar, and built a theater at Jerusalem, as also a very greatamphitheater in the plain. Both of them were indeed costly works, butopposite to the Jewish customs; for we have had no such shows delivereddown to us as fit to be used or exhibited by us; yet did he celebratethese games every five years, in the most solemn and splendid manner. He also made proclamation to the neighboring countries, and called mentogether out of every nation. The wrestlers also, and the rest of thosethat strove for the prizes in such games, were invited out of everyland, both by the hopes of the rewards there to be bestowed, and by theglory of victory to be there gained. So the principal persons that werethe most eminent in these sorts of exercises were gotten together, forthere were very great rewards for victory proposed, not only to thosethat performed their exercises naked, but to those that played themusicians also, and were called Thymelici; and he spared no pains toinduce all persons, the most famous for such exercises, to come to thiscontest for victory. He also proposed no small rewards to those who ranfor the prizes in chariot races, when they were drawn by two, or three, or four pair of horses. He also imitated every thing, though never socostly or magnificent, in other nations, out of an ambition that hemight give most public demonstration of his grandeur. Inscriptions alsoof the great actions of Caesar, and trophies of those nations which hehad conquered in his wars, and all made of the purest gold and silver, encompassed the theater itself; nor was there any thing that couldbe subservient to his design, whether it were precious garments, orprecious stones set in order, which was not also exposed to sight inthese games. He had also made a great preparation of wild beasts, andof lions themselves in great abundance, and of such other beasts aswere either of uncommon strength, or of such a sort as were rarely seen. These were prepared either to fight with one another, or that men whowere condemned to death were to fight with them. And truly foreignerswere greatly surprised and delighted at the vastness of the expenseshere exhibited, and at the great dangers that were here seen; but tonatural Jews, this was no better than a dissolution of those customs forwhich they had so great a veneration. [13] It appeared also no betterthan an instance of barefaced impiety, to throw men to wild beasts, forthe affording delight to the spectators; and it appeared an instance ofno less impiety, to change their own laws for such foreign exercises:but, above all the rest, the trophies gave most distaste to the Jews;for as they imagined them to be images, included within the armor thathung round about them, they were sorely displeased at them, because itwas not the custom of their country to pay honors to such images. 2. Nor was Herod unacquainted with the disturbance they were under; andas he thought it unseasonable to use violence with them, so he spake tosome of them by way of consolation, and in order to free them from thatsuperstitious fear they were under; yet could not he satisfy them, butthey cried out with one accord, out of their great uneasiness at theoffenses they thought he had been guilty of, that although they shouldthink of bearing all the rest yet would they never bear images of men intheir city, meaning the trophies, because this was disagreeable to thelaws of their country. Now when Herod saw them in such a disorder, andthat they would not easily change their resolution unless they receivedsatisfaction in this point, he called to him the most eminent men amongthem, and brought them upon the theater, and showed them the trophies, and asked them what sort of things they took these trophies to be; andwhen they cried out that they were the images of men, he gave orderthat they should be stripped of these outward ornaments which were aboutthem, and showed them the naked pieces of wood; which pieces of wood, now without any ornament, became matter of great sport and laughterto them, because they had before always had the ornaments of imagesthemselves in derision. 3. When therefore Herod had thus got clear of the multitude, and haddissipated the vehemency of passion under which they had been, thegreatest part of the people were disposed to change their conduct, andnot to be displeased at him any longer; but still some of them continuedin their displeasure against him, for his introduction of new customs, and esteemed the violation of the laws of their country as likely to bethe origin of very great mischiefs to them, so that they deemed it aninstance of piety rather to hazard themselves [to be put to death], thanto seem as if they took no notice of Herod, who, upon the change he hadmade in their government, introduced such customs, and that in a violentmanner, which they had never been used to before, as indeed in pretensea king, but in reality one that showed himself an enemy to their wholenation; on which account ten men that were citizens [of Jerusalem]conspired together against him, and sware to one another to undergo anydangers in the attempt, and took daggers with them under their garments[for the purpose of killing Herod]. Now there was a certain blind manamong those conspirators who had thus sworn to one another, on accountof the indignation he had against what he heard to have been done;he was not indeed able to afford the rest any assistance in theundertaking, but was ready to undergo any suffering with them, if sobe they should come to any harm, insomuch that he became a very greatencourager of the rest of the undertakers. 4. When they had taken this resolution, and that by common consent, theywent into the theater, hoping that, in the first place, Herod himselfcould not escape them, as they should fall upon him so unexpectedly; andsupposing, however, that if they missed him, they should kill a greatmany of those that were about him; and this resolution they took, thoughthey should die for it, in order to suggest to the king what injuries hehad done to the multitude. These conspirators, therefore, standing thusprepared beforehand, went about their design with great alacrity; butthere was one of those spies of Herod, that were appointed for suchpurposes, to fish out and inform him of any conspiracies that should bemade against him, who found out the whole affair, and told the king ofit, as he was about to go into the theater. So when he reflected on thehatred which he knew the greatest part of the people bore him, and onthe disturbances that arose upon every occasion, he thought this plotagainst him not to be improbable. Accordingly, he retired into hispalace, and called those that were accused of this conspiracy before himby their several names; and as, upon the guards falling upon them, they were caught in the very fact, and knew they could not escape, theyprepared themselves for their ends with all the decency they could, andso as not at all to recede from their resolute behavior, for they showedno shame for what they were about, nor denied it; but when they wereseized, they showed their daggers, and professed that the conspiracythey had sworn to was a holy and pious action; that what they intendedto do was not for gain, or out of any indulgence to their passions, butprincipally for those common customs of their country, which all theJews were obliged to observe, or to die for them. This was what thesemen said, out of their undaunted courage in this conspiracy. So theywere led away to execution by the king's guards that stood about them, and patiently underwent all the torments inflicted on them till theydied. Nor was it long before that spy who had discovered them was seizedon by some of the people, out of the hatred they bore to him; and wasnot only slain by them, but pulled to pieces, limb from limb, and givento the dogs. This execution was seen by many of the citizens, yet wouldnot one of them discover the doers of it, till upon Herod's making astrict scrutiny after them, by bitter and severe tortures, certain womenthat were tortured confessed what they had seen done; the authors ofwhich fact were so terribly punished by the king, that their entirefamilies were destroyed for this their rash attempt; yet did not theobstinacy of the people, and that undaunted constancy they showed inthe defense of their laws, make Herod any easier to them, but hestill strengthened himself after a more secure manner, and resolved toencompass the multitude every way, lest such innovations should end inan open rebellion. 5. Since, therefore, he had now the city fortified by the palace inwhich he lived, and by the temple which had a strong fortress by it, called Antonia, and was rebuilt by himself, he contrived to make Samariaa fortress for himself also against all the people, and called itSebaste, supposing that this place would be a strong hold against thecountry, not inferior to the former. So he fortified that place, whichwas a day's journey distant from Jerusalem, and which would be usefulto him in common, to keep both the country and the city in awe. Healso built another fortress for the whole nation; it was of old calledStrato's Tower, but was by him named Cesarea. Moreover, he chose outsome select horsemen, and placed them ill the great plain; and built[for them] a place in Galilee, called Gaba with Hesebonitis, in Perea. And these were the places which he particularly built, while he alwayswas inventing somewhat further for his own security, and encompassingthe whole nation with guards, that they might by no means get from underhis power, nor fall into tumults, which they did continually upon anysmall commotion; and that if they did make any commotions, he might knowof it, while some of his spies might be upon them from the neighborhood, and might both be able to know what they were attempting, and to preventit. And when he went about building the wall of Samaria, he contrived tobring thither many of those that had been assisting to him in his wars, and many of the people in that neighborhood also, whom he made fellowcitizens with the rest. This he did out of an ambitious desire ofbuilding a temple, and out of a desire to make the city more eminentthan it had been before; but principally because he contrived thatit might at once be for his own security, and a monument of hismagnificence. He also changed its name, and called it Sebaste. Moreover, he parted the adjoining country, which was excellent in its kind, amongthe inhabitants of Samaria, that they might be in a happy condition, upon their first coming to inhabit. Besides all which, he encompassedthe city with a wall of great strength, and made use of the acclivity ofthe place for making its fortifications stronger; nor was the compassof the place made now so small as it had been before, but was such asrendered it not inferior to the most famous cities; for it was twentyfurlongs in circumference. Now within, and about the middle of it, hebuilt a sacred place, of a furlong and a half [in circuit], and adornedit with all sorts of decorations, and therein erected a temple, whichwas illustrious on account of both its largeness and beauty. And as tothe several parts of the city, he adorned them with decorations ofall sorts also; and as to what was necessary to provide for his ownsecurity, he made the walls very strong for that purpose, and made itfor the greatest part a citadel; and as to the elegance of the building, it was taken care of also, that he might leave monuments of the finenessof his taste, and of his beneficence, to future ages. CHAPTER 9. Concerning The Famine That Happened In Judea And Syria; AndHow Herod, After He Had Married Another Wife, Rebuilt Cesarea, And OtherGrecian Cities. 1. Now on this very year, which was the thirteenth year of the reign ofHerod, very great calamities came upon the country; whether they werederived from the anger of God, or whether this misery returns againnaturally in certain periods of time [14] for, in the first place, therewere perpetual droughts, and for that reason the ground was barren, anddid not bring forth the same quantity of fruits that it used to produce;and after this barrenness of the soil, that change of food which thewant of corn occasioned produced distempers in the bodies of men, anda pestilential disease prevailed, one misery following upon the backof another; and these circumstances, that they were destitute both ofmethods of cure and of food, made the pestilential distemper, whichbegan after a violent manner, the more lasting. The destruction ofmen also after such a manner deprived those that survived of all theircourage, because they had no way to provide remedies sufficient for thedistresses they were in. When therefore the fruits of that year werespoiled, and whatsoever they had laid up beforehand was spent, there wasno foundation of hope for relief remaining, but the misery, contrary towhat they expected still increased upon them; and this not only on thatyear, while they had nothing for themselves left [at the end of it], but what seed they had sown perished also, by reason of the ground notyielding its fruits on the second year. [15] This distress they were inmade them also, out of necessity, to eat many things that did not use tobe eaten; nor was the king himself free from this distress any more thanother men, as being deprived of that tribute he used to have from thefruits of the ground, and having already expended what money he had, inhis liberality to those whose cities he had built; nor had he any peoplethat were worthy of his assistance, since this miserable state of thingshad 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 these circumstances he considered with himself how to procuresome seasonable help; but this was a hard thing to be done, while theirneighbors had no food to sell them; and their money also was gone, hadit been possible to purchase a little food at a great price. However, hethought it his best way, by all means, not to leave off his endeavorsto assist his people; so he cut off the rich furniture that was in hispalace, both of silver and gold, insomuch that he did not spare thefinest vessels he had, or those that were made with the most elaborateskill of the artificers, but sent the money to Petronius, who had beenmade prefect of Egypt by Caesar; and as not a few had already fled tohim under their necessities, and as he was particularly a friend toHerod, and desirous to have his subjects preserved, he gave leave tothem in the first place to export corn, and assisted them every way, both in purchasing and exporting the same; so that he was the principal, if not the only person, who afforded them what help they had. AndHerod taking care the people should understand that this help camefrom himself, did thereby not only remove the ill opinion of those thatformerly hated him, but gave them the greatest demonstration possible ofhis good-will to them, and care of them; for, in the first place, as forthose who were able to provide their own food, he distributed to themtheir proportion of corn in the exactest manner; but for those manythat were not able, either by reason of their old age, or any otherinfirmity, to provide food for themselves, he made this provision forthem, the bakers should make their bread ready for them. He also tookcare that they might not be hurt by the dangers of winter, since theywere in great want of clothing also, by reason of the utter destructionand consumption of their sheep and goats, till they had no wool to makeuse of, nor any thing else to cover themselves withal. And when he hadprocured these things for his own subjects, he went further, in order toprovide necessaries for their neighbors, and gave seed to the Syrians, which thing turned greatly to his own advantage also, this charitableassistance being afforded most seasonably to their fruitful soil, sothat every one had now a plentiful provision of food. Upon the whole, when the harvest of the land was approaching, he sent no fewer thanfifty thousand men, whom he had sustained, into the country; by whichmeans he both repaired the afflicted condition of his own kingdom withgreat generosity and diligence, and lightened the afflictions of hisneighbors, who were under the same calamities; for there was nobody whohad been in want that was left destitute of a suitable assistance byhim; nay, further, there were neither any people, nor any cities, norany private men, who were to make provision for the multitudes, andon that account were in want of support, and had recourse to him, butreceived what they stood in need of, insomuch that it appeared, upona computation, that the number of cori of wheat, of ten attic medimniapiece, that were given to foreigners, amounted to ten thousand, and thenumber that was given in his own kingdom was about fourscore thousand. Now it happened that this care of his, and this seasonable benefaction, had such influence on the Jews, and was so cried up among other nations, as to wipe off that old hatred which his violation of some of theircustoms, during his reign, had procured him among all the nation, andthat this liberality of his assistance in this their greatest necessitywas full satisfaction for all that he had done of that nature, as italso procured him great fame among foreigners; and it looked as if thesecalamities that afflicted his land, to a degree plainly incredible, camein order to raise his glory, and to be to his great advantage; forthe greatness of his liberality in these distresses, which he nowdemonstrated beyond all expectation, did so change the disposition ofthe multitude towards him, that they were ready to suppose he hadbeen from the beginning not such a one as they had found him to be byexperience, but such a one as the care he had taken of them in supplyingtheir necessities proved him now to be. 3. About this time it was that he sent five hundred chosen men out ofthe guards of his body as auxiliaries to Caesar, whom Aelius Gallus [16]led to the Red Sea, and who were of great service to him there. When therefore his affairs were thus improved, and were again in aflourishing condition, he built himself a palace in the upper city, raising the rooms to a very great height, and adorning them with themost costly furniture of gold, and marble scats, and beds; and thesewere so large that they could contain very many companies of men. Theseapartments were also of distinct magnitudes, and had particular namesgiven them; for one apartment was called Caesar's, another Agrippa's. He also fell in love again, and married another wife, not suffering hisreason to hinder him from living as he pleased. The occasion of this hismarriage was as follows: There was one Simon, a citizen of Jerusalem, the son of one Boethus, a citizen of Alexandria, and a priest of greatnote there; this man had a daughter, who was esteemed the most beautifulwoman of that time; and when the people of Jerusalem began to speak muchin her commendation, it happened that Herod was much affected with whatwas said of her; and when he saw the damsel, he was smitten with herbeauty, yet did he entirely reject the thoughts of using his authorityto abuse her, as believing, what was the truth, that by so doing heshould be stigmatized for violence and tyranny; so he thought it best totake the damsel to wife. And while Simon was of a dignity too inferiorto be allied to him, but still too considerable to be despised, hegoverned his inclinations after the most prudent manner, by augmentingthe dignity of the family, and making them more honorable; so heimmediately deprived Jesus, the son of Phabet, of the high priesthood, and conferred that dignity on Simon, and so joined in affinity with him[by marrying his daughter]. 4. When this wedding was over, he built another citadel in thatplace where he had conquered file Jews when he was driven out of hisgovernment, and Antigonus enjoyed it. This citadel is distant fromJerusalem about threescore furlongs. It was strong by nature, andfit for such a building. It is a sort of a moderate hill, raised to afurther height by the hand of man, till it was of the shape of a woman'sbreast. It is encompassed with circular towers, and hath a strait ascentup to it, which ascent is composed of steps of polished stones, innumber two hundred. Within it are royal and very rich apartments, ofa structure that provided both for security and for beauty. About thebottom there are habitations of such a structure as are well worthseeing, both on other accounts, and also on account of the water whichis brought thither from a great way off, and at vast expenses, for theplace itself is destitute of water. The plain that is about this citadelis full of edifices, not inferior to any city in largeness, and havingthe hill above it in the nature of a castle. 5. And now, when all Herod's designs had succeeded according to hishopes, he had not the least suspicion that any troubles could arise inhis kingdom, because he kept his people obedient, as well by the fearthey stood in of him, for he was implacable in the infliction of hispunishments, as by the provident care he had showed towards them, afterthe most magnanimous manner, when they were under their distresses. Butstill he took care to have external security for his government as afortress against his subjects; for the orations he made to the citieswere very fine, and full of kindness; and he cultivated a seasonablegood understanding with their governors, and bestowed presents on everyone of them, inducing them thereby to be more friendly to him, andusing his magnificent disposition so as his kingdom might be the bettersecured to him, and this till all his affairs were every way moreand more augmented. But then this magnificent temper of his, and thatsubmissive behavior and liberality which he exercised towards Caesar, and the most powerful men of Rome, obliged him to transgress the customsof his nation, and to set aside many of their laws, and by buildingcities after an extravagant manner, and erecting temples, --not in Judeaindeed, for that would not have been borne, it being forbidden for us topay any honor to images, or representations of animals, after the mannerof the Greeks; but still he did thus in the country [properly] out ofour bounds, and in the cities thereof [17] The apology which he made tothe Jews for these things was this: That all was done, not out of hisown inclinations, but by the commands and injunctions of others, inorder to please Caesar and the Romans, as though he had not the Jewishcustoms so much in his eye as he had the honor of those Romans, whileyet he had himself entirely in view all the while, and indeed was veryambitious to leave great monuments of his government to posterity;whence it was that he was so zealous in building such fine cities, andspent such vast sums of money upon them. 6. Now upon his observation of a place near the sea, which was veryproper for containing a city, and was before called Strato's Tower, heset about getting a plan for a magnificent city there, and erected manyedifices with great diligence all over it, and this of white stone. He also adorned it with most sumptuous palaces and large edifices forcontaining the people; and what was the greatest and most laborious workof all, he adorned it with a haven, that was always free from the wavesof the sea. Its largeness was not less than the Pyrmum [at Athens], andhad towards the city a double station for the ships. It was of excellentworkmanship; and this was the more remarkable for its being built in aplace that of itself was not suitable to such noble structures, but wasto be brought to perfection by materials from other places, and at verygreat expenses. This city is situate in Phoenicia, in the passage by seato Egypt, between Joppa and Dora, which are lesser maritime cities, andnot fit for havens, on account of the impetuous south winds that beatupon them, which rolling the sands that come from the sea against theshores, do not admit of ships lying in their station; but the merchantsare generally there forced to ride at their anchors in the sea itself. So Herod endeavored to rectify this inconvenience, and laid out such acompass towards the land as might be sufficient for a haven, wherein thegreat ships might lie in safety; and this he effected by letting downvast stones of above fifty feet in length, not less than eighteen inbreadth, and nine in depth, into twenty fathom deep; and as some werelesser, so were others bigger than those dimensions. This mole which hebuilt by the sea-side was two hundred feet wide, the half of which wasopposed to the current of the waves, so as to keep off those waves whichwere to break upon them, and so was called Procymatia, or the firstbreaker of the waves; but the other half had upon it a wall, withseveral towers, the largest of which was named Drusus, and was a work ofvery great excellence, and had its name from Drusus, the son-in-law ofCaesar, who died young. There were also a great number of arches wherethe mariners dwelt. There was also before them a quay, [or landingplace, ] which ran round the entire haven, and was a most agreeable walkto such as had a mind to that exercise; but the entrance or mouth of theport was made on the north quarter, on which side was the stillest ofthe winds of all in this place: and the basis of the whole circuit onthe left hand, as you enter the port, supported a round turret, whichwas made very strong, in order to resist the greatest waves; while onthe right hand, as you enter, stood two vast stones, and those each ofthem larger than the turret, which were over against them; these stoodupright, and were joined together. Now there were edifices all along thecircular haven, made of the politest stone, with a certain elevation, whereon was erected a temple, that was seen a great way off by thosethat were sailing for that haven, and had in it two statues, the one ofRome, the other of Caesar. The city itself was called Cesarea, which wasalso itself built of fine materials, and was of a fine structure; nay, the very subterranean vaults and cellars had no less of architecturebestowed on them than had the buildings above ground. Some of thesevaults carried things at even distances to the haven and to the sea; butone of them ran obliquely, and bound all the rest together, that boththe rain and the filth of the citizens were together carried off withease, and the sea itself, upon the flux of the tide from without, cameinto the city, and washed it all clean. Herod also built thereina theater of stone; and on the south quarter, behind the port, anamphitheater also, capable of holding a vast number of men, andconveniently situated for a prospect to the sea. So this city was thusfinished in twelve years; [18] during which time the king did not failto go on both with the work, and to pay the charges that were necessary. CHAPTER 10. How Herod Sent His Sons To Rome; How Also He Was Accused ByZenodorus And The Gadarens, But Was Cleared Of What They Accused HimOf And Withal Gained To Himself The Good-Will Of Caesar. Concerning ThePharisees, The Essens And Manahem. 1. When Herod was engaged in such matters, and when he had alreadyre-edified Sebaste, [Samaria, ] he resolved to send his sons Alexanderand Aristobulus to Rome, to enjoy the company of Caesar; who, when theycame thither, lodged at the house of Pollio, [19] who was very fond ofHerod's friendship; and they had leave to lodge in Caesar's own palace, for he received these sons of Herod with all humanity, and gave Herodleave to give his, kingdom to which of his sons he pleased; and besidesall this, he bestowed on him Trachon, and Batanea, and Auranitis, whichhe gave him on the occasion following: One Zenodorus [20] had hired whatwas called the house of Lysanias, who, as he was not satisfied withits revenues, became a partner with the robbers that inhabitedthe Trachonites, and so procured himself a larger income; for theinhabitants of those places lived in a mad way, and pillaged the countryof the Damascenes, while Zenodorus did not restrain them, but partook ofthe prey they acquired. Now as the neighboring people were hereby greatsufferers, they complained to Varro, who was then president [of Syria], and entreated him to write to Caesar about this injustice of Zenodorus. When these matters were laid before Caesar, he wrote back to Varro todestroy those nests of robbers, and to give the land to Herod, that soby his care the neighboring countries might be no longer disturbedwith these doings of the Trachonites; for it was not an easy firing torestrain them, since this way of robbery had been their usual practice, and they had no other way to get their living, because they had neitherany city of their own, nor lands in their possession, but only somereceptacles and dens in the earth, and there they and their cattle livedin common together. However, they had made contrivances to get pools ofwater, and laid up corn in granaries for themselves, and were able tomake great resistance, by issuing out on the sudden against any thatattacked them; for the entrances of their caves were narrow, in whichbut 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 veryhigh, but rather on a plain, while the rocks are altogether hard anddifficult to be entered upon, unless any one gets into the plain roadby the guidance of another, for these roads are not straight, but haveseveral revolutions. But when these men are hindered from their wickedpreying upon their neighbors, their custom is to prey one upon another, insomuch that no sort of injustice comes amiss to them. But when Herodhad received this grant from Caesar, and was come into this country, heprocured skillful guides, and put a stop to their wicked robberies, andprocured peace and quietness to the neighboring people. 2. Hereupon Zenodorus was grieved, in the first place, because hisprincipality was taken away from him; and still more so, because heenvied Herod, who had gotten it; So he went up to Rome to accuse him, but returned back again without success. Now Agrippa was [about thistime] sent to succeed Caesar in the government of the countries beyondthe Ionian Sea, upon whom Herod lighted when he was wintering aboutMitylene, for he had been his particular friend and companion, andthen returned into Judea again. However, some of the Gadarens came toAgrippa, and accused Herod, whom he sent back bound to the king withoutgiving them the hearing. But still the Arabians, who of old bareill-will to Herod's government, were nettled, and at that time attemptedto raise a sedition in his dominions, and, as they thought, upon a morejustifiable occasion; for Zenodorus, despairing already of success as tohis own affairs, prevented [his enemies], by selling to those Arabiansa part of his principality, called Auranitis, for the value of fiftytalents; but as this was included in the donations of Caesar, theycontested the point with Herod, as unjustly deprived of what they hadbought. Sometimes they did this by making incursions upon him, andsometimes by attempting force against him, and sometimes by going to lawwith him. Moreover, they persuaded the poorer soldiers to help them, andwere troublesome to him, out of a constant hope that they should reducethe people to raise a sedition; in which designs those that are in themost miserable circumstances of life are still the most earnest; andalthough Herod had been a great while apprized of these attempts, yetdid not he indulge any severity to them, but by rational methods aimedto mitigate things, as not willing to give any handle for tumults. 3. Now when Herod had already reigned seventeen years, Caesar came intoSyria; at which time the greatest part of the inhabitants of Gadaraclamored against Herod, as one that was heavy in his injunctions, and tyrannical. These reproaches they mainly ventured upon by theencouragement of Zenodorus, who took his oath that he would never leaveHerod till he had procured that they should be severed from Herod'skingdom, and joined to Caesar's province. The Gadarens were inducedhereby, and made no small cry against him, and that the more boldly, because those that had been delivered up by Agrippa were not punishedby Herod, who let them go, and did them no harm; for indeed he was theprincipal man in the world who appeared almost inexorable in punishingcrimes in his own family, but very generous in remitting the offensesthat were committed elsewhere. And while they accused Herod of injuries, and plunderings, and subversions of temples, he stood unconcerned, andwas ready to make his defense. However, Caesar gave him his right hand, and remitted nothing of his kindness to him, upon this disturbance bythe multitude; and indeed these things were alleged the first day, but the hearing proceeded no further; for as the Gadarens saw theinclination of Caesar and of his assessors, and expected, as they hadreason to do, that they should be delivered up to the king, some ofthem, out of a dread of the torments they might undergo, cut theirown throats in the night time, and some of them threw themselves downprecipices, and others of them cast themselves into the river, anddestroyed themselves of their own accord; which accidents seemed asufficient condemnation of the rashness and crimes they had been guiltyof; whereupon Caesar made no longer delay, but cleared Herod from thecrimes he was accused of. Another happy accident there was, which wasa further great advantage to Herod at this time; for Zenodorus's bellyburst, and a great quantity of blood issued from him in his sickness, and he thereby departed this life at Antioch in Syria; so Caesarbestowed his country, which was no small one, upon Herod; it lay betweenTrachon and Galilee, and contained Ulatha, and Paneas, and the countryround about. He also made him one of the procurators of Syria, andcommanded that they should do every thing with his approbation; and, inshort, he arrived at that pitch of felicity, that whereas there werebut two men that governed the vast Roman empire, first Caesar, and thenAgrippa, who was his principal favorite, Caesar preferred no one toHerod besides Agrippa, and Agrippa made no one his greater friend thanHerod besides Caesar. And when he had acquired such freedom, he beggedof Caesar a tetrarchy [21] for his brother Pheroras, while he didhimself bestow upon him a revenue of a hundred talents out of his ownkingdom, that in case he came to any harm himself, his brother might bein safety, and that his sons might not have dominion over him. So whenhe had conducted Caesar to the sea, and was returned home, he built hima most beautiful temple, of the whitest stone, in Zenodorus's country, near the place called Panlure. This is a very fine cave in a mountain, under which there is a great cavity in the earth, and the cavern isabrupt, and prodigiously deep, and frill of a still water; over it hangsa vast mountain; and under the caverns arise the springs of the riverJordan. Herod adorned this place, which was already a very remarkableone, still further by the erection of this temple, which he dedicated toCaesar. 4. At which time Herod released to his subjects the third part of theirtaxes, under pretense indeed of relieving them, after the dearth theyhad had; but the main reason was, to recover their good-will, which henow wanted; for they were uneasy at him, because of the innovations hehad introduced in their practices, of the dissolution of their religion, and of the disuse of their own customs; and the people every wheretalked against him, like those that were still more provoked anddisturbed at his procedure; against which discontents he greatly guardedhimself, and took away the opportunities they might have to disturb him, and enjoined them to be always at work; nor did he permit the citizenseither to meet together, or to walk or eat together, but watched everything they did, and when any were caught, they were severely punished;and many there were who were brought to the citadel Hyrcania, bothopenly and secretly, and were there put to death; and there were spiesset every where, both in the city and in the roads, who watched thosethat met together; nay, it is reported that he did not himself neglectthis part of caution, but that he would oftentimes himself take thehabit of a private man, and mix among the multitude, in the night time, and make trial what opinion they had of his government: and as forthose that could no way be reduced to acquiesce under his scheme ofgovernment, he prosecuted them all manner of ways; but for the rest ofthe multitude, he required that they should be obliged to take an oathof fidelity to him, and at the same time compelled them to swear thatthey would bear him good-will, and continue certainly so to do, in hismanagement of the government; and indeed a great part of them, either toplease him, or out of fear of him, yielded to what he required of them;but for such as were of a more open and generous disposition, and hadindignation at the force he used to them, he by one means or other madeaway, with them. He endeavored also to persuade Pollio the Pharisee, andSatneas, and the greatest part of their scholars, to take the oath; butthese would neither submit so to do, nor were they punished togetherwith the rest, out of the reverence he bore to Pollio. The Essens also, as we call a sect of ours, were excused from this imposition. Thesemen live the same kind of life as do those whom the Greeks callPythagoreans, concerning whom I shall discourse more fully elsewhere. However, it is but fit to set down here the reasons wherefore Herod hadthese Essens in such honor, and thought higher of them than their mortalnature required; nor will this account be unsuitable to the nature ofthis history, as it will show the opinion men had of these Essens. 5. Now there was one of these Essens, whose name was Manahem, who hadthis testimony, that he not only conducted his life after an excellentmanner, but had the foreknowledge of future events given him by Godalso. This man once saw Herod when he was a child, and going to school, and saluted him as king of the Jews; but he, thinking that either he didnot know him, or that he was in jest, put him in mind that he was buta private man; but Manahem smiled to himself, and clapped him on hisbackside with his hand, and said, "However that be, thou wilt be king, and wilt begin thy reign happily, for God finds thee worthy of it. Anddo thou remember the blows that Manahem hath given thee, as being asignal of the change of thy fortune. And truly this will be the bestreasoning for thee, that thou love justice [towards men], and pietytowards God, and clemency towards thy citizens; yet do I know how thywhole conduct will be, that thou wilt not be such a one, for thou wiltexcel all men in happiness, and obtain an everlasting reputation, but wilt forget piety and righteousness; and these crimes will not beconcealed from God, at the conclusion of thy life, when thou wilt findthat he will be mindful of them, and punish time for them. " Now at thattime Herod did not at all attend to what Manahem said, as having nohopes of such advancement; but a little afterward, when he was sofortunate as to be advanced to the dignity of king, and was in theheight of his dominion, he sent for Manahem, and asked him how long heshould reign. Manahem did not tell him the full length of his reign;wherefore, upon that silence of his, he asked him further, whether heshould reign ten years or not? He replied, "Yes, twenty, nay, thirtyyears;" but did not assign the just determinate limit of his reign. Herod was satisfied with these replies, and gave Manahem his hand, anddismissed him; and from that time he continued to honor all the Essens. We have thought it proper to relate these facts to our readers, howstrange soever they be, and to declare what hath happened among us, because many of these Essens have, by their excellent virtue, beenthought worthy of this knowledge of Divine revelations. CHAPTER 11. How Herod Rebuilt The Temple And Raised It Higher And MadeIt More Magnificent Than It Was Before; As Also Concerning That TowerWhich He Called Antonia. 1. And now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign, and after theacts already mentioned, undertook a very great work, that is, to buildof himself the temple of God, [22] and make it larger in compass, and toraise it to a most magnificent altitude, as esteeming it to be themost glorious of all his actions, as it really was, to bring it toperfection; and that this would be sufficient for an everlastingmemorial of him; but as he knew the multitude were not ready nor willingto assist him in so vast a design, he thought to prepare them firstby making a speech to them, and then set about the work itself; so hecalled them together, and spake thus to them: "I think I need not speakto you, my countrymen, about such other works as I have done since Icame to the kingdom, although I may say they have been performed in sucha manner as to bring more security to you than glory to myself; forI have neither been negligent in the most difficult times about whattended to ease your necessities, nor have the buildings. I have madebeen so proper to preserve me as yourselves from injuries; and I imaginethat, with God's assistance, I have advanced the nation of the Jews to adegree of happiness which they never had before; and for the particularedifices belonging to your own country, and your own cities, as alsoto those cities that we have lately acquired, which we have erected andgreatly adorned, and thereby augmented the dignity of your nation, itseems to me a needless task to enumerate them to you, since you wellknow them yourselves; but as to that undertaking which I have a mind toset about at present, and which will be a work of the greatest piety andexcellence that can possibly be undertaken by us, I will now declare itto you. Our fathers, indeed, when they were returned from Babylon, built this temple to God Almighty, yet does it want sixty cubits of itslargeness in altitude; for so much did that first temple which Solomonbuilt exceed this temple; nor let any one condemn our fathers for theirnegligence or want of piety herein, for it was not their fault thatthe temple was no higher; for they were Cyrus, and Darius the son ofHystaspes, who determined the measures for its rebuilding; and it hathbeen by reason of the subjection of those fathers of ours to them andto their posterity, and after them to the Macedonians, that they had notthe opportunity to follow the original model of this pious edifice, norcould raise it to its ancient altitude; but since I am now, by God'swill, your governor, and I have had peace a long time, and have gainedgreat riches and large revenues, and, what is the principal filing ofall, I am at amity with and well regarded by the Romans, who, if I mayso say, are the rulers of the whole world, I will do my endeavor tocorrect that imperfection, which hath arisen from the necessity of ouraffairs, and the slavery we have been under formerly, and to make athankful return, after the most pious manner, to God, for what blessingsI have received from him, by giving me this kingdom, and that byrendering his temple as complete as I am able. " 2. And this was the speech which Herod made to them; but still thisspeech aftrighted many of the people, as being unexpected by them; andbecause it seemed incredible, it did not encourage them, but put adamp upon them, for they were afraid that he would pull down the wholeedifice, and not be able to bring his intentions to perfection for itsrebuilding; and this danger appeared to them to be very great, and thevastness of the undertaking to be such as could hardly be accomplished. But while they were in this disposition, the king encouraged them, and told them he would not pull down their temple till all things weregotten ready for building it up entirely again. And as he promised themthis beforehand, so he did not break his word with them, but got ready athousand waggons, that were to bring stones for the building, and choseout ten thousand of the most skillful workmen, and bought a thousandsacerdotal garments for as many of the priests, and had some of themtaught the arts of stone-cutters, and others of carpenters, and thenbegan to build; but this not till every thing was well prepared for thework. 3. So Herod took away the old foundations, and laid others, and erectedthe temple upon them, being in length a hundred cubits, and in heighttwenty additional cubits, which [twenty], upon the sinking of theirfoundations [23] fell down; and this part it was that we resolved toraise again in the days of Nero. Now the temple was built of stones thatwere white and strong, and each of their length was twenty-five cubits, their height was eight, and their breadth about twelve; and the wholestructure, as also the structure of the royal cloister, was on each sidemuch lower, but the middle was much higher, till they were visible tothose that dwelt in the country for a great many furlongs, but chieflyto such as lived over against them, and those that approached to them. The temple had doors also at the entrance, and lintels over them, of thesame height with the temple itself. They were adorned with embroideredveils, with their flowers of purple, and pillars interwoven; and overthese, but under the crown-work, was spread out a golden vine, withits branches hanging down from a great height, the largeness and fineworkmanship of which was a surprising sight to the spectators, tosee what vast materials there were, and with what great skill theworkmanship was done. He also encompassed the entire temple with verylarge cloisters, contriving them to be in a due proportion thereto; andhe laid out larger sums of money upon them than had been done beforehim, till it seemed that no one else had so greatly adorned the templeas he had done. There was a large wall to both the cloisters, which wallwas itself the most prodigious work that was ever heard of by man. Thehill was a rocky ascent, that declined by degrees towards the east partsof the city, till it came to an elevated level. This hill it waswhich Solomon, who was the first of our kings, by Divine revelation, encompassed with a wall; it was of excellent workmanship upwards, and round the top of it. He also built a wall below, beginning at thebottom, which was encompassed by a deep valley; and at the south sidehe laid rocks together, and bound them one to another with lead, andincluded some of the inner parts, till it proceeded to a great height, and till both the largeness of the square edifice and its altitude wereimmense, and till the vastness of the stones in the front were plainlyvisible on the outside, yet so that the inward parts were fastenedtogether with iron, and preserved the joints immovable for all futuretimes. When this work [for the foundation] was done in this manner, andjoined together as part of the hill itself to the very top of it, hewrought it all into one outward surface, and filled up the hollow placeswhich were about the wall, and made it a level on the external uppersurface, and a smooth level also. This hill was walled all round, and incompass four furlongs, [the distance of] each angle containing in lengtha furlong: but within this wall, and on the very top of all, thereran another wall of stone also, having, on the east quarter, a doublecloister, of the same length with the wall; in the midst of which wasthe temple itself. This cloister looked to the gates of the temple; andit had been adorned by many kings in former times; and round about theentire temple were fixed the spoils taken from barbarous nations; allthese had been dedicated to the temple by Herod, with the addition ofthose he had taken from the Arabians. 4. Now on the north side [of the temple] was built a citadel, whosewalls were square, and strong, and of extraordinary firmness. Thiscitadel was built by the kings of the Asamonean race, who were alsohigh priests before Herod, and they called it the Tower, in which werereposited the vestments of the high priest, which the high priest onlyput on at the time when he was to offer sacrifice. These vestments kingHerod kept in that place; and after his death they were under the powerof the Romans, until the time of Tiberius Caesar; under whose reignVitellius, the president of Syria, when he once came to Jerusalem, andhad been most magnificently received by the multitude, he had a mind tomake them some requital for the kindness they had shewn him; so, upontheir petition to have those holy vestments in their own power, he wroteabout them to Tiberius Caesar, who granted his request: and this theirpower over the sacerdotal vestments continued with the Jews tillthe death of king Agrippa; but after that, Cassius Longinus, who waspresident of Syria, and Cuspius Fadus, who was procurator of Judea, enjoined the Jews to reposit those vestments in the tower of Antonia, for that they ought to have them in their power, as they formerly had. However, the Jews sent ambassadors to Claudius Caesar, to intercede withhim for them; upon whose coming, king Agrippa, junior, being then atRome, asked for and obtained the power over them from the emperor, whogave command to Vitellius, who was then commander in Syria, to give itthem accordingly. Before that time they were kept under the seal of thehigh priest, and of the treasurers of the temple; which treasurers, the day before a festival, went up to the Roman captain of the templeguards, and viewed their own seal, and received the vestments; andagain, when the festival was over, they brought it to the sameplace, and showed the captain of the temple guards their seal, whichcorresponded with his seal, and reposited them there. And that thesethings were so, the afflictions that happened to us afterwards [aboutthem] are sufficient evidence. But for the tower itself, when Herod theking of the Jews had fortified it more firmly than before, in order tosecure and guard the temple, he gratified Antonius, who was his friend, and the Roman ruler, and then gave it the name of the Tower of Antonia. 5. Now in the western quarters of the enclosure of the temple there werefour gates; the first led to the king's palace, and went to a passageover the intermediate valley; two more led to the suburbs of the city;and the last led to the other city, where the road descended down intothe valley by a great number of steps, and thence up again by the ascentfor the city lay over against the temple in the manner of a theater, andwas encompassed with a deep valley along the entire south quarter; butthe fourth front of the temple, which was southward, had indeed itselfgates in its middle, as also it had the royal cloisters, with threewalks, which reached in length from the east valley unto that on thewest, for it was impossible it should reach any farther: and thiscloister deserves to be mentioned better than any other under the sun;for while the valley was very deep, and its bottom could not be seen, ifyou looked from above into the depth, this further vastly high elevationof the cloister stood upon that height, insomuch that if any one lookeddown from the top of the battlements, or down both those altitudes, he would be giddy, while his sight could not reach to such an immensedepth. This cloister had pillars that stood in four rows one overagainst the other all along, for the fourth row was interwoven into thewall, which [also was built of stone]; and the thickness of each pillarwas such, that three men might, with their arms extended, fathom itround, and join their hands again, while its length was twenty-sevenfeet, with a double spiral at its basis; and the number of all thepillars [in that court] was a hundred and sixty-two. Their chapiterswere made with sculptures after the Corinthian order, and caused anamazement [to the spectators], by reason of the grandeur of the whole. These four rows of pillars included three intervals for walking in themiddle of this cloister; two of which walks were made parallel to eachother, and were contrived after the same manner; the breadth of eachof them was thirty feet, the length was a furlong, and the height fiftyfeet; but the breadth of the middle part of the cloister was one anda half of the other, and the height was double, for it was much higherthan those on each side; but the roofs were adorned with deep sculpturesin wood, representing many sorts of figures. The middle was much higherthan the rest, and the wall of the front was adorned with beams, restingupon pillars, that were interwoven into it, and that front was all ofpolished stone, insomuch that its fineness, to such as had not seen it, was incredible, and to such as had seen it, was greatly amazing. Thuswas the first enclosure. In the midst of which, and not far from it, wasthe second, to be gone up to by a few steps: this was encompassed bya stone wall for a partition, with an inscription, which forbade anyforeigner to go in under pain of death. Now this inner enclosure hadon its southern and northern quarters three gates [equally] distant onefrom another; but on the east quarter, towards the sun-rising, there wasone large gate, through which such as were pure came in, together withtheir wives; but the temple further inward in that gate was not allowedto the women; but still more inward was there a third [court of the]temple, whereinto it was not lawful for any but the priests alone toenter. The temple itself was within this; and before that temple was thealtar, upon which we offer our sacrifices and burnt-offerings toGod. Into none of these three did king Herod enter, [24] for he wasforbidden, because he was not a priest. However, he took care of thecloisters and the outer enclosures, and these he built in eight years. 6. But the temple itself was built by the priests in a year and sixmonths; upon which all the people were full of joy; and presently theyreturned thanks, in the first place, to God; and in the next place, for the alacrity the king had showed. They feasted and celebrated thisrebuilding of the temple: and for the king, he sacrificed three hundredoxen to God, as did the rest every one according to his ability; thenumber of which sacrifices is not possible to set down, for it cannotbe that we should truly relate it; for at the same time with thiscelebration for the work about the temple fell also the day of theking's inauguration, which he kept of an old custom as a festival, andit now coincided with the other, which coincidence of them both made thefestival most illustrious. 7. There was also an occult passage built for the king; it led fromAntonia to the inner temple, at its eastern gate; over which he alsoerected for himself a tower, that he might have the opportunity ofa subterraneous ascent to the temple, in order to guard against anysedition which might be made by the people against their kings. It isalso reported, [25] that during the time that the temple was building, it did not rain in the daytime, but that the showers fell in the nights, so that the work was not hindered. And this our fathers havedelivered to us; nor is it incredible, if any one have regard to themanifestations of God. And thus was performed the work of the rebuildingof the temple. BOOK XVI. Containing The Interval Of Twelve Years. From The Finishing Of The Temple By Herod To The Death Of Alexander AndAristobulus. CHAPTER 1. A Law Of Herod's About, Thieves. Salome And PherorasCalumniate Alexander And Aristobulus, Upon Their Return From Rome ForWhom Yet Herod Provides Wives. 1. As king Herod was very zealous in the administration of his entiregovernment, and desirous to put a stop to particular acts of injusticewhich were done by criminals about the city and country, he made alaw, no way like our original laws, and which he enacted of himself, toexpose house-breakers to be ejected out of his kingdom; which punishmentwas not only grievous to be borne by the offenders, but contained init a dissolution of the customs of our forefathers; for this slavery toforeigners, and such as did not live after the manner of Jews, and thisnecessity that they were under to do whatsoever such men shouldcommand, was an offense against our religious settlement, rather thana punishment to such as were found to have offended, such a punishmentbeing avoided in our original laws; for those laws ordain, that thethief shall restore fourfold; and that if he have not so much, he shallbe sold indeed, but not to foreigners, nor so that he be under perpetualslavery, for he must have been released after six years. But this law, thus enacted, in order to introduce a severe and illegal punishment, seemed to be a piece of insolence of Herod, when he did not act as aking, but as a tyrant, and thus contemptuously, and without any regardto his subjects, did he venture to introduce such a punishment. Now thispenalty, thus brought into practice, was like Herod's other actions, andbecame a part of his accusation, and an occasion of the hatred he layunder. 2. Now at this time it was that he sailed to Italy, as very desirous tomeet with Caesar, and to see his sons who lived at Rome; and Caesar wasnot only very obliging to him in other respects, but delivered him hissons again, that he might take them home with him, as having alreadycompleted themselves in the sciences; but as soon as the young men werecome from Italy, the multitude were very desirous to see them, and theybecame conspicuous among them all, as adorned with great blessings offortune, and having the countenances of persons of royal dignity. Sothey soon appeared to be the objects of envy to Salome, the king'ssister, and to such as had raised calumnies against Mariamne; for theywere suspicious, that when these came to the government, they shouldbe punished for the wickedness they had been guilty of against theirmother; so they made this very fear of theirs a motive to raisecalumnies against them also. They gave it out that they were not pleasedwith 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 theirmother's murderer. Now, by carrying these stories; that had indeed atrue foundation [in the fact], but were only built on probabilities asto the present accusation, they were able to do them mischief, and tomake Herod take away that kindness from his sons which he had beforeborne to them; for they did not say these things to him openly, butscattered abroad such words, among the rest of the multitude; from whichwords, when carried to Herod, he was induced [at last] to hate them, andwhich natural affection itself, even in length of time, was not ableto overcome; yet was the king at that time in a condition to prefer thenatural affection of a father before all the suspicions and calumnieshis sons lay under. So he respected them as he ought to do, and marriedthem to wives, now they were of an age suitable thereto. To Aristobulushe gave for a wife Bernice, Salome's daughter; and to Alexander, Glaphyra, the daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia. CHAPTER 2. How Herod Twice Sailed To Agrippa; And How Upon The ComplaintIn Ionia Against The Greeks Agrippa Confirmed The Laws To Them. 1. When Herod had despatched these affairs, and he understood thatMarcus Agrippa had sailed again out of Italy into Asia, he made haste tohim, and besought him to come to him into his kingdom, and to partakeof what he might justly expect from one that had been his guest, and washis friend. This request he greatly pressed, and to it Agrippa agreed, and came into Judea; whereupon Herod omitted nothing that might pleasehim. He entertained him in his new-built cities, and showed him theedifices he had built, and provided all sorts of the best and mostcostly dainties for him and his friends, and that at Sebaste andCesarea, about that port that he had built, and at the fortresseswhich he had erected at great expenses, Alexandrium, and Herodium, andHyrcania. He also conducted him to the city Jerusalem, where allthe people met him in their festival garments, and received him withacclamations. Agrippa also offered a hecatomb of sacrifices to God; andfeasted the people, without omitting any of the greatest dainties thatcould be gotten. He also took so much pleasure there, that he abodemany days with them, and would willingly have staid longer, but that theseason of the year made him make haste away; for as winter was comingon, he thought it not safe to go to sea later, and yet he was ofnecessity to return again to Ionia. 2. So Agrippa went away, when Herod had bestowed on him, and on theprincipal of those that were with him, many presents; but king Herod, when he had passed the winter in his own dominions, made haste to get tohim again in the spring, when he knew he designed to go to a campaign atthe Bosptiorus. So when he had sailed by Rhodes and by Cos, he touchedat Lesbos, as thinking he should have overtaken Agrippa there; but hewas taken short here by a north wind, which hindered his ship from goingto the shore; so he continued many days at Chius, and there he kindlytreated a great many that came to him, and obliged them by giving themroyal gifts. And when he saw that the portico of the city was fallendown, which as it was overthrown in the Mithridatic war, and was verylarge and fine building, so was it not so easy to rebuild that as itwas the rest, yet did he furnish a sum not only large enough for thatpurpose, but what was more than sufficient to finish the building; andordered them not to overlook that portico, but to rebuild it quickly, that so the city might recover its proper ornaments. And when the highwinds were laid, he sailed to Mytilene, and thence to Byzantium; andwhen he heard that Agrippa was sailed beyond the Cyanean rocks, hemade all the haste possible to overtake him, and came up with himabout Sinope, in Pontus. He was seen sailing by the ship-men mostunexpectedly, but appeared to their great joy; and many friendlysalutations there were between them, insomuch that Agrippa thought hehad received the greatest marks of the king's kindness and humanitytowards him possible, since the king had come so long a voyage, and ata very proper season, for his assistance, and had left the government ofhis own dominions, and thought it more worth his while to come to him. Accordingly, Herod was all in all to Agrippa, in the management of thewar, and a great assistant in civil affairs, and in giving him counselas to particular matters. He was also a pleasant companion for him whenhe relaxed himself, and a joint partaker with him in all things; illtroubles because of his kindness, and in prosperity because of therespect Agrippa had for him. Now as soon as those affairs of Pontus werefinished, for whose sake Agrippa was sent thither, they did not thinkfit to return by sea, but passed through Paphlagonia and Cappadocia;they then traveled thence over great Phrygia, and came to Ephesus, andthen they sailed from Ephesus to Samos. And indeed the king bestoweda great many benefits on every city that he came to, according as theystood in need of them; for as for those that wanted either money orkind treatment, he was not wanting to them; but he supplied the formerhimself out of his own expenses: he also became an intercessor withAgrippa for all such as sought after his favor, and he brought thingsso about, that the petitioners failed in none of their suits to him, Agrippa being himself of a good disposition, and of great generosity, and ready to grant all such requests as might be advantageous to thepetitioners, provided they were not to the detriment of others. Theinclination of the king was of great weight also, and still excitedAgrippa, who was himself ready to do good; for he made a reconciliationbetween the people of Ilium, at whom he was angry, and paid what moneythe people of Chius owed Caesar's procurators, and discharged themof their tributes; and helped all others, according as their severalnecessities required. 3. But now, when Agrippa and Herod were in Ionia, a great multitude ofJews, who dwelt in their cities, came to them, and laying hold ofthe opportunity and the liberty now given them, laid before them theinjuries which they suffered, while they were not permitted to use theirown laws, but were compelled to prosecute their law-suits, by the illusage of the judges, upon their holy days, and were deprived of themoney they used to lay up at Jerusalem, and were forced into the army, and upon such other offices as obliged them to spend their sacred money;from which burdens they always used to be freed by the Romans, who hadstill permitted them to live according to their own laws. When thisclamor was made, the king desired of Agrippa that he would hear theircause, and assigned Nicolaus, one of his friends, to plead for thosetheir privileges. Accordingly, when Agrippa had called the principal ofthe Romans, and such of the kings and rulers as were there, to be hisassessors, Nicolaus stood up, and pleaded for the Jews, as follows: "Itis of necessity incumbent on such as are in distress to have recourse tothose that have it in their power to free them from those injuries theylie under; and for those that now are complainants, they approach youwith great assurance; for as they have formerly often obtained yourfavor, so far as they have even wished to have it, they now only entreatthat you, who have been the donors, will take care that those favorsyou have already granted them may not be taken away from them. We havereceived these favors from you, who alone have power to grant them, buthave them taken from us by such as are no greater than ourselves, andby such as we know are as much subjects as we are; and certainly, if wehave been vouchsafed great favors, it is to our commendation who haveobtained them, as having been found deserving of such great favors; andif those favors be but small ones, it would be barbarous for the donorsnot to confirm them to us. And for those that are the hinderance of theJews, and use them reproachfully, it is evident that they affront boththe receivers, while they will not allow those to be worthy men to whomtheir excellent rulers themselves have borne their testimony, and thedonors, while they desire those favors already granted may be abrogated. Now if any one should ask these Gentiles themselves, which of the twothings they would choose to part with, their lives, or the customs oftheir forefathers, their solemnities, their sacrifices, their festivals, which they celebrated in honor of those they suppose to be gods? I knowvery well that they would choose to suffer any thing whatsoever ratherthan a dissolution of any of the customs of their forefathers; for agreat many of them have rather chosen to go to war on that account, asvery solicitous not to transgress in those matters. And indeed we takean estimate of that happiness which all mankind do now enjoy by yourmeans from this very thing, that we are allowed every one to worship asour own institutions require, and yet to live [in peace]; and althoughthey would not be thus treated themselves, yet do they endeavor tocompel others to comply with them, as if it were not as great aninstance of impiety profanely to dissolve the religious solemnities ofany others, as to be negligent in the observation of their own towardstheir gods. And let us now consider the one of these practices. Is thereany people, or city, or community of men, to whom your government andthe Roman power does not appear to be the greatest blessing '. Is thereany one that can desire to make void the favors they have granted? Noone is certainly so mad; for there are no men but such as have beenpartakers of their favors, both public and private; and indeed thosethat take away what you have granted, can have no assurance but everyone 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 theyconsider the old governments under kings, together with your presentgovernment, besides the great number of benefits which this governmenthath bestowed on them, in order to their happiness, this is instead ofall the rest, that they appear to be no longer in a state of slavery, but of freedom. Now the privileges we desire, even when we are in thebest circumstances, are not such as deserve to be envied, for we areindeed in a prosperous state by your means, but this is only in commonwith others; and it is no more than this which we desire, to preserveour religion without any prohibition; which as it appears not in itselfa privilege to be envied us, so it is for the advantage of those thatgrant it to us; for if the Divinity delights in being honored, it mustdelight in those that permit them to be honored. And there are none ofour customs which are inhuman, but all tending to piety, and devoted tothe preservation of justice; nor do we conceal those injunctions of oursby which we govern our lives, they being memorials of piety, and of afriendly conversation among men. And the seventh day we set apart fromlabor; it is dedicated to the learning of our customs and laws, [1] wethinking it proper to reflect on them, as well as on any [good] thingelse, in order to our avoiding of sin. If any one therefore examine intoour observances, he will find they are good in themselves, and that theyare ancient also, though some think otherwise, insomuch that those whohave received them cannot easily be brought to depart from them, out ofthat honor they pay to the length of time they have religiously enjoyedthem and observed them. Now our adversaries take these our privilegesaway in the way of injustice; they violently seize upon that money ofours which is owed to God, and called sacred money, and this openly, after a sacrilegious manner; and they impose tributes upon us, and bringus before tribunals on holy days, and then require other like debts ofus, not because the contracts require it, and for their own advantage, but because they would put an affront on our religion, of which they areconscious as well as we, and have indulged themselves in an unjust, and to them involuntary, hatred; for your government over all is one, tending to the establishing of benevolence, and abolishing of ill-willamong such as are disposed to it. This is therefore what we implore fromthee, most excellent Agrippa, that we may not be ill-treated; that wemay not be abused; that we may not be hindered from making use of ourown customs, nor be despoiled of our goods, nor be forced by these mento do what we ourselves force nobody to do; for these privileges of oursare not only according to justice, but have formerly been granted us byyou. And we are able to read to you many decrees of the senate, andthe tables that contain them, which are still extant in the capitol, concerning these things, which it is evident were granted after you hadexperience of our fidelity towards you, which ought to be valued, thoughno such fidelity had been; for you have hitherto preserved what peoplewere in possession of, not to us only, but almost to all men, and haveadded greater advantages than they could have hoped for, and therebyyour government is become a great advantage to them. And if any one wereable to enumerate the prosperity you have conferred on every nation, which they possess by your means, he could never put an end to hisdiscourse; but that we may demonstrate that we are not unworthy of allthose advantages we have obtained, it will be sufficient for us, tosay nothing of other things, but to speak freely of this king who nowgoverns us, and is now one of thy assessors; and indeed in what instanceof good-will, as to your house, hath he been deficient? What mark offidelity to it hath he omitted? What token of honor hath he not devised?What occasion for his assistance of you hath he not regarded at the veryfirst? What hindereth; therefore, but that your kindnesses may be asnumerous as his so great benefits to you have been? It may alsoperhaps be fit not here to pass over in silence the valor of his fatherAntipater, who, when Caesar made an expedition into Egypt, assisted himwith two thousand armed men, and proved inferior to none, neither in thebattles on land, nor in the management of the navy; and what need I sayany thing of how great weight those soldiers were at that juncture?or how many and how great presents they were vouchsafed by Caesar? Andtruly I ought before now to have mentioned the epistles which Caesarwrote to the senate; and how Antipater had honors, and the freedom ofthe city of Rome, bestowed upon him; for these are demonstrations boththat we have received these favors by our own deserts, and do on thataccount petition thee for thy confirmation of them, from whom we hadreason to hope for them, though they had not been given us before, both out of regard to our king's disposition towards you, and yourdisposition towards him. And further, we have been informed by thoseJews that were there with what kindness thou camest into our country, and how thou offeredst the most perfect sacrifices to God, and honoredsthim with remarkable vows, and how thou gavest the people a feast, andacceptedst of their own hospitable presents to thee. We ought to esteemall these kind entertainments made both by our nation and to our city, to a man who is the ruler and manager of so much of the public affairs, as indications of that friendship which thou hast returned to the Jewishnation, and which hath been procured them by the family of Herod. Sowe put thee in mind of these things in the presence of the king, nowsitting by thee, and make our request for no more but this, that whatyou have given us yourselves you will not see taken away by others fromus. " 4. When Nicolaus had made this speech, there was no opposition made toit by the Greeks, for this was not an inquiry made, as in a court ofjustice, but an intercession to prevent violence to be offered to theJews any longer; nor did the Greeks make any defense of themselves, ordeny what it was supposed they had done. Their pretense was no more thanthis, that while the Jews inhabited in their country, they were entirelyunjust to them [in not joining in their worship] but they demonstratedtheir generosity in this, that though they worshipped according totheir institutions, they did nothing that ought to grieve them. So whenAgrippa perceived that they had been oppressed by violence, he made thisanswer: That, on account of Herod's good-will and friendship, he wasready to grant the Jews whatsoever they should ask him, and that theirrequests seemed to him in themselves just; and that if they requestedany thing further, he should not scruple to grant it them, provided theywere no way to the detriment of the Roman government; but that whiletheir request was no more than this, that what privileges they hadalready given them might not be abrogated, he confirmed this to them, that they might continue in the observation of their own customs, without any one offering them the least injury. And when he had saidthus, he dissolved the assembly; upon which Herod stood up and salutedhim, and gave him thanks for the kind disposition he showed to them. Agrippa also took this in a very obliging manner, and saluted him again, and embraced him in his arms; after which he went away from Lesbos; butthe king determined to sail from Samos to his own country; and when hehad taken his leave of Agrippa, he pursued his voyage, and landed atCesarea in a few days' time, as having favorable winds; from whencehe went to Jerusalem, and there gathered all the people together to anassembly, not a few being there out of the country also. So he came tothem, and gave them a particular account of all his journey, and ofthe affairs of all the Jews in Asia, how by his means they would livewithout injurious treatment for the time to come. He also told them ofthe entire good fortune he had met with and how he had administeredthe government, and had not neglected any thing which was for theiradvantage; and as he was very joyful, he now remitted to them the fourthpart of their taxes for the last year. Accordingly, they were so pleasedwith his favor and speech to them, that they went their ways with greatgladness, and wished the king all manner of happiness. CHAPTER 3 How Great Disturbances Arose In Herods Family On His PreferringAntipater His Eldest Son Before The Rest, Till Alexander Took ThatInjury Very Heinously. 1. But now the affairs in Herod's family were in more and more disorder, and became more severe upon him, by the hatred of Salome to theyoung men [Alexander and Aristobulus], which descended as it were byinheritance [from their mother Mariamne]; and as she had fully succeededagainst their mother, so she proceeded to that degree of madness andinsolence, as to endeavor that none of her posterity might be leftalive, who might have it in their power to revenge her death. The youngmen had also somewhat of a bold and uneasy disposition towards theirfather occasioned by the remembrance of what their mother had unjustlysuffered, and by their own affectation of dominion. The old grudgewas also renewed; and they east reproaches on Salome and Pheroras, who requited the young men with malicious designs, and actually laidtreacherous snares for them. Now as for this hatred, it was equal onboth sides, but the manner of exerting that hatred was different; for asfor the young men, they were rash, reproaching and affronting the othersopenly, and were inexperienced enough to think it the most generous todeclare their minds in that undaunted manner; but the others didnot take that method, but made use of calumnies after a subtle and aspiteful manner, still provoking the young men, and imagining that theirboldness might in time turn to the offering violence to their father;for inasmuch as they were not ashamed of the pretended crimes of theirmother, nor thought she suffered justly, these supposed that might atlength exceed all bounds, and induce them to think they ought to beavenged on their father, though it were by despatching him with theirown hands. At length it came to this, that the whole city was full oftheir discourses, and, as is usual in such contests, the unskilfulnessof the young men was pitied; but the contrivance of Salome was too hardfor them, and what imputations she laid upon them came to be believed, by means of their own conduct; for they who were so deeply affected withthe death of their mother, that while they said both she and themselveswere in a miserable case, they vehemently complained of her pitiableend, which indeed was truly such, and said that they were themselves ina pitiable case also, because they were forced to live with those thathad been her murderers, and to be partakers with them. 2. These disorders increased greatly, and the king's absence abroad hadafforded a fit opportunity for that increase; but as soon as Herodwas returned, and had made the forementioned speech to the multitude, Pheroras and Salome let fill words immediately as if he were in greatdanger, and as if the young men openly threatened that they would notspare him any longer, but revenge their mother's death upon him. They also added another circumstance, that their hopes were fixed onArchclaus, the king of Cappadocia, that they should be able by his meansto come to Caesar, and accuse their father. Upon hearing such things, Herod was immediately disturbed; and indeed was the more astonished, because the same things were related to him by some others also. He thencalled to mind his former calamity, and considered that the disordersin his family had hindered him from enjoying any comfort from thosethat were dearest to him or from his wife whom he loved so well; andsuspecting that his future troubles would soon be heavier and greaterthan those that were past, he was in great confusion of mind; forDivine Providence had in reality conferred upon him a great many outwardadvantages for his happiness, even beyond his hopes; but the troubleshe had at home were such as he never expected to have met with, andrendered him unfortunate; nay, both sorts came upon him to such a degreeas no one could imagine, and made it a doubtful question, whether, uponthe comparison of both, he ought to have exchanged so great a successof outward good things for so great misfortunes at home, or whether heought not to have chosen to avoid the calamities relating to his family, though he had, for a compensation, never been possessed of the admiredgrandeur of a kingdom. 3. As he was thus disturbed and afflicted, in order to depress theseyoung men, he brought to court another of his sons, that was born to himwhen he was a private man; his name was Antipater; yet did he not thenindulge him as he did afterwards, when he was quite overcome by him, and let him do every thing as he pleased, but rather with a design ofdepressing the insolence of the sons of Marianme, and managing thiselevation of his so, that it might be for a warning to them; for thisbold behavior of theirs [he thought] would not be so great, if they wereonce persuaded that the succession to the kingdom did not appertainto them alone, or must of necessity come to them. So he introducedAntipater as their antagonist, and imagined that he made a goodprovision for discouraging their pride, and that after this was done tothe young men, there might be a proper season for expecting these tobe of a better disposition; but the event proved otherwise than heintended, for the young men thought he did them a very great injury; andas Antipater was a shrewd man, when he had once obtained this degreeof freedom, and began to expect greater things than he had before hopedfor, he had but one single design in his head, and that was to distresshis brethren, and not at all to yield to them the pre-eminence, but tokeep close to his father, who was already alienated from them by thecalumnies he had heard about them, and ready to be wrought upon in anyway his zeal against them should advise him to pursue, that he mightbe continually more and more severe against them. Accordingly, all thereports that were spread abroad came from him, while he avoided himselfthe suspicion as if those discoveries proceeded from him; but herather chose to make use of those persons for his assistants that wereunsuspected, and such as might be believed to speak truth by reason ofthe good-will they bore to the king; and indeed there were already nota few who cultivated a friendship with Antipater, in hopes of gainingsomewhat by him, and these were the men who most of all persuaded Herod, because they appeared to speak thus out of their good-will to him: andwith these joint accusations, which from various foundations supportedone another's veracity, the young men themselves afforded furtheroccasions to Antipater also; for they were observed to shed tears often, on account of the injury that was offered them, and had their mother intheir mouths; and among their friends they ventured to reproach theirfather, as not acting justly by them; all which things were with an evilintention reserved in memory by Antipater against a proper opportunity;and when they were told to Herod, with aggravations, increased thedisorder so much, that it brought a great tumult into the family; forwhile the king was very angry at imputations that were laid upon thesons of Mariamne, and was desirous to humble them, he still increasedthe honor that he had bestowed on Antipater, and was at last so overcomeby his persuasions, that he brought his mother to court also. Healso wrote frequently to Caesar in favor of him, and more earnestlyrecommended him to his care particularly. And when Agrippa was returningto Rome, after he had finished his ten years' government in Asia. [2]Herod sailed from Judea; and when he met with him, he had none withhim but Antipater, whom he delivered to Agrippa, that he might take himalong with him, together with many presents, that so he might becomeCaesar's friend, insomuch that things already looked as if he hadall his father's favor, and that the young men were already entirelyrejected from any hopes of the kingdom. CHAPTER 4. How During Antipater's Abode At Rome, Herod Brought AlexanderAnd Aristobulus Before Caesar And Accused Them. Alexander's Defense OfHimself Before Caesar And Reconciliation To His Father. 1. And now what happened during Antipater's absence augmented the honorto which he had been promoted, and his apparent eminence above hisbrethren; for he had made a great figure in Rome, because Herod had sentrecommendations of him to all his friends there; only he was grievedthat he was not at home, nor had proper opportunities of perpetuallycalumniating his brethren; and his chief fear was, lest his fathershould alter his mind, and entertain a more favorable opinion of thesons of Mariamne; and as he had this in his mind, he did not desist fromhis purpose, but continually sent from Rome any such stories as hehoped might grieve and irritate his father against his brethren, underpretense indeed of a deep concern for his preservation, but in truthsuch as his malicious mind dictated, in order to purchase a greater hopeof the succession, which yet was already great in itself: and thus hedid till he had excited such a degree of anger in Herod, that he wasalready become very ill-disposed towards the young men; but still whilehe delayed to exercise so violent a disgust against them, and that hemight not either be too remiss or too rash, and so offend, he thought itbest to sail to Rome, and there accuse his sons before Caesar, andnot indulge himself in any such crime as might be heinous enough to besuspected of impiety. But as he was going up to Rome, it happened thathe made such haste as to meet with Caesar at the city Aquilei [3] sowhen he came to the speech of Caesar, he asked for a time for hearingthis great cause, wherein he thought himself very miserable, andpresented his sons there, and accused them of their mad actions, and oftheir attempts against him: That they were enemies to him; and by allthe means they were able, did their endeavors to show their hatredto their own father, and would take away his life, and so obtain hiskingdom, after the most barbarous manner: that he had power from Caesarto dispose of it, not by necessity, but by choice, to him who shallexercise the greatest piety towards him; while these my sons are notso desirous of ruling, as they are, upon a disappointment thereof, toexpose their own life, if so be they may but deprive their father of hislife; so wild and polluted is their mind by time become, out oftheir hatred to him: that whereas he had a long time borne this hismisfortune, he was now compelled to lay it before Caesar, and topollute his ears with such language, while he himself wants to know whatseverity they have ever suffered from him, or what hardships he hathever laid upon them to make them complain of him; and how they can thinkit just that he should not be lord of that kingdom which he in a longtime, and with great danger, had gained, and not allow him to keep itand dispose of it to him who should deserve best; and this, with otheradvantages, he proposes as a reward for the piety of such a one as willhereafter imitate the care he hath taken of it, and that such a one maygain so great a requital as that is: and that it is an impious thing forthem to pretend to meddle with it beforehand; for he who hath ever thekingdom in his view, at the same time reckons upon procuring the deathof his father, because otherwise he cannot come at the government: thatas for himself, he had hitherto given them all that he was able, andwhat was agreeable to such as are subject to the royal authority, and the sons of a king; what ornaments they wanted, with servants anddelicate fare, and had married them into the most illustrious families, the one [Aristobulus] to his sister's daughter, but Alexander to thedaughter of king Archelaus; and, what was the greatest favor of all, when their crimes were so very bad, and he had authority to punish them, yet had he not made use of it against them, but had brought them beforeCaesar, their common benefactor, and had not used the severity which, either as a father who had been impiously abused, or as a king who hadbeen assaulted treacherously, he might have done, but made them standupon a level with him in judgment: that, however, it was necessary thatall this should not be passed over without punishment, nor himself livein the greatest fears; nay, that it was not for their own advantage tosee the light of the sun after what they have done, although they shouldescape at this time, since they had done the vilest things, and wouldcertainly suffer the greatest punishments that ever were known amongmankind. 2. These were the accusations which Herod laid with great vehemencyagainst his sons before Caesar. Now the young men, both while he wasspeaking, and chiefly at his concluding, wept, and were in confusion. Now as to themselves, they knew in their own conscience they wereinnocent; but because they were accused by their father, they weresensible, as the truth was, that it was hard for them to make theirapology, since though they were at liberty to speak their minds freelyas the occasion required, and might with force and earnestness refutethe accusation, yet was it not now decent so to do. There was thereforea difficulty how they should be able to speak; and tears, and at lengtha deep groan, followed, while they were afraid, that if they saidnothing, they should seem to be in this difficulty from a consciousnessof guilt, --nor had they any defense ready, by reason of their youth, and the disorder they were under; yet was not Caesar unapprized, when helooked upon them in the confusion they were in, that their delay to maketheir defense did not arise from any consciousness of great enormities, but from their unskilfulness and modesty. They were also commiseratedby those that were there in particular; and they moved their father'saffections in earnest till he had much ado to conceal them. 3. But when they saw there was a kind disposition arisen both in him andin Caesar, and that every one of the rest did either shed tears, orat least did all grieve with them, the one of them, whose name wasAlexander, called to his father, and attempted to answer his accusation, and said, "O father, the benevolence thou hast showed to us is evident, even in this very judicial procedure, for hadst thou had any perniciousintentions about us, thou hadst not produced us here before the commonsavior of all, for it was in thy power, both as a king and as a father, to punish the guilty; but by thus bringing us to Rome, and making Caesarhimself a witness to what is done, thou intimatest that thou intendestto save us; for no one that hath a design to slay a man will bringhim to the temples, and to the altars; yet are our circumstances stillworse, for we cannot endure to live ourselves any longer, if it bebelieved that we have injured such a father; nay, perhaps it would beworse for us to live with this suspicion upon us, that we have injuredhim, than to die without such guilt. And if our open defense may betaken to be true, we shall be happy, both in pacifying thee, and inescaping the danger we are in; but if this calumny so prevails, it ismore than enough for us that we have seen the sun this day; which whyshould we see, if this suspicion be fixed upon us? Now it is easy to sayof young men, that they desire to reign; and to say further, that thisevil proceeds from the case of our unhappy mother. This is abundantlysufficient to produce our present misfortune out of the former; butconsider well, whether such an accusation does not suit all such youngmen, and may not be said of them all promiscuously; for nothing canhinder 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 sometreachery to him; but a suspicion is not sufficient to prove such animpious practice. Now let any man say, whether we have actuallyand insolently attempted any such thing, whereby actions otherwiseincredible use to be made credible? Can any body prove that poison hathbeen prepared? or prove a conspiracy of our equals, or the corruption ofservants, or letters written against thee? though indeed there are noneof those things but have sometimes been pretended by way of calumny, when they were never done; for a royal family that is at variance withitself is a terrible thing; and that which thou callest a reward ofpiety often becomes, among very wicked men, such a foundation of hope, as makes them leave no sort of mischief untried. Nor does any one layany wicked practices to our charge; but as to calumnies by hearsay, howcan he put an end to them, who will not hear what we have to say? Havewe talked with too great freedom? Yes; but not against thee, for thatwould be unjust, but against those that never conceal any thing thatis spoken to them. Hath either of us lamented our mother? Yes; but notbecause she is dead, but because she was evil spoken of by those thathad no reason so to do. Are we desirous of that dominion which we knowour father is possessed of? For what reason can we do so? If we alreadyhave royal honors, as we have, should not we labor in vain? And if wehave them not, yet are not we in hopes of them? Or supposing that we hadkilled thee, could we expect to obtain thy kingdom? while neither theearth would let us tread upon it, nor the sea let us sail upon it, aftersuch an action as that; nay, the religion of all your subjects, andthe piety of the whole nation, would have prohibited parricides fromassuming the government, and from entering into that most holy templewhich was built by thee [4] But suppose we had made light of otherdangers, can any murderer go off unpunished while Caesar is alive? Weare thy sons, and not so impious or so thoughtless as that comes to, though perhaps more unfortunate than is convenient for thee. But incase thou neither findest any causes of complaint, nor any treacherousdesigns, what sufficient evidence hast thou to make such a wickedness ofours credible? Our mother is dead indeed, but then what befell her mightbe an instruction to us to caution, and not an incitement to wickedness. We are willing to make a larger apology for ourselves; but actions neverdone do not admit of discourse. Nay, we will make this agreement withthee, and that before Caesar, the lord of all, who is now a mediatorbetween us, If thou, O father, canst bring thyself, by the evidence oftruth, to have a mind free from suspicion concerning us let us live, though even then we shall live in an unhappy way, for to be accused ofgreat acts of wickedness, though falsely, is a terrible thing; but ifthou hast any fear remaining, continue thou on in thy pious life, wewill give this reason for our own conduct; our life is not so desirableto us as to desire to have it, if it tend to the harm of our father whogave it us. " 4. When Alexander had thus spoken, Caesar, who did not before believeso gross a calumny, was still more moved by it, and looked intentlyupon Herod, and perceived he was a little confounded: the persons therepresent were under an anxiety about the young men, and the fame thatwas spread abroad made the king hated, for the very incredibility ofthe calumny, and the commiseration of the flower of youth, the beauty ofbody, which were in the young men, pleaded for assistance, and the moreso on this account, that Alexander had made their defense with dexterityand prudence; nay, they did not themselves any longer continue intheir former countenances, which had been bedewed with tears, and castdownwards to the ground, but now there arose in them hope of the best;and the king himself appeared not to have had foundation enough to buildsuch an accusation upon, he having no real evidence wherewith to correctthem. Indeed he wanted some apology for making the accusation; butCaesar, after some delay, said, that although the young men werethoroughly innocent of that for which they were calumniated, yet hadthey been so far to blame, that they had not demeaned themselves towardstheir father so as to prevent that suspicion which was spread abroadconcerning them. He also exhorted Herod to lay all such suspicionsaside, and to be reconciled to his sons; for that it was not just togive any credit to such reports concerning his own children; and thatthis repentance on both sides might still heal those breaches that hadhappened between them, and might improve that their good-will to oneanother, whereby those on both sides, excusing the rashness of theirsuspicions, might resolve to bear a greater degree of affection towardseach other than they had before. After Caesar had given them thisadmonition, he beckoned to the young men. When therefore they weredisposed to fall down to make intercession to their father, he tookthem up, and embraced them, as they were in tears, and took each of themdistinctly in his arms, till not one of those that were present, whetherfree-man or slave, but was deeply affected with what they saw. [5] 5. Then did they return thanks to Caesar, and went away together; andwith them went Antipater, with an hypocritical pretense that he rejoicedat this reconciliation. And in the last days they were with Caesar, Herod made him a present of three hundred talents, as he was thenexhibiting shows and largesses to the people of Rome; and Caesar madehim a present of half the revenue of the copper mines in Cyprus, andcommitted the care of the other half to him, and honored him with othergifts and incomes; and as to his own kingdom, he left it in his ownpower to appoint which of his sons he pleased for his successor, or todistribute it in parts to every one, that the dignity might therebycome to them all. And when Herod was disposed to make such a settlementimmediately, Caesar said he would not give him leave to deprive himself, while he was alive, of the power over his kingdom, or over his sons. 6. After this, Herod returned to Judea again. But during his absenceno small part of his dominion about Trachon had revolted, whom yet thecommanders he left there had vanquished, and compelled to a submissionagain. Now as Herod was sailing with his sons, and was come over againstCilicia, to [the island] Eleusa, which hath now changed its name forSebaste, he met with Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, who received himkindly, as rejoicing that he was reconciled to his sons, and that theaccusation against Alexander, who had married his daughter, was at anend. They also made one another such presents as it became kings tomake, From thence Herod came to Judea and to the temple, where he made aspeech to the people concerning what had been done in this his journey. He also discoursed to them about Caesar's kindness to him, and about asmany of the particulars he had done as he thought it for his advantageother people should be acquainted with. At last he turned his speech tothe admonition of his sons; and exhorted those that lived at court, andthe multitude, to concord; and informed them that his sons were to reignafter him; Antipater first, and then Alexander and Aristobulus, the sonsof Mariamne: but he desired that at present they should all have regardto himself, and esteem him king and lord of all, since he was not yethindered by old age, but was in that period of life when he must be themost skillful in governing; and that he was not deficient in other artsof management that might enable him to govern the kingdom well, and torule over his children also. He further told the rulers under him, andthe soldiery, that in case they would look upon him alone, their lifewould be led in a peaceable manner, and they would make one anotherhappy. And when he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. Whichspeech was acceptable to the greatest part of the audience, but not soto them all; for the contention among his sons, and the hopes he hadgiven them, occasioned thoughts and desires of innovations among them. CHAPTER 5. How Herod Celebrated The Games That Were To Return EveryFifth Year Upon The Building Of Cesarea; And How He Built And AdornedMany Other Places After A Magnificent Manner; And Did Many Other ActionsGloriously 1. About this time it was that Cesarea Sebaste, which he had built, wasfinished. The entire building being accomplished: in the tenth year, thesolemnity of it fell into the twenty-eighth year of Herod's reign, andinto the hundred and ninety-second olympiad. There was accordingly agreat festival and most sumptuous preparations made presently, in orderto its dedication; for he had appointed a contention in music, and gamesto be performed naked. He had also gotten ready a great number of thosethat fight single combats, and of beasts for the like purpose; horseraces also, and the most chargeable of such sports and shows as used tobe exhibited at Rome, and in other places. He consecrated this combat toCaesar, and ordered it to be celebrated every fifth year. He also sentall sorts of ornaments for it out of his own furniture, that it mightwant nothing to make it decent; nay, Julia, Caesar's wife, sent a greatpart of her most valuable furniture [from Rome], insomuch that he hadno want of any thing. The sum of them all was estimated at five hundredtalents. Now when a great multitude was come to that city to see theshows, as well as the ambassadors whom other people sent, on account ofthe benefits they had received from Herod, he entertained them all inthe public inns, and at public tables, and with perpetual feasts; thissolemnity having in the day time the diversions of the fights, andin the night time such merry meetings as cost vast sums of money, and publicly demonstrated the generosity of his soul; for in all hisundertakings he was ambitious to exhibit what exceeded whatsoever hadbeen done before of the same kind. And it is related that Caesar andAgrippa often said, that the dominions of Herod were too little for thegreatness of his soul; for that he deserved to have both all the kingdomof Syria, and that of Egypt also. 2. After this solemnity and these festivals were over, Herod erectedanother city in the plain called Capharsaba, where he chose out a fitplace, both for plenty of water and goodness of soil, and proper for theproduction of what was there planted, where a river encompassed the cityitself, and a grove of the best trees for magnitude was round about it:this he named Antipatris, from his father Antipater. He also built uponanother spot of ground above Jericho, of the same name with his mother, a place of great security and very pleasant for habitation, and calledit Cypros. He also dedicated the finest monuments to his brotherPhasaelus, on account of the great natural affection there had beenbetween them, by erecting a tower in the city itself, not less than thetower of Pharos, which he named Phasaelus, which was at once a partof the strong defenses of the city, and a memorial for him that wasdeceased, because it bare his name. He also built a city of the samename in the valley of Jericho, as you go from it northward, whereby herendered the neighboring country more fruitful by the cultivation itsinhabitants introduced; and this also he called Phasaelus. 3. But as for his other benefits, it is impossible to reckon them up, those which he bestowed on cities, both in Syria and in Greece, andin all the places he came to in his voyages; for he seems to haveconferred, and that after a most plentiful manner, what would ministerto many necessities, and the building of public works, and gave themthe money that was necessary to such works as wanted it, to support themupon the failure of their other revenues: but what was the greatest andmost illustrious of all his works, he erected Apollo's temple at Rhodes, at his own expenses, and gave them a great number of talents of silverfor the repair of their fleet. He also built the greatest part of thepublic edifices for the inhabitants of Nicopolis, at Actium; [6] and forthe Antiochinus, the inhabitants of the principal city of Syria, where abroad street cuts through the place lengthways, he built cloisters alongit on both sides, and laid the open road with polished stone, and wasof very great advantage to the inhabitants. And as to the olympic games, which were in a very low condition, by reason of the failure of theirrevenues, he recovered their reputation, and appointed revenues forheir maintenance, and made that solemn meeting more venerable, as to thesacrifices and other ornaments; and by reason of this vast liberality, he was generally declared in their inscriptions to be one of theperpetual managers of those games. 4. Now some there are who stand amazed at the diversity of Herod'snature and purposes; for when we have respect to his magnificence, andthe benefits which he bestowed on all mankind, there is no possibilityfor even those that had the least respect for him to deny, or not openlyto confess, that he had a nature vastly beneficent; but when any onelooks upon the punishments he inflicted, and the injuries he did, notonly to his subjects, but to his nearest relations, and takes notice ofhis severe and unrelenting disposition there, he will be forced to allowthat he was brutish, and a stranger to all humanity; insomuch that thesemen suppose his nature to be different, and sometimes at contradictionwith itself; but I am myself of another opinion, and imagine that theoccasion of both these sort of actions was one and the same; for beinga man ambitious of honor, and quite overcome by that passion, he wasinduced to be magnificent, wherever there appeared any hopes of a futurememorial, or of reputation at present; and as his expenses were beyondhis abilities, he was necessitated to be harsh to his subjects; for thepersons on whom he expended his money were so many, that they made him avery bad procurer of it; and because he was conscious that he was hatedby those under him, for the injuries he did them, he thought it not aneasy thing to amend his offenses, for that it was inconvenient for hisrevenue; he therefore strove on the other side to make their ill-willan occasion of his gains. As to his own court, therefore, if any onewas not very obsequious to him in his language, and would not confesshimself to be his slave, or but seemed to think of any innovation in hisgovernment, he was not able to contain himself, but prosecuted his verykindred and friends, and punished them as if they were enemies and thiswickedness he undertook out of a desire that he might be himself alonehonored. Now for this, my assertion about that passion of his, we havethe greatest evidence, by what he did to honor Caesar and Agrippa, andhis other friends; for with what honors he paid his respects to them whowere his superiors, the same did he desire to be paid to himself; andwhat he thought the most excellent present he could make another, hediscovered an inclination to have the like presented to himself. Butnow the Jewish nation is by their law a stranger to all such things, and accustomed to prefer righteousness to glory; for which reason thatnation was not agreeable to him, because it was out of their power toflatter the king's ambition with statues or temples, or any other suchperformances; And this seems to me to have been at once the occasionof Herod's crimes as to his own courtiers and counselors, and of hisbenefactions as to foreigners and those that had no relation to him. CHAPTER 6. An Embassage In Cyrene And Asia To Caesar, Concerning TheComplaints They Had To Make Against The Greeks; With Copies Of TheEpistles Which Caesar And Agrippa Wrote To The Cities For Them. 1. Now the cities ill-treated the Jews in Asia, and all those also ofthe same nation which lived ill Libya, which joins to Cyrene, while theformer kings had given them equal privileges with the other citizens;but the Greeks affronted them at this time, and that so far as to takeaway their sacred money, and to do them mischief on other particularoccasions. When therefore they were thus afflicted, and found no endof their barbarous treatment they met with among the Greeks, theysent ambassadors to Caesar on those accounts, who gave them the sameprivileges as they had before, and sent letters to the same purposeto the governors of the provinces, copies of which I subjoin here, astestimonials of the ancient favorable disposition the Roman emperors hadtowards us. 2. "Caesar Augustus, high priest and tribune of the people, ordainsthus: Since the nation of the Jews hath been found grateful to theRoman people, not only at this time, but in time past also, and chieflyHyrcanus the high priest, under my father [7] Caesar the emperor, itseemed good to me and my counselors, according to the sentence and oathof the people of Rome, that the Jews have liberty to make use of theirown customs, according to the law of their forefathers, as they madeuse of them under Hyrcanus the high priest of the Almighty God; and thattheir sacred money be not touched, but be sent to Jerusalem, and that itbe committed to the care of the receivers at Jerusalem; and that they benot obliged to go before any judge on the sabbath day, nor on the dayof the preparation to it, after the ninth hour. [8] But if any one becaught stealing their holy books, or their sacred money, whether it beout of the synagogue or public school, he shall be deemed a sacrilegiousperson, and his goods shall be brought into the public treasury of theRomans. And I give order that the testimonial which they have givenme, on account of my regard to that piety which I exercise toward allmankind, and out of regard to Caius Marcus Censorinus, together with thepresent decree, be proposed in that most eminent place which hath beenconsecrated to me by the community of Asia at Ancyra. And if any onetransgress any part of what is above decreed, he shall be severelypunished. " This was inscribed upon a pillar in the temple of Caesar. 3. "Caesar to Norbanus Flaccus, sendeth greeting. Let those Jews, howmany soever they be, who have been used, according to their ancientcustom, to send their sacred money to Jerusalem, do the same freely. "These were the decrees of Caesar. 4. Agrippa also did himself write after the manner following, on behalfof the Jews: "Agrippa, to the magistrates, senate, and people of theEphesians, sendeth greeting. I will that the care and custody of thesacred money that is carried to the temple at Jerusalem be left to theJews of Asia, to do with it according to their ancient custom; and thatsuch 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 thatsacrilegious persons are taken thence. I have also written to Sylvanusthe praetor, that no one compel the Jews to come before a judge on thesabbath day. " 5. "Marcus Agrippa to the magistrates, senate, and people of Cyrene, sendeth greeting. The Jews of Cyrene have interceded with me for theperformance of what Augustus sent orders about to Flavius, the thenpraetor of Libya, and to the other procurators of that province, thatthe sacred money may be sent to Jerusalem freely, as hath been theircustom from their forefathers, they complaining that they are abused bycertain informers, and under pretense of taxes which were not due, arehindered from sending them, which I command to be restored without anydiminution or disturbance given to them. And if any of that sacred moneyin the cities be taken from their proper receivers, I further enjoin, that the same be exactly returned to the Jews in that place. " 6. "Caius Norbanus Flaccus, proconsul, to the magistrates of theSardians, sendeth greeting. Caesar hath written to me, and commandedme not to forbid the Jews, how many soever they be, from assemblingtogether according to the custom of their forefathers, nor from sendingtheir money to Jerusalem. I have therefore written to you, that you mayknow that both Caesar and I would have you act accordingly. " 7. Nor did Julius Antonius, the proconsul, write otherwise. "To themagistrates, senate, and people of the Ephesians, sendeth greeting. AsI was dispensing justice at Ephesus, on the Ides of February, the Jewsthat dwell in Asia demonstrated to me that Augustus and Agrippa hadpermitted them to use their own laws and customs, and to offer thosetheir first-fruits, which every one of them freely offers to theDeity on account of piety, and to carry them in a company together toJerusalem without disturbance. They also petitioned me that I alsowould confirm what had been granted by Augustus and Agrippa by my ownsanction. I would therefore have you take notice, that according to thewill of Augustus and Agrippa, I permit them to use and do according tothe customs of their forefathers without disturbance. " 8. I have been obliged to set down these decree because the presenthistory of our own acts will go generally among the Greeks; and I havehereby demonstrated to them that we have formerly been in great esteem, and have not been prohibited by those governors we were under fromkeeping any of the laws of our forefathers; nay, that we have beensupported by them, while we followed our own religion, and the worshipwe paid to God; and I frequently make mention of these decrees, in orderto reconcile other people to us, and to take away the causes of thathatred which unreasonable men bear to us. As for our customs [9] thereis no nation which always makes use of the same, and in every cityalmost we meet with them different from one another; but natural justiceis most agreeable to the advantage of all men equally, both Greeks andbarbarians, to which our laws have the greatest regard, and therebyrender us, if we abide in them after a pure manner, benevolent andfriendly to all men; on which account we have reason to expect the likereturn from others, and to inform them that they ought not to esteemdifference of positive institutions a sufficient cause of alienation, but [join with us in] the pursuit of virtue and probity, for thisbelongs to all men in common, and of itself alone is sufficient for thepreservation of human life. I now return to the thread of my history. CHAPTER 7. How, Upon Herod's Going Down Into David's Sepulcher, TheSedition In His Family Greatly Increased. 1. As for Herod, he had spent vast sums about the cities, both withoutand within his own kingdom; and as he had before heard that Hyrcanus, who had been king before him, had opened David's sepulcher, and takenout of it three thousand talents of silver, and that there was a muchgreater number left behind, and indeed enough to suffice all his wants, he had a great while an intention to make the attempt; and at this timehe opened that sepulcher by night, and went into it, and endeavoredthat it should not be at all known in the city, but took only his mostfaithful friends with him. As for any money, he found none, as Hyrcanushad done, but that furniture of gold, and those precious goods that werelaid up there; all which he took away. However, he had a great desireto make a more diligent search, and to go farther in, even as far as thevery bodies of David and Solomon; where two of his guards were slain, bya flame that burst out upon those that went in, as the report was. So hewas terribly aftrighted, and went out, and built a propitiatory monumentof that fright he had been in; and this of white stone, at the mouth ofthe sepulcher, and that at great expense also. And even Nicolaus [10]his historiographer makes mention of this monument built by Herod, though he does not mention his going down into the sepulcher, as knowingthat action to be of ill repute; and many other things he treats of inthe same manner in his book; for he wrote in Herod's lifetime, and underhis reign, and so as to please him, and as a servant to him, touchingupon nothing but what tended to his glory, and openly excusing many ofhis notorious crimes, and very diligently concealing them. And as he wasdesirous to put handsome colors on the death of Mariamne and her sons, which were barbarous actions in the king, he tells falsehoods about theincontinence of Mariamne, and the treacherous designs of his sons uponhim; and thus he proceeded in his whole work, making a pompous encomiumupon what just actions he had done, but earnestly apologizing for hisunjust ones. Indeed, a man, as I said, may have a great deal to say byway of excuse for Nicolaus; for he did not so properly write this as ahistory for others, as somewhat that might be subservient to the kinghimself. As for ourselves, who come of a family nearly allied to theAsamonean kings, and on that account have an honorable place, whichis the priesthood, we think it indecent to say any thing that is falseabout them, and accordingly we have described their actions afteran unblemished and upright manner. And although we reverence many ofHerod's posterity, who still reign, yet do we pay a greater regard totruth than to them, and this though it sometimes happens that we incurtheir displeasure by so doing. 2. And indeed Herod's troubles in his family seemed to be augmented byreason of this attempt he made upon David's sepulcher; whether Divinevengeance increased the calamities he lay under, in order to render themincurable, or whether fortune made an assault upon him, in those caseswherein the seasonableness of the cause made it strongly believed thatthe calamities came upon him for his impiety; for the tumult was like acivil war in his palace, and their hatred towards one another was likethat where each one strove to exceed another in calumnies. However, Antipater used stratagems perpetually against his brethren, and thatvery cunningly; while abroad he loaded them with accusations, but stilltook upon him frequently to apologize for them, that this apparentbenevolence to them might make him be believed, and forward his attemptsagainst them; by which means he, after various manners, circumventedhis father, who believed all that he did was for his preservation. Herodalso recommended Ptolemy, who was a great director of the affairs of hiskingdom, to Antipater; and consulted with his mother about the publicaffairs also. And indeed these were all in all, and did what theypleased, and made the king angry against any other persons, as theythought it might be to their own advantage; but still the sons ofMarianme were in a worse and worse condition perpetually; and while theywere thrust out, and set in a more dishonorable rank, who yet by birthwere the most noble, they could not bear the dishonor. And for thewomen, Glaphyra, Alexander's wife, the daughter of Archclaus, hatedSalome, both because of her love to her husband, and because Glaphyraseemed to behave herself somewhat insolently towards Salome's daughter, who was the wife of Aristobulus, which equality of hers to herselfGlaphyra took very impatiently. 3. Now, besides this second contention that had fallen among them, neither did the king's brother Pheroras keep himself out of trouble, but had a particular foundation for suspicion and hatred; for he wasovercome with the charms of his wife, to such a degree of madness, thathe despised the king's daughter, to whom he had been betrothed, andwholly bent his mind to the other, who had been but a servant. Herodalso was grieved by the dishonor that was done him, because he hadbestowed many favors upon him, and had advanced him to that height ofpower that he was almost a partner with him in the kingdom, and saw thathe had not made him a due return for his labors, and esteemed himselfunhappy on that account. So upon Pheroras's unworthy refusal, he gavethe damsel to Phasaelus's son; but after some time, when he thought theheat of his brother's affections was over, he blamed him for his formerconduct, and desired him to take his second daughter, whose name wasCypros. Ptolemy also advised him to leave off affronting his brother, and to forsake her whom he had loved, for that it was a base thing to beso enamored of a servant, as to deprive himself of the king's good-willto him, and become an occasion of his trouble, and make himself hatedby him. Pheroras knew that this advice would be for his own advantage, particularly because he had been accused before, and forgiven; so he puthis wife away, although he already had a son by her, and engaged tothe king that he would take his second daughter, and agreed that thethirtieth day after should be the day of marriage; and sware he wouldhave no further conversation with her whom he had put away; but when thethirty days were over, he was such a slave to his affections, that he nolonger performed any thing he had promised, but continued still with hisformer wife. This occasioned Herod to grieve openly, and made him angry, while the king dropped one word or other against Pheroras perpetually;and many made the king's anger an opportunity for raising calumniesagainst him. Nor had the king any longer a single quiet day or hour, butoccasions of one fresh quarrel or another arose among his relations, andthose that were dearest to him; for Salome was of a harsh temper, andill-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 agood-will to her husband, but persuaded her to tell her if he said anything to her in private, and when any misunderstandings happened, as iscommon, she raised a great many suspicions out of it; by which means shelearned all their concerns, and made the damsel ill-natured to the youngman. And in order to gratify her mother, she often said that the youngmen used to mention Mariamne when they were by themselves; and that theyhated their father, and were continually threatening, that if they hadonce got the kingdom, they would make Herod's sons by his other wivescountry schoolmasters, for that the present education which wasgiven them, and their diligence in learning, fitted them for such anemployment. And as for the women, whenever they saw them adorned withtheir mother's clothes, they threatened, that instead of their presentgaudy apparel, they should be clothed in sackcloth, and confined soclosely that they should not see the light of the sun. These storieswere presently carried by Salome to the king, who was troubled to hearthem, and endeavored to make up matters; but these suspicions afflictedhim, and becoming more and more uneasy, he believed every body againstevery body. However, upon his rebuking his sons, and hearing the defensethey made for themselves, he was easier for a while, though a littleafterwards much worse accidents came upon him. 4. For Pheroras came to Alexander, the husband of Glaphyra, who was thedaughter of Archelaus, as we have already told you, and said that hehad heard from Salome that Herod has enamored on Glaphyra, and that hispassion for her was incurable. When Alexander heard that, he was all onfire, from his youth and jealousy; and he interpreted the instancesof Herod's obliging behavior to her, which were very frequent, for theworse, which came from those suspicions he had on account of that wordwhich fell from Pheroras; nor could he conceal his grief at the thing, but informed him what word: Pheroras had said. Upon which Herod was in agreater disorder than ever; and not bearing such a false calumny, whichwas to his shame, was much disturbed at it; and often did he lament thewickedness of his domestics, and how good he had been to them, and howill requitals they had made him. So he sent for Pheroras, andreproached him, and said, "Thou vilest of all men! art thou come tothat unmeasurable and extravagant degree of ingratitude, as not only tosuppose such things of me, but to speak of them? I now indeed perceivewhat thy intentions are. It is not thy only aim to reproach me, whenthou usest such words to my son, but thereby to persuade him to plotagainst me, and get me destroyed by poison. And who is there, if he hadnot a good genius at his elbow, as hath my son, but would not bear sucha suspicion of his father, but would revenge himself upon him? Dost thousuppose that thou hast only dropped a word for him to think of, and notrather hast put a sword into his hand to slay his father? And what dostthou mean, when thou really hatest both him and his brother, to pretendkindness to them, only in order to raise a reproach against me, and talkof such things as no one but such an impious wretch as thou art couldeither devise in their mind, or declare in their words? Begone, thouart such a plague to thy benefactor and thy brother, and may thatevil conscience of thine go along with thee; while I still overcome myrelations by kindness, and am so far from avenging myself of them, asthey deserve, that I bestow greater benefits upon them than they areworthy of. " 5. Thus did the king speak. Whereupon Pheroras, who was caught in thevery act of his villainy, said that "it was Salome who was the framer ofthis plot, and that the words came from her. " But as soon as sheheard that, for she was at hand, she cried out, like one that would bebelieved, that no such thing ever came out of her mouth; that they allearnestly endeavored to make the king hate her, and to make her away, because of the good-will she bore to Herod, and because she was alwaysforeseeing the dangers that were coming upon him, and that at presentthere were more plots against him than usual; for while she was the onlyperson who persuaded her brother to put away the wife he now had, and totake the king's daughter, it was no wonder if she were hated by him. Asshe said this, and often tore her hair, and often beat her breast, hercountenance made her denial to be believed; but the peverseness ofher manners declared at the same time her dissimulation in theseproceedings; but Pheroras was caught between them, and had nothingplausible to offer in his own defense, while he confessed that he hadsaid what was charged upon him, but was not believed when he said hehad heard it from Salome; so the confusion among them was increased, and their quarrelsome words one to another. At last the king, out of hishatred to his brother and sister, sent them both away; and when he hadcommended the moderation of his son, and that he had himself told himof the report, he went in the evening to refresh himself. After such acontest as this had fallen out among them, Salome's reputation sufferedgreatly, since she was supposed to have first raised the calumny;and the king's wives were grieved at her, as knowing she was a veryill-natured woman, and would sometimes be a friend, and sometimes anenemy, at different seasons: so they perpetually said one thing oranother against her; and somewhat that now fell out made them the bolderin speaking against her. 6. There was one Obodas, king of Arabia, an inactive and slothful manin his nature; but Sylleus managed most of his affairs for him. He wasa shrewd man, although he was but young, and was handsome withal. ThisSylleus, upon some occasion coming to Herod, and supping with him, sawSalome, and set his heart upon her; and understanding that she was awidow, he discoursed with her. Now because Salome was at this time lessin favor with her brother, she looked upon Sylleus with some passion, and was very earnest to be married to him; and on the days followingthere appeared many, and those very great, indications of theiragreement together. Now the women carried this news to the king, andlaughed at the indecency of it; whereupon Herod inquired about itfurther of Pheroras, and desired him to observe them at supper, howtheir behavior was one toward another; who told him, that by the signalswhich came from their heads and their eyes, they both were evidently inlove. After this, Sylleus the Arabian being suspected, went away, butcame again in two or three months afterwards, as it were on that verydesign, and spake to Herod about it, and desired that Salome might begiven him to wife; for that his affinity might not be disadvantageous tohis affairs, by a union with Arabia, the government of which countrywas already in effect under his power, and more evidently would be hishereafter. Accordingly, when Herod discoursed with his sister about it, and asked her whether she were disposed to this match, she immediatelyagreed to it. But when Sylleus was desired to come over to the Jewishreligion, and then he should marry her, and that it was impossible todo it on any other terms, he could not bear that proposal, and went hisway; for he said, that if he should do so, he should be stoned by theArabs. Then did Pheroras reproach Salome for her incontinency, as didthe women much more; and said that Sylleus had debauched her. As forthat damsel which the king had betrothed to his brother Pheroras, but hehad not taken her, as I have before related, because he was enamored onhis former wife, Salome desired of Herod she might be given to her sonby Costobarus; which match he was very willing to, but was dissuadedfrom it by Pheroras, who pleaded that this young man would not be kindto her, since his father had been slain by him, and that it was morejust that his son, who was to be his successor in the tetrarchy, should have her. So he begged his pardon, and persuaded him to do so. Accordingly the damsel, upon this change of her espousals, was disposalof to this young man, the son of Pheroras, the king giving for herportion a hundred talents. CHAPTER 8. How Herod Took Up Alexander And Bound Him; Whom Yet ArchelausKing Of Cappadocia Reconciled To His Father Herod Again. 1. But still the affairs of Herod's family were no better, butperpetually more troublesome. Now this accident happened, whicharose from no decent occasion, but proceeded so far as to bring greatdifficulties upon him. There were certain eunuchs which the king had, and on account of their beauty was very fond of them; and the care ofbringing him drink was intrusted to one of them; of bringing him hissupper, to another; and of putting him to bed, to the third, who alsomanaged the principal affairs of the government; and there was one toldthe king that these eunuchs were corrupted by Alexander the king's sonwith great sums of money. And when they were asked whether Alexander hadhad criminal conversation with them, they confessed it, but said theyknew of no further mischief of his against his father; but when theywere more severely tortured, and were in the utmost extremity, and thetormentors, out of compliance with Antipater, stretched the rack to thevery utmost, they said that Alexander bare great ill-will and innatehatred to his father; and that he told them that Herod despaired to livemuch longer; and that, in order to cover his great age, he colored hishair black, and endeavored to conceal what would discover how old hewas; but that if he would apply himself to him, when he should attainthe kingdom, which, in spite of his father, could come to no one else, he should quickly have the first place in that kingdom under him, forthat he was now ready to take the kingdom, not only as his birth-right, but by the preparations he had made for obtaining it, because a greatmany 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 whatsoevershould come on that account. 2. When Herod heard this confession, he was all over anger and fear, some parts seeming to him reproachful, and some made him suspiciousof dangers that attended him, insomuch that on both accounts he wasprovoked, and bitterly afraid lest some more heavy plot was laid againsthim than he should be then able to escape from; whereupon he did not nowmake an open search, but sent about spies to watch such as he suspected, for he was now overrun with suspicion and hatred against all abouthim; and indulging abundance of those suspicions, in order to hispreservation, he continued to suspect those that were guiltless; nor didhe set any bounds to himself, but supposing that those who staid withhim had the most power to hurt him, they were to him very frightful; andfor 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 weredestroyed. And at last his domestics were come to that pass, that beingno way secure of escaping themselves, they fell to accusing one another, and imagining that he who first accused another was most likely to savehimself; yet when any had overthrown others, they were hated; and theywere thought to suffer justly who unjustly accused others, and they onlythereby prevented their own accusation; nay, they now executed theirown private enmities by this means, and when they were caught, they werepunished in the same way. Thus these men contrived to make use of thisopportunity as an instrument and a snare against their enemies; yet whenthey tried it, were themselves caught also in the same snare which theylaid for others: and the king soon repented of what he had done, becausehe 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 hisrepentance, in order to leave off doing the like again, but in order toinflict the same punishment upon their accusers. 3. And in this state of disorder were the affairs of the palace; andhe had already told many of his friends directly that they ought notto appear before him, her come into the palace; and the reason of thisinjunction was, that [when they were there], he had less freedom ofacting, or a greater restraint on himself on their account; for at thistime it was that he expelled Andromachus and Gamellus, men who had ofold been his friends, and been very useful to him in the affairs of hiskingdom, and been of advantage to his family, by their embassages andcounsels; and had been tutors to his sons, and had in a manner the firstdegree of freedom with him. He expelled Andromachus, because his sonDemetrius was a companion to Alexander; and Gamellus, because he knewthat he wished him well, which arose from his having been with him inhis youth, when he was at school, and absent at Rome. These he expelledout 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 greatreputation, 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 knewwhat a mad and licentious way of acting his father was in, and had beena great while one of his counselors, he hurried him on, and then thoughthe should bring him to do somewhat to purpose, when every one that couldoppose him was taken away. When therefore Andromachus and his friendswere driven away, and had no discourse nor freedom with the king anylonger, the king, in the first place, examined by torture all whom hethought to be faithful to Alexander, Whether they knew of any of hisattempts against him; but these died without having any thing to say tothat matter, which made the king more zealous [after discoveries], whenhe could not find out what evil proceedings he suspected them of. As forAntipater, he was very sagacious to raise a calumny against those thatwere really innocent, as if their denial was only their constancy andfidelity [to Alexander], and thereupon provoked Herod to discover by thetorture of great numbers what attempts were still concealed. Now therewas a certain person among the many that were tortured, who said that heknew that the young man had often said, that when he was commended asa tall man in his body, and a skillful marksman, and that in his othercommendable exercises he exceeded all men, these qualifications givenhim by nature, though good in themselves, were not advantageous to him, because his father was grieved at them, and envied him for them; andthat when he walked along with his father, he endeavored to depress andshorten himself, that he might not appear too tall; and that when heshot at any thing as he was hunting, when his father was by, he missedhis mark on purpose, for he knew how ambitious his father was of beingsuperior in such exercises. So when the man was tormented about thissaying, and had ease given his body after it, he added, that he had hisbrother Aristobulus for his assistance, and contrived to lie in wait fortheir father, as they were hunting, and kill him; and when they had doneso to fly to Rome, and desire to have the kingdom given them. There werealso letters of the young man found, written to his brother, whereinhe complained that his father did not act justly in giving Antipater acountry, whose [yearly] revenues amounted to two hundred talents. Uponthese confessions Herod presently thought he had somewhat to depend on, in his own opinion, as to his suspicion about his sons; so he took upAlexander and bound him: yet did he still continue to be uneasy, and wasnot quite satisfied of the truth of what he had heard; and when hecame to recollect himself, he found that they had only made juvenilecomplaints and contentions, and that it was an incredible thing, thatwhen his son should have slain him, he should openly go to Rome [to begthe kingdom]; so he was desirous to have some surer mark of his son'swickedness, and was very solicitous about it, that he might not appearto have condemned him to be put in prison too rashly; so he tortured theprincipal 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. Andwhile Herod was very busy about this matter, and the palace was full ofterror and trouble, one of the younger sort, when he was in the utmostagony, confessed that Alexander had sent to his friends at Rome, anddesired that he might be quickly invited thither by Caesar, and thathe could discover a plot against him; that Mithridates, the king ofParthia, was joined in friendship with his father against the Romans, and that he had a poisonous potion ready prepared at Askelori. 5. To these accusations Herod gave credit, and enjoyed hereby, in hismiserable case, some sort of consolation, in excuse of his rashness, asfiattering himself with finding things in so bad a condition; but as forthe poisonous potion, which he labored to find, he could find none. Asfor Alexander, he was very desirous to aggravate the vast misfortunes hewas under, so he pretended not to deny the accusations, but punished therashness of his father with a greater crime of his own; and perhapshe was willing to make his father ashamed of his easy belief of suchcalumnies: he aimed especially, if he could gain belief to his story, to plague him and his whole kingdom; for he wrote four letters, and sentthem to him, that he did not need to torture any more persons, for hehad plotted against him; and that he had for his partners Pheroras andthe most faithful of his friends; and that Salome came in to him bynight, and that she lay with him whether he would or not; and that allmen were come to be of one mind, to make away with him as soon as theycould, and so get clear of the continual fear they were in from him. Among these were accused Ptolemy and Sapinnius, who were the mostfaithful friends to the king. And what more can be said, but that thosewho before were the most intimate friends, were become wild beasts toone another, as if a certain madness had fallen upon them, while therewas no room for defense or refutation, in order to the discovery ofthe truth, but all were at random doomed to destruction; so that somelamented those that were in prison, some those that were put to death, and others lamented that they were in expectation of the same miseries;and a melancholy solitude rendered the kingdom deformed, and quite thereverse to that happy state it was formerly in. Herod's own life alsowas entirely disturbed; and because he could trust nobody, he was sorelypunished by the expectation of further misery; for he often fancied inhis imagination that his son had fallen upon him, or stood by him with asword in his hand; and thus was his mind night and day intent upon thisthing, and revolved it over and over, no otherwise than if he were undera distraction. And this was the sad condition Herod was now in. 6. But when Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, heard of the state that Herodwas in, and being in great distress about his daughter, and the youngman [her husband], and grieving with Herod, as with a man that was hisfriend, on account of so great a disturbance as he was under, he came[to Jerusalem] on purpose to compose their differences; and when hefound Herod in such a temper, he thought it wholly unseasonable toreprove him, or to pretend that he had done any thing rashly, for thathe should thereby naturally bring him to dispute the point with him, andby still more and more apologizing for himself to be the more irritated:he went, therefore, another way to work, in order to correct the formermisfortunes, and appeared angry at the young man, and said that Herodhad been so very mild a 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 ofany thing, and did not inform Herod of it. When Archelaus appeared to beof this temper, and otherwise than Herod expected or imagined, and, for the main, took Herod's part, and was angry on his account, the kingabated of his harshness, and took occasion from his appearing to haveacted justly hitherto, to come by degrees to put on the affection ofa father, and was on both sides to be pitied; for when some personsrefuted the calumnies that were laid on the young man, he was throwninto a passion; but when Archclaus joined in the accusation, hewas dissolved into tears and sorrow after an affectionate manner. Accordingly, he desired that he would not dissolve his son's marriage, and became not so angry as before for his offenses. So when Archclaushad brought him to a more moderate temper, he transferred the calumniesupon his friends; and said it must be owing to them that so young a man, and one unacquainted with malice, was corrupted; and he supposed thatthere was more reason to suspect the brother than the soft. Upon whichHerod was very much displeased at Pheroras, who indeed now had no onethat could make a reconciliation between him and his brother. So when hesaw that Archclaus had the greatest power with Herod, he betook himselfto him in the habit of a mourner, and like one that had all the signsupon him of an undone man. Upon this Archclaus did not overlook theintercession he made to him, nor yet did he undertake to change theking's disposition towards him immediately; and he said that it wasbetter for him to come himself to the king, and confess himself theoccasion of all; that this would make the king's anger not to beextravagant towards him, and that then he would be present to assisthim. When he had persuaded him to this, he gained his point with bothof them; and the calumnies raised against the young man were, beyondall expectation, wiped off. And Archclaus, as soon as he had made thereconciliation, went then away to Cappadocia, having proved at thisjuncture of time the most acceptable person to Herod in the world;on which account he gave him the richest presents, as tokens of hisrespects to him; and being on other occasions magnanimous, he esteemedhim one of his dearest friends. He also made an agreement with himthat he would go to Rome, because he had written to Caesar about theseaffairs; so they went together as far as Antioch, and there Herod made areconciliation between Archclaus and Titus, the president of Syria, whohad been greatly at variance, and so returned back to Judea. CHAPTER 9. Concerning The Revolt Of The Trachonites; How Sylleus AccusedHerod Before Caesar; And How Herod, When Caesar Was Angry At Him, Resolved To Send Nicolaus To Rome. 1. When Herod had been at Rome, and was come back again, a war arosebetween him and the Arabians, on the occasion following: The inhabitantsof Trachonitis, after Caesar had taken the country away from Zenodorus, and added it to Herod, had not now power to rob, but were forced toplough the land, and to live quietly, which was a thing they did notlike; and when they did take that pains, the ground did not produce muchfruit for them. However, at the first the king would not permit themto rob, and so they abstained from that unjust way of living upon theirneighbors, which procured Herod a great reputation for his care. Butwhen he was sailing to Rome, it was at that time when he went to accusehis son Alexander, and to commit Antipater to Caesar's protection, theTrachonites spread a report as if he were dead, and revolted from hisdominion, and betook themselves again to their accustomed way of robbingtheir neighbors; at which time the king's commanders subdued them duringhis absence; but about forty of the principal robbers, being terrifiedby those that had been taken, left the country, and retired into Arabia, Sylleus entertaining them, after he had missed of marrying Salome, andgave them a place of strength, in which they dwelt. So they overrannot only Judea, but all Celesyria also, and carried off the prey, whileSylleus afforded them places of protection and quietness during theirwicked practices. But when Herod came back from Rome, he perceived thathis dominions had greatly suffered by them; and since he could not reachthe robbers themselves, because of the secure retreat they had in thatcountry, and which the Arabian government afforded them, and yetbeing very uneasy at the injuries they had done him, he went all overTrachonitis, and slew their relations; whereupon these robbers weremore angry than before, it being a law among them to be avenged on themurderers of their relations by all possible means; so they continued totear and rend every thing under Herod's dominion with impunity. Thendid he discourse about these robberies to Saturninus and Volumnius, andrequired that they should be punished; upon which occasion they stillthe more confirmed themselves in their robberies, and became morenumerous, and made very great disturbances, laying waste the countriesand villages that belonged to Herod's kingdom, and killing those menwhom they caught, till these unjust proceedings came to be like a realwar, for the robbers were now become about a thousand;--at which Herodwas sore displeased, and required the robbers, as well as the moneywhich he had lent Obodas, by Sylleus, which was sixty talents, and sincethe time of payment was now past, he desired to have it paid him; butSylleus, who had laid Obodas aside, and managed all by himself, deniedthat the robbers were in Arabia, and put off the payment of the money;about which there was a hearing before Saturninus and Volumnius, whowere then the presidents of Syria. [11] At last he, by their means, agreed, that within thirty days' time Herod should be paid hismoney, and that each of them should deliver up the other's subjectsreciprocally. Now, as to Herod, there was not one of the other'ssubjects found in his kingdom, either as doing any injustice, or onany other account, but it was proved that the Arabians had the robbersamongst them. 2. When this day appointed for payment of the money was past, withoutSylleus's performing any part of his agreement, and he was gone to Rome, Herod demanded the payment of the money, and that the robbers that werein Arabia should be delivered up; and, by the permission of Saturninusand Volumnius, executed the judgment himself upon those that wererefractory. He took an army that he had, and let it into Arabia, andin three days' time marched seven mansions; and when he came to thegarrison wherein the robbers were, he made an assault upon them, andtook them all, and demolished the place, which was called Raepta, butdid no harm to any others. But as the Arabians came to their assistance, under Naceb their captain, there ensued a battle, wherein a few ofHerod's soldiers, and Naceb, the captain of the Arabians, and abouttwenty of his soldiers, fell, while the rest betook themselves toflight. So when he had brought these to punishment, he placed threethousand Idumeans in Trachonitis, and thereby restrained the robbersthat were there. He also sent an account to the captains that were aboutPhoenicia, and demonstrated that he had done nothing but what he oughtto do, in punishing the refractory Arabians, which, upon an exactinquiry, they found to be no more than what was true. 3. However, messengers were hasted away to Sylleus to Rome, and informedhim what had been done, and, as is usual, aggravated every thing. NowSylleus had already insinuated himself into the knowledge of Caesar, andwas then about the palace; and as soon as he heard of these things, hechanged his habit into black, and went in, and told Caesar that Arabiawas afflicted with war, and that all his kingdom was in great confusion, upon Herod's laying it waste with his army; and he said, with tears inhis eyes, that two thousand five hundred of the principal men amongthe Arabians had been destroyed, and that their captain Nacebus, hisfamiliar friend and kinsman, was slain; and that the riches that wereat Raepta were carried off; and that Obodas was despised, whose infirmstate of body rendered him unfit for war; on which account neither he, nor the Arabian army, were present. When Sylleus said so, and addedinvidiously, that he would not himself have come out of the country, unless he had believed that Caesar would have provided that they shouldall have peace one with another, and that, had he been there, he wouldhave taken care that the war should not have been to Herod's advantage;Caesar was provoked when this was said, and asked no more than thisone question, both of Herod's friends that were there, and of hisown friends, who were come from Syria, Whether Herod had led an armythither? And when they were forced to confess so much, Caesar, withoutstaying to hear for what reason he did it, and how it was done, grewvery angry, and wrote to Herod sharply. The sum of his epistle was this, that whereas of old he had used him as his friend, he should now use himas his subject. Sylleus also wrote an account of this to the Arabians, who were so elevated with it, that they neither delivered up the robbersthat had fled to them, nor paid the money that was due; they retainedthose pastures also which they had hired, and kept them without payingtheir rent, and all this because the king of the Jews was now in a lowcondition, by reason of Caesar's anger at him. Those of Trachonitis alsomade use of this opportunity, and rose up against the Idumean garrison, and followed the same way of robbing with the Arabians, who had pillagedtheir country, and were more rigid in their unjust proceedings, not onlyin order to get by it, but by way of revenge also. 4. Now Herod was forced to bear all this, that confidence of his beingquite gone with which Caesar's favor used to inspire him; for Caesarwould not admit so much as an embassage from him to 'make an apology forhim; and when they came again, he sent them away without success. So hewas cast into sadness and fear; and Sylleus's circumstances grieved himexceedingly, who was now believed by Caesar, and was present at Rome, nay, sometimes aspiring higher. Now it came to pass that Obodas wasdead; and Aeneas, whose name was afterward changed to Aretas, [12] tookthe government, for Sylleus endeavored by calumnies to get him turnedout of his principality, that he might himself take it; with whichdesign he gave much money to the courtiers, and promised much moneyto Caesar, who indeed was angry that Aretas had not sent to him firstbefore he took the kingdom; yet did Aeneas send an epistle and presentsto Caesar, and a golden crown, of the weight of many talents. Now thatepistle accused Sylleus as having been a wicked servant, and havingkilled Obodas by poison; and that while he was alive, he had governedhim as he pleased; and had also debauched the wives of the Arabians; andhad borrowed money, in order to obtain the dominion for himself: yetdid not Caesar give heed to these accusations, but sent his ambassadorsback, without receiving any of his presents. But in the mean time theaffairs of Judea and Arabia became worse and worse, partly because ofthe anarchy they were under, and partly because, as bad as they were, nobody had power to govern them; for of the two kings, the one was notyet confirmed in his kingdom, and so had not authority sufficient torestrain the evil-doers; and as for Herod, Caesar was immediately angryat him for having avenged himself, and so he was compelled to bear allthe injuries that were offered him. At length, when he saw no end of themischief which surrounded him, he resolved to send ambassadors to Romeagain, to see whether his friends had prevailed to mitigate Caesar, and to address themselves to Caesar himself; and the ambassador he sentthither was Nicolans of Damascus. CHAPTER 10. How Eurycles Falsely Accused Herod's Sons; And How TheirFather Bound Them, And Wrote To Caesar About Them. Of Sylleus And How HeWas Accused By Nicolaus. 1. The disorders about Herod's family and children about this timegrew much worse; for it now appeared certain, nor was it unforeseenbefore-hand, that fortune threatened the greatest and most insupportablemisfortunes possible to his kingdom. Its progress and augmentation atthis time arose on the occasion following: One Eurycles, a Lacedemonian, [a person of note there, but a man of a perverse mind, and so cunningin his ways of voluptuousness and flattery, as to indulge both, and yetseem to indulge neither of them, ] came in his travels to Herod, and madehim presents, but so that he received more presents from him. He alsotook such proper seasons for insinuating himself into his friendship, that he became one of the most intimate of the king's friends. He hadhis lodging in Antipater's house; but he had not only access, but freeconversation, with Alexander, as pretending to him that he was in greatfavor with Archclaus, the king of Cappadocia; whence he pretended muchrespect to Glaphyra, and in an occult manner cultivated a friendshipwith them all; but always attending to what was said and done, thathe might be furnished with calumnies to please them all. In short, hebehaved himself so to every body in his conversation, as to appear tobe his particular friend, and he made others believe that his being anywhere was for that person's advantage. So he won upon Alexander, who wasbut young; and persuaded him that he might open his grievances to himwith assurance and with nobody else. So he declared his grief to him, how his father was alienated from him. He related to him also theaffairs of his mother, and of Antipater; that he had driven them fromtheir proper dignity, and had the power over every thing himself; thatno part of this was tolerable, since his father was already come to hatethem; and he added, that he would neither admit them to his table, norto his conversation. Such were the complaints, as was but natural, of Alexander about the things that troubled him; and these discoursesEurycles carried to Antipater, and told him he did not inform him ofthis on his own account, but that being overcome by his kindness, thegreat importance of the thing obliged him to do it; and he warned himto have a care of Alexander, for that what he said was spoken withvehemency, and that, in consequence of what he said, he would certainlykill him with his own hand. Whereupon Antipater, thinking him to behis friend by this advice, gave him presents upon all occasions, and atlength persuaded him to inform Herod of what he had heard. So when herelated to the king Alexander's ill temper, as discovered by the wordshe had heard him speak, he was easily believed by him; and he therebybrought the king to that pass, turning him about by his words, andirritating him, till he increased his hatred to him and made himimplacable, which he showed at that very time, for he immediately gaveEurycles a present of fifty talents; who, when he had gotten them, wentto Archclaus, king of Cappadocia, and commended Alexander before him, and told him that he had been many ways of advantage to him, in makinga reconciliation between him and his father. So he got money from himalso, and went away, before his pernicious practices were found out;but when Eurycles was returned to Lacedemon, he did not leave off doingmischief; and so, for his many acts of injustice, he was banished fromhis own country. 2. But as for the king of the Jews, he was not now in the temper he wasin formerly towards Alexander and Aristobulus, when he had been contentwith the hearing their calumnies when others told him of them; but hewas now come to that pass as to hate them himself, and to urge men tospeak against them, though they did not do it of themselves. He alsoobserved all that was said, and put questions, and gave ear to every onethat would but speak, if they could but say any thing against them, till at length he heard that Euaratus of Cos was a conspirator withAlexander; which thing to Herod was the most agreeable and sweetest newsimaginable. 3. But still a greater misfortune came upon the young men; while thecalumnies against them were continually increased, and, as a man maysay, one would think it was every one's endeavor to lay some grievousthing to their charge, which might appear to be for the king'spreservation. There were two guards of Herod's body, who were in greatesteem for their strength and tallness, Jucundus and Tyrannus; these menhad been cast off by Herod, who was displeased at them; these now usedto ride along with Alexander, and for their skill in their exerciseswere in great esteem with him, and had some gold and other giftsbestowed on them. Now the king having an immediate suspicion of thosemen, had them tortured, who endured the torture courageously for a longtime; but at last confessed that Alexander would have persuaded them tokill Herod, when he was in pursuit of the wild beasts, that it might besaid he fell from his horse, and was run through with his own spear, for that he had once such a misfortune formerly. They also showed wherethere was money hidden in the stable under ground; and these convictedthe king's chief hunter, that he had given the young men the royalhunting spears and weapons to Alexander's dependents, at Alexander'scommand. 4. After these, the commander of the garrison of Alexandrium was caughtand tortured; for he was accused to have promised to receive the youngmen into his fortress, and to supply them with that money of the king'swhich was laid up in that fortress, yet did not he acknowledge any thingof it himself; but his son came ill, and said it was so, and deliveredup the writing, which, so far as could be guessed, was in Alexander'shand. Its contents were these: "When we have finished, by God's help, all that we have proposed to do, we will come to you; but do yourendeavors, as you have promised, to receive us into your fortress. "After this writing was produced, Herod had no doubt about thetreacherous designs of his sons against him. But Alexander said thatDiophantus the scribe had imitated his hand, and that the paper wasmaliciously drawn up by Antipater; for Diophantus appeared to be verycunning in such practices; and as he was afterward convicted of forgingother papers, he was put to death for it. 5. So the king produced those that had been tortured before themultitude at Jericho, in order to have them accuse the young men, whichaccusers many of the people stoned to death; and when they were going tokill Alexander and Aristobulus likewise, the king would not permit themto do so, but restrained the multitude, by the means of Ptolemy andPheroras. However, the young men were put under a guard, and kept incustody, that nobody might come at them; and all that they did orsaid was watched, and the reproach and fear they were in was little ornothing different from those of condemned criminals: and one of them, who was Aristobulus, was so deeply affected, that he brought Salome, who was his aunt, and his mother-in-law, to lament with him for hiscalamities, and to hate him who had suffered things to come to thatpass; when he said to her, "Art thou not in danger of destruction also, while the report goes that thou hadst disclosed beforehand all ouraffairs to Syllcus, when thou wast in hopes of being married to him?"But she immediately carried these words to her brother. Upon this he wasout of patience, and gave command to bind him; and enjoined them both, now they were kept separate one from the other, to write down the illthings they had done against their father, and bring the writings tohim, So when this was enjoined them, they wrote this, that they had laidno treacherous designs, nor made any preparations against their father, but that they had intended to fly away; and that by the distress theywere in, their lives being now uncertain and tedious to them. 6. About this time there came an ambassador out of Cappadocia fromArchelaus, whose name was Melas; he was one of the principal rulersunder him. So Herod, being desirous to show Archelaus's ill-will tohim, called for Alexander, as he was in his bonds, and asked him againconcerning his fight, whether and how they had resolved to retireAlexander replied, To Archclaus, who had promised to send them away toRome; but that they had no wicked nor mischievous designs against theirfather, and that nothing of that nature which their adversaries hadcharged upon them was true; and that their desire was, that he mighthave examined Tyrannus and Jucundus more strictly, but that they hadbeen suddenly slain by the means of Antipater, who put his own friendsamong the multitude [for that purpose]. 7. When this was said, Herod commanded that both Alexander and Melasshould be carried to Glaphyra, Archelaus's daughter, and that she shouldbe asked, whether she did not know somewhat of Alexander's treacherousdesigns against Herod? Now as soon as they were come to her, and she sawAlexander in bonds, she beat her head, and in a great consternation gavea deep and moving groan. The young man also fell into tears. This wasso miserable a spectacle to those present, that, for a great while, theywere not able to say or to do any thing; but at length Ptolemy, who wasordered to bring Alexander, bid him say whether his wife was consciousof his actions. He replied, "How is it possible that she, whom I lovebetter than my own soul, and by whom I have had children, should notknow what I do?" Upon which she cried out that she knew of no wickeddesigns of his; but that yet, if her accusing herself falsely would tendto his preservation, she would confess it all. Alexander replied, "Thereis no such wickedness as those [who ought the least of all so to do]suspect, which either I have imagined, or thou knowest of, but thisonly, that we had resolved to retire to Archelaus, and from thenceto Rome. " Which she also confessed. Upon which Herod, supposing thatArchelaus's ill-will to him was fully proved, sent a letter by Olympusand Volumnius; and bid them, as they sailed by, to touch at Eleusaof Cilicia, and give Archelaus the letter. And that when they hadex-postulated with him, that he had a hand in his son's treacherousdesign against him, they should from thence sail to Rome; and that, incase they found Nicolaus had gained any ground, and that Caesar was nolonger displeased at him, he should give him his letters, and the proofswhich he had ready to show against the young men. As to Archelaus, hemade his defense for himself, that he had promised to receive the youngmen, because it was both for their own and their father's advantage soto do, lest some too severe procedure should be gone upon in that angerand disorder they were in on occasion of the present suspicions; butthat still he had not promised to send them to Caesar; and that hehad not promised any thing else to the young men that could show anyill-will to him. 8. When these ambassadors were come to Rome, they had a fit opportunityof delivering their letters to Caesar, because they found him reconciledto Herod; for the circumstances of Nicolaus's embassage had been asfollows: As soon as he was come to Rome, and was about the court, he didnot first of all set about what he was come for only, but he thought fitalso to accuse Sylleus. Now the Arabians, even before he came to talkwith them, were quarrelling one with another; and some of them leftSylleus's party, and joining themselves to Nicolaus, informed him ofall the wicked things that had been done; and produced to him evidentdemonstrations of the slaughter of a great number of Obodas's friends bySylleus; for when these men left Sylleus, they had carried off with themthose letters whereby they could convict him. When Nicolaus saw such anopportunity afforded him, he made use of it, in order to gain his ownpoint afterward, and endeavored immediately to make a reconciliationbetween Caesar and Herod; for he was fully satisfied, that if he shoulddesire to make a defense for Herod directly, he should not be allowedthat liberty; but that if he desired to accuse Sylleus, there would anoccasion present itself of speaking on Herod's behalf. So when the causewas ready for a hearing, and the day was appointed, Nicolaus, whileAretas's ambassadors were present, accused Sylleus, and said that heimputed to him the destruction of the king [Obodas], and of many othersof the Arabians; that he had borrowed money for no good design; and heproved that he had been guilty of adultery, not only with the Arabian, but Reinan women also. And he added, that above all the rest he hadalienated Caesar from Herod, and that all that he had said about theactions of Herod were falsities. When Nicolaus was come to this topic, Caesar stopped him from going on, and desired him only to speak to thisaffair 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 shallprincipally demonstrate, that either nothing at all, or but a verylittle, of those imputations are true, of which thou hast been informed;for had they been true, thou mightest justly have been still more angryat Herod. " At this strange assertion Caesar was very attentive; andNicolaus said that there was a debt due to Herod of five hundredtalents, and a bond, wherein it was written, that if the time appointedbe lapsed, it should be lawful to make a seizure out of any part of hiscountry. "As for the pretended army, " he said, "it was no army, but aparty sent out to require the just payment of the money; that this wasnot sent immediately, nor so soon as the bond allowed, but that Sylleushad frequently come before Saturninus and Volumnius, the presidents ofSyria; and that at last he had sworn at Berytus, by thy fortune, [13]that he would certainly pay the money within thirty days, and deliverup the fugitives that were under his dominion. And that when Sylleus hadperformed nothing of this, Herod came again before the presidents;and upon their permission to make a seizure for his money, he, withdifficulty, went out of his country with a party of soldiers for thatpurpose. And this is all the war which these men so tragically describe;and this is the affair of the expedition into Arabia. And how can thisbe called a war, when thy presidents permitted it, the covenants allowedit, and it was not executed till thy name, O Caesar, as well as that ofthe other gods, had been profaned? And now I must speak in order aboutthe captives. There were robbers that dwelt in Trachonitis; at firsttheir number was no more than forty, but they became more afterwards, and they escaped the punishment Herod would have inflicted on them, bymaking Arabia their refuge. Sylleus received them, and supported themwith food, that they might be mischievous to all mankind, and gavethem a country to inhabit, and himself received the gains they made byrobbery; yet did he promise that he would deliver up these men, and thatby the same oaths and same time that he sware and fixed for payment ofhis debt: nor can he by any means show that any other persons have atthis time been taken out of Arabia besides these, and indeed not allthese neither, but only so many as could not conceal themselves. Andthus does the calumny of the captives, which hath been so odiouslyrepresented, appear to be no better than a fiction and a lie, made onpurpose to provoke thy indignation; for I venture to affirm that whenthe forces of the Arabians came upon us, and one or two of Herod'sparty fell, he then only defended himself, and there fell Nacebustheir general, and in all about twenty-five others, and no more; whenceSylleus, by multiplying every single soldier to a hundred, he reckonsthe slain to have been two thousand five hundred. " 9. This provoked Caesar more than ever. So he turned to Sylleus fullof rage, and asked him how many of the Arabians were slain. Hereupon hehesitated, and said he had been imposed upon. The covenants also wereread about the money he had borrowed, and the letters of the presidentsof Syria, and the complaints of the several cities, so many as hadbeen injured by the robbers. The conclusion was this, that Sylleus wascondemned to die, and that Caesar was reconciled to Herod, and owned hisrepentance for what severe things he had written to him, occasioned bycalumny, insomuch that he told Sylleus, that he had compelled him, byhis lying account of things, to be guilty of ingratitude against a manthat was his friend. At the last all came to this, Sylleus was sent awayto answer Herod's suit, and to repay the debt that he owed, and afterthat to be punished [with death]. But still Caesar was offended withAretas, that he had taken upon himself the government, without hisconsent first obtained, for he had determined to bestow Arabia uponHerod; but that the letters he had sent hindered him from so doing; forOlympus and Volumnius, perceiving that Caesar was now become favorableto Herod, thought fit immediately to deliver him the letters they werecommanded by Herod to give him concerning his sons. When Caesar had readthem, he thought it would not be proper to add another government tohim, now he was old, and in an ill state with relation to his sons, sohe admitted Aretas's ambassadors; and after he had just reproved him forhis rashness, in not tarrying till he received the kingdom from him, heaccepted of his presents, and confirmed him in his government. CHAPTER 11. How Herod, By Permission From Caesar Accused His Sons BeforeAn Assembly Of Judges At Berytus; And What Tero Suffered For Using ABoundless And Military Liberty Of Speech. Concerning Also The Death OfThe Young Men And Their Burial At Alexandrium. So Caesar was now reconciled to Herod, and wrote thus to him: That hewas grieved for him on account of his sons; and that in case they hadbeen guilty of any profane and insolent crimes against him, it wouldbehoove him to punish them as parricides, for which he gave him poweraccordingly; but if they had only contrived to fly away, he would havehim give them an admonition, and not proceed to extremity with them. Healso advised him to get an assembly together, and to appoint some placenear Berytus, [14] which is a city belonging to the Romans, and to takethe presidents of Syria, and Archelaus king of Cappadocia, and as manymore as he thought to be illustrious for their friendship to him, andthe dignities they were in, and determine what should be done by theirapprobation. These were the directions that Caesar gave him. AccordinglyHerod, when the letter was brought to him, was immediately very gladof Caesar's reconciliation to him, and very glad also that he had acomplete authority given him over his sons. And it strangely came about, that whereas before, in his adversity, though he had indeed showedhimself severe, yet had he not been very rash nor hasty in procuring thedestruction of his sons; he now, in his prosperity, took advantage ofthis change for the better, and the freedom he now had, to exercise hishatred against them after an unheard of manner; he therefore sent andcalled as many as he thought fit to this assembly, excepting Archclaus;for as for him, he either hated him, so that he would not invite him, orhe thought he would be an obstacle to his designs. 2. When the presidents, and the rest that belonged to the cities, werecome to Berytus, he kept his sons in a certain village belonging toSidon, called Platana, but near to this city, that if they were called, he might produce them, for he did not think fit to bring them before theassembly: and when there were one hundred and fifty assessors present, Herod came by himself alone, and accused his sons, and that in such away as if it were not a melancholy accusation, and not made but out ofnecessity, and upon the misfortunes he was under; indeed, in such a wayas was very indecent for a father to accuse his sons, for he was veryvehement and disordered when he came to the demonstration of thecrime they were accused of, and gave the greatest signs of passion andbarbarity: nor would he suffer the assessors to consider of the weightof the evidence, but asserted them to be true by his own authority, after a manner most indecent in a father against his sons, andread himself what they themselves had written, wherein there was noconfession of any plots or contrivances against him, but only how theyhad contrived to fly away, and containing withal certain reproachesagainst him, on account of the ill-will he bare them; and when he cameto those reproaches, he cried out most of all, and exaggerated what theysaid, as if they had confessed the design against him, and took his oaththat he had rather lose his life than hear such reproachful words. Atlast he said that he had sufficient authority, both by nature and byCaesar's grant to him, [to do what he thought fit]. He also added anallegation of a law of their country, which enjoined this: That ifparents laid their hands on the head of him that was accused, thestanders by were obliged to cast stones at him, and thereby to slay him;which though he were ready to do in his own country and kingdom, yet didhe wait for their determination; and yet they came thither not somuch as judges, to condemn them for such manifest designs against him, whereby he had almost perished by his sons' means, but as persons thathad an opportunity of showing their detestation of such practices, anddeclaring how unworthy a thing it must be in any, even the most remote, to pass over such treacherous designs [without punishment]. 3. When the king had said this, and the young men had not been producedto make any defense for themselves, the assessors perceived there was noroom for equity and reconciliation, so they confirmed his authority. Andin the first place, Saturninus, a person that had been consul, and oneof great dignity, pronounced his sentence, but with great moderation andtrouble; and said that he condemned Herod's sons, but did not think theyshould be put to death. He had sons of his own, and to put one's son todeath is a greater misfortune than any other that could befall him bytheir means. After him Saturninus's sons, for he had three sons thatfollowed him, and were his legates, pronounced the same sentence withtheir father. On the contrary, Volumnius's sentence was to inflict deathon such as had been so impiously undutiful to their father; and thegreatest part of the rest said the same, insomuch that the conclusionseemed to be, that the young men were condemned to die. Immediatelyafter this Herod came away from thence, and took his sons to Tyre, whereNicolaus met him in his voyage from Rome; of whom he inquired, after hehad related to him what had passed at Berytus, what his sentiments wereabout his sons, and what his friends at Rome thought of that matter. Hisanswer was, "That what they had determined to do to thee was impious, and that thou oughtest to keep them in prison; and if thou thinkest anything further necessary, thou mayst indeed so punish them, that thoumayst not appear to indulge thy anger more than to govern thyself byjudgment; but if thou inclinest to the milder side, thou mayst absolvethem, lest perhaps thy misfortunes be rendered incurable; and this isthe opinion of the greatest part of thy friends at Rome also. " WhereuponHerod was silent, and in great thoughtfulness, and bid Nicolaus sailalong with him. 4. Now as they came to Cesarea, every body was there talking ofHerod's sons, and the kingdom was in suspense, and the people in greatexpectation of what would become of them; for a terrible fear seizedupon all men, lest the ancient disorders of the family should come to asad conclusion, and they were in great trouble about their sufferings;nor was it without danger to say any rash thing about this matter, noreven to hear another saying it, but men's pity was forced to be shut upin themselves, which rendered the excess of their sorrow very irksome, but very silent yet was there an old soldier of Herod's, whose name wasTero, who had a son of the same age with Alexander, and his friend, whowas so very free as openly to speak out what others silently thoughtabout that matter; and was forced to cry out often among the multitude, and said, in the most unguarded manner, that truth was perished, andjustice taken away from men, while lies and ill-will prevailed, andbrought such a mist before public affairs, that the offenders were notable to see the greatest mischiefs that can befall men. And as he was sobold, he seemed not to have kept himself out of danger, by speaking sofreely; but the reasonableness of what he said moved men to regard himas having behaved himself with great manhood, and this at a proper timealso, for which reason every one heard what he said with pleasure; andalthough they first took care of their own safety by keeping silentthemselves, yet did they kindly receive the great freedom he took; forthe expectation they were in of so great an affliction, put a force uponthem to speak of Tero whatsoever they pleased. 5. This man had thrust himself into the king's presence with thegreatest freedom, and desired to speak with him by himself alone, whichthe king permitted him to do, where he said this: "Since I am notable, O king, to bear up under so great a concern as I am under, I havepreferred the use of this bold liberty that I now take, which may befor thy advantage, if thou mind to get any profit by it, before my ownsafety. Whither is thy understanding gone, and left thy soul empty?Whither is that extraordinary sagacity of thine gone whereby thou hastperformed so many and such glorious-actions? Whence comes this solitude, and desertion of thy friends and relations? Of which I cannot butdetermine that they are neither thy friends nor relations, while theyoverlook such horrid wickedness in thy once happy kingdom. Dost not thouperceive what is doing? Wilt thou slay these two young men, born of thyqueen, who are accomplished with every virtue in the highest degree, andleave thyself destitute in thy old age, but exposed to one son, who hathvery ill managed the hopes thou hast given him, ' and to relations, whosedeath thou hast so often resolved on thyself? Dost not thou take notice, that the very silence of the multitude at once sees the crime, andabhors the fact? The whole army and the officers have commiseration onthe poor unhappy youths, and hatred to those that are the actors in thismatter. " These words the king heard, and for some time with good temper. But what can one say? When Tero plainly touched upon the bad behaviorand perfidiousness of his domestics, he was moved at it; but Tero wenton further, and by degrees used an unbounded military freedom of speech, nor was he so well disciplined as to accommodate himself to the time. SoHerod was greatly disturbed, and seeming to be rather reproached by thisspeech, than to be hearing what was for his advantage, while he learnedthereby that both the soldiers abhorred the thing he was about, and theofficers had indignation at it, he gave order that all whom Tero hadnamed, and Tero himself, should be bound and kept in prison. 6. When this was over, one Trypho, who was the king's barber, took theopportunity, and came and told the king, that Tero would often havepersuaded him, when he trimmed him with a razor, to cut his throat, forthat by this means he should be among the chief of Alexander's friends, and receive great rewards from him. When he had said this, the king gaveorder that Tero, and his son, and the barber should be tortured, whichwas done accordingly; but while Tero bore up himself, his son seeinghis father already in a sad case, and had no hope of deliverance, andperceiving what would be the consequence of his terrible sufferings, said, that if the king would free him and his father from these tormentsfor what he should say, he would tell the truth. And when the king hadgiven his word to do so, he said that there was an agreement made, thatTero should lay violent hands on the king, because it was easy for himto come when he was alone; and that if, when he had done the thing, heshould suffer death for it, as was not unlikely, it would be an act ofgenerosity done in favor of Alexander. This was what Tero's son said, and thereby freed his father from the distress he was in; but uncertainit is whether he had been thus forced to speak what was true, or whetherit were a contrivance of his, in order to procure his own and hisfather's deliverance from their miseries. 7. As for Herod, if he had before any doubt about the slaughter of hissons, there was now no longer any room left in his soul for it; but hehad banished away whatsoever might afford him the least suggestion ofreasoning better about this matter, so he already made haste to bringhis purpose to a conclusion. He also brought out three hundred of theofficers that were under an accusation, as also Tero and his son, and the barber that accused them before an assembly, and brought anaccusation against them all; whom the multitude stoned with whatsoevercame to hand, and thereby slew them. Alexander also and Aristobulus werebrought to Sebaste, by their father's command, and there strangled; buttheir dead bodies were in the night time carried to Alexandraum, where their uncle by the mother's side, and the greatest part of theirancestors, had been deposited. 8. [15] And now perhaps it may not seem unreasonable to some, thatsuch an inveterate hatred might increase so much [on both sides], asto proceed further, and overcome nature; but it may justly deserveconsideration, whether it be to be laid to the charge of the young men, that they gave such an occasion to their father's anger, and led himto do what he did, and by going on long in the same way put things pastremedy, and brought him to use them so unmercifully; or whether it be tobe laid to the father's charge, that he was so hard-hearted, and so verytender in the desire of government, and of other things that would tendto his glory, that tae would take no one into a partnership with him, that so whatsoever he would have done himself might continue immovable;or, indeed, whether fortune have not greater power than all prudentreasonings; whence we are persuaded that human actions are therebydetermined beforehand by an inevitable necessity, and we call her Fate, because there is nothing which is not done by her; wherefore I supposeit will be sufficient to compare this notion with that other, whichattribute somewhat to ourselves, and renders men not unaccountable forthe different conducts of their lives, which notion is no other than thephilosophical determination of our ancient law. Accordingly, of the twoother causes of this sad event, any body may lay the blame on the youngmen, who acted by youthful vanity, and pride of their royal birth, thatthey should bear to hear the calumnies that were raised against theirfather, while certainly they were not equitable judges of the actions ofhis life, but ill-natured in suspecting, and intemperate in speaking ofit, and on both accounts easily caught by those that observed them, andrevealed them to gain favor; yet cannot their father be thought worthyexcuse, as to that horrid impiety which he was guilty of about them, while he ventured, without any certain evidence of their treacherousdesigns against him, and without any proofs that they had madepreparations for such attempt, to kill his own sons, who were of verycomely bodies, and the great darlings of other men, and no way deficientin their conduct, whether it were in hunting, or in warlike exercises, or in speaking upon occasional topics of discourse; for in all thesethey were skillful, and especially Alexander, who was the eldest; forcertainly it had been sufficient, even though he had condemned them, tohave kept them alive in bonds, or to let them live at a distance fromhis dominions in banishment, while he was surrounded by the Romanforces, which were a strong security to him, whose help would preventhis suffering any thing by a sudden onset, or by open force; but for himto kill them on the sudden, in order to gratify a passion that governedhim, was a demonstration of insufferable impiety. He also was guilty ofso great a crime in his older age; nor will the delays that he made, and the length of time in which the thing was done, plead at all for hisexcuse; for when a man is on a sudden amazed, and in commotion of mind, and then commits a wicked action, although this be a heavy crime, yet isit a thing that frequently happens; but to do it upon deliberation, andafter frequent attempts, and as frequent puttings-off, to undertake itat last, and accomplish it, was the action of a murderous mind, andsuch as was not easily moved from that which is evil. And this temper heshowed in what he did afterward, when he did not spare those that seemedto be the best beloved of his friends that were left, wherein, thoughthe justice of the punishment caused those that perished to be the lesspitied, yet was the barbarity of the man here equal, in that he did notabstain from their slaughter also. But of those persons we shall haveoccasion to discourse more hereafter. BOOK XVII. Containing The Interval Of Fourteen Years. From The Death Of Alexander And Aristobulus To The Banishment OfArchelaus. CHAPTER 1. How Antipater Was Hated By All The Nation [Of The Jews] ForThe Slaughter Of His Brethren; And How, For That Reason He Got IntoPeculiar Favor With His Friends At Rome, By Giving Them Many Presents;As He Did Also With Saturninus, The President Of Syria And The GovernorsWho Were Under Him; And Concerning Herod's Wives And Children. 1. When Antipater had thus taken off his brethren, and had brought hisfather into the highest degree of impiety, till he was haunted withfuries for what he had done, his hopes did not succeed to his mind, asto the rest of his life; for although he was delivered from the fear ofhis brethren being his rivals as to the government, yet did he find ita very hard thing, and almost impracticable, to come at the kingdom, because the hatred of the nation against him on that account was becomevery great; and besides this very disagreeable circumstance, the affairof the soldiery grieved him still more, who were alienated from him, from which yet these kings derived all the safety which they had, whenever they found the nation desirous of innovation: and all thisdanger was drawn upon him by his destruction of his brethren. However, he governed the nation jointly with his father, being indeed no otherthan a king already; and he was for that very reason trusted, and themore firmly depended on, for the which he ought himself to have been putto death, as appearing to have betrayed his brethren out of his concernfor the preservation of Herod, and not rather out of his ill-will tothem, and, before them, to his father himself: and this was the accursedstate he was in. Now all Antipater's contrivances tended to make his wayto take off Herod, that he might have nobody to accuse him in the vilepractices he was devising: and that Herod might have no refuge, nor anyto afford him their assistance, since they must thereby have Antipaterfor their open enemy; insomuch that the very plots he had laid againsthis brethren were occasioned by the hatred he bore his father. But atthis time he was more than ever set upon the execution of his attemptsagainst Herod, because if he were once dead, the government would nowbe firmly secured to him; but if he were suffered to live any longer, heshould be in danger, upon a discovery of that wickedness of which he hadbeen the contriver, and his father would of necessity then become hisenemy. And on this account it was that he became very bountiful to hisfather's friends, and bestowed great sums on several of them, in orderto surprise men with his good deeds, and take off their hatred againsthim. And he sent great presents to his friends at Rome particularly, to gain their good-will; and above all to Saturninus, the president ofSyria. He also hoped to gain the favor of Saturninus's brother withthe large presents he bestowed on him; as also he used the same artto [Salome] the king's sister, who had married one of Herod's chieffriends. And when he counterfeited friendship to those with whom heconversed, he was very subtle in gaining their belief, and very cunningto hide his hatred against any that he really did hate. But he could notimpose upon his aunt, who understood him of a long time, and was a womannot easily to be deluded, especially while she had already usedall possible caution in preventing his pernicious designs. AlthoughAntipeter's uncle by the mother's side was married to her daughter, andthis by his own connivance and management, while she had before beenmarried to Aristobulus, and while Salome's other daughter by thathusband was married to the son of Calleas; yet that marriage was noobstacle to her, who knew how wicked he was, in her discovering hisdesigns, as her former kindred to him could not prevent her hatred ofhim. Now Herod had compelled Salome, while she was in love with Sylleusthe Arabian, and had taken a fondness for him, to marry Alexas; whichmatch was by her submitted to at the instance of Julia, who persuadedSalome 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 shewould not accept of Alexas for her husband; so she submitted to Juliaas being Caesar's wife; and besides that, she advised her to nothing butwhat was very much for her own advantage. At this time also it was thatHerod sent back king Archelaus's daughter, who had been Alexander'swife, to her father, returning the portion he had with her out of hisown estate, that there might be no dispute between them about it. 2. Now Herod brought up his sons' children with great care; forAlexander had two sons by Glaphyra; and Aristobulus had three sons byBernice, Salome's daughter, and two daughters; and as his friends wereonce with him, he presented the children before them; and deploring thehard fortune of his own sons, he prayed that no such ill fortune wouldbefall these who were their children, but that they might improve invirtue, and obtain what they justly deserved, and might make him amendsfor his care of their education. He also caused them to be betrothedagainst they should come to the proper age of marriage; the elder ofAlexander's sons to Pheroras's daughter, and Antipater's daughterto Aristobulus's eldest son. He also allotted one of Aristobulus'sdaughters 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; forit is the ancient practice among us to have many wives at the same time. Now the king made these espousals for the children, out of commiserationof them now they were fatherless, as endeavoring to render Antipaterkind to them by these intermarriages. But Antipater did not fail to bearthe same temper of mind to his brothers' children which he had borne tohis brothers themselves; and his father's concern about them provokedhis indignation against them upon this supposal, that they would becomegreater than ever his brothers had been; while Archclaus, a king, wouldsupport his daughter's sons, and Pheroras, a tetrarch, would accept ofone of the daughters as a wife to his son. What provoked him also wasthis, that all the multitude would so commiserate these fatherlesschildren, and so hate him [for making them fatherless], that all wouldcome out, since they were no strangers to his vile disposition towardshis brethren. He contrived, therefore, to overturn his father'ssettlements, as thinking it a terrible thing that they should be sorelated to him, and be so powerful withal. So Herod yielded to him, andchanged his resolution at his entreaty; and the determination nowwas, that Antipater himself should marry Aristobulus's daughter, andAntipater's son should marry Pheroras's daughter. So the espousals forthe marriages were changed after this manner, even without the king'sreal approbation. 3. Now Herod the king had at this time nine wives; one of themAntipater's mother, and another the high priest's daughter, by whomhe had a son of his own name. He had also one who was his brother'sdaughter, and another his sister's daughter; which two had no children. One of his wives also was of the Samaritan nation, whose sons wereAntipas and Archelaus, and whose daughter was Olympias; which daughterwas afterward married to Joseph, the king's brother's son; but Archelausand Antipas were brought up with a certain private man at Rome. Herodhad also to wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem, and by her he had his sonsHerod and Philip; which last was also brought up at Rome. Pallas alsowas one of his wives, which bare him his son Phasaelus. And besidesthese, he had for his wives Phedra and Elpis, by whom he had hisdaughters Roxana and Salome. As for his elder daughters by the samemother with Alexander and Aristobulus, and whom Pheroras neglected tomarry, he gave the one in marriage to Antipater, the king's sister'sson, and the other to Phasaelus, his brother's son. And this was theposterity of Herod. CHAPTER 2. Concerning Zamaris, The Babylonian Jew; Concerning The PlotsLaid By Antipater Against His Father; And Somewhat About The Pharisees. 1. And now it was that Herod, being desirous of securing himself on theside of the Trachonites, resolved to build a village as large as a cityfor the Jews, in the middle of that country, which might make his owncountry difficult to be assaulted, and whence he might be at hand tomake sallies upon them, and do them a mischief. Accordingly, when heunderstood that there was a man that was a Jew come out of Babylon, withfive hundred horsemen, all of whom could shoot their arrows as they rodeon horde-back, and, with a hundred of his relations, had passedover Euphrates, and now abode at Antioch by Daphne of Syria, whereSaturninus, who was then president, had given them a place forhabitation, called Valatha, he sent for this man, with the multitudethat followed him, and promised to give him land in the toparchy calledBatanea, which country is bounded with Trachonitis, as desirous to makethat his habitation a guard to himself. He also engaged to let himhold the country free from tribute, and that they should dwell entirelywithout paying such customs as used to be paid, and gave it himtax-free. 2. The Babylonian was reduced by these offers to come hither; so he tookpossession of the land, and built in it fortresses and a village, andnamed it Bathyra. Whereby this man became a safeguard to the inhabitantsagainst the Trachonites, and preserved those Jews who came out ofBabylon, to offer their sacrifices at Jerusalem, from being hurt by theTrachonite robbers; so that a great number came to him from all thoseparts where the ancient Jewish laws were observed, and the countrybecame full of people, by reason of their universal freedom from taxes. This continued during the life of Herod; but when Philip, who was[tetrarch] after him, took the government, he made them pay some smalltaxes, and that for a little while only; and Agrippa the Great, and hisson of the same name, although they harassed them greatly, yet wouldthey not take their liberty away. From whom, when the Romans have nowtaken the government into their own hands, they still gave themthe privilege of their freedom, but oppress them entirely with theimposition of taxes. Of which matter I shall treat more accurately inthe progress of this history. [2] 3. At length Zamaris the Babylonian, to whom Herod had given thatcountry for a possession, died, having lived virtuously, and leftchildren of a good character behind him; one of whom was Jacim, whowas famous for his valor, and taught his Babylonians how to ride theirhorses; and a troop of them were guards to the forementioned kings. And when Jacim was dead in his old age, he left a son, whose name wasPhilip, one of great strength in his hands, and in other respects alsomore eminent for his valor than any of his contemporaries; on whichaccount there was a confidence and firm friendship between him and kingAgrippa. He had also an army which he maintained as great as that of aking, which he exercised and led wheresoever he had occasion to march. 4. When the affairs of Herod were in the condition I have described, allthe public affairs depended upon Antipater; and his power was such, that he could do good turns to as many as he pleased, and this by hisfather's concession, in hopes of his good-will and fidelity to him; andthis till he ventured to use his power still further, because his wickeddesigns were concealed from his father, and he made him believe everything he said. He was also formidable to all, not so much on accountof the power and authority he had, as for the shrewdness of his vileattempts beforehand; but he who principally cultivated a friendship withhim was Pheroras, who received the like marks of his friendship; whileAntipater had cunningly encompassed him about by a company of women, whom he placed as guards about him; for Pheroras was greatly enslaved tohis wife, and to her mother, and to her sister; and this notwithstandingthe hatred he bare them for the indignities they had offered to hisvirgin daughters. Yet did he bear them, and nothing was to be donewithout the women, who had got this man into their circle, and continuedstill to assist each other in all things, insomuch that Antipater wasentirely addicted to them, both by himself and by his mother; for thesefour women, [3] said all one and the same thing; but the opinions ofPheroras and Antipater were different in some points of no consequence. But the king's sister [Salome] was their antagonist, who for a goodwhile had looked about all their affairs, and was apprized that thistheir friendship was made in order to do Herod some mischief, and wasdisposed to inform the king of it. And since these people knew thattheir friendship was very disagreeable to Herod, as tending to do him amischief, they contrived that their meetings should not be discovered;so they pretended to hate one another, and to abuse one another whentime served, and especially when Herod was present, or when any onewas there that would tell him: but still their intimacy was firmer thanever, when they were private. And this was the course they took. Butthey could not conceal from Salome neither their first contrivance, when they set about these their intentions, nor when they had made someprogress in them; but she searched out every thing; and, aggravatingthe relations to her brother, declared to him, as well their secretassemblies and compotations, as their counsels taken in a clandestinemanner, which if they were not in order to destroy him, they mightwell enough have been open and public. But to appearance they are atvariance, and speak about one another as if they intended one another amischief, but agree so well together when they are out of the sightof the multitude; for when they are alone by themselves, they act inconcert, and profess that they will never leave off their friendship, but will fight against those from whom they conceal their designs. Andthus did she search out these things, and get a perfect knowledge ofthem, and then told her brother of them, who understood also of himselfa 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 therewas a certain sect of men that were Jews, who valued themselves highlyupon the exact skill they had in the law of their fathers, and made menbelieve they were highly favored by God, by whom this set of women wereinveigled. These are those that are called the sect of the Pharisees, who were in a capacity of greatly opposing kings. A cunning sect theywere, and soon elevated to a pitch of open fighting and doing mischief. Accordingly, when all the people of the Jews gave assurance of theirgood-will to Caesar, and to the king's government, these very men didnot swear, being above six thousand; and when the king imposed a fineupon them, Pheroras's wife paid their fine for them. In order torequite which kindness of hers, since they were believed to have theforeknowledge of things to come by Divine inspiration, they foretold howGod had decreed that Herod's government should cease, and his posterityshould be deprived of it; but that the kingdom should come to her andPheroras, and to their children. These predictions were not concealedfrom Salome, but were told the king; as also how they had perverted somepersons about the palace itself; so the king slew such of the Phariseesas were principally accused, and Bagoas the eunuch, and one Carus, who exceeded all men of that time in comeliness, and one that was hiscatamite. He slew also all those of his own family who had consented towhat the Pharisees foretold; and for Bagoas, he had been puffed up bythem, as though he should be named the father and the benefactor of himwho, by the prediction, was foretold to be their appointed king; forthat this king would have all things in his power, and would enableBagoas to marry, and to have children of his own body begotten. CHAPTER 3. Concerning The Enmity Between Herod And Pheroras; How HerodSent Antipater To Caesar; And Of The Death Of Pheroras. 1. When Herod had punished those Pharisees who had been convicted of theforegoing crimes, he gathered an assembly together of his friends, andaccused Pheroras's wife; and ascribing the abuses of the virgins tothe impudence of that woman, brought an accusation against her for thedishonor she had brought upon them: that she had studiously introduced aquarrel between him and his brother, and, by her ill temper, had broughtthem into a state of war, both by her words and actions; that the fineswhich he had laid had not been paid, and the offenders had escapedpunishment by her means; and that nothing which had of late been donehad 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 myentreaty, or as following my opinion, put this his wife away, as onethat 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 thineaway; for by this means thou wilt continue to be a brother to me, andwilt abide in thy love to me. " Then said Pheroras, [although he waspressed hard by the former words, ] that as he would not do so unjusta thing as to renounce his brotherly relation to him, so would he notleave off his affection for his wife; that he would rather choose todie than to live, and be deprived of a wife that was so dear unto him. Hereupon Herod put off his anger against Pheroras on these accounts, although he himself thereby underwent a very uneasy punishment. However, he forbade Antipater and his mother to have any conversation withPheroras, and bid them to take care to avoid the assemblies of thewomen; which they promised to do, but still got together when occasionserved, and both Ptieroras and Antipater had their own merry meetings. The report went also, that Antipater had criminal conversation withPheroras's wife, and that they were brought together by Antipater'smother. 2. But Antipater had now a suspicion of his father, and was afraid thatthe effects of his hatred to him might increase; so he wrote tohis friends at Rome, and bid them to send to Herod, that he wouldimmediately send Antipater to Caesar; which when it was done, Herod sentAntipater thither, and sent most noble presents along with him; as alsohis testament, wherein Antipater was appointed to be his successor; andthat if Antipater should die first, his son [Herod Philip] by the highpriest's daughter should succeed. And, together with Antipater, therewent to Rome Sylleus the Arabian, although he had done nothing of allthat Caesar had enjoined him. Antipater also accused him of the samecrimes of which he had been formerly accused by Herod. Sylleus was alsoaccused by Aretas, that without his consent he had slain many of thechief of the Arabians at Petra; and particularly Soemus, a man thatdeserved to be honored by all men; and that he had slain Fabatus, aservant of Caesar. These were the things of which Sylleus was accused, and that on the occasion following: There was one Corinthus, belongingto Herod, of the guards of the king's body, and one who was greatlytrusted by him. Sylleus had persuaded this man with the offer of a greatsum of money to kill Herod; and he had promised to do it. When Fabatushad been made acquainted with this, for Sylleus had himself told him ofit, he informed the king of it; who caught Corinthus, and put him to thetorture, and thereby got out of him the whole conspiracy. He also caughttwo other Arabians, who were discovered by Corinthus; the one the headof a tribe, and the other a friend to Sylleus, who both were by the kingbrought to the torture, and confessed that they were come to encourageCorinthus not to fail of doing what he had undertaken to do; and toassist him with their own hands in the murder, if need should requiretheir assistance. So Saturninns, upon Herod's discovering the whole tohim, sent them to Rome. 3. At this time Herod commanded Pheroras, that since he was so obstinatein his affection for his wife, he should retire into his own tetrarchy;which he did very willingly, and sware many oaths that he would notcome again till he heard that Herod was dead. And indeed when, upon asickness of the king, he was desired to come to him before he died, thathe might intrust him with some of his injunctions, he had such a regardto his oath, that he would not come to him; yet did not Herod so retainhis hatred to Pheroras, but remitted of his purpose [not to see him], which he before had, and that for such great causes as have been alreadymentioned: but as soon as he began to be ill, he came to him, andthis without being sent for; and when he was dead, he took care of hisfuneral, and had his body brought to Jerusalem, and buried there, andappointed a solemn mourning for him. This [death of Pheroras] became theorigin of Antipater's misfortunes, although he were already sailed forRome, God now being about to punish him for the murder of his brethren, I will explain the history of this matter very distinctly, that it maybe for a warning to mankind, that they take care of conducting theirwhole lives by the rules of virtue. CHAPTER 4. Pheroras's Wife Is Accused By His Freedmen, As Guilty OfPoisoning Him; And How Herod, Upon Examining; Of The Matter By TortureFound The Poison; But So That It Had Been Prepared For Himself ByHis Son Antipater; And Upon An Inquiry By Torture He Discovered TheDangerous Designs Of Antipater. 1. As soon as Pheroras was dead, and his funeral was over, two ofPheroras's freed-men, who were much esteemed by him, came to Herod, andentreated him not to leave the murder of his brother without avengingit, but to examine into such an unreasonable and unhappy death. When hewas moved with these words, for they seemed to him to be true, they saidthat Pheroras supped with his wife the day before he fell sick, and thata certain potion was brought him in such a sort of food as he was notused to eat; but that when he had eaten, he died of it: that thispotion was brought out of Arabia by a woman, under pretense indeed as alove-potion, for that was its name, but in reality to kill Pheroras;for that the Arabian women are skillful in making such poisons: and thewoman to whom they ascribe this was confessedly a most intimate friendof one of Sylleus's mistresses; and that both the mother and the sisterof Pheroras's wife had been at the places where she lived, and hadpersuaded her to sell them this potion, and had come back and broughtit with them the day before that his supper. Hereupon the king wasprovoked, and put the women slaves to the torture, and some that werefree with them; and as the fact did not yet appear, because none of themwould confess it, at length one of them, under the utmost agonies, saidno more but this, that she prayed that God would send the like agoniesupon Antipater's mother, who had been the occasion of these miseries toall of them. This prayer induced Herod to increase the women's tortures, till thereby all was discovered; their merry meetings, their secretassemblies, and the disclosing of what he had said to his son alone untoPheroras's [4] women. [Now what Herod had charged Antipater to conceal, was the gift of a hundred talents to him not to have any conversationwith Pheroras. ] And what hatred he bore to his father; and that hecomplained to his mother how very long his father lived; and that he washimself almost an old man, insomuch that if the kingdom should come tohim, it would not afford him any great pleasure; and that there werea great many of his brothers, or brothers' children, bringing up, thatmight have hopes of the kingdom as well as himself, all which made hisown hopes of it uncertain; for that even now, if he should himself notlive, Herod had ordained that the government should be conferred, not onhis son, but rather on a brother. He also had accused the king of greatbarbarity, and of the slaughter of his sons; and that it was out ofthe fear he was under, lest he should do the like to him, that made himcontrive this his journey to Rome, and Pheroras contrive to go to hisown tetrarchy. [5] 2. These confessions agreed with what his sister had told him, andtended greatly to corroborate her testimony, and to free her from thesuspicion of her unfaithfulness to him. So the king having satisfiedhimself of the spite which Doris, Antipater's mother, as well ashimself, bore to him, took away from her all her fine ornaments, whichwere worth many talents, and then sent her away, and entered intofriendship with Pheroras's women. But he who most of all irritated theking against his son was one Antipater, the procurator of Antipater theking's son, who, when he was tortured, among other things, said thatAntipater had prepared a deadly potion, and given it to Pheroras, withhis desire that he would give it to his father during his absence, andwhen he was too remote to have the least suspicion cast upon him theretorelating; that Antiphilus, one of Antipater's friends, brought thatpotion out of Egypt; and that it was sent to Pheroras by Thendion, thebrother of the mother of Antipater, the king's son, and by that meanscame to Pheroras's wife, her husband having given it her to keep. Andwhen the king asked her about it, she confessed it; and as she wasrunning to fetch it, she threw herself down from the house-top; yet didshe not kill herself, because she fell upon her feet; by which means, when the king had comforted her, and had promised her and her domesticspardon, upon condition of their concealing nothing of the truth fromhim, but had threatened her with the utmost miseries if she provedungrateful [and concealed any thing]: so she promised, and swore thatshe would speak out every thing, and tell after what manner every thingwas done; and said what many took to be entirely true, that the potionwas brought out of Egypt by Antiphilus; and that his brother, who was aphysician, had procured it; and that "when Thendion brought it us, shekept it upon Pheroras's committing it to her; and that it was preparedby Antipater for thee. When, therefore, Pheroras was fallen sick, andthou camest to him and tookest care of him, and when he saw the kindnessthou hadst for him, his mind was overborne thereby. So he called me tohim, and said to me, 'O woman! Antipater hath circumvented me inthis affair of his father and my brother, by persuading me to have amurderous intention to him, and procuring a potion to be subservientthereto; do thou, therefore, go and fetch my potion, [since my brotherappears to have still the same virtuous disposition towards me which hehad formerly, and I do not expect to live long myself, and that I maynot defile my forefathers by the murder of a brother, ] and burn itbefore my face:' that accordingly she immediately brought it, and didas her husband bade her; and that she burnt the greatest part of thepotion; but that a little of it was left, that if the king, afterPheroras's death, should treat her ill, she might poison herself, andthereby get clear of her miseries. " Upon her saying thus, she broughtout the potion, and the box in which it was, before them all. Nay, therewas another brother of Antiphilus, and his mother also, who, by theextremity of pain and torture, confessed the same things, and owned thebox [to be that which had been brought out of Egypt]. The high priest'sdaughter also, who was the king's wife, was accused to have beenconscious of all this, and had resolved to conceal it; for which reasonHerod divorced her, and blotted her son out of his testament, wherein hehad been mentioned as one that was to reign after him; and he took thehigh priesthood away from his father-in-law, Simeon the son of Boethus, and appointed Matthias the son of Theophilus, who was born at Jerusalem, to be high priest in his room. 3. While this was doing, Bathyllus also, Antipater's freed-man, camefrom Rome, and, upon the torture, was found to have brought anotherpotion, to give it into the hands of Antipater's mother, and ofPheroras, that if the former potion did not operate upon the king, this at least might carry him off. There came also letters from Herod'sfriends at Rome, by the approbation and at the suggestion of Antipater, to accuse Archelaus and Philip, as if they calumniated their father onaccount of the slaughter of Alexander and Aristobulus, and as if theycommiserated their deaths, and as if, because they were sent for home, [for their father had already recalled them, ] they concluded they werethemselves also to be destroyed. These letters had been procured bygreat rewards by Antipater's friends; but Antipater himself wrote to hisfather about them, and laid the heaviest things to their charge; yet didhe entirely excuse them of any guilt, and said they were but youngmen, and so imputed their words to their youth. But he said that he hadhimself been very busy in the affair relating to Sylleus, and in gettinginterest among the great men; and on that account had bought splendidornaments to present them withal, which cost him two hundred talents. Now one may wonder how it came about, that while so many accusationswere laid against him in Judea during seven months before this time, hewas not made acquainted with any of them. The causes of which were, thatthe roads were exactly guarded, and that men hated Antipater; for therewas nobody who would run any hazard himself to gain him any advantages. CHAPTER 5. Antipater's Navigation From Rome To His Father; And How HeWas Accused By Nicolaus Of Damascus And Condemned To Die By His Father, And By Quintilius Varus, Who Was Then President Of Syria; And How He WasThen Bound Till Caesar Should Be Informed Of His Cause. 1. Now Herod, upon Antipater's writing to him, that having done all thathe was to do, and this in the manner he was to do it, he would suddenlycome to him, concealed his anger against him, and wrote back to him, andbid him not delay his journey, lest any harm should befall himself inhis absence. At the same time also he made some little complaint abouthis mother, but promised that he would lay those complaints aside whenhe should return. He withal expressed his entire affection for him, asfearing lest he should have some suspicion of him, and defer his journeyto him; and lest, while he lived at Rome, he should lay plots forthe kingdom, and, moreover, do somewhat against himself. This letterAntipater met with in Cilicia; but had received an account of Pheroras'sdeath before at Tarentum. This last news affected him deeply; not outof any affection for Pheroras, but because he was dead without havingmurdered his father, which he had promised him to do. And when he wasat Celenderis in Cilicia, he began to deliberate with himself about hissailing home, as being much grieved with the ejection of his mother. Nowsome of his friends advised him that he should tarry a while some where, in expectation of further information. But others advised him to sailhome without delay; for that if he were once come thither, he would soonput an end to all accusations, and that nothing afforded any weight tohis accusers at present but his absence. He was persuaded by these last, and sailed on, and landed at the haven called Sebastus, which Herod hadbuilt at vast expenses in honor of Caesar, and called Sebastus. And nowwas Antipater evidently in a miserable condition, while nobody came tohim nor saluted him, as they did at his going away, with good wishesof joyful acclamations; nor was there now any thing to hinder themfrom entertaining him, on the contrary, with bitter curses, while theysupposed he was come to receive his punishment for the murder of hisbrethren. 2. Now Quintilius Varus was at this time at Jerusalem, being sent tosucceed Saturninus as president of Syria, and was come as an assessorto Herod, who had desired his advice in his present affairs; and as theywere sitting together, Antipater came upon them, without knowing anything of the matter; so he came into the palace clothed in purple. Theporters indeed received him in, but excluded his friends. And now hewas in great disorder, and presently understood the condition he was in, while, upon his going to salute his father, he was repulsed by him, who called him a murderer of his brethren, and a plotter of destructionagainst himself, and told him that Varus should be his auditor and hisjudge the very next day; so he found that what misfortunes he now heardof were already upon him, with the greatness of which he went away inconfusion; upon which his mother and his wife met him, [which wife wasthe daughter of Antigonus, who was king of the Jews before Herod, ] fromwhom he learned all circumstances which concerned him, and then preparedhimself for his trial. 3. On the next day Varus and the king sat together in judgment, and boththeir friends were also called in, as also the king's relations, withhis sister Salome, and as many as could discover any thing, and such ashad been tortured; and besides these, some slaves of Antipater's mother, who were taken up a little before Antipater's coming, and brought withthem a written letter, the sum of which was this: That he should notcome back, because all was come to his father's knowledge; and thatCaesar was the only refuge he had left to prevent both his and herdelivery into his father's hands. Then did Antipater fall down at hisfather's feet, and besought him not to prejudge his cause, but thathe might be first heard by his father, and that his father would keephimself unprejudiced. So Herod ordered him to be brought into the midst, and then lamented himself about his children, from whom he had sufferedsuch great misfortunes; and because Antipater fell upon him in his oldage. He also reckoned up what maintenance and what education he hadgiven them; and what seasonable supplies of wealth he had afforded them, according to their own desires; none of which favors had hinderedthem from contriving against him, and from bringing his very life intodanger, in order to gain his kingdom, after an impious manner, by takingaway his life before the course of nature, their father's wishes, orjustice required that that kingdom should come to them; and that hewondered what hopes could elevate Antipater to such a pass as to behardy enough to attempt such things; that he had by his testament inwriting declared him his successor in the government; and while he wasalive, he was in no respect inferior to him, either in his illustriousdignity, or in power and authority, he having no less than fifty talentsfor his yearly income, and had received for his journey to Rome no fewerthan thirty talents. He also objected to him the case of his brethrenwhom he had accused; and if they were guilty, he had imitated theirexample; and if not, he had brought him groundless accusations againsthis near relations; for that he had been acquainted with all thosethings by him, and by nobody else, and had done what was done by hisapprobation, and whom he now absolved from all that was criminal, bybecoming the inheritor of the guilt of such their parricide. 4. When Herod had thus spoken, he fell a weeping, and was not able tosay any more; but at his desire Nicolaus of Damascus, being the king'sfriend, and always conversant with him, and acquainted with whatsoeverhe did, and with the circumstances of his affairs, proceeded to whatremained, and explained all that concerned the demonstrations andevidences of the facts. Upon which Antipater, in order to make hislegal defense, turned himself to his father, and enlarged upon the manyindications he had given of his good-will to him; and instanced in thehonors that had been done him, which yet had not been done, had he notdeserved them by his virtuous concern about him; for that he had madeprovision for every thing that was fit to be foreseen beforehand, as togiving him his wisest advice; and whenever there was occasion for thelabor of his own hands, he had not grudged any such pains for him. Andthat it was almost impossible that he, who had delivered his father fromso many treacherous contrivances laid against him, should be himself ina plot against him, and so lose all the reputation he had gained forhis virtue, by his wickedness which succeeded it; and this while he hadnothing to prohibit him, who was already appointed his successor, toenjoy the royal honor with his father also at present; and that therewas no likelihood that a person who had the one half of that authoritywithout any danger, and with a good character, should hunt after thewhole with infamy and danger, and this when it was doubtful whether hecould obtain it or not; and when he saw the sad example of his brethrenbefore him, and was both the informer and the accuser against them, ata time when they might not otherwise have been discovered; nay, was theauthor of the punishment inflicted upon them, when it appeared evidentlythat they were guilty of a wicked attempt against their father; and thateven the contentions there were in the king's family were indicationsthat he had ever managed affairs out of the sincerest affection tohis father. And as to what he had done at Rome, Caesar was a witnessthereto, who yet was no more to be imposed upon than God himself; ofwhose opinions his letters sent hither are sufficient evidence; and thatit was not reasonable to prefer the calumnies of such as proposed toraise disturbances before those letters; the greatest part of whichcalumnies had been raised during his absence, which gave scope to hisenemies to forge them, which they had not been able to do if he hadbeen there. Moreover he showed the weakness of the evidence obtained bytorture, which was commonly false, because the distress men are in undersuch tortures naturally obliges them to say many things in order toplease those that govern them. He also offered himself to the torture. 5. Hereupon there was a change observed in the assembly, while theygreatly pitied Antipater, who by weeping and putting on a countenancesuitable to his sad case made them commiserate the same, insomuch thathis very enemies were moved to compassion; and it appeared plainly thatHerod himself was affected in his own mind, although he was not willingit should be taken notice of. Then did Nicolaus begin to prosecute whatthe king had begun, and that with great bitterness; and summed up allthe evidence which arose from the tortures, or from the testimonies. He principally and largely cried up the king's virtues, which he hadexhibited in the maintenance and education of his sons; while he nevercould gain any advantage thereby, but still fell from one misfortune toanother. Although he owned that he was not so much surprised with thatthoughtless behavior of his former sons, who were but young, and werebesides corrupted by wicked counselors, who were the occasion of theirwiping out of their minds the righteous dictates of nature, and this outof a desire of coming to the government sooner than they ought to do;yet that he could not but justly stand amazed at the horrid wickednessof Antipater, who, although he had not only had great benefits bestowedon him by his father, enough to tame his reason, yet could not be moretamed than the most envenomed serpents; whereas even those creaturesadmit of some mitigation, and will not bite their benefactors, whileAntipater hath not let the misfortunes of his brethren be any hinderanceto him, but he hath gone on to imitate their barbarity notwithstanding. "Yet wast thou, O Antipater! [as thou hast thyself confessed, ] theinformer as to what wicked actions they had done, and the searcher outof the evidence against them, and the author of the punishment theyunderwent upon their detection. Nor do we say this as accusing thee forbeing so zealous in thy anger against them, but are astonished at thyendeavors to imitate their profligate behavior; and we discover therebythat thou didst not act thus for the safety of thy father, but forthe destruction of thy brethren, that by such outside hatred of theirimpiety thou mightest be believed a lover of thy father, and mightestthereby get thee power enough to do mischief with the greatest impunity;which design thy actions indeed demonstrate. It is true, thou tookestthy brethren off, because thou didst convict theft of their wickeddesigns; but thou didst not yield up to justice those who were theirpartners; and thereby didst make it evident to all men that thou madesta covenant with them against thy father, when thou chosest to be theaccuser of thy brethren, as desirous to gain to thyself alone thisadvantage of laying plots to kill thy father, and so to enjoy doublepleasure, which is truly worthy of thy evil disposition, which thou hasopenly showed against thy brethren; on which account thou didst rejoice, as having done a most famous exploit, nor was that behavior unworthyof thee. But if thy intention were otherwise, thou art worse than they:while thou didst contrive to hide thy treachery against thy father, thoudidst hate them, not as plotters against thy father, for in that casethou hadst not thyself fallen upon the like crime, but as successorsof his dominions, and more worthy of that succession than thyself. Thouwouldst kill thy father after thy brethren, lest thy lies raised againstthem might be detected; and lest thou shouldst suffer what punishmentthou hadst deserved, thou hadst a mind to exact that punishment of thyunhappy father, and didst devise such a sort of uncommon parricide asthe world never yet saw. For thou who art his son didst not only lay atreacherous design against thy father, and didst it while he loved thee, and had been thy benefactor, had made thee in reality his partner in thekingdom, and had openly declared thee his successor, while thou wastnot forbidden to taste the sweetness of authority already, and hadstthe firm hope of what was future by thy father's determination, andthe security of a written testament; but, for certain, thou didst notmeasure these things according to thy father's various disposition, butaccording to thy own thoughts and inclinations; and was desirous to takethe part that remained away from thy too indulgent father, and soughtestto destroy him with thy deeds, whom thou in words pretendedst topreserve. Nor wast thou content to be wicked thyself, but thou filledstthy mother's head with thy devices, and raised disturbances among thybrethren, and hadst the boldness to call thy father a wild beast; whilethou hadst thyself a mind more cruel than any serpent, whence thousentest out that poison among thy nearest kindred and greatestbenefactors, and invitedst them to assist thee and guard thee, and didsthedge thyself in on all sides, by the artifices of both men and women, against an old man, as though that mind of thine was not sufficient ofitself to support so great a hatred as thou baredst to him. And herethou appearest, after the tortures of free-men, of domestics, of menand women, which have been examined on thy account, and after theinformations of thy fellow conspirators, as making haste to contradictthe truth; and hast thought on ways not only how to take thy father outof the world, but to disannul that written law which is against thee, and the virtue of Varus, and the nature of justice; nay, such is thatimpudence of thine on which thou confidest, that thou desirest to be putto the torture thyself, while thou allegest that the tortures of thosealready examined thereby have made them tell lies; that those that havebeen the deliverers of thy father may not be allowed to have spoken thetruth; but that thy tortures may be esteemed the discoverers of truth. Wilt not thou, O Varus! deliver the king from the injuries of hiskindred? Wilt not thou destroy this wicked wild beast, which hathpretended kindness to his father, in order to destroy his brethren;while yet he is himself alone ready to carry off the kingdomimmediately, and appears to be the most bloody butcher to him of themall? for thou art sensible that parricide is a general injury both tonature and to common life, and that the intention of parricide is notinferior to its perpetration; and he who does not punish it is injuriousto nature itself. " 6. Nicolaus added further what belonged to Antipater's mother, andwhatsoever she had prattled like a woman; as also about the predictionsand the sacrifices relating to the king; and whatsoever Antipater haddone lasciviously in his cups and his amours among Pheroras's women; theexamination upon torture; and whatsoever concerned the testimonies ofthe witnesses, which were many, and of various kinds; some preparedbeforehand, and others were sudden answers, which further declared andconfirmed the foregoing evidence. For those men who were not acquaintedwith Antipater's practices, but had concealed them out of fear, whenthey saw that he was exposed to the accusations of the former witnesses, and that his great good fortune, which had supported him hitherto, hadnow evidently betrayed him into the hands of his enemies, who were nowinsatiable in their hatred to him, told all they knew of him. And hisruin was now hastened, not so much by the enmity of those that were hisaccusers, as by his gross, and impudent, and wicked contrivances, and byhis ill-will to his father and his brethren; while he had filled theirhouse with disturbance, and caused them to murder one another; and wasneither fair in his hatred, nor kind in his friendship, but just so faras served his own turn. Now there were a great number who for a longtime beforehand had seen all this, and especially such as were naturallydisposed to judge of matters by the rules of virtue, because they wereused to determine about affairs without passion, but had been restrainedfrom making any open complaints before; these, upon the leave now giventhem, produced all that they knew before the public. The demonstrationsalso of these wicked facts could no way be disproved, because the manywitnesses there were did neither speak out of favor to Herod, nor werethey obliged to keep what they had to say silent, out of suspicion ofany danger they were in; but they spake what they knew, because theythought such actions very wicked, and that Antipater deserved thegreatest punishment; and indeed not so much for Herod's safety, as onaccount of the man's own wickedness. Many things were also said, andthose 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 hislies and impudence, was not able to say one word to the contrary. WhenNicolaus had left off speaking, and had produced the evidence, Varusbid Antipater to betake himself to the making his defense, if he hadprepared any thing whereby it might appear that he was not guilty of thecrimes he was accused of; for that, as he was himself desirous, so didhe know that his father was in like manner desirous also, to havehim found entirely innocent. But Antipater fell down on his face, and appealed to God and to all men for testimonials of his innocency, desiring that God would declare, by some evident signals, that he hadnot laid any plot against his father. This being the usual method ofall men destitute of virtue, that when they set about any wickedundertakings, they fall to work according to their own inclinations, as if they believed that God was unconcerned in human affairs; but whenonce they are found out, and are in danger of undergoing the punishmentdue to their crimes, they endeavor to overthrow all the evidence againstthem by appealing to God; which was the very thing which Antipater nowdid; for whereas he had done everything as if there were no God in theworld, when he was on all sides distressed by justice, and when he hadno other advantage to expect from any legal proofs, by which he mightdisprove the accusations laid against him, he impudently abused themajesty of God, and ascribed it to his power that he had been preservedhitherto; and produced before them all what difficulties he had everundergone in his bold acting 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 thatthere was no end of that, he bid them bring the potion before the court, that he might see what virtue still remained in it; and when it wasbrought, and one that was condemned to die had drank it by Varus'scommand, he died presently. Then Varus got up, and departed out ofthe court, and went away the day following to Antioch, where his usualresidence was, because that was the palace of the Syrians; upon whichHerod laid his son in bonds. But what were Varus's discourses to Herodwas not known to the generality, and upon what words it was that he wentaway; though it was also generally supposed that whatsoever Herod didafterward about his son was done with his approbation. But when Herodhad bound his son, he sent letters to Rome to Caesar about him, andsuch messengers withal as should, by word of mouth, inform Caesar ofAntipater's wickedness. Now at this very time there was seized a letterof Antiphilus, written to Antipater out of Egypt [for he lived there];and when it was opened by the king, it was found to contain whatfollows: "I have sent thee Acme's letter, and hazarded my own life; forthou 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 thisletter; but the king made inquiry about the other letter also, for itdid not appear; and Antiphilus's slave, who brought that letter whichhad been read, denied that he had received the other. But while the kingwas in doubt about it, one of Herod's friends seeing a seam upon theinner coat of the slave, and a doubling of the cloth, [for he had twocoats on, ] he guessed that the letter might be within that doubling;which accordingly proved to be true. So they took out the letter, andits contents were these: "Acme to Antipater. I have written such aletter to thy father as thou desiredst me. I have also taken a copy andsent it, as if it came from Salome, to my lady [Livia]; which, when thoureadest, I know that Herod Will punish Salome, as plotting againsthim?' Now this pretended letter of Salome to her lady was composed byAntipater, in the name of Salome, as to its meaning, but in the words ofAcme. The letter was this: 'Acme to king Herod. I have done my endeavorthat nothing that is done against thee should be concealed from thee. So, upon my finding a letter of Salome written to my lady against thee, I have written out a copy, and sent it to thee; with hazard to myself, but for thy advantage. ' The reason why she wrote it was this, that shehad a mind to be married to Sylleus. Do thou therefore tear this letterin pieces, that I may not come into danger of my life. " Now Acme hadwritten to Antipater himself, and informed him, that, in compliance withhis command, she had both herself written to Herod, as if Salome hadlaid a sudden plot entirely against him, and had herself sent a copyof an epistle, as coming from Salome to her lady. Now Acme was a Jew bybirth, and a servant to Julia, Caesar's wife; and did this out of herfriendship for Antipater, as having been corrupted by him with a largepresent of money, to assist in his pernicious designs against his fatherand his aunt. 8. Hereupon Herod was so amazed at the prodigious wickednessof Antipater, that he was ready to have ordered him to be slainimmediately, as a turbulent person in the most important concerns, andas one that had laid a plot not only against himself, but against hissister also, and even corrupted Caesar's own domestics. Salome alsoprovoked him to it, beating her breast, and bidding him kill her, if hecould produce any credible testimony that she had acted in that manner. Herod also sent for his son, and asked him about this matter, and bidhim contradict if he could, and not suppress any thing he had to say forhimself; and when he had not one word to say, he asked him, since he wasevery way caught in his villainy, that he would make no further delay, but discover his associates in these his wicked designs. So he laid allupon Antiphilus, but discovered nobody else. Hereupon Herod was in suchgreat grief, that he was ready to send his son to Rome to Caesar, thereto give an account of these his wicked contrivances. But he soon becameafraid, lest he might there, by the assistance of his friends, escapethe danger he was in; so he kept him bound as before, and sent moreambassadors and letters [to Rome] to accuse his son, and an account ofwhat assistance Acme had given him in his wicked designs, with copies ofthe epistles before mentioned. CHAPTER 6. Concerning The Disease That Herod Fell Into And The SeditionWhich The Jews Raised Thereupon; With The Punishment Of The Seditious. 1. Now Herod's ambassadors made haste to Rome; but sent, as instructedbeforehand, what answers they were to make to the questions put to them. They also carried the epistles with them. But Herod now fell into adistemper, and made his will, and bequeathed his kingdom to [Antipas], his youngest son; and this out of that hatred to Archclaus and Philip, which the calumnies of Antipater had raised against them. He alsobequeathed a thousand talents to Caesar, and five hundred to Julia, Caesar's wife, to Caesar's children, and friends and freed-men. He alsodistributed among his sons and their sons his money, his revenues, andhis lands. He also made Salome his sister very rich, because she hadcontinued faithful to him in all his circumstances, and was never sorash as to do him any harm; and as he despaired of recovering, for hewas about the seventieth year of his age, he grew fierce, and indulgedthe bitterest anger upon all occasions; the cause whereof was this, thathe thought himself despised, and that the nation was pleased with hismisfortunes; besides which, he resented a sedition which some of thelower sort of men excited against him, the occasion of which was asfollows. 2. There was one Judas, the son of Saripheus, and Matthias, the son ofMargalothus, two of the most eloquent men among the Jews, and the mostcelebrated interpreters of the Jewish laws, and men well beloved by thepeople, because of their education of their youth; for all those thatwere studious of virtue frequented their lectures every day. These men, when they found that the king's distemper was incurable, excited theyoung men that they would pull down all those works which the king haderected contrary to the law of their fathers, and thereby obtain therewards which the law will confer on them for such actions of piety; forthat it was truly on account of Herod's rashness in making such thingsas the law had forbidden, that his other misfortunes, and this distemperalso, which was so unusual among mankind, and with which he was nowafflicted, came upon him; for Herod had caused such things to be madewhich were contrary to the law, of which he was accused by Judas andMatthias; for the king had erected over the great gate of the temple alarge golden eagle, of great value, and had dedicated it to the temple. Now the law forbids those that propose to live according to it, to erectimages [6] or representations of any living creature. So these wise menpersuaded [their scholars] to pull down the golden eagle; alleging, thatalthough they should incur any danger, which might bring them to theirdeaths, the virtue of the action now proposed to them would appear muchmore advantageous to them than the pleasures of life; since they woulddie for the preservation and observation of the law of their fathers;since they would also acquire an everlasting fame and commendation;since they would be both commended by the present generation, and leavean example of life that would never be forgotten to posterity; sincethat common calamity of dying cannot be avoided by our living so as toescape any such dangers; that therefore it is a right thing for thosewho are in love with a virtuous conduct, to wait for that fatal hour bysuch behavior as may carry them out of the world with praise and honor;and that this will alleviate death to a great degree, thus to come at itby the performance of brave actions, which bring us into danger ofit; and at the same time to leave that reputation behind them to theirchildren, 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 mento this action; 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 verymiddle 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 peoplewere in the temple. And now the king's captain, upon hearing what theundertaking was, and supposing it was a thing of a higher nature than itproved to be, came up thither, having a great band of soldiers withhim, such as was sufficient to put a stop to the multitude of thosewho pulled down what was dedicated to God; so he fell upon themunexpectedly, and as they were upon this bold attempt, in a foolishpresumption rather than a cautious circumspection, as is usual with themultitude, and while they were in disorder, and incautious of what wasfor their advantage; so he caught no fewer than forty of the young men, who had the courage to stay behind when the rest ran away, together withthe authors of this bold attempt, Judas and Matthiss, who thought it anignominious thing to retire upon his approach, and led them to the king. And when they were come to the king, and he asked them if they had beenso bold as to pull down what he had dedicated to God, "Yes, [saidthey, ] what was contrived we contrived, and what hath been performed weperformed it, and that with such a virtuous courage as becomes men; forwe have given our assistance to those things which were dedicated to themajesty of God, and we have provided for what we have learned by hearingthe law; and it ought not to be wondered at, if we esteem those lawswhich Moses had suggested to him, and were taught him by God, andwhich he wrote and left behind him, more worthy of observation thanthy commands. Accordingly we will undergo death, and all sorts ofpunishments which thou canst inflict upon us, with pleasure, since weare conscious to ourselves that we shall die, not for any unrighteousactions, but for our love to religion. " And thus they all said, andtheir courage was still equal to their profession, and equal to thatwith which they readily set about this undertaking. And when the kinghad ordered them to be bound, he sent them to Jericho, and calledtogether the principal men among the Jews; and when they were come, he made them assemble in the theater, and because he could not himselfstand, he lay upon a couch, and enumerated the many labors that he hadlong endured on their account, and his building of the temple, and whata vast charge that was to him; while the Asamoneans, during the hundredand twenty-five years of their government, had not been able to performany so great a work for the honor of God as that was; that he had alsoadorned it with very valuable donations, on which account he hoped thathe had left himself a memorial, and procured himself a reputation afterhis death. He then cried out, that these men had not abstained fromaffronting him, even in his lifetime, but that in the very day time, andin the sight of the multitude, they had abused him to that degree, as tofall upon what he had dedicated, and in that way of abuse had pulled itdown to the ground. They pretended, indeed, that they did it to affronthim; but if any one consider the thing truly, they will find that theywere guilty of sacrilege against God therein. 4. But the people, on account of Herod's barbarous temper, and for fearhe should be so cruel and to inflict punishment on them, said what wasdone was done without their approbation, and that it seemed to them thatthe actors might well be punished for what they had done. But asfor Herod, he dealt more mildly with others [of the assembly] but hedeprived Matthias of the high priesthood, as in part an occasion of thisaction, and made Joazar, who was Matthias's wife's brother, highpriest in his stead. Now it happened, that during the time of the highpriesthood of this Matthias, there was another person made high priestfor a single day, that very day which the Jews observed as a fast. Theoccasion was this: This Matthias the high priest, on the night beforethat day when the fast was to be celebrated, seemed, in a dream, [7]to have conversation with his wife; and because he could not officiatehimself on that account, Joseph, the son of Ellemus, his kinsman, assisted him in that sacred office. But Herod deprived this Matthias ofthe high priesthood, and burnt the other Matthias, who had raised thesedition, with his companions, alive. And that very night there was aneclipse of the moon. [8] 5. But now Herod's distemper greatly increased upon him after a severemanner, and this by God's judgment upon him for his sins; for afire glowed in him slowly, which did not so much appear to the touchoutwardly, as it augmented his pains inwardly; for it brought upon him avehement appetite to eating, which he could not avoid to supply withone sort of food or other. His entrails were also ex-ulcerated, and thechief violence of his pain lay on his colon; an aqueous and transparentliquor also had settled itself about his feet, and a like matterafflicted him at the bottom of his belly. Nay, further, his privy-memberwas putrefied, and produced worms; and when he sat upright, he had adifficulty of breathing, which was very loathsome, on account of thestench of his breath, and the quickness of its returns; he had alsoconvulsions in all parts of his body, which increased his strength to aninsufferable degree. It was said by those who pretended to divine, andwho were endued with wisdom to foretell such things, that God inflictedthis punishment on the king on account of his great impiety; yet was hestill in hopes of recovering, though his afflictions seemed greater thanany one could bear. He also sent for physicians, and did not refuseto follow what they prescribed for his assistance, and went beyondthe river Jordan, and bathed himself in the warm baths that were atCallirrhoe, which, besides their other general virtues, were also fit todrink; which water runs into the lake called Asphaltiris. And when thephysicians 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 criesof his domestics, he revived; and having no longer the least hopesof recovering, he gave order that every soldier should be paid fiftydrachmae; and he also gave a great deal to their commanders, and to hisfriends, and came again to Jericho, where he grew so choleric, that itbrought him to do all things like a madman; and though he were near hisdeath, he contrived the following wicked designs. He commanded that allthe principal men of the entire Jewish nation, wheresoever they lived, should be called to him. Accordingly, they were a great number thatcame, because the whole nation was called, and all men heard of thiscall, and death was the penalty of such as should despise the epistlesthat were sent to call them. And now the king was in a wild rage againstthem all, the innocent as well as those that had afforded ground foraccusations; and when they were come, he ordered them to be all shut upin the hyppodrome, [9] and sent for his sister Salome, and her husbandAlexas, and spake thus to them: "I shall die in a little time, sogreat are my pains; which death ought to be cheerfully borne, and to bewelcomed by all men; but what principally troubles me is this, thatI shall die without being lamented, and without such mourning as menusually expect at a king's death. " For that he was not unacquainted withthe temper of the Jews, that his death would be a thing very desirable, and exceedingly acceptable to them, because during his lifetime theywere ready to revolt from him, and to abuse the donations he haddedicated to God that it therefore was their business to resolve toafford him some alleviation of his great sorrows on this occasion; forthat if they do not refuse him their consent in what he desires, heshall have a great mourning at his funeral, and such as never had anyking before him; for then the whole nation would mourn from theirvery soul, which otherwise would be done in sport and mockery only. Hedesired therefore, that as soon as they see he hath given up the ghost, they shall place soldiers round the hippodrome, while they do notknow that he is dead; and that they shall not declare his death to themultitude till this is done, but that they shall give orders to havethose that are in custody shot with their darts; and that this slaughterof them all will cause that he shall not miss to rejoice on a doubleaccount; that as he is dying, they will make him secure that his willshall be executed in what he charges them to do; and that he shall havethe honor of a memorable mourning at his funeral. So he deplored hiscondition, with tears in his eyes, and obtested them by the kindnessdue from them, as of his kindred, and by the faith they owed to God, andbegged of them that they would not hinder him of this honorable mourningat his funeral. So they promised him not to transgress his commands. 6. Now any one may easily discover the temper of this man's mind, whichnot only took pleasure in doing what he had done formerly against hisrelations, out of the love of life, but by those commands of his whichsavored of no humanity; since he took care, when he was departing out ofthis life, that the whole nation should be put into mourning, and indeedmade desolate of their dearest kindred, when he gave order that one outof every family should be slain, although they had done nothing thatwas unjust, or that was against him, nor were they accused of any othercrimes; while it is usual for those who have any regard to virtue tolay aside their hatred at such a time, even with respect to those theyjustly esteemed their enemies. CHAPTER 7. Herod Has Thoughts Of Killing Himself With His Own Hand; AndA Little Afterwards He Orders Antipater To Be Slain. 1. As he was giving these commands to his relations, there came lettersfrom his ambassadors, who had been sent to Rome unto Caesar, which, whenthey were read, their purport was this: That Acme was slain by Caesar, out of his indignation at what hand, she had in Antipater's wickedpractices; and that as to Antipater himself, Caesar left it to Herod toact as became a father and a king, and either to banish him, or to takeaway his life, which he pleased. When Herod heard this, he was some-whatbetter, out of the pleasure he had from the contents of the letters, andwas elevated at the death of Acme, and at the power that was given himover his son; but as his pains were become very great, he was now readyto faint for want of somewhat to eat; so he called for an apple and aknife; for it was his custom formerly to pare the apple himself, andsoon afterwards to cut it, and eat it. When he had got the knife, helooked about, and had a mind to stab himself with it; and he had doneit, had not his first cousin, Achiabus, prevented him, and held hishand, and cried out loudly. Whereupon a woeful lamentation echoedthrough the palace, and a great tumult was made, as if the king weredead. Upon which Antipater, who verily believed his father was deceased, grew bold in his discourse, as hoping to be immediately and entirelyreleased from his bonds, and to take the kingdom into his hands withoutany more ado; so he discoursed with the jailer about letting him go, andin that case promised him great things, both now and hereafter, as ifthat were the only thing now in question. But the jailer did not onlyrefuse to do what Antipater would have him, but informed the king ofhis intentions, and how many solicitations he had had from him [of thatnature]. Hereupon Herod, who had formerly no affection nor good-willtowards his son to restrain him, when he heard what the jailer said, he cried out, and beat his head, although he was at death's door, andraised himself upon his elbow, and sent for some of his guards, andcommanded them to kill Antipater without tiny further delay, and to doit presently, and to bury him in an ignoble manner at Hyrcania. CHAPTER 8. Concerning Herod's Death, And Testament, And Burial. 1. And now Herod altered his testament upon the alteration of his mind;for he appointed Antipas, to whom he had before left the kingdom, to betetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and granted the kingdom to Archclaus. Healso gave Gaulonitis, and Trachonitis, and Paneas to Philip, who was hisson, but own brother to Archclaus [10] by the name of a tetrarchy; andbequeathed Jarnnia, and Ashdod, and Phasaelis to Salome his sister, withfive hundred thousand [drachmae] of silver that was coined. He also madeprovision for all the rest of his kindred, by giving them sums of moneyand annual revenues, and so left them all in a wealthy condition. Hebequeathed also to Caesar ten millions [of drachmae] of coined money, besides both vessels of gold and silver, and garments exceeding costly, to Julia, Caesar's wife; and to certain others, five millions. Whenhe had done these things, he died, the fifth day after he had causedAntipater to be slain; having reigned, since he had procured Antigonusto be slain, thirty-four years; but since he had been declared king bythe Romans, thirty-seven. [11] A man he was of great barbarity towardsall men equally, and a slave to his passion; but above the considerationof what was right; yet was he favored by fortune as much as any manever was, for from a private man he became a king; and though he wereencompassed with ten thousand dangers, he got clear of them all, andcontinued his life till a very old age. But then, as to the affairs ofhis family and children, in which indeed, according to his own opinion, he was also very fortunate, because he was able to conquer his enemies, yet, in my opinion, he was herein very unfortunate. 2. But then Salome and Alexas, before the king's death was made known, dismissed those that were shut up in the hippodrome, and told them thatthe king ordered them to go away to their own lands, and take care oftheir own affairs, which was esteemed by the nation a great benefit. Andnow the king's death was made public, when Salome and Alexas gatheredthe soldiery together in the amphitheater at Jericho; and the firstthing they did was, they read Herod's letter, written to the soldiery, thanking them for their fidelity and good-will to him, and exhortingthem to afford his son Archelaus, whom he had appointed for their king, like fidelity and good-will. After which Ptolemy, who had the king'sseal intrusted to him, read the king's testament, which was to be offorce no otherwise than as it should stand when Caesar had inspected it;so there was presently an acclamation made to Archelaus, as king; andthe soldiers came by bands, and their commanders with them, and promisedthe same good-will to him, and readiness to serve him, which they hadexhibited to Herod; and they prayed God to be assistant to him. 3. After this was over, they prepared for his funeral, it beingArchelaus's care that the procession to his father's sepulcher should bevery sumptuous. Accordingly, he brought out all his ornaments to adornthe pomp of the funeral. The body was carried upon a golden bier, embroidered with very precious stones of great variety, and it wascovered over with purple, as well as the body itself; he had a diademupon his head, and above it a crown of gold: he also had a scepter inhis right hand. About the bier were his sons and his numerous relations;next to these was the soldiery, distinguished according to their severalcountries and denominations; and they were put into the following order:First of all went his guards, then the band of Thracians, and afterthem the Germans; and next the band of Galatians, every one in theirhabiliments of war; and behind these marched the whole army in the samemanner as they used to go out to war, and as they used to be put inarray by their muster-masters and centurions; these were followedby five hundred of his domestics carrying spices. So they went eightfurlongs [12] to Herodium; for there by his own command he was to beburied. And thus did Herod end his life. 4. Now Archelaus paid him so much respect, as to continue his mourningtill the seventh day; for so many days are appointed for it by the lawof our fathers. And when he had given a treat to the multitude, and leftoff his motoring, he went up into the temple; he had also acclamationsand praises given him, which way soever he went, every one strivingwith the rest who should appear to use the loudest acclamations. So heascended a high elevation made for him, and took his seat, in a thronemade of gold, and spake kindly to the multitude, and declared with whatjoy he received their acclamations, and the marks of the good-will theyshowed to him; and returned them thanks that they did not remember theinjuries his father had done them to his disadvantage; and promisedthem he would endeavor not to be behindhand with them in rewarding theiralacrity in his service, after a suitable manner; but that he shouldabstain at present from the name of king, and that he should havethe honor of that dignity, if Caesar should confirm and settle thattestament which his father had made; and that it was on this account, that when the army would have put the diadem on him at Jericho, he wouldnot accept of that honor, which is usually so much desired, becauseit was not yet evident that he who was to be principally concernedin bestowing it would give it him; although, by his acceptance of thegovernment, he should not want the ability of rewarding their kindnessto him and that it should be his endeavor, as to all things whereinthey were concerned, to prove in every respect better than his father. Whereupon the multitude, as it is usual with them, supposed thatthe first days of those that enter upon such governments declare theintentions of those that accept them; and so by how much Archelaus spakethe more gently and civilly to them, by so much did they more highlycommend him, and made application to him for the grant of what theydesired. Some made a clamor that he would ease them of some of theirannual payments; but others desired him to release those that were putinto prison by Herod, who were many, and had been put there at severaltimes; others of them required that he would take away those taxeswhich had been severely laid upon what was publicly sold and bought. So Archelaus contradicted them in nothing, since he pretended to do allthings so as to get the good-will of the multitude to him, as lookingupon that good-will to be a great step towards his preservation of thegovernment. Hereupon he went and offered sacrifice to God, and thenbetook himself to feast with his friends. CHAPTER 9. How The People Raised A Sedition Against Archelaus, And HowHe Sailed To Rome. 1. At this time also it was that some of the Jews got together out of adesire of innovation. They lamented Matthias, and those that wereslain with him by Herod, who had not any respect paid them by a funeralmourning, out of the fear men were in of that man; they were those whohad been condemned for pulling down the golden eagle. The people madea great clamor and lamentation hereupon, and cast out some reproachesagainst the king also, as if that tended to alleviate the miseries ofthe deceased. The people assembled together, and desired of Archelaus, that, in way of revenge on their account, he would inflict punishmenton those who had been honored by Herod; and that, in the first andprincipal place, he would deprive that high priest whom Herod had made, and would choose one more agreeable to the law, and of greater purity, to officiate as high priest. This was granted by Archelaus, althoughhe was mightily offended at their importunity, because he proposed tohimself to go to Rome immediately to look after Caesar's determinationabout him. However, he sent the general of his forces to usepersuasions, and to tell them that the death which was inflicted ontheir friends was according to the law; and to represent to them thattheir petitions about these things were carried to a great height ofinjury to him; that the time was not now proper for such petitions, butrequired their unanimity until such time as he should be established inthe government by the consent of Caesar, and should then be come back tothem; for that he would then consult with them in common concerning thepurport 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 hisgeneral in what he was to say, he sent him away to the people; but theymade a clamor, and would not give him leave to speak, and put him indanger of his life, and as many more as were desirous to venture uponsaying openly any thing which might reduce them to a sober mind, andprevent their going on in their present courses, because they had moreconcern to have all their own wills performed than to yield obedienceto their governors; thinking it to be a thing insufferable, that, whileHerod was alive, they should lose those that were most dear to them, andthat when he was dead, they could not get the actors to be punished. Sothey went on with their designs after a violent manner, and thought allto be lawful and right which tended to please them, and being unskillfulin foreseeing what dangers they incurred; and when they had suspicion ofsuch a thing, yet did the present pleasure they took in the punishmentof those they deemed their enemies overweigh all such considerations;and although Archelaus sent many to speak to them, yet they treated themnot as messengers sent by him, but as persons that came of their ownaccord to mitigate their anger, and would not let one of them speak. Thesedition also was made by such as were in a great passion; and it wasevident that they were proceeding further in seditious practices, by themultitude running so fast upon them. 3. Now, upon the approach of that feast of unleavened bread, which thelaw of their fathers had appointed for the Jews at this time, whichfeast is called the Passover [13] and is a memorial of their deliveranceout of Egypt, when they offer sacrifices with great alacrity; and whenthey are required to slay more sacrifices in number than at any otherfestival; and when an innumerable multitude came thither out of thecountry, nay, from beyond its limits also, in order to worship God, theseditious lamented Judas and Matthias, those teachers of the laws, and kept together in the temple, and had plenty of food, because theseseditious persons were not ashamed to beg it. And as Archelaus wasafraid lest some terrible thing should spring up by means of these men'smadness, he sent a regiment of armed men, and with them a captain of athousand, to suppress the violent efforts of the seditious before thewhole multitude should be infected with the like madness; and gave themthis charge, that if they found any much more openly seditious thanothers, and more busy in tumultuous practices, they should bring them tohim. But those that were seditious on account of those teachers ofthe law, irritated the people by the noise and clamors they used toencourage the people in their designs; so they made an assault upon thesoldiers, 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 whichwere already in their hands. Now Archelaus thought there was no way topreserve the entire government but by cutting off those who made thisattempt upon it; so he sent out the whole army upon them, and sent thehorsemen to prevent those that had their tents without the temple fromassisting those that were within the temple, and to kill such as ranaway from the footmen when they thought themselves out of danger; whichhorsemen slew three thousand men, while the rest went to the neighboringmountains. Then did Archelaus order proclamation to be made to them all, that they should retire to their own homes; so they went away, and leftthe festival, out of fear of somewhat worse which would follow, althoughthey had been so bold by reason of their want of instruction. SoArchelaus went down to the sea with his mother, and took with himNicolaus and Ptolemy, and many others of his friends, and left Philiphis brother as governor of all things belonging both to his own familyand to the public. There went out also with him Salome, Herod's sisterwho took with her, her children, and many of her kindred were with her;which kindred of hers went, as they pretended, to assist Archelaus ingaining the kingdom, but in reality to oppose him, and chiefly to makeloud complaints of what he had done in the temple. But Sabinus, Caesar'ssteward for Syrian affairs, as he was making haste into Judea topreserve Herod's effects, met with Archclaus at Caesarea; but Varus[president of Syria] came at that time, and restrained him from meddlingwith them, for he was there as sent for by Archceaus, by the means ofPtolemy. And Sabinus, out of regard to Varus, did neither seize uponany of the castles that were among the Jews, nor did he seal up thetreasures in them, but permitted Archelaus to have them, until Caesarshould declare his resolution about them; so that, upon this hispromise, he tarried still at Cesarea. But after Archelaus was sailed forRome, and Varus was removed to Antioch, Sabinus went to Jerusalem, and seized on the king's palace. He also sent for the keepers of thegarrisons, and for all those that had the charge of Herod's effects, anddeclared publicly that he should require them to give an account of whatthey had; and he disposed of the castles in the manner he pleased; butthose who kept them did not neglect what Archelaus had given them incommand, but continued to keep all things in the manner that had beenenjoined them; and their pretense was, that they kept them all forCaesar. 4. At the same time also did Antipas, another of Herod's sons, sail toRome, in order to gain the government; being buoyed up by Salome withpromises that he should take that government; and that he was a muchhonester and fitter man than Archelaus for that authority, since Herodhad, in his former testament, deemed him the worthiest to be made king, which ought to be esteemed more valid than his latter testament. Antipasalso brought with him his mother, and Ptolemy the brother of Nicolaus, one that had been Herod's most honored friend, and was now zealous forAntipas; but it was Ireneus the orator, and one who, on account of hisreputation for sagacity, was intrusted with the affairs of the kingdom, who most of all encouraged him to attempt to gain the kingdom; by whosemeans it was, that when some advised him to yield to Archelaus, as tohis elder brother, and who had been declared king by their father's lastwill, he would not submit so to do. And when he was come to Rome, allhis relations revolted to him; not out of their good-will to him, butout of their hatred to Archelaus; though indeed they were most of alldesirous of gaining their liberty, and to be put under a Roman governor;but if there were too great an opposition made to that, they thoughtAntipas preferable to Archelaus, and so joined with him, in order toprocure the kingdom for him. Sabinus also, by letters, accused Archelausto Caesar. 5. Now when Archelaus had sent in his papers to Caesar, wherein hepleaded his right to the kingdom, and his father's testament, with theaccounts of Herod's money, and with Ptolemy, who brought Herod's seal, he so expected the event; but when Caesar had read these papers, andVarus's and Sabinus's letters, with the accounts of the money, and whatwere the annual incomes of the kingdom, and understood that Antipas hadalso sent letters to lay claim to the kingdom, he summoned his friendstogether, to know their opinions, and with them Caius, the son ofAgrippa, 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 speaktheir minds about the affairs now before them. Now Antipater, Salome'sson, a very subtle orator, and a bitter enemy to Archelaus, spake firstto this purpose: That it was ridiculous in Archelaus to plead now tohave the kingdom given him, since he had, in reality, taken alreadythe power over it to himself, before Caesar had granted it to him; andappealed to those bold actions of his, in destroying so many at theJewish festival; and if the men had acted unjustly, it was but fit thepunishing of them should have been reserved to those that were out ofthe country, but had the power to punish them, and not been executed bya man that, if he pretended to be a king, he did an injury to Caesar, byusurping that authority before it was determined for him by Caesar; butif 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 tohave that power granted him, of which he had already deprived Caesar [bytaking it to himself]. He also touched sharply upon him, and appealedto his changing the commanders in the army, and his sitting in the royalthrone beforehand, and his determination of law-suits; all done as if hewere no other than a king. He appealed also to his concessions to thosethat petitioned him on a public account, and indeed doing such things, than which he could devise no greater if he had been already settledin the kingdom by Caesar. He also ascribed to him the releasing ofthe prisoners that were in the hippodrome, and many other things, thateither had been certainly done by him, or were believed to be done, andeasily might be believed to have been done, because they were of sucha nature as to be usually done by young men, and by such as, out of adesire of ruling, seize upon the government too soon. He also chargedhim with his neglect of the funeral mourning for his father, and withhaving merry meetings the very night in which he died; and that itwas thence the multitude took the handle of raising a tumult: and ifArchelaus could thus requite his dead father, who had bestowedsuch benefits upon him, and bequeathed such great things to him, bypretending to shed tears for him in the day time, like an actor on thestage, but every night making mirth for having gotten the government, he would appear to be the same Archelaus with regard to Caesar, if hegranted him the kingdom, which he hath been to his father; since he hadthen dancing and singing, as though an enemy of his were fallen, and notas though a man were carried to his funeral, that was so nearly related, and had been so great a benefactor to him. But he said that the greatestcrime of all was this, that he came now before Caesar to obtain thegovernment by his grant, while he had before acted in all things as hecould have acted if Caesar himself, who ruled all, had fixed him firmlyin the government. And what he most aggravated in his pleading was theslaughter of those about the temple, and the impiety of it, as done atthe festival; and how they were slain like sacrifices themselves, someof whom were foreigners, and others of their own country, till thetemple was full of dead bodies: and all this was done, not by an alien, but by one who pretended to the lawful title of a king, that he mightcomplete the wicked tyranny which his nature prompted him to, andwhich is hated by all men. On which account his father never so muchas dreamed of making him his successor in the kingdom, when he was of asound mind, because he knew his disposition; and in his former and moreauthentic testament, he appointed his antagonist Antipas to succeed; butthat Archelaus was called by his father to that dignity when he was in adying condition, both of body and mind; while Antipas was called whenhe was ripest in his judgment, and of such strength of body as madehim capable of managing his own affairs: and if his father had the likenotion of him formerly that he hath now showed, yet hath he given asufficient specimen what a king he is likely to be, when he hath [ineffect] deprived Caesar of that power of disposing of the kingdom, whichhe justly hath, and hath not abstained from making a terrible slaughterof his fellow citizens in the temple, while he was but a private person. 6. So when Antipater had made this speech, and had confirmed what he hadsaid by producing many witnesses from among Archelaus's own relations, he made an end of his pleading. Upon which Nicolaus arose up to pleadfor Archelaus, and said, "That what had been done at the temple wasrather to be attributed to the mind of those that had been killed, thanto the authority of Archelaus; for that those who were the authors ofsuch things are not only wicked in the injuries they do of themselves, but in forcing sober persons to avenge themselves upon them. Now itis evident that what these did in way of opposition was done underpretense, indeed, against Archelaus, but in reality against Caesarhimself, for they, after an injurious manner, attacked and slew thosewho were sent by Archelaus, and who came only to put a stop to theirdoings. They had no regard, either to God or to the festival, whomAntipater yet is not ashamed to patronize, whether it be out of hisindulgence of an enmity to Archelaus, or out of his hatred of virtueand justice. For as to those who begin such tumults, and first set aboutsuch unrighteous actions, they are the men who force those that punishthem to betake themselves to arms even against their will. So thatAntipater in effect ascribes the rest of what was done to all those whowere of counsel to the accusers; for nothing which is here accused ofinjustice has been done but what was derived from them as its authors;nor are those things evil in themselves, but so represented only inorder to do harm to Archelaus. Such is these men's inclination to do aninjury to a man that is of their kindred, their father's benefactor, andfamiliarity acquainted with them, and that hath ever lived in friendshipwith them; for that, as to this testament, it was made by the king whenhe was of a sound mind, and so ought to be of more authority than hisformer testament; and that for this reason, because Caesar is thereinleft to be the judge and disposer of all therein contained; and forCaesar, he will not, to be sure, at all imitate the unjust proceedingsof those men, who, during Herod's whole life, had on all occasions beenjoint partakers of power with him, and yet do zealously endeavor toinjure his determination, while they have not themselves had the sameregard to their kinsman [which Archelaus had]. Caesar will not thereforedisannul the testament of a man whom he had entirely supported, of hisfriend and confederate, and that which is committed to him in trust toratify; nor will Caesar's virtuous and upright disposition, which isknown and uncontested through all the habitable world, imitate thewickedness of these men in condemning a king as a madman, and as havinglost his reason, while he hath bequeathed the succession to a goodson of his, and to one who flies to Caesar's upright determination forrefuge. Nor can Herod at any time have been mistaken in his judgmentabout a successor, while he showed so much prudence as to submit all toCaesar's determination. " 7. Now when Nicolaus had laid these things before Caesar, he ended hisplea; whereupon Caesar was so obliging to Archelaus, that he raisedhim up when he had cast himself down at his feet, and said that he welldeserved the kingdom; and he soon let them know that he was so farmoved in his favor, that he would not act otherwise than his father'stestament directed, and than was for the advantage of Archelaus. However, while he gave this encouragement to Archelaus to depend on himsecurely, he made no full determination about him; and when the assemblywas broken up, he considered by himself whether he should confirm thekingdom to Archelaus, or whether he should part it among all Herod'sposterity; and this because they all stood in need of much assistance tosupport them. CHAPTER 10. A Sedition Against Sabinus; And How Varus Brought TheAuthors Of It To Punishment. 1. But before these things could be brought to a settlement, Malthace, Archelaus's mother, fell into a distemper, and died of it; and letterscame from Varus, the president of Syria, which informed Caesar of therevolt of the Jews; for after Archlaus was sailed, the whole nation wasin a tumult. So Varus, since he was there himself, brought the authorsof the disturbance to punishment; and when he had restrained them forthe most part from this sedition, which was a great one, he took hisjourney to Antiocli, leaving one legion of his army at Jerusalem to keepthe Jews quiet, who were now very fond of innovation. Yet did not thisat all avail to put an end to that their sedition; for after Varuswas gone away, Sabinus, Caesar's procurator, staid behind, and greatlydistressed the Jews, relying on the forces that were left there thatthey would by their multitude protect him; for he made use of them, andarmed them as his guards, thereby so oppressing the Jews, and givingthem so great disturbance, that at length they rebelled; for he usedforce in seizing the citadels, and zealously pressed on the search afterthe king's money, in order to seize upon it by force, on account of hislove of gain and his extraordinary covetousness. 2. But on the approach of pentecost, which is a festival of ours, socalled from the days of our forefathers, a great many ten thousands ofmen got together; nor did they come only to celebrate the festival, butout of their indignation at the madness of Sabinus, and at the injurieshe offered them. A great number there was of Galileans, and Idumeans, and many men from Jericho, and others who had passed over the riverJordan, and inhabited those parts. This whole multitude joinedthemselves to all the rest, and were more zealous than the others inmaking an assault on Sabinus, in order to be avenged on him; so theyparted themselves into three bands, and encamped themselves in theplaces following:--some of them seized on the hippodrome and of theother two bands, one pitched themselves from the northern part of thetemple to the southern, on the east quarter; but the third band held thewestern part of the city, where the king's palace was. Their work tendedentirely to besiege the Romans, and to enclose them on all sides. NowSabinus was afraid of these men's number, and of their resolution, who had little regard to their lives, but were very desirous not to beovercome, while they thought it a point of puissance to overcome theirenemies; so he sent immediately a letter to Varus, and, as he used todo, was very pressing with him, and entreated him to come quickly to hisassistance, because the forces he had left were 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 fortressPhasaelus, which had been built in honor of Phasaelus, king Herod'sbrother, and called so when the Parthians had brought him to his death. [14] So Sabinus gave thence a signal to the Romans to fall upon theJews, although he did not himself venture so much as to come down tohis friends, and thought he might expect that the others should exposethemselves first to die on account of his avarice. However, the Romansventured to make a sally out of the place, and a terrible battle ensued;wherein, though it is true the Romans beat their adversaries, yet werenot the Jews daunted in their resolutions, even when they had the sightof that terrible slaughter that was made of them; but they went roundabout, and got upon those cloisters which encompassed the outer courtof the temple, where a great fight was still continued, and they caststones at the Romans, partly with their hands, and partly with slings, as being much used to those exercises. All the archers also in arraydid the Romans a great deal of mischief, because they used their handsdexterously from a place superior to the others, and because the otherswere at an utter loss what to do; for when they tried to shoot theirarrows against the Jews upwards, these arrows could not reach them, insomuch that the Jews were easily too hard for their enemies. And thissort of fight lasted a great while, till at last the Romans, who weregreatly distressed by what was done, set fire to the cloisters soprivately, that those that were gotten upon them did not perceive it. This fire [15] being fed by a great deal of combustible matter, caughthold immediately on the roof of the cloisters; so the wood, which wasfull of pitch and wax, and whose gold was laid on it with wax, yieldedto the flame presently, and those vast works, which were of the highestvalue and esteem, were destroyed utterly, while those that were on theroof unexpectedly perished at the same time; for as the roof tumbleddown, some of these men tumbled down with it, and others of them werekilled by their enemies who encompassed them. There was a great numbermore, who, out of despair of saving their lives, and out of astonishmentat the misery that surrounded them, did either cast themselves into thefire, or threw themselves upon their swords, and so got out of theirmisery. But as to those that retired behind the same way by which theyascended, and thereby escaped, they were all killed by the Romans, asbeing unarmed men, and their courage failing them; their wild furybeing now not able to help them, because they were destitute of armor, insomuch that of those that went up to the top of the roof, not oneescaped. The Romans also rushed through the fire, where it gave themroom so to do, and seized on that treasure where the sacred money wasreposited; a great part of which was stolen by the soldiers, and Sabinusgot openly 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 toGod in the temple. Accordingly, that body of them which continuedbest together, and was the most warlike, encompassed the palace, andthreatened to set fire to it, and kill all that were in it. Yet stillthey commanded them to go out presently, and promised, that if theywould do so, they would not hurt them, nor Sabinus neither; at whichtime the greatest part of the king's troops deserted to them, whileRufus and Gratus, who had three thousand of the most warlike of Herod'sarmy with them, who were men of active bodies, went over to the Romans. There was also a band of horsemen under the command of Ruffis, whichitself went over to the Romans also. However, the Jews went on with thesiege, and dug mines under the palace walls, and besought those thatwere gone over to the other side not to be their hinderance, now theyhad such a proper opportunity for the recovery of their country'sancient liberty; and for Sabinus, truly he was desirous of going awaywith his soldiers, but was not able to trust himself with the enemy, on account of what mischief he had already done them; and he took thisgreat [pretended] lenity of theirs for an argument why he should notcomply with them; and so, because he expected that Varus was coming, hestill bore the siege. 4. Now at this time there were ten thousand other disorders in Judea, which were like tumults, because a great number put themselves into awarlike posture, either out of hopes of gain to themselves, or out ofenmity to the Jews. In particular, two thousand of Herod's old soldiers, who had been already disbanded, got together in Judea itself, and foughtagainst the king's troops, although Achiabus, Herod's first cousin, opposed them; but as he was driven out of the plains into themountainous parts by the military skill of those men, he kept himself inthe fastnesses that were there, and saved what he could. 5. There was also Judas, [16] the son of that Ezekias who had been headof the robbers; which Ezekias was a very strong man, and had with greatdifficulty been caught by Herod. This Judas, having gotten together amultitude of men of a profligate character about Sepphoris in Galilee, made an assault upon the palace [there, ] and seized upon all the weaponsthat were laid up in it, and with them armed every one of those thatwere with him, and carried away what money was left there; and he becameterrible 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 desireof the royal dignity; and he hoped to obtain that as the reward not ofhis virtuous skill in war, but of his extravagance in doing injuries. 6. There was also Simon, who had been a slave of Herod the king, but inother respects a comely person, of a tall and robust body; he was onethat was much superior to others of his order, and had had great thingscommitted to his care. This man was elevated at the disorderly state ofthings, and was so bold as to put a diadem on his head, while a certainnumber of the people stood by him, and by them he was declared to be aking, and thought himself more worthy of that dignity than any one else. He burnt down the royal palace at Jericho, and plundered what was leftin it. He also set fire to many other of the king's houses in severalplaces of the country, and utterly destroyed them, and permitted thosethat were with him to take what was left in them for a prey; and hewould have done greater things, unless care had been taken to represshim immediately; for Gratus, when he had joined himself to some Romansoldiers, took the forces he had with him, and met Simon, and after agreat and a long fight, no small part of those that came from Perea, who were a disordered body of men, and fought rather in a bold than in askillful manner, were destroyed; and although Simon had saved himself byflying away through a certain valley, yet Gratus overtook him, and cutoff his head. The royal palace also at Amathus, by the river Jordan, was burnt down by a party of men that were got together, as were thosebelonging to Simon. And thus did a great and wild fury spread itselfover the nation, because they had no king to keep the multitude in goodorder, and because those foreigners who came to reduce the seditious tosobriety did, on the contrary, set them more in a flame, because ofthe injuries they offered them, and the avaricious management of theiraffairs. 7. But because Athronges, a person neither eminent by the dignity of hisprogenitors, nor for any great wealth he was possessed of, but one thathad in all respects been a shepherd only, and was not known by any body;yet because he was a tall man, and excelled others in the strength ofhis hands, he was so bold as to set up for king. This man thought it sosweet a thing to do more than ordinary injuries to others, that althoughhe should be killed, he did not much care if he lost his life in sogreat a design. He had also four brethren, who were tall men themselves, and were believed to be superior to others in the strength of theirhands, and thereby were encouraged to aim at great things, and thoughtthat strength of theirs would support them in retaining the kingdom. Each of these ruled over a band of men of their own; for those that gottogether to them were very numerous. They were every one of them alsocommanders; but when they came to fight, they were subordinate to him, and fought for him, while he put a diadem about his head, and assembleda council to debate about what things should be done, and all thingswere done according to his pleasure. And this man retained his power agreat while; he was also called king, and had nothing to hinder him fromdoing what he pleased. He also, as well as his brethren, slew a greatmany both of the Romans and of the king's forces, an managed matterswith 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'sgovernment; and they fell upon the Romans, because of the injuries theyhad so lately received from them. But in process of time they grew morecruel to all sorts of men, nor could any one escape from one or otherof these seditions, since they slew some out of the hopes of gain, andothers from a mere custom of slaying men. They once attacked a companyof Romans at Emmaus, who were bringing corn and weapons to the army, and fell upon Arius, the centurion, who commanded the company, andshot forty of the best of his foot soldiers; but the rest of them wereaftrighted at their slaughter, and left their dead behind them, butsaved themselves by the means of Gratus, who came with the king'stroops that were about him to their assistance. Now these four brethrencontinued the war a long while by such sort of expeditions, and muchgrieved the Romans; but did their own nation also a great deal ofmischief. Yet were they afterwards subdued; one of them in a fight withGratus, another with Ptolemy; Archelaus also took the eldest ofthem prisoner; while the last of them was so dejected at the other'smisfortune, and saw so plainly that he had no way now left to savehimself, his army being worn away with sickness and continual labors, that he also delivered himself up to Archclaus, upon his promise andoath to God [to preserve his life. ] But these things came to pass a goodwhile afterward. 8. And now Judea was full of robberies; and as the several companies ofthe seditious lighted upon any one to head them, he was created a kingimmediately, in order to do mischief to the public. They were in somesmall measure indeed, and in small matters, hurtful to the Romans; butthe murders they committed upon their own people lasted a long while. 9. As soon as Varus was once informed of the state of Judea by Sabinus'swriting to him, he was afraid for the legion he had left there; sohe took the two other legions, [for there were three legions in allbelonging to Syria, ] and four troops of horsemen, with the severalauxiliary forces which either the kings or certain of the tetrarchsafforded him, and made what haste he could to assist those that werethen besieged in Judea. He also gave order that all that were sent outfor this expedition, should make haste to Ptolemais. The citizens ofBerytus also gave him fifteen hundred auxiliaries as he passed throughtheir city. Aretas also, the king of Arabia Petrea, out of his hatredto Herod, and in order to purchase the favor of the Romans, sent him nosmall assistance, besides their footmen and horsemen; and when he hadnow collected all his forces together, he committed part of them tohis son, and to a friend of his, and sent them upon an expedition intoGalilee, which lies in the neighborhood of Ptolemais; who made an attackupon the enemy, and put them to flight, and took Sepphoris, and made itsinhabitants slaves, and burnt the city. But Varus himself pursued hismarch for Samaria with his whole army; yet did not he meddle with thecity 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 hatredto Herod, and out of the enmity they bore to his friends; whence theymarched to another village, whose name was Sampho, which the Arabiansplundered and burnt, although it was a fortified and a strong place; andall along this march nothing escaped them, but all places were full offire and of slaughter. Emmaus was also burnt by Varus's order, after itsinhabitants had deserted it, that he might avenge those that had therebeen destroyed. From thence he now marched to Jerusalem; whereupon thoseJews whose camp lay there, and who had besieged the Roman legion, notbearing the coming of this army, left the siege imperfect: but as to theJerusalem Jews, when Varus reproached them bitterly for what had beendone, they cleared themselves of the accusation, and alleged that theconflux of the people was occasioned by the feast; that the war was notmade with their approbation, but by the rashness of the strangers, whilethey were on the side of the Romans, and besieged together with them, rather than having any inclination to besiege them. There also camebeforehand to meet Varus, Joseph, the cousin-german of king Herod, as also Gratus and Rufus, who brought their soldiers along with them, together with those Romans who had been besieged; but Sabinus did notcome into Varus's presence, but stole out of the city privately, andwent to the sea-side. 10. Upon this, Varus sent a part of his army into the country, to seekout those that had been the authors of the revolt; and when they werediscovered, he punished some of them that were most guilty, and some hedismissed: now the number of those that were crucified on this accountwere two thousand. After which he disbanded his army, which he foundno way useful to him in the affairs he came about; for they behavedthemselves very disorderly, and disobeyed his orders, and what Varusdesired them to do, and this out of regard to that gain which they madeby the mischief they did. As for himself, when he was informed that tenthousand Jews had gotten together, he made haste to catch them; but theydid not proceed so far as to fight him, but, by the advice of Achiabus, they came together, and delivered themselves up to him: hereupon Varusforgave the crime of revolting to the multitude, but sent their severalcommanders to Caesar, many of whom Caesar dismissed; but for the severalrelations of Herod who had been among these men in this war, they werethe only persons whom he punished, who, without the least regard tojustice, fought against their own kindred. CHAPTER 11. An Embassage To Caesar; And How Caesar Confirmed Herod'sTestament. 1. So when Varus had settled these affairs, and had placed the formerlegion at Jerusalem, he returned back to Antioch; but as for Archelaus, he had new sources of trouble come upon him at Rome, on the occasionsfollowing: for an embassage of the Jews was come to Rome, Varus havingpermitted the nation to send it, that they might petition for theliberty of living by their own laws. [17] Now the number of theambassadors that were sent by the authority of the nation were fifty, to which they joined above eight thousand of the Jews that were at Romealready. Hereupon Caesar assembled his friends, and the chief men amongthe Romans, in the temple of Apollo, [18] which he had built at a vastcharge; whither the ambassadors came, and a multitude of the Jewsthat were there already came with them, as did also Archelaus and hisfriends; but as for the several kinsmen which Archelaus had, they wouldnot join themselves with him, out of their hatred to him; and yet theythought it too gross a thing for them to assist the ambassadors [againsthim], as supposing it would be a disgrace to them in Caesar's opinion tothink of thus acting in opposition to a man of their own kindred. Philip[19] also was come hither out of Syria, by the persuasion of Varus, withthis principal intention to assist his brother [Archelaus]; for Varuswas his great friend: but still so, that if there should any changehappen in the form of government, [which Varus suspected there would, ]and if any distribution should be made on account of the number thatdesired the liberty of living by their own laws, that he might not bedisappointed, but might have his share in it. 2. Now upon the liberty that was given to the Jewish ambassadors tospeak, they who hoped to obtain a dissolution of kingly governmentbetook themselves to accuse Herod of his iniquities; and they declaredthat he was indeed in name a king, but that he had taken to himself thatuncontrollable authority which tyrants exercise over their subjects, andhad made use of that authority for the destruction of the Jews, and didnot abstain from making many innovations among them besides, accordingto his own inclinations; and that whereas there were a great many whoperished by that destruction he brought upon them, so many indeed as noother history relates, they that survived were far more miserable thanthose that suffered under him; not only by the anxiety they were infrom his looks and disposition towards them, but from the danger theirestates were in of being taken away by him. That he did never leave offadorning these cities that lay in their neighborhood, but were inhabitedby foreigners; but so that the cities belonging to his own governmentwere ruined, and utterly destroyed that whereas, when he took thekingdom, it was in an extraordinary flourishing condition, he had filledthe nation with the utmost degree of poverty; and when, upon unjustpretenses, 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 theforfeiture of what they possessed. And besides the annual impositionswhich he laid upon every one of them, they were to make liberal presentsto himself, to his domestics and friends, and to such of his slaves aswere vouchsafed the favor of being his tax-gatherers, because there wasno way of obtaining a freedom from unjust violence without giving eithergold or silver for it. That they would say nothing of the corruption ofthe chastity of their virgins, and the reproach laid on their wivesfor incontinency, and those things acted after an insolent and inhumanmanner; because it was not a smaller pleasure to the sufferers to havesuch things concealed, than it would have been not to have sufferedthem. That Herod had put such abuses upon them as a wild beast would nothave put on them, if he had power given him to rule over us; andthat although their nation had passed through many subversions andalterations of government, their history gave no account of any calamitythey had ever been under, that could be compared with this which Herodhad brought upon their nation; that it was for this reason that theythought they might justly and gladly salute Archelaus as king, upon thissupposition, that whosoever should be set over their kingdom, he wouldappear more mild to them than Herod had been; and that they had joinedwith him in the mourning for his father, in order to gratify him, andwere ready to oblige him in other points also, if they could meet withany degree of moderation from him; but that he seemed to be afraid lesthe should not be deemed Herod's own son; and so, without any delay, heimmediately let the nation understand his meaning, and this beforehis dominion was well established, since the power of disposing ofit belonged to Caesar, who could either give it to him or not, ashe pleased. That he had given a specimen of his future virtue to hissubjects, and with what kind of moderation and good administration hewould govern them, by that his first action, which concerned them, hisown citizens, and God himself also, when he made the slaughter of threethousand of his own countrymen at the temple. How then could they avoidthe just hatred of him, who, to the rest of his barbarity, hath addedthis as one of our crimes, that we have opposed and contradicted him inthe exercise of his authority? Now the main thing they desired wasthis: That they might be delivered from kingly and the like forms ofgovernment, [20] and might be added to Syria, and be put under theauthority of such presidents of theirs as should be sent to them;for that it would thereby be made evident, whether they be really aseditious people, and generally fond of innovations, or whether theywould live in an orderly manner, if they might have governors of anysort of moderation set over them. 3. Now when the Jews had said this, Nicolaus vindicated the kings fromthose accusations, and said, that as for Herod, since he had never beenthus accused all the time of his life, it was not fit for those thatmight have accused him of lesser crimes than those now mentioned, andmight have procured him to be punished during his lifetime, to bring anaccusation against him now he is dead. He also attributed the actions ofArchlaus to the Jews' injuries to him, who, affecting to govern contraryto the laws, and going about to kill those that would have hindered themfrom acting unjustly, when they were by him punished for what they haddone, made their complaints against him; so he accused them of theirattempts for innovation, and of the pleasure they took in sedition, byreason 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 substanceof what Nicolaus said. 4. When Caesar had heard these pleadings, he dissolved the assembly; buta few days afterwards he appointed Archelaus, not indeed to be king ofthe whole country, but ethnarch of the one half of that which had beensubject to Herod, and promised to give him the royal dignity hereafter, if he governed his part virtuously. But as for the other half, hedivided it into two parts, and gave it to two other of Herod's sons, toPhilip and to Antipas, that Antipas who disputed with Archelaus forthe whole kingdom. Now to him it was that Peres and Galilee paid theirtribute, which amounted annually to two hundred talents, [21] whileBatanea, with Trachonitis, as well as Auranitis, with a certain partof what was called the House of Zenodorus, [22] paid the tribute of onehundred talents to Philip; but Idumea, and Judea, and the country ofSamaria paid tribute to Archelaus, but had now a fourth part ofthat tribute taken off by the order of Caesar, who decreed them thatmitigation, because they did not join in this revolt with the rest ofthe multitude. There were also certain of the cities which paid tributeto Archelaus: Strato's Tower and Sebaste, with Joppa and Jerusalem;for as to Gaza, and Gadara, and Hippos, they were Grecian cities, whichCaesar separated from his government, and added them to the province ofSyria. Now the tribute-money that came to Archelaus every year from hisown dominions amounted to six hundred talents. 5. And so much came to Herod's sons from their father's inheritance. ButSalome, besides what her brother left her by his testament, which wereJamnia, and Ashdod, and Phasaelis, and five hundred thousand [drachmae]of coined silver, Caesar made her a present of a royal habitation atAskelo; in all, her revenues amounted to sixty talents by the year, andher dwelling-house was within Archelaus's government. The rest alsoof the king's relations received what his testament allotted them. Moreover, Caesar made a present to each of Herod's two virgin daughters, besides what their father left them, of two hundred and fifty thousand[drachmae] of silver, and married them to Pheroras's sons: he alsogranted all that was bequeathed to himself to the king's sons, which wasone thousand five hundred talents, excepting a few of the vessels, whichhe reserved for himself; and they were acceptable to him, not so muchfor the great value they were of, as because they were memorials of theking to him. CHAPTER 12. Concerning A Spurious Alexander. 1. When these affairs had been thus settled by Caesar, a certain youngman, by birth a Jew, but brought up by a Roman freed-man in the citySidon, ingrafted himself into the kindred of Herod, by the resemblanceof his countenance, which those that saw him attested to be thatof Alexander, the son of Herod, whom he had slain; and this was anincitement to him to endeavor to obtain the government; so he tookto him as an assistant a man of his own country, [one that was wellacquainted with the affairs of the palace, but, on other accounts, an ill man, and one whose nature made him capable of causing greatdisturbances to the public, and one that became a teacher of sucha mischievous contrivance to the other, ] and declared himself to beAlexander, and the son of Herod, but stolen away by one of those thatwere sent to slay him, who, in reality, slew other men, in order todeceive the spectators, but saved both him and his brother Aristobulus. Thus was this man elated, and able to impose on those that came tohim; and when he was come to Crete, he made all the Jews that came todiscourse with him believe him [to be Alexander]. And when he had gottenmuch money which had been presented to him there, he passed over toMelos, where he got much more money than he had before, out of thebelief they had that he was of the royal family, and their hopes that hewould recover his father's principality, and reward his benefactors; sohe made haste to Rome, and was conducted thither by those strangerswho entertained him. He was also so fortunate, as, upon his landing atDicearchia, to bring the Jews that were there into the same delusion;and not only other people, but also all those that had been great withHerod, or had a kindness for him, joined themselves to this man asto their king. The cause of it was this, that men were glad of hispretenses, which were seconded by the likeness of his countenance, whichmade those that had been acquainted with Alexander strongly to believethat he was no other but the very same person, which they also confirmedto others by oath; insomuch that when the report went about him that hewas coming to Rome, the whole multitude of the Jews that were therewent out to meet him, ascribing it to Divine Providence that he has sounexpectedly escaped, and being very joyful on account of his mother'sfamily. And when he was come, he was carried in a royal litter throughthe streets; and all the ornaments about him were such as kings areadorned withal; and this was at the expense of those that entertainedhim. The multitude also flocked about him greatly, and made mightyacclamations to him, and nothing was omitted which could be thoughtsuitable to such as had been so unexpectedly preserved. 2. When this thing was told Caesar, he did not believe it, becauseHerod was not easily to be imposed upon in such affairs as were of greatconcern to him; yet, having some suspicion it might be so, he sent oneCeladus, a freed-man of his, and one that had conversed with the youngmen themselves, and bade him bring Alexander into his presence; so hebrought him, being no more accurate in judging about him than the restof the multitude. Yet did not he deceive Caesar; for although there wasa resemblance between him and Alexander, yet was it not so exact asto impose on such as were prudent in discerning; for this spuriousAlexander had his hands rough, by the labors he had been put to andinstead of that softness of body which the other had, and this asderived from his delicate and generous education, this man, for thecontrary reason, had a rugged body. When, therefore, Caesar saw how themaster and the scholar agreed in this lying story, and in a bold way oftalking, he inquired about Aristobulus, and asked what became of him who[it seems] was stolen away together with him, and for what reason itwas that he did not come along with him, and endeavor to recover thatdominion which was due to his high birth also. And when he said that hehad been left in the isle of Crete, for fear of the dangers of the sea, that, in case any accident should come to himself, the posterity ofMariamne might not utterly perish, but that Aristobulus might survive, and punish those that laid such treacherous designs against them; andwhen he persevered in his affirmations, and the author of the impostureagreed in supporting it, Caesar took the young man by himself, and saidto him, "If thou wilt not impose upon me, thou shalt have this for thyreward, that thou shalt escape with thy life; tell me, then, who thouart, and who it was that had boldness enough to contrive such a cheat asthis. For this contrivance is too considerable a piece of villainy to beundertaken by one of thy age. " Accordingly, because he had no other wayto take, he told Caesar the contrivance, and after what manner andby whom it was laid together. So Caesar, upon observing the spuriousAlexander 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 thatwere to row among the mariners, but slew him that induced him to dowhat he had done; for as for the people of Melos, he thought themsufficiently punished, in having thrown away so much of their money uponthis spurious Alexander. And such was the ignominious conclusion of thisbold contrivance about the spurious Alexander. CHAPTER 13. How Archelaus Upon A Second Accusation, Was Banished ToVienna. 1. When Archelaus was entered on his ethnarchy, and was come into Judea, he accused Joazar, the son of Boethus, of assisting the seditious, andtook away the high priesthood from him, and put Eleazar his brother inhis place. He also magnificently rebuilt the royal palace that had beenat Jericho, and he diverted half the water with which the village ofNeara used to be watered, and drew off that water into the plain, towater those palm trees which he had there planted: he also builta village, and put his own name upon it, and called it Archelais. Moreover, he transgressed the law of our fathers [23] and marriedGlaphyra, the daughter of Archelaus, who had been the wife of hisbrother Alexander, which Alexander had three children by her, while itwas a thing detestable among the Jews to marry the brother's wife. Nordid this Eleazar abide long in the high priesthood, Jesus, the son ofSie, being put in his room while he was still living. 2. But in the tenth year of Archelaus's government, both his brethren, and the principal men of Judea and Samaria, not being able to bear hisbarbarous and tyrannical usage of them, accused him before Caesar, andthat especially because they knew he had broken the commands ofCaesar, which obliged him to behave himself with moderation among them. Whereupon Caesar, when he heard it, was very angry, and called forArchelaus's steward, who took care of his affairs at Rome, and whosename was Archelaus also; and thinking it beneath him to write toArchelaus, he bid him sail away as soon as possible, and bring him tous: so the man made haste in his voyage, and when he came into Judea, he found Archelaus feasting with his friends; so he told him what Caesarhad sent him about, and hastened him away. And when he was come [toRome], Caesar, upon hearing what certain accusers of his had to say, and what reply he could make, both banished him, and appointed Vienna, acity of Gaul, to be the place of his habitation, and took his money awayfrom him. 3. Now, before Archelaus was gone up to Rome upon this message, herelated this dream to his friends: That he saw ears of corn, in numberten, full of wheat, perfectly ripe, which ears, as it seemed to him, were devoured by oxen. And when he was awake and gotten up, becausethe vision appeared to beof great importance to him, he sent for thediviners, whose study was employed about dreams. And while some were ofone opinion, and some of another, [for all their interpretations did notagree, ] Simon, a man of the sect of the Essens, desired leave to speakhis mind freely, and said that the vision denoted a change in theaffairs of Archelaus, and that not for the better; that oxen, becausethat animal takes uneasy pains in his labors, denoted afflictions, andindeed denoted, further, a change of affairs, because that land which isploughed by oxen cannot remain in its former state; and that the ears ofcorn being ten, determined the like number of years, because an ear ofcorn grows in one year; and that the time of Archelaus's governmentwas over. And thus did this man expound the dream. Now on the fifth dayafter this dream came first to Archelaus, the other Archelaus, that wassent to Judea by Caesar to call him away, came hither also. 4. The like accident befell Glaphyra his wife, who was the daughterof king Archelaus, who, as I said before, was married, while she was avirgin, to Alexander, the son of Herod, and brother of Archelaus; butsince it fell out so that Alexander was slain by his father, she wasmarried to Juba, the king of Lybia; and when he was dead, and she livedin widowhood in Cappadocia with her father, Archclaus divorced hisformer wife Mariamne, and married her, so great was his affection forthis Glphyra; who, during her marriage to him, saw the following dream:She thought she saw Alexander standing by her, at which she rejoiced, and embraced him with great affection; but that he complained o her, andsaid, O Glaphyra! thou provest that saying to be true, which assures usthat women are not to be trusted. Didst not thou pledge thy faith to me?and wast not thou married to me when thou wast a virgin? and had we notchildren between us? Yet hast thou forgotten the affection I bare tothee, out of a desire of a second husband. Nor hast thou been satisfiedwith that injury thou didst me, but thou hast been so bold as to procurethee a third husband to lie by thee, and in an indecent and imprudentmanner hast entered into my house, and hast been married to Archelaus, thy husband and my brother. However, I will not forget thy former kindaffection for me, but will set thee free from every such reproachfulaction, and cause thee to be mine again, as thou once wast. When she hadrelated this to her female companions, in a few days' time she departedthis life. 5. Now I did not think these histories improper for the presentdiscourse, both because my discourse now is concerning kings, andotherwise also on account of the advantage hence to be drawn, aswell for the confirmation of the immortality of the soul, as of theprovidence 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 hisown opinion, but let him not hinder another that would thereby encouragehimself in virtue. So Archelaus's country was laid to the province ofSyria; and Cyrenius, one that had been consul, was sent by Caesar totake account of people's effects in Syria, and to sell the house ofArchelaus. BOOK XVIII. Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Two Years. From The Banishment Of Archelus To The Departure From Babylon. CHAPTER 1. How Cyrenius Was Sent By Caesar To Make A Taxation OfSyria And Judea; And How Coponius Was Sent To Be Procurator Of Judea;Concerning Judas Of Galilee And Concerning The Sects That Were Among TheJews. 1. Now Cyrenius, a Roman senator, and one who had gone through othermagistracies, and had passed through them till he had been consul, andone who, on other accounts, was of great dignity, came at this time intoSyria, with a few others, being sent by Caesar to be a judge of thatnation, and to take an account of their substance. Coponius also, a manof the equestrian order, was sent together with him, to have the supremepower over the Jews. Moreover, Cyrenius came himself into Judea, whichwas now added to the province of Syria, to take an account of theirsubstance, and to dispose of Archelaus's money; but the Jews, althoughat the beginning they took the report of a taxation heinously, yetdid they leave off any further opposition to it, by the persuasion ofJoazar, who was the son of Beethus, and high priest; so they, beingover-persuaded by Joazar's words, gave an account of their estates, without any dispute about it. Yet was there one Judas, a Gaulonite, [1] of a city whose name was Gamala, who, taking with him Sadduc, [2]a Pharisee, became zealous to draw them to a revolt, who both saidthat this taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery, andexhorted the nation to assert their liberty; as if they could procurethem happiness and security for what they possessed, and an assuredenjoyment of a still greater good, which was that of the honor and glorythey would thereby acquire for magnanimity. They also said that Godwould not otherwise be assisting to them, than upon their joining withone another in such councils as might be successful, and for their ownadvantage; and this especially, if they would set about great exploits, and not grow weary in executing the same; so men received what they saidwith pleasure, and this bold attempt proceeded to a great height. Allsorts of misfortunes also sprang from these men, and the nation wasinfected with this doctrine to an incredible degree; one violent warcame upon us after another, and we lost our friends which used toalleviate our pains; there were also very great robberies and murderof our principal men. This was done in pretense indeed for the publicwelfare, but in reality for the hopes of gain to themselves; whencearose seditions, and from them murders of men, which sometimes fellon those of their own people, [by the madness of these men towards oneanother, while their desire was that none of the adverse party mightbe left, ] and sometimes on their enemies; a famine also coming upon us, reduced us to the last degree of despair, as did also the taking anddemolishing of cities; nay, the sedition at last increased so high, thatthe very temple of God was burnt down by their enemies' fire. Such werethe consequences of this, that the customs of our fathers were altered, and such a change was made, as added a mighty weight toward bringingall to destruction, which these men occasioned by their thus conspiringtogether; for Judas and Sadduc, who excited a fourth philosophic sectamong us, and had a great many followers therein, filled our civilgovernment with tumults at present, and laid the foundations of ourfuture miseries, by this system of philosophy, which we were beforeunacquainted withal, concerning which I will discourse a little, andthis the rather because the infection which spread thence amongthe younger sort, who were zealous for it, brought the public todestruction. 2. The Jews had for a great while had three sects of philosophy peculiarto themselves; the sect of the Essens, and the sect of the Sadducees, and the third sort of opinions was that of those called Pharisees; ofwhich sects, although I have already spoken in the second book of theJewish War, yet will I a little touch upon them now. 3. Now, for the Pharisees, they live meanly, and despise delicacies indiet; and they follow the conduct of reason; and what that prescribesto them as good for them they do; and they think they ought earnestlyto strive to observe reason's dictates for practice. They also pay arespect to such as are in years; nor are they so bold as to contradictthem in any thing which they have introduced; and when they determinethat all things are done by fate, they do not take away the freedom frommen of acting as they think fit; since their notion is, that it hathpleased God to make a temperament, whereby what he wills is done, but sothat the will of man can act virtuously or viciously. They also believethat souls have an immortal rigor in them, and that under the earththere will be rewards or punishments, according as they have livedvirtuously or viciously in this life; and the latter are to be detainedin an everlasting prison, but that the former shall have power to reviveand live again; on account of which doctrines they are able greatly topersuade the body of the people; and whatsoever they do about Divineworship, prayers, and sacrifices, they perform them according to theirdirection; insomuch that the cities give great attestations to them onaccount of their entire virtuous conduct, both in the actions of theirlives and their discourses also. 4. But the doctrine of the Sadducees is this: That souls die with thebodies; nor do they regard the observation of any thing besides whatthe law enjoins them; for they think it an instance of virtue to disputewith those teachers of philosophy whom they frequent: but this doctrineis 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 theybecome magistrates, as they are unwillingly and by force sometimesobliged to be, they addict themselves to the notions of the Pharisees, because the multitude would not otherwise bear them. 5. The doctrine of the Essens is this: That all things are best ascribedto God. They teach the immortality of souls, and esteem that the rewardsof righteousness are to be earnestly striven for; and when they sendwhat they have dedicated to God into the temple, they do not offersacrifices [3] because they have more pure lustrations of their own; onwhich account they are excluded from the common court of the temple, butoffer their sacrifices themselves; yet is their course of lifebetter than that of other men; and they entirely addict themselves tohusbandry. It also deserves our admiration, how much they exceed allother men that addict themselves to virtue, and this in righteousness;and indeed to such a degree, that as it hath never appeared among anyother men, neither Greeks nor barbarians, no, not for a little time, sohath it endured a long while among them. This is demonstrated by thatinstitution of theirs, which will not suffer any thing to hinder themfrom having all things in common; so that a rich man enjoys no more ofhis own wealth than he who hath nothing at all. There are about fourthousand men that live in this way, and neither marry wives, nor aredesirous to keep servants; as thinking the latter tempts men to beunjust, and the former gives the handle to domestic quarrels; but asthey live by themselves, they minister one to another. They also appointcertain stewards to receive the incomes of their revenues, and of thefruits of the ground; such as are good men and priests, who are to gettheir corn and their food ready for them. They none of them differ fromothers of the Essens in their way of living, but do the most resemblethose Dacae who are called Polistae [4] [dwellers in cities]. 6. But of the fourth sect of Jewish philosophy, Judas the Galileanwas the author. These men agree in all other things with the Pharisaicnotions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say thatGod is to be their only Ruler and Lord. They also do not value dying anykinds of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relationsand friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man lord. Andsince this immovable resolution of theirs is well known to a great many, I shall speak no further about that matter; nor am I afraid that anything I have said of them should be disbelieved, but rather fear, thatwhat I have said is beneath the resolution they show when they undergopain. And it was in Gessius Florus's time that the nation began to growmad with this distemper, who was our procurator, and who occasioned theJews to go wild with it by the abuse of his authority, and to make themrevolt from the Romans. And these are the sects of Jewish philosophy. CHAPTER 2. Now Herod And Philip Built Several Cities In Honor Of Caesar. Concerning The Succession Of Priests And Procurators; As Also WhatBefell Phraates And The Parthians. 1. When Cyrenius had now disposed of Archelaus's money, and when thetaxings were come to a conclusion, which were made in the thirty-seventhyear of Caesar's victory over Antony at Actium, he deprived Joazar ofthe high priesthood, which dignity had been conferred on him by themultitude, and he appointed Ananus, the son of Seth, to be high priest;while Herod and Philip had each of them received their own tetrarchy, and settled the affairs thereof. Herod also built a wall aboutSepphoris, [which is the security of all Galilee, ] and made it themetropolis of the country. He also built a wall round Betharamphtha, which was itself a city also, and called it Julias, from the name ofthe emperor's wife. When Philip also had built Paneas, a city at thefountains of Jordan, he named it Cesarea. He also advanced the villageBethsaids, situate at the lake of Gennesareth, unto the dignity of acity, both by the number of inhabitants it contained, and its othergrandeur, and called it by the name of Julias, the same name withCaesar's daughter. 2. As Coponius, who we told you was sent along with Cyrenius, wasexercising his office of procurator, and governing Judea, the followingaccidents happened. As the Jews were celebrating the feast of unleavenedbread, which we call the Passover, it was customary for the priests toopen the temple-gates just after midnight. When, therefore, those gateswere first opened, some of the Samaritans came privately into Jerusalem, and threw about dead men's bodies, in the cloisters; on which accountthe Jews afterward excluded them out of the temple, which they had notused to do at such festivals; and on other accounts also they watchedthe temple more carefully than they had formerly done. A little afterwhich accident Coponius returned to Rome, and Marcus Ambivius came to behis successor in that government; under whom Salome, the sister ofking Herod, died, and left to Julia, [Caesar's wife, ] Jamnia, all itstoparchy, and Phasaelis in the plain, and Arehelais, where is a greatplantation of palm trees, and their fruit is excellent in its kind. After him came Annius Rufus, under whom died Caesar, the second emperorof the Romans, the duration of whose reign was fifty-seven years, besides six months and two days [of which time Antonius ruled togetherwith him fourteen years; but the duration of his life was seventy-sevenyears]; upon whose death Tiberius Nero, his wife Julia's son, succeeded. He was now the third emperor; and he sent Valerius Gratus to beprocurator of Judea, and to succeed Annius Rufus. This man deprivedAnanus of the high priesthood, and appointed Ismael, the son of Phabi, to be high priest. He also deprived him in a little time, and ordainedEleazar, the son of Ananus, who had been high priest before, to be highpriest; which office, when he had held for a year, Gratus deprived himof it, and gave the high priesthood to Simon, the son of Camithus;and when he had possessed that dignity no longer than a year, JosephCaiaphas was made his successor. When Gratus had done those things, he went back to Rome, after he had tarried in Judea eleven years, whenPontius Pilate came as his successor. 3. And now Herod the tetrarch, who was in great favor with Tiberius, built a city of the same name with him, and called it Tiberias. He builtit in the best part of Galilee, at the lake of Gennesareth. There arewarm baths at a little distance from it, in a village named Emmaus. Strangers came and inhabited this city; a great number of theinhabitants were Galileans also; and many were necessitated by Herodto come thither out of the country belonging to him, and were by forcecompelled to be its inhabitants; some of them were persons of condition. He also admitted poor people, such as those that were collected from allparts, to dwell in it. Nay, some of them were not quite free-men, andthese he was benefactor to, and made them free in great numbers; butobliged them not to forsake the city, by building them very good housesat his own expenses, and by giving them land also; for he was sensible, that to make this place a habitation was to transgress the Jewishancient laws, because many sepulchers were to be here taken away, inorder to make room for the city Tiberias [5] whereas our laws pronouncethat such inhabitants are unclean for seven days. [6] 4. About this time died Phraates, king of the Parthians, by thetreachery of Phraataces his son, upon the occasion following: WhenPhraates had had legitimate sons of his own, he had also an Italianmaid-servant, whose name was Thermusa, who had been formerly sent to himby Julius Caesar, among other presents. He first made her his concubine;but he being a great admirer of her beauty, in process of time having ason by her, whose name was Phraataces, he made her his legitimate wife, and had a great respect for her. Now she was able to persuade him to doany thing that she said, and was earnest in procuring the governmentof Parthia for her son; but still she saw that her endeavors would notsucceed, unless she could contrive how to remove Phraates's legitimatesons [out of the kingdom;] so she persuaded him to send those hissons as pledges of his fidelity to Rome; and they were sent to Romeaccordingly, because it was not easy for him to contradict her commands. Now while Phraataces was alone brought up in order to succeed in thegovernment, he thought it very tedious to expect that government by hisfather's donation [as his successor]; he therefore formed a treacherousdesign against his father, by his mother's assistance, with whom, as thereport went, he had criminal conversation also. So he was hated forboth these vices, while his subjects esteemed this [wicked] love of hismother to be no way inferior to his parricide; and he was by them, ina sedition, expelled out of the country before he grew too great, anddied. But as the best sort of Parthians agreed together that it wasimpossible they should be governed without a king, while also it wastheir constant practice to choose one of the family of Arsaces, [nor didtheir law allow of any others; and they thought this kingdom had beensufficiently injured already by the marriage with an Italian concubine, and by her issue, ] they sent ambassadors, and called Orodes [to takethe crown]; for the multitude would not otherwise have borne them; andthough he was accused of very great cruelty, and was of an untractabletemper, and prone to wrath, yet still he was one of the family ofArsaces. However, they made a conspiracy against him, and slew him, andthat, as some say, at a festival, and among their sacrifices; [for it isthe universal custom there to carry their swords with them;] but, asthe more general report is, they slew him when they had drawn him out ahunting. So they sent ambassadors to Rome, and desired they would sendone of those that were there as pledges to be their king. Accordingly, Vonones was preferred before the rest, and sent to them [for he seemedcapable of such great fortune, which two of the greatest kingdomsunder the sun now offered him, his own and a foreign one]. However, thebarbarians soon changed their minds, they being naturally of a mutabledisposition, upon the supposal that this man was not worthy to be theirgovernor; for they could not think of obeying the commands of one thathad 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 moreintolerable, because then the Parthians must have such a king set overthem, not by right of war, but in time of peace. So they presentlyinvited Artabanus, king of Media, to be their king, he being also of therace 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 themultitude of the Parthians stood on this side, and he put his army inarray; but Artabanus was beaten, and fled to the mountains of Media. Yet did he a little after gather a great army together, and fought withVonones, and beat him; whereupon Vonones fled away on horseback, witha few of his attendants about him, to Seleucia [upon Tigris]. So whenArtabanus had slain a great number, and this after he had gotten thevictory by reason of the very great dismay the barbarians were in, heretired to Ctesiphon with a great number of his people; and so he nowreigned over the Parthians. But Vonones fled away to Armenia; and assoon as he came thither, he had an inclination to have the government ofthe country given him, and sent ambassadors to Rome [for that purpose]. But because Tiberius refused it him, and because he wanted courage, andbecause the Parthian king threatened him, and sent ambassadors to him todenounce war against him if he proceeded, and because he had no way totake to regain any other kingdom, [for the people of authority among theArmenians about Niphates joined themselves to Artabanus, ] he deliveredup himself to Silanus, the president of Syria, who, out of regard to hiseducation at Rome, kept him in Syria, while Artabanus gave Armenia toOrodes, one of his own sons. 5. At this time died Antiochus, the king of Commagene; whereupon themultitude contended with the nobility, and both sent ambassadors to[Rome]; for the men of power were desirous that their form of governmentmight be changed into that of a [Roman] province; as were the multitudedesirous to be under kings, as their fathers had been. So the senatemade a decree that Germanicus should be sent to settle the affairs ofthe East, fortune hereby taking a proper opportunity for depriving himof his life; for when he had been in the East, and settled all affairsthere, his life was taken away by the poison which Piso gave him, ashath been related elsewhere. [7] CHAPTER 3. Sedition Of The Jews Against Pontius Pilate. ConcerningChrist, And What Befell Paulina And The Jews At Rome. 1. But now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army fromCesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter quarters there, in order toabolish the Jewish laws. So he introduced Caesar's effigies, whichwere upon the ensigns, and brought them into the city; whereas ourlaw forbids us the very making of images; on which account the formerprocurators were wont to make their entry into the city with suchensigns as had not those ornaments. Pilate was the first who broughtthose images to Jerusalem, and set them up there; which was done withoutthe 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, andinterceded with Pilate many days that he would remove the images; andwhen he would not grant their requests, because it would tend to theinjury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their request, on thesixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons privately, whilehe came and sat upon his judgment-seat, which seat was so prepared inthe open place of the city, that it concealed the army that lay ready tooppress them; and when the Jews petitioned him again, he gave a signalto the soldiers to encompass them routed, and threatened that theirpunishment should be no less than immediate death, unless they wouldleave off disturbing him, and go their ways home. But they threwthemselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said theywould take their death very willingly, rather than the wisdom of theirlaws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate was deeply affectedwith their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable, and presentlycommanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to Cesarea. 2. But Pilate undertook to bring a current of water to Jerusalem, anddid it with the sacred money, and derived the origin of the stream fromthe distance of two hundred furlongs. However, the Jews [8] were notpleased with what had been done about this water; and many ten thousandsof the people got together, and made a clamor against him, and insistedthat he should leave off that design. Some of them also used reproaches, and abused the man, as crowds of such people usually do. So he habiteda great number of his soldiers in their habit, who carried daggers undertheir garments, and sent them to a place where they might surround them. So he bid the Jews himself go away; but they boldly casting reproachesupon him, he gave the soldiers that signal which had been beforehandagreed on; who laid upon them much greater blows than Pilate hadcommanded them, and equally punished those that were tumultuous, andthose that were not; nor did they spare them in the least: and since thepeople were unarmed, and were caught by men prepared for what they wereabout, there were a great number of them slain by this means, and othersof 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 tocall him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of suchmen as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many ofthe 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 tothe cross, [9] those that loved him at the first did not forsake him;for he appeared to them alive again the third day; [10] as the divineprophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful thingsconcerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are notextinct at this day. 4. About the same time also another sad calamity put the Jews intodisorder, and certain shameful practices happened about the templeof Isis that was at Rome. I will now first take notice of the wickedattempt about the temple of Isis, and will then give an account of theJewish affairs. There was at Rome a woman whose name was Paulina; onewho, on account of the dignity of her ancestors, and by the regularconduct of a virtuous life, had a great reputation: she was also veryrich; and although she was of a beautiful countenance, and in thatflower of her age wherein women are the most gay, yet did she lead alife of great modesty. She was married to Saturninus, one that was everyway answerable to her in an excellent character. Decius Mundus fell inlove with this woman, who was a man very high in the equestrian order;and as she was of too great dignity to be caught by presents, and hadalready rejected them, though they had been sent in great abundance, hewas still more inflamed with love to her, insomuch that he promised togive her two hundred thousand Attic drachmae for one night's lodging;and when this would not prevail upon her, and he was not able to bearthis misfortune in his amours, he thought it the best way to famishhimself to death for want of food, on account of Paulina's sad refusal;and he determined with himself to die after such a manner, and he wenton with his purpose accordingly. Now Mundus had a freed-woman, who hadbeen made free by his father, whose name was Ide, one skillful in allsorts of mischief. This woman was very much grieved at the young man'sresolution to kill himself, [for he did not conceal his intentions todestroy himself from others, ] and came to him, and encouraged him by herdiscourse, and made him to hope, by some promises she gave him, thathe might obtain a night's lodging with Paulina; and when he joyfullyhearkened to her entreaty, she said she wanted no more than fiftythousand drachmae for the entrapping of the woman. So when she hadencouraged the young man, and gotten as much money as she required, she did not take the same methods as had been taken before, because sheperceived that the woman was by no means to be tempted by money; butas she knew that she was very much given to the worship of the goddessIsis, she devised the following stratagem: She went to some of Isis'spriests, and upon the strongest assurances [of concealment], shepersuaded them by words, but chiefly by the offer of money, oftwenty-five thousand drachmae in hand, and as much more when the thinghad taken effect; and told them the passion of the young man, andpersuaded them to use all means possible to beguile the woman. So theywere drawn in to promise so to do, by that large sum of gold they wereto have. Accordingly, the oldest of them went immediately to Paulina;and upon his admittance, he desired to speak with her by herself. Whenthat was granted him, he told her that he was sent by the god Anubis, who was fallen in love with her, and enjoined her to come to him. Uponthis she took the message very kindly, and valued herself greatlyupon this condescension of Anubis, and told her husband that she had amessage sent her, and was to sup and lie with Anubis; so he agreed toher acceptance of the offer, as fully satisfied with the chastity ofhis wife. Accordingly, she went to the temple, and after she had suppedthere, and it was the hour to go to sleep, the priest shut the doors ofthe 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 failof enjoying her, who was at his service all the night long, as supposinghe was the god; and when he was gone away, which was before thosepriests who knew nothing of this stratagem were stirring, Paulina cameearly to her husband, and told him how the god Anubis had appeared toher. Among her friends, also, she declared how great a value she putupon this favor, who partly disbelieved the thing, when they reflectedon its nature, and partly were amazed at it, as having no pretense fornot believing it, when they considered the modesty and the dignity ofthe person. But now, on the third day after what had been done, Mundusmet Paulina, and said, "Nay, Paulina, thou hast saved me two hundredthousand drachmae, which sum thou sightest have added to thy own family;yet hast thou not failed to be at my service in the manner I invitedthee. As for the reproaches thou hast laid upon Mundus, I value not thebusiness of names; but I rejoice in the pleasure I reaped by what I did, while I took to myself the name of Anubis. " When he had said this, hewent his way. But now she began to come to the sense of the grossnessof what she had done, and rent her garments, and told her husband of thehorrid nature of this wicked contrivance, and prayed him not to neglectto assist her in this case. So he discovered the fact to the emperor;whereupon Tiberius inquired into the matter thoroughly by examining thepriests about it, and ordered them to be crucified, as well as Ide, whowas the occasion of their perdition, and who had contrived the wholematter, which was so injurious to the woman. He also demolished thetemple of Isis, and gave order that her statue should be thrown intothe 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 thepassion of love. And these were the circumstances which concerned thetemple of Isis, and the injuries occasioned by her priests. I now returnto the relation of what happened about this time to the Jews at Rome, asI formerly told you I would. 5. There was a man who was a Jew, but had been driven away from his owncountry by an accusation laid against him for transgressing their laws, and by the fear he was under of punishment for the same; but in allrespects a wicked man. He, then living at Rome, professed to instructmen in the wisdom of the laws of Moses. He procured also three othermen, entirely of the same character with himself, to be his partners. These men persuaded Fulvia, a woman of great dignity, and one that hadembraced the Jewish religion, to send purple and gold to the temple atJerusalem; and when they had gotten them, they employed them for theirown uses, and spent the money themselves, on which account it was thatthey at first required it of her. Whereupon Tiberius, who had beeninformed of the thing by Saturninus, the husband of Fulvia, who desiredinquiry might be made about it, ordered all the Jews to be banished outof 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 ofthem, who were unwilling to become soldiers, on account of keeping thelaws of their forefathers. [11] Thus were these Jews banished out of thecity by the wickedness of four men. CHAPTER 4. How The Samaritans Made A Tumult And Pilate Destroyed ManyOf Them; How Pilate Was Accused And What Things Were Done By VitelliusRelating To The Jews And The Parthians. 1. But the nation of the Samaritans did not escape without tumults. Theman who excited them to it was one who thought lying a thing of littleconsequence, and who contrived every thing so that the multitude mightbe pleased; so he bid them to get together upon Mount Gerizzim, which isby them looked upon as the most holy of all mountains, and assuredthem, that when they were come thither, he would show them those sacredvessels which were laid under that place, because Moses put them there[12] So they came thither armed, and thought the discourse of the manprobable; and as they abode at a certain village, which was calledTirathaba, they got the rest together to them, and desired to go up themountain in a great multitude together; but Pilate prevented theirgoing up, by seizing upon file roads with a great band of horsemen andfoot-men, who fell upon those that were gotten together in the village;and when it came to an action, some of them they slew, and others ofthem they put to flight, and took a great many alive, the principal ofwhich, and also the most potent of those that fled away, Pilate orderedto be slain. 2. But when this tumult was appeased, the Samaritan senate sent anembassy to Vitellius, a man that had been consul, and who was nowpresident of Syria, and accused Pilate of the murder of those that werekilled; for that they did not go to Tirathaba in order to revolt fromthe Romans, but to escape the violence of Pilate. So Vitellius sentMarcellus, 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 theaccusations of the Jews. So Pilate, when he had tarried ten yearsin Judea, made haste to Rome, and this in obedience to the orders ofVitellius, which he durst not contradict; but before he could get toRome Tiberius was dead. 3. But Vitellius came into Judea, and went up to Jerusalem; it was atthe time of that festival which is called the Passover. Vitellius wasthere magnificently received, and released the inhabitants of Jerusalemfrom all the taxes upon the fruits that were bought and sold, and gavethem leave to have the care of the high priest's vestments, with alltheir ornaments, and to have them under the custody of the priests inthe temple, which power they used to have formerly, although at thistime 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] priests, named Hyrcanus; and as there were many of that name, he was the first ofthem; this man built a tower near the temple, and when he had so done, he generally dwelt in it, and had these vestments with him, because itwas lawful for him alone to put them on, and he had them there repositedwhen he went down into the city, and took his ordinary garments; thesame things were continued to be done by his sons, and by their sonsafter them. But when Herod came to be king, he rebuilt this tower, whichwas very conveniently situated, in a magnificent manner; and because hewas a friend to Antonius, he called it by the name of Antonia. And as hefound these vestments lying there, he retained them in the same place, as believing, that while he had them in his custody, the people wouldmake no innovations against him. The like to what Herod did was done byhis son Archelaus, who was made king after him; after whom the Romans, when they entered on the government, took possession of these vestmentsof the high priest, and had them reposited in a stone-chamber, under theseal of the priests, and of the keepers of the temple, the captainof the guard lighting a lamp there every day; and seven days before afestival [13] they were delivered to them by the captain of the guard, when the high priest having purified them, and made use of them, laidthem up again in the same chamber where they had been laid up before, and this the very next day after the feast was over. This was thepractice at the three yearly festivals, and on the fast day; butVitellius put those garments into our own power, as in the days of ourforefathers, and ordered the captain of the guard not to trouble himselfto inquire where they were laid, or when they were to be used; andthis he did as an act of kindness, to oblige the nation to him. Besideswhich, he also deprived Joseph, who was also called Caiaphas, of thehigh priesthood, and appointed Jonathan the son of Ananus, the formerhigh priest, to succeed him. After which, he took his journey back toAntioch. 4. Moreover, Tiberius sent a letter to Vitellius, and commanded him tomake a league of friendship with Artabanus, the king of Parthia; forwhile he was his enemy, he terrified him, because he had taken Armeniaaway from him, lest he should proceed further, and told him he shouldno otherwise trust him than upon his giving him hostages, and especiallyhis son Artabanus. Upon Tiberius's writing thus to Vitellius, by theoffer of great presents of money, he persuaded both the king ofIberia and the king of Albania to make no delay, but to fight againstArtabanus; and although they would not do it themselves, yet did theygive the Scythians a passage through their country, and opened theCaspian gates to them, and brought them upon Artabanus. So Armenia wasagain taken from the Parthians, and the country of Parthis was filledwith war, and the principal of their men were slain, and all things werein disorder among them: the king's son also himself fell in these wars, together with many ten thousands of his army. Vitellius had also sentsuch great sums of money to Artabanus's father's kinsmen and friends, that he had almost procured him to be slain by the means of those bribeswhich they had taken. And when Artabanus perceived that the plot laidagainst him was not to be avoided, because it was laid by the principalmen, and those a great many in number, and that it would certainlytake effect, --when he had estimated the number of those that were trulyfaithful to him, as also of those who were already corrupted, but weredeceitful in the kindness they professed to him, and were likely, upon trial, to go over to his enemies, he made his escape to the upperprovinces, where he afterwards raised a great army out of the Dahae andSacre, and fought with his enemies, and retained his principality. 5. When Tiberius had heard of these things, he desired to have a leagueof friendship made between him and Artabanus; and when, upon thisinvitation, he received the proposal kindly, Artabanus and Vitelliuswent to Euphrates, and as a bridge was laid over the river, they each ofthem came with their guards about them, and met one another on the midstof 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 madethem a feast there. Artabanus also, not long afterward, sent his sonDarius as an hostage, with many presents, among which there was a manseven cubits tall, a Jew he was by birth, and his name was Eleazar, who, for his tallness, was called a giant. After which Vitellius wentto Antioch, and Artabanus to Babylon; but Herod [the tetrarch] beingdesirous to give Caesar the first information that they had obtainedhostages, sent posts with letters, wherein he had accurately describedall the particulars, and had left nothing for the consular Vitellius toinform him of. But when Vitellius's letters were sent, and Caesar hadlet him know that he was acquainted with the affairs already, becauseHerod had given him an account of them before, Vitellius was verymuch troubled at it; and supposing that he had been thereby a greatersufferer than he really was, he kept up a secret anger upon thisoccasion, till he could be revenged on him, which he was after Caius hadtaken the government. 6. About this time it was that Philip, Herod's brother, departed thislife, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius, [14] after he hadbeen tetrarch of Trachonitis and Gaulanitis, and of the nation of theBataneans also, thirty-seven years. He had showed himself a person ofmoderation and quietness in the conduct of his life and government; heconstantly lived in that country which was subject to him; he used tomake his progress with a few chosen friends; his tribunal also, on whichhe sat in judgment, followed him in his progress; and when any one methim who wanted his assistance, he made no delay, but had his tribunalset down immediately, wheresoever he happened to be, and sat down uponit, and heard his complaint: he there ordered the guilty that wereconvicted to be punished, and absolved those that had been accusedunjustly. He died at Julias; and when he was carried to that monumentwhich he had already erected for himself beforehand, he was buried withgreat pomp. His principality Tiberius took, [for he left no sons behindhim, ] and added it to the province of Syria, but gave order that thetributes which arose from it should be collected, and laid up in histetrachy. CHAPTER 5. Herod The Tetrarch Makes War With Aretas, 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 OfAgrippa And Of The Posterity Of Herod The Great. 1. About this time Aretas [the king of Arabia Petres] and Herod had aquarrel on the account following: Herod the tetrarch had, married thedaughter of Aretas, and had lived with her a great while; but when hewas once at Rome, he lodged with Herod, [15] who was his brother indeed, but not by the same mother; for this Herod was the son of the highpriest Sireoh's daughter. However, he fell in love with Herodias, thislast Herod's wife, who was the daughter of Aristobulus their brother, and the sister of Agrippa the Great. This man ventured to talk to herabout a marriage between them; which address, when she admitted, anagreement was made for her to change her habitation, and come to him assoon as he should return from Rome: one article of this marriage alsowas this, that he should divorce Aretas's daughter. So Antipus, when hehad made this agreement, sailed to Rome; but when he had done therethe business he went about, and was returned again, his wife havingdiscovered the agreement he had made with Herodias, and having learnedit before he had notice of her knowledge of the whole design, shedesired him to send her to Macherus, which is a place in the borders ofthe dominions of Aretas and Herod, without informing him of any of herintentions. Accordingly Herod sent her thither, as thinking his wifehad not perceived any thing; now she had sent a good while before toMacherus, which was subject to her father and so all things necessaryfor 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 theseveral generals, who carried her from one to another successively;and she soon came to her father, and told him of Herod's intentions. SoAretas made this the first occasion of his enmity between him and Herod, who had also some quarrel with him about their limits at the country ofGamalitis. So they raised armies on both sides, and prepared for war, and sent their generals to fight instead of themselves; and when theyhad joined battle, all Herod's army was destroyed by the treachery ofsome fugitives, who, though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joinedwith Aretas's army. . So Herod wrote about these affairs to Tiberius, whobeing very angry at the attempt made by Aretas, wrote to Vitellius tomake war upon him, and either to take him alive, and bring him to him inbonds, or to kill him, and send him his head. This was the charge thatTiberius gave to the president of Syria. 2. Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's armycame from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he didagainst John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who wasa good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as torighteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to cometo baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable tohim, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or theremission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body;supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand byrighteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for theywere very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, whofeared lest the great influence John had over the people might put itinto his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, [for they seemedready to do any thing he should advise, ] thought it best, by putting himto death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himselfinto difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it whenit would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod'ssuspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and wasthere put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destructionof this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God'sdispleasure to him. 3. So Vitellius prepared to make war with Aretas, having with him twolegions of armed men; he also took with him all those of light armature, and of the horsemen which belonged to them, and were drawn out of thosekingdoms which were under the Romans, and made haste for Petra, and cameto Ptolemais. But as he was marching very busily, and leading his armythrough Judea, the principal men met him, and desired that he would notthus march through their land; for that the laws of their country wouldnot permit them to overlook those images which were brought into it, ofwhich there were a great many in their ensigns; so he was persuaded bywhat they said, and changed that resolution of his which he had beforetaken in this matter. Whereupon he ordered the army to march along thegreat plain, while he himself, with Herod the tetrarch and his friends, went up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice to God, an ancient festival ofthe Jews being then just approaching; and when he had been there, andbeen honorably entertained by the multitude of the Jews, he made a staythere for three days, within which time he deprived Jonathan of thehigh priesthood, and gave it to his brother Theophilus. But when onthe fourth day letters came to him, which informed him of the death ofTiberius, 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 taketheir winter quarters there, since, upon the devolution of the empireupon Caius, he had not the like authority of making this war which hehad before. It was also reported, that when Aretas heard of the comingof Vitellius to fight him, he said, upon his consulting the diviners, that it was impossible that this army of Vitellius's could enter Petra;for that one of the rulers would die, either he that gave orders forthe war, or he that was marching at the other's desire, in order to besubservient to his will, or else he against whom this army is prepared. So Vitellius truly retired to Antioch; but Agrippa, the son ofAristobulus, went up to Rome, a year before the death of Tiberius, in order to treat of some affairs with the emperor, if he might bepermitted so to do. I have now a mind to describe Herod and his family, how it fared with them, partly because it is suitable to this history tospeak of that matter, and partly because this thing is a demonstrationof the interposition of Providence, how a multitude of children is of noadvantage, no more than any other strength that mankind set their heartsupon, besides those acts of piety which are done towards God; for ithappened, that, within the revolution of a hundred years, the posterityof Herod, which were a great many in number, were, excepting a few, utterly destroyed. [16] One may well apply this for the instruction ofmankind, and learn thence how unhappy they were: it will also showus the history of Agrippa, who, as he was a person most worthy ofadmiration, so was he from a private man, beyond all the expectation ofthose that knew him, advanced to great power and authority. I have saidsomething of them formerly, but I shall now also speak accurately aboutthem. 4. Herod the Great had two daughters by Mariamne, the [grand] daughterof Hyrcanus; the one was Salampsio, who was married to Phasaelus, herfirst cousin, who was himself the son of Phasaelus, Herod's brother, herfather making the match; the other was Cypros, who was herself marriedalso to her first cousin Antipater, the son of Salome, Herod's sister. Phasaelus had five children by Salampsio; Antipater, Herod, andAlexander, 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 Cyprostwo sons and three daughters, which daughters were named Bernice, Mariarune, and Drusius; but the names of the sons were Agrippa andDrusus, of which Drusus died before he came to the years of puberty; buttheir father, Agrippa, was brought up with his other brethren, Herod andAristobulus, for these were also the sons of the son of Herod the Greatby Bernice; but Bernice was the daughter of Costobarus and of Salome, who was Herod's sister. Aristobulus left these infants when he was slainby his father, together with his brother Alexander, as we have alreadyrelated. But when they were arrived at years of puberty, this Herod, thebrother of Agrippa, married Mariamne, the daughter of Olympias, who wasthe daughter of Herod the king, and of Joseph, the son of Joseph, whowas brother to Herod the king, and had by her a son, Aristobulus; butAristobulus, the third brother of Agrippa, married Jotape, the daughterof Sampsigeramus, king of Emesa; they had a daughter who was deaf, whosename also was Jotape; and these hitherto were the children of the maleline. But Herodias, their sister, was married to Herod [Philip], the sonof Herod the Great, who was born of Mariamne, the daughter of Simon thehigh priest, who had a daughter, Salome; after whose birth Herodias tookupon her to confound the laws of our country, and divorced herself fromher husband while he was alive, and was married to Herod [Antipas], herhusband's brother by the father's side, he was tetrarch of Galilee;but her daughter Salome was married to Philip, the son of Herod, andtetrarch of Trachonitis; and as he died childless, Aristobulus, theson of Herod, the brother of Agrippa, married her; they had three sons, Herod, Agrippa, and Aristobulus; and this was the posterity of Phasaelusand Salampsio. But the daughter of Antipater by Cypros was Cypros, whomAlexas Selcias, the son of Alexas, married; they had a daughter, Cypros;but Herod and Alexander, who, as we told you, were the brothers ofAntipater, died childless. As to Alexander, the son of Herod the king, who was slain by his father, he had two sons, Alexander and Tigranes, bythe daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia. Tigranes, who was king ofArmenia, was accused at Rome, and died childless; Alexander had a son ofthe same name with his brother Tigranes, and was sent to take possessionof the kingdom of Armenia by Nero; he had a son, Alexander, who marriedJotape, [17] the daughter of Antiochus, the king of Commagena; Vespasianmade him king of an island in Cilicia. But these descendants ofAlexander, soon after their birth, deserted the Jewish religion, andwent over to that of the Greeks. But for the rest of the daughtersof Herod the king, it happened that they died childless. And as thesedescendants of Herod, whom we have enumerated, were in being at the sametime that Agrippa the Great took the kingdom, and I have now given anaccount of them, it now remains that I relate the several hard fortuneswhich befell Agrippa, and how he got clear of them, and was advanced tothe greatest height of dignity and power. CHAPTER 6. Of The Navigation Of King Agrippa To Rome, To TiberiusCaesar; And Now Upon His Being Accused By His Own Freed-Man, He WasBound; How Also He, Was Set At Liberty By Caius, After Tiberius's DeathAnd Was Made King Of The Tetrarchy Of Philip. 1. A Little before the death of Herod the king, Agrippa lived at Rome, and was generally brought up and conversed with Drusus, the emperorTiberius's son, and contracted a friendship with Antonia, the wife ofDrusus the Great, who had his mother Bernice in great esteem, andwas very desirous of advancing her son. Now as Agrippa was by naturemagnanimous and generous in the presents he made, while his mother wasalive, this inclination of his mind did not appear, that he might beable to avoid her anger for such his extravagance; but when Bernicewas dead, and he was left to his own conduct, he spent a great dealextravagantly in his daily way of living, and a great deal in theimmoderate presents he made, and those chiefly among Caesar's freed-men, in order to gain their assistance, insomuch that he was, in a littletime, reduced to poverty, and could not live at Rome any longer. Tiberius also forbade the friends of his deceased son to come into hissight, because on seeing them he should be put in mind of his son, andhis grief would thereby be revived. 2. For these reasons he went away from Rome, and sailed to Judea, but inevil circumstances, being dejected with the loss of that money which heonce had, and because he had not wherewithal to pay his creditors, whowere many in number, and such as gave him no room for escapingthem. Whereupon he knew not what to do; so, for shame of his presentcondition, he retired to a certain tower, at Malatha, in Idumea, andhad thoughts of killing himself; but his wife Cypros perceived hisintentions, and tried all sorts of methods to divert him from his takingsuch a course; so she sent a letter to his sister Herodias, who wasnow the wife of Herod the tetrarch, and let her know Agrippa's presentdesign, and what necessity it was which drove him thereto, and desiredher, as a kinswoman of his, to give him her help, and to engage herhusband to do the same, since she saw how she alleviated these herhusband's troubles all she could, although she had not the like wealthto do it withal. So they sent for him, and allotted him Tiberias for hishabitation, and appointed him some income of money for his maintenance, and made him a magistrate of that city, by way of honor to him. Yet didnot Herod long continue in that resolution of supporting him, thougheven that support was not sufficient for him; for as once they were ata feast at Tyre, and in their cups, and reproaches were cast upon oneanother, Agrippa thought that was not to be borne, while Herod hit himin the teeth with his poverty, and with his owing his necessary foodto him. So he went to Flaccus, one that had been consul, and had beena very great friend to him at Rome formerly, and was now president ofSyria. 3. Hereupon Flaccus received him kindly, and he lived with him. Flaccushad also with him there Aristobulus, who was indeed Agrippa's brother, but was at variance with him; yet did not their enmity to one anotherhinder the friendship of Flaccus to them both, but still they werehonorably treated by him. However, Aristobulus did not abate of hisill-will to Agrippa, till at length he brought him into ill terms withFlaccus; the occasion of bringing on which estrangement was this: TheDamascens were at difference with the Sidonians about their limits, andwhen Flaccus was about to hear the cause between them, they understoodthat Agrippa had a mighty influence upon him; so they desired that hewould be of their side, and for that favor promised him a great dealof money; so he was zealous in assisting the Damascens as far as he wasable. Now Aristobulus had gotten intelligence of this promise ofmoney to him, and accused him to Flaccus of the same; and when, upona thorough examination of the matter, it appeared plainly so to be, herejected Agrippa out of the number of his friends. So he was reducedto the utmost necessity, and came to Ptolemais; and because he knew notwhere else to get a livelihood, he thought to sail to Italy; but as hewas restrained from so doing by want of money, he desired Marsyas, whowas his freed-man, to find some method for procuring him so much ashe wanted for that purpose, by borrowing such a sum of some person orother. So Marsyas desired of Peter, who was the freed-man of Bernice, Agrippa's mother, and by the right of her testament was bequeathed toAntonia, to lend so much upon Agrippa's own bond and security; but heaccused Agrippa of having defrauded him of certain sums of money, andso obliged Marsyas, when he made the bond of twenty thousand Atticdrachmae, to accept of twenty-five hundred drachma as [18] less thanwhat he desired, which the other allowed of, because he could not helpit. Upon the receipt of this money, Agrippa came to Anthedon, and tookshipping, and was going to set sail; but Herennius Capito, who was theprocurator of Jamhis, sent a band of soldiers to demand of him threehundred thousand drachmae of silver, which were by him owing to Caesar'streasury while he was at Rome, and so forced him to stay. He thenpretended that he would do as he bid him; but when night came on, hecut his cables, and went off, and sailed to Alexandria, where he desiredAlexander the alabarch [19] to lend him two hundred thousand drachmae;but he said he would not lend it to him, but would not refuse it toCypros, as greatly astonished at her affection to her husband, andat the other instances of her virtue; so she undertook to repay it. Accordingly, Alexander paid them five talents at Alexandria, andpromised to pay them the rest of that sum at Dicearchia [Puteoli]; andthis he did out of the fear he was in that Agrippa would soon spend it. So this Cypros set her husband free, and dismissed him to go on with hisnavigation to Italy, while she and her children departed for Judea. 4. And now Agrippa was come to Puteoli, whence he wrote a letter toTiberius Caesar, who then lived at Capreae, and told him that he wascome so far in order to wait on him, and to pay him a visit; and desiredthat he would give him leave to come over to Caprein: so Tiberius madeno difficulty, but wrote to him in an obliging way in other respects;and withal told him he was glad of his safe return, and desired him tocome to Capreae; and when he was come, he did not fail to treat him askindly as he had promised him in his letter to do. But the next day camea letter to Caesar from Herennius Capito, to inform him that Agrippahad borrowed three hundred thousand drachmae, and not pad it at the timeappointed; but when it was demanded of him, he ran away like a fugitive, out of the places under his government, and put it out of his powerto get the money of him. When Caesar had read this letter, he was muchtroubled at it, and gave order that Agrippa should be excluded from hispresence until he had paid that debt: upon which he was no way dauntedat Caesar's anger, but entreated Antonia, the mother of Germanicus, andof Claudius, who was afterward Caesar himself, to lend him those threehundred thousand drachmae, that he might not be deprived of Tiberius'sfriendship; so, out of regard to the memory of Bernice his mother, [forthose two women were very familiar with one another, ] and out of regardto his and Claudius's education together, she lent him the money; and, upon the payment of this debt, there was nothing to hinder Tiberius'sfriendship to him. After this, Tiberius Caesar recommended to him hisgrandson, [20] and ordered that he should always accompany him when hewent abroad. But upon Agrippa's kind reception by Antonia, he betookhim to pay his respects to Caius, who was her grandson, and in very highreputation by reason of the good-will they bare his father. Now therewas one Thallus, a freed-man of Caesar, of whom he borrowed a million ofdrachmae, and thence repaid Antonia the debt he owed her; and by sendingthe overplus in paying his court to Caius, became a person of greatauthority with him. 5. Now as the friendship which Agrippa had for Caius was come to a greatheight, there happened some words to pass between them, as they oncewere in a chariot together, concerning Tiberius; Agrippa praying [toGod] [for they two sat by themselves] that Tiberius might soon go offthe stage, and leave the government to Caius, who was in every respectmore worthy of it. Now Eutychus, who was Agrippa's freed-man, and drovehis chariot, heard these words, and at that time said nothing of them;but when Agrippa accused him of stealing some garments of his, [whichwas certainly true, ] he ran away from him; but when he was caught, andbrought before Piso, who was governor of the city, and the man was askedwhy he ran away, he replied, that he had somewhat to say to Caesar, thattended to his security and preservation: so Piso bound him, and sent himto Capreae. But Tiberius, according to his usual custom, kept him stillin bonds, being a delayer of affairs, if ever there was any other kingor tyrant that was so; for he did not admit ambassadors quickly, andno successors were despatched away to governors or procurators of theprovinces that had been formerly sent, unless they were dead; whenceit was that he was so negligent in hearing the causes of prisoners;insomuch that when he was asked by his friends what was the reason ofhis delay in such cases, he said that he delayed to hear ambassadors, lest, upon their quick dismission, other ambassadors should beappointed, and return upon him; and so he should bring trouble uponhimself in their public reception and dismission: that he permittedthose governors who had been sent once to their government [to staythere a long while], out of regard to the subjects that were under them;for that all governors are naturally disposed to get as much as theycan; and that those who are not to fix there, but to stay a short time, and that at an uncertainty when they shall be turned out, do the moreseverely hurry themselves on to fleece the people; but that if theirgovernment be long continued to them; they are at last satiated with thespoils, as having gotten a vast deal, and so become at length less sharpin their pillaging; but that if successors are sent quickly, the poorsubjects, who are exposed to them as a prey, will not be able to bearthe new ones, while they shall not have the same time allowed themwherein their predecessors had filled themselves, and so grew moreunconcerned about getting more; and this because they are removed beforethey have had time [for their oppressions]. He gave them an example toshow his meaning: A great number of flies came about the sore places ofa man that had been wounded; upon which one of the standers-by pitiedthe man's misfortune, and thinking he was not able to drive those fliesaway himself, was going to drive them away for him; but he prayed him tolet them alone: the other, by way of reply, asked him the reason of sucha preposterous proceeding, in preventing relief from his present misery;to which he answered, "If thou drivest these flies away, thou wilt hurtme worse; for as these are already full of my blood, they do not crowdabout me, nor pain me so much as before, but are somewhat more remiss, while the fresh ones that come almost famished, and find me quite tireddown already, will be my destruction. For this cause, therefore, it isthat I am myself careful not to send such new governors perpetuallyto those my subjects, who are already sufficiently harassed by manyoppressions, as may, like these flies, further distress them; andso, besides their natural desire of gain, may have this additionalincitement to it, that they expect to be suddenly deprived of thatpleasure which they take in it. " And, as a further attestation to whatI say of the dilatory nature of Tiberius, I appeal to this his practiceitself; for although he was emperor twenty-two years, he sent in allbut two procurators to govern the nation of the Jews, Gratus, and hissuccessor in the government, Pilate. Nor was he in one way of actingwith respect to the Jews, and in another with respect to the rest ofhis subjects. He further informed them, that even in the hearing of thecauses of prisoners, he made such delays, because immediate death tothose that must be condemned to die would be an alleviation of theirpresent miseries, while those wicked wretches have not deserved any suchfavor; "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 bearing, butwas kept still in prison. However, some time afterward, Tiberius camefrom Capreae to Tusculanum, which is about a hundred furlongs from Rome. Agrippa then desired of Antonia that she would procure a hearing forEutychus, let the matter whereof he accused him prove what it would. Now Antonia was greatly esteemed by Tiberius on all accounts, from thedignity of her relation to him, who had been his brother Drusus's wife, and from her eminent chastity; [21] for though she was still a youngwoman, she continued in her widowhood, and refused all other matches, although Augustus had enjoined her to be married to somebody else; yetdid she all along preserve her reputation free from reproach. She hadalso been the greatest benefactress to Tiberius, when there was a verydangerous plot laid against him by Sejanus, a man who had been herhusband's friend, and wire had the greatest authority, because he wasgeneral of the army, and when many members of the senate and many of thefreed-men joined with him, and the soldiery was corrupted, and the plotwas come to a great height. Now Sejanus had certainly gained his point, had not Antonia's boldness been more wisely conducted than Sejanus'smalice; for when she had discovered his designs against Tiberius, shewrote him an exact account of the whole, and gave the letter to Pallas, the most faithful of her servants, and sent him to Caprere to Tiberius, who, when he understood it, slew Sejanus and his confederates; so thatTiberius, who had her in great esteem before, now looked upon her withstill greater respect, and depended upon her in all things. So whenTiberius was desired by this Antonia to examine Eutychus, he answered, "If indeed Eutychus hath falsely accused Agrippa in what he hath saidof him, he hath had sufficient punishment by what I have done to himalready; but if, upon examination, the accusation appears 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 himself. " Now when Antonia toldAgrippa of this, he was still much more pressing that the mattermight be examined into; so Antonia, upon Agrippa's lying hard at hercontinually to beg this favor, took the following opportunity: AsTiberius lay once at his ease upon his sedan, and was carried about, and Caius, her grandson, and Agrippa, were before him after dinner shewalked by the sedan, and desired him to call Eutychus, and have himexamined; to which he replied, "O Antonia! the gods are my witnessesthat I am induced to do what I am going to do, not by my owninclination, but because I am forced to it by thy prayers. " When he hadsaid this, he ordered Macro, who succeeded Sejanus, to bring Eutychus tohim; accordingly, without any delay, he was brought. Then Tiberius askedhim what he had to say against a man who had given him his liberty. Uponwhich he said, "O my lord! this Caius, and Agrippa with him, wereonce riding in a chariot, when I sat at their feet, and, among otherdiscourses that passed, Agrippa said to Caius, Oh that the day wouldonce come when this old fellow will dies and name thee for the governorof the habitable earth! for then this Tiberius, his grandson, would beno hinderance, but would be taken off by thee, and that earth would behappy, and I happy also. " Now Tiberius took these to be truly Agrippa'swords, and bearing a grudge withal at Agrippa, because, when he hadcommanded him to pay his respects to Tiberius, his grandson, and the sonof Drusus, Agrippa had not paid him that respect, but had disobeyed hiscommands, and transferred all his regard to Caius; he said to Macro, "Bind this man. " But Macro, not distinctly knowing which of them itwas whom he bid him bind, and not expecting that he would have any suchthing done to Agrippa, he forbore, and came to ask more distinctly whatit was that he said. But when Caesar had gone round the hippodrome, hefound Agrippa standing: "For certain, " said he, "Macro, this is the manI meant to have bound;" and when he still asked, "Which of these is tobe bound?" he said "Agrippa. " Upon which Agrippa betook himself to makesupplication for himself, putting him in mind of his son, with whom hewas brought up, and of Tiberius [his grandson] whom he had educated;but all to no purpose; for they led him about bound even in his purplegarments. It was also very hot weather, and they had but little wine totheir meal, so that he was very thirsty; he was also in a sort of agony, and took this treatment of him heinously: as he therefore saw one ofCaius's slaves, whose name was Thaumastus, carrying some water in avessel, he desired that he would let him drink; so the servant gave himsome water to drink, and he drank heartily, and said, "O thou boy! thisservice of thine to me will be for thy advantage; for if I once getclear of these my bonds, I will soon procure thee thy freedom of Caiuswho has not been wanting to minister to me now I am in bonds, in thesame manner as when I was in my former state and dignity. " Nor did hedeceive him in what he promised him, but made him amends for what he hadnow done; for when afterward Agrippa was come to the kingdom, he tookparticular care of Thaumastus, and got him his liberty from Caius, andmade him the steward over his own estate; and when he died, he left himto Agrippa his son, and to Bernice his daughter, to minister to themin the same capacity. The man also grew old in that honorable post, andtherein died. But all this happened a good while later. 7. Now Agrippa stood in his bonds before the royal palace, and leaned ona certain tree for grief, with many others, who were in bonds also; andas a certain bird sat upon the tree on which Agrippa leaned, [the Romanscall this bird bubo, ] [an owl, ] one of those that were bound, a Germanby nation, saw him, and asked a soldier who that man in purple was;and when he was informed that his name was Agrippa, and that he wasby nation a Jew, and one of the principal men of that nation, he askedleave of the soldier to whom he was bound, [22] to let him come nearerto him, to speak with him; for that he had a mind to inquire of himabout some things relating to his country; which liberty, when hehad obtained, and as he stood near him, he said thus to him by aninterpreter: "This sudden change of thy condition, O young man!is grievous to thee, as bringing on thee a manifold and very greatadversity; nor wilt thou believe me, when I foretell how thou wilt getclear of this misery which thou art now under, and how Divine Providencewill provide for thee. Know therefore [and I appeal to my own countrygods, as well as to the gods of this place, who have awarded these bondsto us] that all I am going to say about thy concerns shall neither besaid for favor nor bribery, nor out of an endeavor to make thee cheerfulwithout cause; for such predictions, when they come to fail, make thegrief at last, and in earnest, more bitter than if the party had neverheard of any such thing. However, though I run the hazard of my ownself, I think it fit to declare to thee the prediction of the gods. Itcannot be that thou shouldst long continue in these bonds; but thou wiltsoon be delivered from them, and wilt be promoted to the highest dignityand power, and thou wilt be envied by all those who now pity thy hardfortune; and thou wilt be happy till thy death, and wilt leave thinehappiness to the children whom thou shalt have. But do thou remember, when thou seest this bird again, that thou wilt then live but five dayslonger. This event will be brought to pass by that God who hath sentthis bird hither to be a sign unto thee. And I cannot but think itunjust to conceal from thee what I foreknow concerning thee, that, bythy knowing beforehand what happiness is coming upon thee, thou maystnot regard thy present misfortunes. But when this happiness shallactually befall thee, do not forget what misery I am in myself, butendeavor to deliver me. " So when the German had said this, he madeAgrippa laugh at him as much as he afterwards appeared worthy ofadmiration. But now Antonia took Agrippa's misfortune to heart: however, to speak to Tiberius on his behalf, she took to be a very difficultthing, and indeed quite impracticable, as to any hope of success; yetdid she procure of Macro, that the soldiers that kept him should be of agentle nature, and that the centurion who was over them and was to dietwith him, should be of the same disposition, and that he might haveleave to bathe himself every day, and that his freed-men and friendsmight come to him, and that other things that tended to ease him mightbe indulged him. So his friend Silas came in to him, and two of hisfreed-men, Marsyas and Stechus, brought him such sorts of food as hewas fond of, and indeed took great care of him; they also brought himgarments, under pretense of selling them; and when night came on, theylaid them under him; and the soldiers assisted them, as Macro had giventhem order to do beforehand. And this was Agrippa's condition for sixmonths' time, and in this case were his affairs. 8. But for Tiberius, upon his return to Caprein, he fell sick. At firsthis distemper was but gentle; but as that distemper increased upon him, he had small or no hopes of recovery. Hereupon he bid Euodus, who wasthat freed-man whom he most of all respected, to bring the children [23]to him, for that he wanted to talk to them before he died. Now he had atpresent no sons of his own alive for Drusus, who was his only son, wasdead; but Drusus's son Tiberius was still living, whose additional namewas Gemellus: there was also living Caius, the son of Germanicus, whowas the son [24] of his brother [Drusus]. He was now grown up, and hada liberal education, and was well improved by it, and was in esteemand favor with the people, on account of the excellent character ofhis father Germanicus, who had attained the highest honor among themultitude, by the firmness of his virtuous behavior, by the easinessand agreeableness of his conversing with the multitude, and because thedignity he was in did not hinder his familiarity with them all, as ifthey were his equals; by which behavior he was not only greatly esteemedby the people and the senate, but by every one of those nations thatwere subject to the Romans; some of which were affected when they cameto him with the gracefulness of their reception by him, and others wereaffected in the same manner by the report of the others that had beenwith him; and, upon 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 everybody grieved at his death, as if they had lost one that was near tothem. And truly such had been his easy conversation with men, that itturned greatly to the advantage of his son among all; and, among others, the soldiery were so peculiarly affected to him, that they reckonedit an eligible thing, if need were, to die themselves, if he might butattain to the government. 9. But when Tiberius had given order to Euodus to bring the children tohim the next day in the morning, he prayed to his country gods toshow him a manifest signal which of those children should come to thegovernment; being very desirous to leave it to his son's son, but stilldepending upon what God should foreshow concerning them more than uponhis own opinion and inclination; so he made this to be the omen, thatthe government should be left to him who should come to him first thenext day. When he had thus resolved within himself, he sent to hisgrandson's tutor, and ordered him to bring the child to him early in themorning, as supposing that God would permit him to be made emperor. But God proved opposite to his designation; for while Tiberius was thuscontriving matters, and as soon as it was at all day, he bid Euodusto call in that child which should be there ready. So he went out, andfound Caius before the door, for Tiberius was not yet come, but staidwaiting for his breakfast; for Euodus knew nothing of what his lordintended; so he said to Caius, "Thy father calls thee, " and then broughthim in. As soon as Tiberius saw Caius, and not before, he reflected onthe power of God, and how the ability of bestowing the government onwhom he would was entirely taken from him; and thence he was not able toestablish what he had intended. So he greatly lamented that his power ofestablishing what he had before contrived was taken from him, and thathis grandson Tiberius was not only to lose the Roman empire by hisfatality, but his own safety also, because his preservation would nowdepend upon such as would be more potent than himself, who would thinkit a thing not to be borne, that a kinsman should live with them, andso his relation would not be able to protect him; but he would be fearedand bated by him who had the supreme authority, partly on account ofhis being next to the empire, and partly on account of his perpetuallycontriving to get the government, both in order to preserve himself, andto be at the head of affairs also. Now Tiberius had been very much givento astrology, [25] and the calculation of nativities, and had spent hislife in the esteem of what predictions had proved true, more than thosewhose profession it was. Accordingly, when he once saw Galba coming into him, he said to his most intimate friends, that there came in a manthat would one day have the dignity of the Roman empire. So that thisTiberius was more addicted to all such sorts of diviners than any otherof the Roman emperors, because he had found them to have told him truthin his own affairs. And indeed he was now in great distress uponthis accident that had befallen him, and was very much grieved atthe destruction of his son's son, which he foresaw, and complained ofhimself, that he should have made use of such a method of divinationbeforehand, while it was in his power to have died without grief by thisknowledge of futurity; whereas he was now tormented by his foreknowledgeof the misfortune of such as were dearest to him, and must die underthat torment. Now although he was disordered at this unexpectedrevolution of the government to those for whom he did not intend it, he spake thus to Caius, though unwillingly, and against his owninclination: "O child! although Tiberius be nearer related to me thanthou art, I, by my own determination, and the conspiring suffrage of thegods, do give and put into thy hand the Roman empire; and I desire theenever to be unmindful when thou comest to it, either of my kindness tothee, 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, theprocurer of so great happiness to thee; so I desire that thou wiltmake me a return for my readiness to assist thee, and wilt take care ofTiberius because of his near relation to thee. Besides which, thou artto 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, thatwill be but a prelude to thy own misfortunes; for to be alone under theweight of such vast affairs is very dangerous; nor will the gods sufferthose actions which are unjustly done, contrary to that law whichdirects men to act otherwise, to go off unpunished. " This was the speechwhich Tiberius made, which did not persuade Caius to act accordingly, although he promised so to do; but when he was settled in thegovernment, he took off this Tiberius, as was predicted by the otherTiberius; as he was also himself, in no long time afterward, slain by asecret plot laid against him. 10. So when Tiberius had at this time appointed Caius to be hissuccessor, he outlived but a few days, and then died, after he had heldthe government twenty-two years five months and three days. Now Caiuswas the fourth emperor. But when the Romans understood that Tiberius wasdead, they rejoiced at the good news, but had not courage to believe it;not because they were unwilling it should be true, for they would havegiven huge sums of money that it might be so, but because they wereafraid, that if they had showed their joy when the news proved false, their joy should be openly known, and they should be accused for it, and be thereby undone. For this Tiberius had brought a vast numberof miseries on the best families of the Romans, since he was easilyinflamed with passion in all cases, and was of such a temper as renderedhis anger irrevocable, till he had executed the same, although he hadtaken a hatred against men without reason; for he was by nature fiercein all the sentences he gave, and made death the penalty for thelightest offenses; insomuch that when the Romans heard the rumor abouthis death gladly, they were restrained from the enjoyment of thatpleasure by the dread of such miseries as they foresaw would follow, iftheir hopes proved ill-grounded. Now Marsyas, Agrippa's freed-man, assoon as he heard of Tiberius's death, came running to tell Agrippa thenews; and finding him going out to the bath, he gave him a nod, andsaid, in the Hebrew tongue, "The lion [26] is dead;" who, understandinghis meaning, and being overjoyed at the news, "Nay, " said he, "but allsorts of thanks and happiness attend thee for this news of thine; onlyI wish that what thou sayest may prove true. " Now the centurion who wasset to keep Agrippa, when he saw with what haste Marsyas came, and whatjoy Agrippa had from what he said, he had a suspicion that his wordsimplied some great innovation of affairs, and he asked them about whatwas said. They at first diverted the discourse; but upon his furtherpressing, Agrippa, without more ado, told him, for he was already becomehis friend; so he joined with him in that pleasure which this newsoccasioned, because it would be fortunate to Agrippa, and made him asupper. But as they were feasting, and the cups went about, there cameone who said that Tiberius was still alive, and would return to the cityill a few days. At which news the centurion was exceedingly troubled, because he had done what might cost him his life, to have treated sojoyfully a prisoner, and this upon the news of the death of Caesar; sohe thrust Agrippa from the couch whereon he lay, and said, "Dost thouthink to cheat me by a lie about the emperor without punishment? andshalt not thou pay for this thy malicious report at the price of thinehead?" When he had so said, he ordered Agrippa to be bound again, [for he had loosed him before, ] and kept a severer guard over him thanformerly, and in that evil condition was Agrippa that night; but thenext day the rumor increased in the city, and confirmed the news thatTiberius was certainly dead; insomuch that men durst now openly andfreely talk about it; nay, some offered sacrifices on that account. Several letters also came from Caius; one of them to the senate, whichinformed them of the death of Tiberius, and of his own entrance on thegovernment; another to Piso, the governor of the city, which told himthe same thing. He also gave order that Agrippa should be removed outof the camp, and go to that house where he lived before he was putin prison; so that he was now out of fear as to his own affairs; foralthough he was still in custody, yet it was now with ease to hisown affairs. Now, as soon as Caius was come to Rome, and had broughtTiberius's dead body with him, and had made a sumptuous funeral forhim, according to the laws of his country, he was much disposed to setAgrippa at liberty that very day; but Antonia hindered him, not out ofany 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 Tiberiuswith pleasure, when 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 puta diadem upon his head, and appointed him to be king of the tetrarchy ofPhilip. He also gave him the tetrarchy of Lysanias, [27] and changed hisiron chain for a golden one of equal weight. He also sent Marullus to beprocurator of Judea. 11. Now, in the second year of the reign of Caius Caesar, Agrippadesired leave to be given him to sail home, and settle the affairs ofhis government; and he promised to return again, when he had put therest in order, as it ought to be put. So, upon the emperor's permission, he came into his own country, and appeared to them all unexpectedly asasking, and thereby demonstrated to the men that saw him the power offortune, when they compared his former poverty with his present happyaffluence; so some called him a happy man, and others could not wellbelieve that things were so much changed with him for the better. CHAPTER 7. How Herod The Tetrarch Was Banished. 1. But Herodias, Agrippa's sister, who now lived as wife to that Herodwho was tetrarch of Galilee and Peres, took this authority of herbrother in an envious manner, particularly when she saw that he had agreater dignity bestowed on him than her husband had; since, when he ranaway, it was because he was not able to pay his debts; and now he wascome back, he was in a way of dignity, and of great good fortune. Shewas therefore grieved and much displeased at so great a mutation of hisaffairs; and chiefly when she saw him marching among the multitude withthe usual ensigns of royal authority, she was not able to conceal howmiserable she was, by reason of the envy she had towards him; but sheexcited her husband, and desired him that he would sail to Rome, tocourt honors equal to his; for she said that she could not bear to liveany longer, while Agrippa, the son of that Aristobulus who was condemnedto die by his father, one that came to her husband in such extremepoverty, that the necessaries of life were forced to be entirelysupplied him day by day; and when he fled away from his creditors bysea, he now returned a king; while he was himself the son of a king, andwhile the near relation he bare to royal authority called upon him togain the like dignity, he sat still, and was contented with a privaterlife. "But then, Herod, although thou wast formerly not concerned tobe in a lower condition than thy father from whom thou wast derivedhad been, yet do thou now seek after the dignity which thy kinsman hathattained to; and do not thou bear this contempt, that a man who admiredthy riches should be in greater honor than thyself, nor suffer hispoverty to show itself able to purchase greater things than ourabundance; nor do thou esteem it other than a shameful thing to beinferior to one who, the other day, lived upon thy charity. But let usgo to Rome, and let us spare no pains nor expenses, either of silveror gold, since they cannot be kept for any better use than for theobtaining of a kingdom. " 2. But for Herod, he opposed her request at this time, out of the loveof ease, and having a suspicion of the trouble he should have at Rome;so he tried to instruct her better. But the more she saw him drawback, the more she pressed him to it, and desired him to leave no stoneunturned in order to be king; and at last she left not off till sheengaged him, whether he would or not, to be of her sentiments, becausehe could no otherwise avoid her importunity. So he got all things ready, after as sumptuous a manner as he was able, and spared for nothing, andwent up to Rome, and took Herodias along with him. But Agrippa, when hewas made sensible of their intentions and preparations, he alsoprepared to go thither; and as soon as he heard they set sail, he sentFortunatus, one of his freed-men, to Rome, to carry presents to theemperor, and letters against Herod, and to give Caius a particularaccount of those matters, if he should have any opportunity. This manfollowed Herod so quick, and had so prosperous a voyage, and came solittle after Herod, that while Herod was with Caius, he came himself, and delivered his letters; for they both sailed to Dicearchia, andfound Caius at Bairn, which is itself a little city of Campania, at thedistance of about five furlongs from Dicearchia. There are in thatplace royal palaces, with sumptuous apartments, every emperor stillendeavoring to outdo his predecessor's magnificence; the place alsoaffords warm baths, that spring out of the ground of their own accord, which are of advantage for the recovery of the health of those that makeuse of them; and, besides, they minister to men's luxury also. NowCaius saluted Herod, for he first met with him, and then looked upon theletters which Agrippa had sent him, and which were written in order toaccuse Herod; wherein he accused him, that he had been in confederacywith Sejanus against Tiberius's and that he was now confederate withArtabanus, the king of Parthia, in opposition to the government ofCaius; as a demonstration of which he alleged, that he had armorsufficient for seventy thousand men ready in his armory. Caius was movedat this information, and asked Herod whether what was said about thearmor was true; and when he confessed there was such armor there, for hecould not deny the same, the truth of it being too notorious, Caius tookthat to be a sufficient proof of the accusation, that he intended torevolt. So he took away from him his tetrarchy, and gave it by way ofaddition to Agrippa's kingdom; he also gave Herod's money to Agrippa, and, by way of punishment, awarded him a perpetual banishment, andappointed Lyons, a city of Gaul, to be his place of habitation. Butwhen he was informed that Herodias was Agrippa's sister, he made her apresent of what money was her own, and told her that it was her brotherwho prevented her being put under the same calamity with her husband. But she made this reply: "Thou, indeed, O emperor! actest after amagnificent manner, and as becomes thyself in what thou offerest me; butthe kindness which I have for my husband hinders me from partaking ofthe favor of thy gift; for it is not just that I, who have been madea partner in his prosperity, should forsake him in his misfortunes. "Hereupon Caius was angry at her, and sent her with Herod intobanishment, and gave her estate to Agrippa. And thus did God punishHerodias for her envy at her brother, and Herod also for giving ear tothe vain discourses of a woman. Now Caius managed public affairs withgreat magnanimity during the first and second year of his reign, andbehaved himself with such moderation, that he gained the good-will ofthe Romans themselves, and of his other subjects. But, in processof time, he went beyond the bounds of human nature in his conceit ofhimself, and by reason of the vastness of his dominions made himself agod, and took upon himself to act in all things to the reproach of theDeity itself. CHAPTER 8. Concerning The Embassage Of The Jews To Caius; [28] And HowCaius Sent Petronius Into Syria To Make War Against The Jews, UnlessThey Would Receive His Statue. 1. There was now a tumult arisen at Alexandria, between the Jewishinhabitants and the Greeks; and three ambassadors were chosen out ofeach party that were at variance, who came to Caius. Now one of theseambassadors from the people of Alexandria was Apion, [29] who utteredmany blasphemies against the Jews; and, among other things that he said, he charged them with neglecting the honors that belonged to Caesar; forthat while all who were subject to the Roman empire built altars andtemples to Caius, and in other regards universally received him as theyreceived the gods, these Jews alone thought it a dishonorable thing forthem to erect statues in honor of him, as well as to swear by his name. Many of these severe things were said by Apion, by which he hoped toprovoke Caius to anger at the Jews, as he was likely to be. But Philo, the principal of the Jewish embassage, a man eminent on all accounts, brother to Alexander the alabarch, [30] and one not unskillful inphilosophy, was ready to betake himself to make his defense againstthose accusations; but Caius prohibited him, and bid him begone; he wasalso in such a rage, that it openly appeared he was about to do themsome very great mischief. So Philo being thus affronted, went out, and said to those Jews who were about him, that they should be of goodcourage, since Caius's words indeed showed anger at them, but in realityhad already set God against himself. 2. Hereupon Caius, taking it very heinously that he should be thusdespised by the Jews alone, sent Petronius to be president of Syria, andsuccessor in the government to Vitellius, and gave him order to makean invasion into Judea, with a great body of troops; and if they wouldadmit of his statue willingly, to erect it in the temple of God; butif they were obstinate, to conquer them by war, and then to do it. Accordingly, Petronius took the government of Syria, and made haste toobey Caesar's epistle. He got together as great a number of auxiliariesas he possibly could, and took with him two legions of the Roman army, and came to Ptolemais, and there wintered, as intending to set about thewar in the spring. He also wrote word to Caius what he had resolved todo, who commended him for his alacrity, and ordered him to go on, and tomake war with them, in case they would not obey his commands. But therecame many ten thousands of the Jews to Petronius, to Ptolemais, to offertheir petitions to him, that he would not compel them to transgress andviolate the law of their forefathers; "but if, " said they, "thou artentirely resolved to bring this statue, and erect it, do thou first killus, and then do what thou hast resolved on; for while we are alivewe cannot permit such things as are forbidden us to be done by theauthority of our legislator, and by our forefathers' determination thatsuch prohibitions are instances of virtue. " But Petronius was angry atthem, and said, "If indeed I were myself emperor, and were at liberty tofollow my own inclination, and then had designed to act thus, these yourwords would be justly spoken to me; but now Caesar hath sent to me, Iam under the necessity of being subservient to his decrees, because adisobedience to them will bring upon me inevitable destruction. " Thenthe Jews replied, "Since, therefore, thou art so disposed, O Petronius!that thou wilt not disobey Caius's epistles, neither will we transgressthe commands of our law; and as we depend upon the excellency of ourlaws, and, by the labors of our ancestors, have continued hithertowithout suffering them to be transgressed, we dare not by any meanssuffer ourselves to be so timorous as to transgress those laws out ofthe fear of death, which God hath determined are for our advantage; andif we fall into misfortunes, we will bear them, in order to preserve ourlaws, as knowing that those who expose themselves to dangers have goodhope of escaping them, because God will stand on our side, when, out ofregard to him, we undergo afflictions, and sustain the uncertain turnsof fortune. But if we should submit to thee, we should be greatlyreproached for our cowardice, as thereby showing ourselves ready totransgress our law; and we should incur the great anger of God also, who, even thyself being judge, is superior to Caius. " 3. When Petronius saw by their words that their determination was hardto be removed, and that, without a war, he should not be able to besubservient to Caius in the dedication of his statue, and that theremust be a great deal of bloodshed, he took his friends, and the servantsthat were about him, and hasted to Tiberias, as wanting to know in whatposture the affairs of the Jews were; and many ten thousands of the Jewsmet Petronius again, when he was come to Tiberias. These thought theymust run a mighty hazard if they should have a war with the Romans, but judged that the transgression of the law was of much greaterconsequence, and made supplication to him, that he would by nomeans reduce them to such distresses, nor defile their city with thededication of the statue. Then Petronius said to them, "Will you thenmake war with Caesar, without considering his great preparations forwar, and your own weakness?" They replied, "We will not by any meansmake war with him, but still we will die before we see our lawstransgressed. " So they threw themselves down upon their faces, andstretched out their throats, and said they were ready to be slain; andthis they did for forty days together, and in the mean time left off thetilling of their ground, and that while the season of the year requiredthem to sow it. [31] Thus they continued firm in their resolution, and proposed to themselves to die willingly, rather than to see thededication of the statue. 4. When matters were in this state, Aristobulus, king Agrippa's brother, and Heleias the Great, and the other principal men of that family withthem, went in unto Petronius, and besought him, that since he saw theresolution of the multitude, he would not make any alteration, andthereby drive them to despair; but would write to Caius, that the Jewshad an insuperable aversion to the reception of the statue, and how theycontinued with him, and left of the tillage off their ground: that theywere not willing to go to war with him, because they were not able to doit, but were ready to die with pleasure, rather than suffer theirlaws to be transgressed: and how, upon the land's continuing unsown, robberies would grow up, on the inability they would be under of payingtheir tributes; and that Caius might be thereby moved to pity, and notorder any barbarous action to be done to them, nor think of destroyingthe nation: that if he continues inflexible in his former opinion tobring a war upon them, he may then set about it himself. And thus didAristobulus, and the rest with him, supplicate Petronius. So Petronius, [32] partly on account of the pressing instances which Aristobulus andthe rest with him made, and because of the great consequence ofwhat they desired, and the earnestness wherewith they made theirsupplication, --partly on account of the firmness of the opposition madeby the Jews, which he saw, while he thought it a terrible thing forhim to be such a slave to the madness of Caius, as to slay so many tenthousand 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 howintolerable it was to him to bear the anger he might have againsthim for not serving him sooner, in obedience to his epistle, forthat perhaps he might persuade him; and that if this mad resolutioncontinued, he might then begin the war against them; nay, that in casehe should turn his hatred against himself, it was fit for virtuouspersons even to die for the sake of such vast multitudes of men. Accordingly, he determined to hearken to the petitioners in this matter. 5. He then called the Jews together to Tiberias, who came many tenthousands in number; he also placed that army he now had with himopposite to them; but did not discover his own meaning, but the commandsof the emperor, and told them that his wrath would, without delay, beexecuted on such as had the courage to disobey what he had commanded, and this immediately; and that it was fit for him, who had obtainedso great a dignity by his grant, not to contradict him in anything:--"yet, " said he, "I do not think it just to have such a regardto my own safety and honor, as to refuse to sacrifice them for yourpreservation, who are so many in number, and endeavor to preserve theregard that is due to your law; which as it hath come down to you fromyour forefathers, so do you esteem it worthy of your utmost contentionto preserve it: nor, with the supreme assistance and power of God, willI be so hardy as to suffer your temple to fall into contempt by themeans of the imperial authority. I will, therefore, send to Caius, andlet him know what your resolutions are, and will assist your suit as faras I am able, that you may not be exposed to suffer on account of thehonest designs you have proposed to yourselves; and may God be yourassistant, for his authority is beyond all the contrivance and power ofmen; and may he procure you the preservation of your ancient laws, andmay not he be deprived, though without your consent, of his accustomedhonors. But if Caius be irritated, and turn the violence of his rageupon me, I will rather undergo all that danger and that afflictionthat may come either on my body or my soul, than see so many of youto perish, while you are acting in so excellent a manner. Do you, therefore, every one of you, go your way about your own occupations, andfall to the cultivation of your ground; I will myself send to Rome, andwill not refuse to serve you in all things, both by myself and by myfriends. " 6. When Petronius had said this, and had dismissed rite assembly of theJews, he desired the principal of them to take care of their husbandry, and to speak kindly to the people, and encourage them to have good hopeof their affairs. Thus did he readily bring the multitude to be cheerfulagain. And now did God show his presence to Petronius, and signify tohim that he would afford him his assistance in his whole design; for hehad no sooner finished the speech that he made to the Jews, but God sentdown great showers of rain, contrary to human expectation; [33] for thatday was a clear day, and gave no sign, by the appearance of the sky, ofany rain; nay, the whole year had been subject to a great drought, andmade men despair of any water from above, even when at any time theysaw the heavens overcast with clouds; insomuch that when such a greatquantity of rain came, and that in an unusual manner, and without anyother expectation of it, the Jews hoped that Petronius would by no meansfail in his petition for them. But as to Petronius, he was mightilysurprised when he perceived that God evidently took care of the Jews, and gave very plain signs of his appearance, and this to such a degree, that those that were in earnest much inclined to the contrary had nopower left to contradict it. This was also among those other particularswhich he wrote to Caius, which all tended to dissuade him, and by allmeans to entreat him not to make so many ten thousands of these men godistracted; whom, if he should slay, [for without war they would by nomeans suffer the laws of their worship to be set aside, ] he would losethe revenue they paid him, and would be publicly cursed by them for allfuture ages. Moreover, that God, who was their Governor, had shown hispower most evidently on their account, and that such a power of hisas left no room for doubt about it. And this was the business thatPetronius was now engaged in. 7. But king Agrippa, who now lived at Rome, was more and more in thefavor of Caius; and when he had once made him a supper, and was carefulto exceed all others, both in expenses and in such preparations as mightcontribute most to his pleasure; nay, it was so far from the ability ofothers, that Caius himself could never equal, much less exceed it [suchcare had he taken beforehand to exceed all men, and particularly to makeall agreeable to Caesar]; hereupon Caius admired his understanding andmagnificence, that he should force himself to do all to please him, evenbeyond such expenses as he could bear, and was desirous not to be behindAgrippa in that generosity which he exerted in order to please him. So Caius, when he had drank wine plentifully, and was merrier thanordinary, said thus during the feast, when Agrippa had drunk to him: "Iknew before now how great a respect thou hast had for me, and how greatkindness thou hast shown me, though with those hazards to thyself, whichthou underwentest under Tiberius on that account; nor hast thou omittedany thing to show thy good-will towards us, even beyond 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 Ihave been formerly deficient; for all that I have bestowed on thee, thatmay be called my gifts, is but little. Everything that may contribute tothy happiness shall be at thy service, and that cheerfully, and so faras my ability will reach. " [34] And this was what Caius said to Agrippa, thinking he would ask for some large country, or the revenues of certaincities. But although he had prepared beforehand what he would ask, yethad he not discovered his intentions, but made this answer to Caiusimmediately: That it was not out of any expectation of gain that heformerly paid his respects to him, contrary to the commands of Tiberius, nor did he now do any thing relating to him out of regard to his ownadvantage, and in order to receive any thing from him; that the gifts hehad already bestowed upon him were great, and beyond the hopes of evena craving man; for although they may be beneath thy power, [who art thedonor, ] yet are they greater than my inclination and dignity, who amthe receiver. And as Caius was astonished at Agrippa's inclinations, and still the more pressed him to make his request for somewhat whichhe might gratify him with, Agrippa replied, "Since thou, O my lord!declarest such is thy readiness to grant, that I am worthy of thy gifts, I will ask nothing relating to my own felicity; for what thou hastalready bestowed on me has made me excel therein; but I desire somewhatwhich may make thee glorious for piety, and render the Divinityassistant to thy designs, and may be for an honor to me among those thatinquire about it, as showing that I never once fail of obtaining what Idesire of thee; for my petition is this, that thou wilt no longer thinkof the dedication of that statue which thou hast ordered to be set up inthe Jewish temple by Petronius. " 8. And thus did Agrippa venture to cast the die upon this occasion, sogreat was the affair in his opinion, and in reality, though he knew howdangerous a thing it was so to speak; for had not Caius approved of it, it had tended to no less than the loss of his life. So Caius, who wasmightily taken with Agrippa's obliging behavior, and on other accountsthinking it a dishonorable thing to be guilty of falsehood before somany witnesses, in points wherein he had with such alacrity forcedAgrippa to become a petitioner, and that it would look as if he hadalready repented of what he had said, and because he greatly admiredAgrippa's virtue, in not desiring him at all to augment his owndominions, either with larger revenues, or other authority, but tookcare of the public tranquillity, of the laws, and of the Divinityitself, he granted him what he had requested. He also wrote thusto Petronius, commending him for his assembling his army, and thenconsulting him about these affairs. "If therefore, " said' he, "thouhast already erected my statue, let it stand; but if thou hast not yetdedicated it, do not trouble thyself further about it, but dismiss thyarmy, go back, and take care of those affairs which I sent thee about atfirst, for I have now no occasion for the erection of that statue. This I have granted as a favor to Agrippa, a man whom I honor so verygreatly, that I am not able to contradict what he would have, or what hedesired me to do for him. " And this was what Caius wrote to Petronius, which was before he received his letter, informing him that the Jewswere very ready to revolt about the statue, and that they seemedresolved to threaten war against the Romans, and nothing else. Whentherefore Caius was much displeased that any attempt should be madeagainst his government as he was a slave to base and vicious actions onall occasions, and had no regard to What was virtuous and honorable, andagainst whomsoever he resolved to show his anger, and that for any causewhatsoever, he suffered not himself to be restrained by any admonition, but thought the indulging his anger to be a real pleasure, he wrote thusto Petronius: "Seeing thou esteemest the presents made thee by the Jewsto be of greater value than my commands, and art grown insolent enoughto be subservient to their pleasure, I charge thee to become thy ownjudge, and to consider what thou art to do, now thou art under mydispleasure; for I will make thee an example to the present and to allfuture ages, that they. May not dare to contradict the commands of theiremperor. " 9. This was the epistle which Caius wrote to. Petronius; but Petroniusdid not receive it while Caius was alive, that ship which carried itsailing so slow, that other letters came to Petronius before this, bywhich he understood that Caius was dead; for God would not forget thedangers Petronius had undertaken on account of the Jews, and of his ownhonor. But when he had taken Caius away, out of his indignation of whathe had so insolently attempted in assuming to himself divine worship, both Rome and all that dominion conspired with Petronius, especiallythose that were of the senatorian order, to give Caius his due reward, because he had been unmercifully severe to them; for he died not longafter he had written to Petronius that epistle which threatened him withdeath. But as for the occasion of his death, and the nature of the plotagainst him, I shall relate them in the progress of this narration. Nowthat epistle which informed Petronius of Caius's death came first, and alittle afterward came that which commanded him to kill himself with hisown hands. Whereupon he rejoiced at this coincidence as to the death ofCaius, and admired God's providence, who, without the least delay, andimmediately, gave him a reward for the regard he had to the temple, andthe assistance he afforded the Jews for avoiding the dangers they werein. And by this means Petronius escaped that danger of death, which hecould not foresee. CHAPTER 9. What Befell The Jews That Were In Babylon On Occasion OfAsineus And Anileus, Two Brethren. 1. A Very sad calamity now befell the Jews that were in Mesopotamia, andespecially those that dwelt in Babylonia. Inferior it was to none ofthe calamities which had gone before, and came together with a greatslaughter of them, and that greater than any upon record before;concerning all which I shall speak accurately, and shall explain theoccasions whence these miseries came upon them. There was a city ofBabylonia called Neerda; not only a ver populous one, but one that had agood and a large territory about it, and, besides its other advantages, full of men also. It was, besides, not easily to be assaulted byenemies, from the river Euphrates encompassing it all round, and fromthe wails that were built about it. There was also the city Nisibis, situate on the same current of the river. For which reason the Jews, depending on the natural strength of these places, deposited in themthat half shekel which every one, by the custom of our country, offersunto God, as well as they did other things devoted to him; for they madeuse of these cities as a treasury, whence, at a proper time, theywere transmitted to Jerusalem; and many ten thousand men undertookthe carriage of those donations, out of fear of the ravages of theParthians, to whom the Babylonians were then subject. Now there were twomen, Asineus and Anileus, of the city Neerda by birth, and brethren toone another. They were destitute of a father, and their mother put themto learn the art of weaving curtains, it not being esteemed disgraceamong them for men to be weavers of cloth. Now he that taught them thatart, and was set over them, complained that they came too late to theirwork, and punished them with stripes; but they took this just punishmentas an affront, and carried off all the weapons which were kept in thathouse, which were not a few, and went into a certain place where wasa partition of the rivers, and was a place naturally very fit for thefeeding of cattle, and for preserving such fruits as were usually laidup against winter. The poorest sort of the young men also resorted tothem, whom they armed with the weapons they had gotten, and becametheir captains; and nothing hindered them from being their leaders intomischief; for as soon as they were become invincible, and had built thema citadel, they sent to such as fed cattle, and ordered them to paythem so much tribute out of them as might be sufficient for theirmaintenance, proposing also that they would be their friends, if theywould submit to them, and that they would defend them from all theirother enemies on every side, but that they would kill the cattle ofthose that refused to obey them. So they hearkened to their proposals, [for they could do nothing else, ] and sent them as many sheep as wererequired of them; whereby their forces grew greater, and they becamelords over all they pleased, because they marched suddenly, and did thema mischief, insomuch that every body who had to do with them chose topay them respect; and they became formidable to such as came to assaultthem, till the report about them came to the ears of the king of Parthiahimself. 2. But when the governor of Babylonia understood this, and had a mindto put a stop to them before they grew greater, and before greatermischiefs should arise from them, he got together as great an army ashe could, both of Parthians and Babylonians, and marched against them, thinking to attack them and destroy them before any one should carrythem the news that he had got an army together. He then encamped at alake, and lay still; but on the next day [it was the sabbath, which isamong the Jews a day of rest from all sorts of work] he supposed thatthe enemy would not dare to fight him thereon, but that he would takethem and carry them away prisoners, without fighting. He thereforeproceeded gradually, and thought to fall upon them on the sudden. NowAsineus was sitting with the rest, and their weapons lay by them; uponwhich he said, "Sirs, I hear a neighing of horses; not of such as arefeeding, but such as have men on their backs; I also hear such a noiseof their bridles, that I am afraid that some enemies are coming upon usto encompass us round. However, let somebody go to look about, and makereport of what reality there is in the present state of things; and maywhat I have said prove a false alarm. " And when he had said this, someof them went out to spy out what was the matter; and they came againimmediately, and said to him, that "neither hast thou been mistaken intelling us what our enemies were doing, nor will those enemies permit usto be injurious to people any longer. We are caught by their intrigueslike brute beasts, and there is a large body of cavalry marching uponus, while we are destitute of hands to defend ourselves withal, becausewe are restrained from doing it by the prohibition of our law, whichobliges us to rest [on this day]. " But Asiueus did not by any meansagree with the opinion of his spy as to what was to be done, but thoughtit more agreeable to the law to pluck up their spirits in this necessitythey were fallen into, and break their law by avenging themselves, although they should die in the action, than by doing nothing to pleasetheir enemies in submitting to be slain by them. Accordingly, he took uphis weapons, and infused courage into those that were with him to actas courageously as himself. So they fell upon their enemies, and slew agreat many of them, because they despised them and came as to a certainvictory, and put the rest to flight. 3. But when the news of this fight came to the king of Parthia, he wassurprised at the boldness of these brethren, and was desirous to seethem, and speak with them. He therefore sent the most trusty of all hisguards to say thus to them: "That king Artsbanus, although he hadbeen unjustly treated by you, who have made an attempt against hisgovernment, yet hath he more regard to your courageous behavior, than tothe anger he bears to you, and hath sent me to give you his right hand[35] and security; and he permits you to come to him safely, and withoutany violence upon the road; and he wants to have you address yourselvesto him as friends, without meaning any guile or deceit to you. He alsopromises to make you presents, and to pay you those respects whichwill make an addition of his power to your courage, and thereby be ofadvantage to you. " Yet did Asineus himself put off his journey thither, but sent his brother Anileus with all such presents as he could procure. So he went, and was admitted to the king's presence; and when Artabanussaw Anileus coming alone, he inquired into the reason why Asineusavoided to come along with him; and when he understood that he wasafraid, and staid by the lake, he took an oath, by the gods of hiscountry, that he would do them no harm, if they came to him upon theassurances he gave them, and gave him his right hand. This is of thegreatest force there with all these barbarians, and affords a firmsecurity to those who converse with them; for none of them will deceiveyou when once they have given you their right hands, nor will any onedoubt of their fidelity, when that is once given, even though they werebefore suspected of injustice. When Artabanus had done this, he sentaway Anileus to persuade his brother to come to him. Now this the kingdid, because he wanted to curb his own governors of provinces by thecourage of these Jewish brethren, lest they should make a league withthem; for they were ready for a revolt, and were disposed to rebel, hadthey been sent on an expedition against them. He was also afraid, lestwhen he was engaged in a war, in order to subdue those governorsof provinces that had revolted, the party of Asineus, and those inBabylonia, should be augmented, and either make war upon him, when theyshould hear of that revolt, or if they should be disappointed in thatcase, they would not fail of doing further mischief to him. 4. When the king had these intentions, he sent away Anileus, and Anileusprevailed on his brother [to come to the king], when he had related tohim the king's good-will, and the oath that he had taken. Accordingly, they made haste to go to Artsbanus, who received them when they werecome with pleasure, and admired Asineus's courage in the actions he haddone, and this because he was a little man to see to, and at first sightappeared contemptible also, and such as one might deem a person of novalue at all. He also said to his friends, how, upon the comparison, heshowed his soul to be in all respects superior to his body; and when, asthey were drinking together, he once showed Asineus to Abdagases, one ofthe generals of his army, and told him his name, and described the greatcourage he was of in war, and Abdagases had desired leave to kill him, and thereby to inflict on him a punishment for those injuries he haddone to the Parthian government, the king replied, "I will never givethee leave to kill a man who hath depended on my faith, especially notafter I have sent him my right hand, and endeavored to gain his beliefby oaths made by the gods. But if thou be a truly warlike man, thoustandest not in need of my perjury. Go thou then, and avenge theParthian government; attack this man, when he is returned back, andconquer him by the forces that are under thy command, without myprivity. " Hereupon the king called for Asineus, and said to him, "Itis time for thee, O thou young man! to return home, and not provoke theindignation of my generals in this place any further, lest they attemptto murder thee, and that without my approbation. I commit to thee thecountry of Babylonia in trust, that it may, by thy care, be preservedfree from robbers, and from other mischiefs. I have kept my faithinviolable to thee, and that not in trifling affairs, but in those thatconcerned thy safety, and do therefore deserve thou shouldst be kind tome. " When he had said this, and given Asineus some presents, he senthim away immediately; who, when he was come home, built fortresses, andbecame great in a little time, and managed things with such courage andsuccess, as no other person, that had no higher a beginning, ever didbefore him. Those Parthian governors also, who were sent that way, paidhim great respect; and the honor that was paid him by the Babyloniansseemed to them too small, and beneath his deserts, although he werein no small dignity and power there; nay, indeed, all the affairs ofMesopotamia depended upon him, and he more and more flourished in thishappy condition of his for fifteen years. 5. But as their affairs were in so flourishing a state, there sprangup a calamity among them on the following occasion. When once they haddeviated from that course of virtue whereby they had gained so greatpower, they affronted and transgressed the laws of their forefathers, and fell under the dominion of their lusts and pleasures. A certainParthian, who came as general of an army into those parts, had a wifefollowing him, who had a vast reputation for other accomplishments, andparticularly was admired above all other women for her beauty. Anileus, the brother of Asineus, either heard of that her beauty from others, orperhaps saw her himself also, and so became at once her lover and herenemy; partly because he could not hope to enjoy this woman but byobtaining power over her as a captive, and partly because he thoughthe could not conquer his inclinations for her. As soon therefore asher husband had been declared an enemy to them, and was fallen inthe battle, the widow of the deceased was married to this her lover. However, this woman did not come into their house without producinggreat misfortunes, both to Anileus himself, and to Asineus also; butbrought great mischiefs upon them on the occasion following. Since shewas led away captive, upon the death of her husband, she concealedthe images of those gods which were their country gods, common to herhusband and to herself: now it was the custom [36] of that country forall to have the idols they worship in their own houses, and to carrythem along with them when they go into a foreign land; agreeable towhich custom of theirs she carried her idols with her. Now at firstshe performed her worship to them privately; but when she was becomeAnileus's married wife, she worshipped them in her accustomed manner, and with the same appointed ceremonies which she used in her formerhusband's days; upon which their most esteemed friends blamed him atfirst, that he did not act after the manner of the Hebrews, nor performwhat was agreeable to their laws, in marrying a foreign wife, and onethat transgressed the accurate appointments of their sacrifices andreligious ceremonies; that he ought to consider, lest, by allowinghimself in many pleasures of the body, he might lose his principality, on account of the beauty of a wife, and that high authority which, byGod's blessing, he had arrived at. But when they prevailed not at allupon him, he slew one of them for whom he had the greatest respect, because of the liberty he took with him; who, when he was dying, out ofregard to the laws, imprecated a punishment upon his murderer Anileus, and upon Asineus also, and that all their companions might come to alike end from their enemies; upon the two first as the principal actorsof this wickedness, and upon the rest as those that would not assisthim when he suffered in the defense of their laws. Now these latterwere sorely grieved, yet did they tolerate these doings, because theyremembered that they had arrived at their present happy state by noother means than their fortitude. But when they also heard of theworship of those gods whom the Parthians adore, they thought the injurythat Anileus offered to their laws was to be borne no longer; anda greater number of them came to Asineus, and loudly complained ofAniteus, and told him that it had been well that he had of himself seenwhat was advantageous to them; but that however it was now high timeto correct what had been done amiss, before the crime that had beencommitted proved the ruin of himself and all the rest of them. Theyadded, that the marriage of this woman was made without their consent, and without a regard to their old laws; and that the worship which thiswoman paid [to her gods] was a reproach to the God whom they worshipped. Now Asineus was sensible of his brother's offense, that it had beenalready the cause of great mischiefs, and would be so for the time tocome; yet did he tolerate the same from the good-will he had to so neara relation, and forgiving it to him, on account that his brother wasquite overborne by his wicked inclinations. But as more and more stillcame about him every day, and the clamors about it became greater, heat length spake to Anileus about these clamors, reproving him for hisformer actions, and desiring him for the future to leave them off, andsend the woman back to her relations. But nothing was gained by thesereproofs; for as the woman perceived what a tumult was made among thepeople on her account, and was afraid for Anileus, lest he should cometo any harm for his love to her, she infused poison into Asineus's food, and thereby took him off, and was now secure of prevailing, when herlover was to be judge of what should be done about her. 6. So Anileus took the government upon himself alone, and led hisarmy against the villages of Mithridates, who was a man of principalauthority in Parthin, and had married king Artabanus's daughter; healso plundered them, and among that prey was found much money, and manyslaves, as also a great number of sheep, and many other things, which, when gained, make men's condition happy. Now when Mithridates, who wasthere at this time, heard that his villages were taken, he was very muchdispleased to find that Anileus had first begun to injure him, and toaffront him in his present dignity, when he had not offered any injuryto him beforehand; and he got together the greatest body of horsemen hewas 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 villageof his own, he lay still there, as intending to fight him on the dayfollowing, because it was the sabbath, the day on which the Jews rest. And when Anileus was informed of this by a Syrian stranger of anothervillage, who not only gave him an exact account of other circumstances, but told him where Mithridates would have a feast, he took his supper ata proper time, and marched by night, with an intent of falling upon theParthians while they were unapprised what they should do; so he fellupon them about the fourth watch of the night, and some of them heslew while they were asleep, and others he put to flight, and tookMithridates alive, and set him naked upon an ass [37] which, among theParthians, is esteemed the greatest reproach possible. And when he hadbrought him into a wood with such a resolution, and his friends desiredhim to kill Mithridates, he soon told them his own mind to the contrary, and said that it was not right to kill a man who was of one of theprincipal families among the Parthians, and greatly honored withmatching into the royal family; that so far as they had hitherto gonewas tolerable; for although they had injured Mithridates, yet if theypreserved his life, this benefit would be remembered by him to theadvantage of those that gave it him; but that if he were once put todeath, the king would not be at rest till he had made a great slaughterof the Jews that dwelt at Babylon; "to whose safety we ought to havea regard, both on account of our relation to them, and because if anymisfortune befall us, we have no other place to retire to, since he hathgotten the flower of their youth under him. " By this thought, and thisspeech of his made in council, he persuaded them to act accordingly; soMithridates was let go. But when he was got away, his wife reproachedhim, that although he was son-in-law to the king, he neglected to avengehimself 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 haveescaped them; and she bid him either to go back like a man of courage, or else she sware by the gods of their royal family that she wouldcertainly dissolve her marriage with him. Upon which, partly because hecould not bear the daily trouble of her taunts, and partly because hewas afraid of her insolence, lest she should in earnest dissolve theirmarriage, he unwillingly, and against his inclinations, got togetheragain as great an army as he could, and marched along with them, ashimself thinking it a thing not to be borne any longer, that he, aParthian, should owe his preservation to the Jews, when they had beentoo hard for him in the war. 7. But as soon as Anileus understood that Mithridates was marching witha great army against him, he thought it too ignominious a thing to tarryabout the lakes, and not to take the first opportunity of meetinghis enemies, and he hoped to have the same success, and to beat theirenemies as they did before; as also he ventured boldly upon the likeattempts. Accordingly, he led out his army, and a great many more joinedthemselves to that army, in order to betake themselves to plunder thepeople, and in order to terrify the enemy again by their numbers. Butwhen they had marched ninety furlongs, while the road had been throughdry [and sandy] places, and about the midst of the day, they were becomevery thirsty; and Mithridates appeared, and fell upon them, as they werein distress for want of water, on which account, and on account of thetime of the day, they were not able to bear their weapons. So Anileusand his men were put to an ignominious rout, while men in despair wereto attack those that were fresh and in good plight; so a great slaughterwas made, and many ten thousand men fell. Now Anileus, and all thatstood firm about him, ran away as fast as they were able into a wood, and afforded Mithridates the pleasure of having gained a great victoryover them. But there now came in to Anileus a conflux of bad men, who regarded their own lives very little, if they might but gain somepresent ease, insomuch that they, by thus coming to him, compensated themultitude of those that perished in the fight. Yet were not these menlike to those that fell, because they were rash, and unexercised in war;however, with these he came upon the villages of the Babylonians, anda mighty devastation of all things was made there by the injuries thatAnileus did them. So the Babylonians, and those that had already beenin 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 beenwilling to deliver him up, it was not in their power so to do, ] yet didthey desire to make peace with them. To which the other replied, thatthey also wanted to settle conditions of peace with them, and sent mentogether with the Babylonians, who discoursed with Anileus about them. But the Babylonians, upon taking a view of his situation, and havinglearned where Anileus and his men lay, fell secretly upon them as theywere drunk and fallen asleep, and slew all that they caught of them, without any fear, and killed Anileus himself also. 8. The Babylonians were now freed from Anileus's heavy incursions, whichhad been a great restraint to the effects of that hatred they bore tothe Jews; for they were almost always at variance, by reason of thecontrariety of their laws; and which party soever grew boldest beforethe other, they assaulted the other: and at this time in particular itwas, that upon the ruin of Anileus's party, the Babylonians attacked theJews, which made those Jews so, vehemently to resent the injuries theyreceived from the Babylonians, that being neither able to fight them, nor bearing to live with them, they went to Seleucia, the principal cityof those parts, which was built by Seleucus Nicator. It was inhabited bymany of the Macedonians, but by more of the Grecians; not a few of theSyrians also dwelt there; and thither did the Jews fly, and lived therefive years, without any misfortunes. But on the sixth year, a pestilencecame upon these at Babylon, which occasioned new removals of men'shabitations out of that city; and because they came to Seleucia, ithappened that a still heavier calamity came upon them on that accountwhich I am going to relate immediately. 9. Now the way of living of the people of Seleucia, which were Greeksand Syrians, was commonly quarrelsome, and full of discords, though theGreeks were too hard for the Syrians. When, therefore, the Jews werecome thither, and dwelt among them, there arose a sedition, and theSyrians were too hard for the other, by the assistance of the Jews, whoare 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 theyhad but one way of recovering their former authority, and that was, ifthey could prevent the agreement between the Jews and the Syrians, theyevery one discoursed with such of the Syrians as were formerly theiracquaintance, and promised they would be at peace and friendship withthem. Accordingly, they gladly agreed so to do; and when this wasdone by the principal men of both nations, they soon agreed to areconciliation; and when they were so agreed, they both knew that thegreat design of such their union would be their common hatred to theJews. Accordingly, they fell upon them, and slew about fifty thousandof them; nay, the Jews were all destroyed, excepting a few who escaped, either by the compassion which their friends or neighbors afforded them, in order to let them fly away. These retired to Ctesiphon, a Greciancity, and situate near to Seleucia, where the king [of Parthia] livesin winter every year, and where the greatest part of his riches arereposited; but the Jews had here no certain settlement, those ofSeleucia having little concern for the king's honor. Now the wholenation of the Jews were in fear both of the Babylonians and of theSeleucians, because all the Syrians that live in those places agreedwith the Seleucians in the war against the Jews; so the most of themgathered themselves together, and went to Neerda and Nisibis, andobtained security there by the strength of those cities; besides whichtheir inhabitants, who were a great many, were all warlike men. And thiswas the state of the Jews at this time in Babylonia. BOOK XIX. Containing The Interval Of Three Years And A Half. From The Departure Out Of Babylon To Fadus, The Roman Procurator. CHAPTER 1. How Caius [1] Was Slain By Cherea. 1. Now this Caius [2] did not demonstrate his madness in offeringinjuries only to the Jews at Jerusalem, or to those that dwelt in theneighborhood; but suffered it to extend itself through all the earth andsea, so far as was in subjection to the Romans, and filled it withten thousand mischiefs; so many indeed in number as no former historyrelates. But Rome itself felt the most dismal effects of what he did, while he deemed that not to be any way more honorable than the rest ofthe cities; but he pulled and hauled its other citizens, but especiallythe senate, and particularly the nobility, and such as had beendignified by illustrious ancestors; he also had ten thousand devicesagainst such of the equestrian order, as it was styled, who wereesteemed by the citizens equal in dignity and wealth with the senators, because out of them the senators were themselves chosen; these hetreated after all ignominious manner, and removed them out of his way, while they were at once slain, and their wealth plundered, because heslew men generally in order to seize on their riches. He also assertedhis own divinity, and insisted on greater honors to be paid him by hissubjects than are due to mankind. He also frequented that temple ofJupiter which they style the Capitol, which is with them the mostholy of all their temples, and had boldness enough to call himself thebrother of Jupiter. And other pranks he did like a madman; as when helaid a bridge from the city Dicearchia, which belongs to Campania, toMisenum, another city upon the sea-side, from one promontory to another, of the length of thirty furlongs, as measured over the sea. And this wasdone because he esteemed it to be a most tedious thing to row over it ina small ship, and thought withal that it became him to make that bridge, since he was lord of the sea, and might oblige it to give marks ofobedience as well as the earth; so he enclosed the whole bay within hisbridge, and drove his chariot over it; and thought that, as he was agod, it was fit for him to travel over such roads as this was. Nor didhe abstain from the plunder of any of the Grecian temples, and gaveorder that all the engravings and sculptures, and the rest of theornaments of the statues and donations therein dedicated, should bebrought to him, saying that the best things ought to be set no wherebut in the best place, and that the city of Rome was that best place. Healso adorned his own house and his gardens with the curiosities broughtfrom those temples, together with the houses he lay at when he traveledall over Italy; whence he did not scruple to give a command that thestatue of Jupiter Olympius, so called because he was honored atthe Olympian games by the Greeks, which was the work of Phidias theAthenian, should be brought to Rome. Yet did not he compass his end, because the architects told Memmius Regulus, who was commanded toremove that statue of Jupiter, that the workmanship was such as wouldbe spoiled, and would not bear the removal. It was also reported thatMemmius, both on that account, and on account of some such mightyprodigies as are of an incredible nature, put off the taking it down, and wrote to Caius those accounts, as his apology for not having donewhat his epistle required of him; and that when he was thence in dangerof perishing, he was saved by Caius being dead himself, before he hadput him to death. 2. Nay, Caius's madness came to this height, that when he had a daughterborn, he carried her into the capitol, and put her upon the knees of thestatue, and said that the child was common to him and to Jupiter, anddetermined that she had two fathers, but which of these fathers werethe greatest he left undetermined; and yet mankind bore him in suchhis pranks. He also gave leave to slaves to accuse their masters of anycrimes whatsoever they pleased; for all such accusations were terrible, because they were in great part made to please him, and at hissuggestion, insomuch that Pollux, Claudius's slave, had the boldness tolay an accusation against Claudius himself; and Caius was not ashamed tobe present at his trial of life and death, to hear that trial of hisown uncle, in hopes of being able to take him off, although he did notsucceed to his mind. But when he had filled the whole habitableworld which he governed with false accusations and miseries, and hadoccasioned the greatest insults of slaves against their masters, whoindeed in a great measure ruled them, there were many secret plotsnow laid against him; some in anger, and in order for men to revengethemselves, on account of the miseries they had already undergone fromhim; and others made attempts upon him, in order to take him off beforethey should fall into such great miseries, while his death came veryfortunately for the preservation of the laws of all men, and had a greatinfluence upon the public welfare; and this happened most happily forour nation in particular, which had almost utterly perished if he hadnot been suddenly slain. And I confess I have a mind to give a fullaccount of this matter particularly, because it will afford greatassurance of the power of God, and great comfort to those that are underafflictions, and wise caution to those who think their happiness willnever end, nor bring them at length to the most lasting miseries, ifthey do not conduct their lives by the principles of virtue. 3. Now there were three several conspiracies made in order to take offCaius, and each of these three were conducted by excellent persons. Emilius Regulus, born at Corduba in Spain, got some men together, andwas desirous to take Caius off, either by them or by himself. Anotherconspiracy there was laid by them, under the conduct of Cherea Cassius, the tribune [of the Pretorian band]. Minucianus Annins was also one ofgreat consequence among those that were prepared to oppose his tyranny. Now the several occasions of these men's several hatred and conspiracyagainst Caius were these: Regulus had indignation and hatred against allinjustice, for he had a mind naturally angry, and bold, and free, whichmade him not conceal his counsels; so he communicated them to many ofhis friends, and to others who seemed to him persons of activity andvigor: Minucianus entered into this conspiracy, because of the injusticedone to Lepidus his particular friend, and one of the best character ofall the citizens, whom Caius had slain, as also because he was afraid ofhimself, since Caius's wrath tended to the slaughter of all alike: andfor Cherea, he came in, because he thought it a deed worthy of a freeingenuous man to kill Caius, and was ashamed of the reproaches he layunder from Caius, as though he were a coward; as also because he washimself in danger every day from his friendship with him, and theobservance he paid him. These men proposed this attempt to all the restthat were concerned, who saw the injuries that were offered them, andwere desirous that Caius's slaughter might succeed by their mutualassistance of one another, and they might themselves escape being killedby 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 approvethemselves to so many excellent persons, as earnestly wished to bepartakers with them in their design for the delivery of the city and ofthe government, even at the hazard of their own lives. But still Chereawas the most zealous of them all, both out of a desire of gettinghimself the greatest name, and also by reason of his access to Caius'spresence with less danger, because he was tribune, and could thereforethe more easily kill him. 4. Now at this time came on the horse-races [Circensian games]; the viewof which games was eagerly desired by the people of Rome, for they comewith great alacrity into the hippodrome [circus] at such times, andpetition their emperors, in great multitudes, for what they stand inneed of; who usually did not think fit to deny them their requests, but readily and gratefully granted them. Accordingly, they mostimportunately desired that Caius would now ease them in their tributes, and abate somewhat of the rigor of their taxes imposed upon them; but hewould not hear their petition; and when their clamors increased, he sentsoldiers some one way and some another, and gave order that they shouldlay hold on those that made the clamors, and without any more ado bringthem out, and put them to death. These were Caius's commands, and thosewho were commanded executed the same; and the number of those who wereslain on this occasion was very great. Now the people saw this, and boreit so far, that they left off clamoring, because they saw with theirown eyes that this petition to be relieved, as to the payment of theirmoney, brought immediate death upon them. These things made Chereamore resolute to go on with his plot, in order to put an end to thisbarbarity of Caius against men. He then at several times thought to fallupon Caius, even as he was feasting; yet did he restrain himself by someconsiderations; not that he had any doubt on him about killing him, but as watching for a proper season, that the attempt might not befrustrated, but that he might give the blow so as might certainly gainhis purpose. 5. Cherea had been in the army a long time, yet was he not pleased withconversing so much with Caius. But Caius had set him to require thetributes, and other dues, which, when not paid in due time, wereforfeited to Caesar's treasury; and he had made some delays in requiringthem, because those burdens had been doubled, and had rather indulgedhis own mild disposition than performed Caius's command; nay, indeed, he provoked Caius to anger by his sparing men, and pitying the hardfortunes of those from whom he demanded the taxes; and Caius upbraidedhim with his sloth and effeminacy in being so long about collecting thetaxes. And indeed he did not only affront him in other respects, butwhen he gave him the watchword of the day, to whom it was to be givenby his place, he gave him feminine words, and those of a nature veryreproachful; and these watchwords he gave out, as having been initiatedin the secrets of certain mysteries, which he had been himself theauthor of. Now although he had sometimes put on women's clothes, and hadbeen wrapt in some embroidered garments to them belonging, and done agreat many other things, in order to make the company mistake him for awoman; yet did he, by way of reproach, object the like womanish behaviorto Cherea. But when Cherea received the watchword from him, he hadindignation at it, but had greater indignation at the delivery of it toothers, as being laughed at by those that received it; insomuch that hisfellow tribunes made him the subject of their drollery; for they wouldforetell that he would bring them some of his usual watchwords when hewas about to take the watchword from Caesar, and would thereby make himridiculous; on which accounts he took the courage of assuming certainpartners to him, as having just reasons for his indignation againstCaius. Now there was one Pompedius, a senator, and one who had gonethrough almost all posts in the government, but otherwise an Epicurean, and for that reason loved to lead an inactive life. Now Timidius, anenemy of his, had informed Caius that he had used indecent reproachesagainst him, and he made use of Quintilia for a witness to them; awoman she was much beloved by many that frequented the theater, andparticularly by Pompedius, on account of her great beauty. Now thiswoman thought it a horrible thing to attest to an accusation thattouched the life of her lover, which was also a lie. Timidius, however, wanted to have her brought to the torture. Caius was irritated at thisreproach upon him, and commanded Cherea, without any delay, to tortureQuintilia, as he used to employ Cherea in such bloody matters, and thosethat required the torture, because he thought he would do it the morebarbarously, in order to avoid that imputation of effeminacy which hehad laid upon him. But Quintilia, when she was brought to the rack, trodupon the foot of one of her associates, and let him know that hemight be of good courage, and not be afraid of the consequence of hertortures, for that she would bear them with magnanimity. Cherea torturedthis woman after a cruel manner; unwillingly indeed, but because hecould not help it. He then brought her, without being in the least movedat what she had suffered, into the presence of Caius, and that in such astate as was sad to behold; and Caius, being somewhat affected with thesight of Quintilia, who had her body miserably disordered by the painsshe had undergone, freed both her and Pompedius of the crime laid totheir charge. He also gave her money to make her an honorable amends, and comfort her for that maiming of her body which she had suffered, andfor her glorious patience under such insufferable torments. 6. This matter sorely grieved Cherea, as having been the cause, as faras he could, or the instrument, of those miseries to men, which seemedworthy of consolation to Caius himself; on which account he said toClement and to Papinius, [of whom Clement was general of the army, andPapinius was a tribune, ] "To be sure, O Clement, we have no way failedin our guarding the emperor; for as to those that have made conspiraciesagainst his government, some have been slain by our care and pains, andsome have been by us tortured, and this to such a degree, that he hathhimself pitied them. How great then is our virtue in submitting toconduct his armies!" Clement held his peace, but showed the shame hewas under in obeying Caius's orders, both by his eyes and his blushingcountenance, while he thought it by no means right to accuse the emperorin express words, lest their own safety should be endangered thereby. Upon which Cherea took courage, and spake to him without fear ofthe dangers that were before him, and discoursed largely of the sorecalamities under which the city and the government then labored, andsaid, "We may indeed pretend in words that Caius is the person unto whomthe cause of such miseries ought to be imputed; but, in the opinionof such as are able to judge uprightly, it is I, O Clement! and thisPapinius, and before us thou thyself, who bring these tortures upon theRomans, and upon all mankind. It is not done by our being subservient tothe commands of Caius, but it is done by our own consent; for whereasit is in our power to put an end to the life of this man, who hath soterribly injured the citizens and his subjects, we are his guard inmischief, and his executioners instead of his soldiers, and are theinstruments of his cruelty. We bear these weapons, not for our liberty, not for the Roman government, but only for his preservation, whohath enslaved both their bodies and their minds; and we are every daypolluted with the blood that we shed, and the torments we inflict uponothers; and this we do, till somebody becomes Caius's instrument inbringing the like miseries upon ourselves. Nor does he thus employus because he hath a kindness for us, but rather because he hath asuspicion of us, as also because when abundance 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 alsoourselves be exposed to his cruelty; whereas we ought to be the meansof confirming the security and liberty of all, and at the same time toresolve to free ourselves from dangers. " 7. Hereupon Clement openly commended Cherea's intentions, but bid himhold his tongue; for that in case his words should get out among many, and such things should be spread abroad as were fit to be concealed, theplot would come to be discovered before it was executed, and they shouldbe brought to punishment; but that they should leave all to futurity, and the hope which thence arose, that some fortunate event would come totheir assistance; that, as for himself, his age would not permit himto make any attempt in that case. "However, although perhaps I couldsuggest what may be safer than what thou, Cherea, hast contrived andsaid, yet trow is it possible for any one to suggest what is more forthy reputation?" So Clement went his way home, with deep reflections onwhat he had heard, and what he had himself said. Cherea also was undera concern, and went quickly to Cornelius Sabinus, who was himself one ofthe tribunes, and whom he otherwise knew to be a worthy man, and a loverof liberty, and on that account very uneasy at the present management ofpublic affairs, he being desirous to come immediately to the executionof what had been determined, and thinking it right for him to propose itto the other, and afraid lest Clement should discover them, and besideslooking upon delays and puttings off to be the next to desisting fromthe enterprise. 8. But as all was agreeable to Sabinus, who had himself, equally withoutCherea, the same design, but had been silent for want of a person towhom he could safely communicate that design; so having now met withone, who not only promised to conceal what he heard, but who had alreadyopened his mind to him, he was much more encouraged, and desired ofCherea that no delay might be made therein. Accordingly they went toMinucianus, who was as virtuous a man, and as zealous to do gloriousactions, as themselves, and suspected by Caius on occasion of theslaughter of Lepidus; for Minucianus and Lepidus were intimate friends, and both in fear of the dangers that they were under; for Caius wasterrible to all the great men, as appearing ready to act a mad parttowards each of them in particular, and towards all of: them in general;and these men were afraid of one another, while they were yet uneasyat the posture of affairs, but avoided to declare their mind and theirhatred against Caius to one another, out of fear of the dangers theymight be in thereby, although they perceived by other means their mutualhatred against Caius, and on that account were not averse to a mutualkindness one towards another. 9. When Minuetanus and Cherea had met together, and saluted one another, [as they had been used on former conversations to give the upper handto Minucianus, both on account of his eminent dignity, for he was thenoblest of all the citizens, and highly commended by all men, especiallywhen he made speeches to them, ] Minuetanus began first, and askedCherea, What was the watchword he had received that day from Caius;for the affront which was offered Cherea, in giving the watchwords, wasfamous over the city. But Cherea made no delay so long as to reply tothat question, out of the joy he had that Minueianus would have suchconfidence in him as to discourse with him. "But do thou, " said he, "give me the watchword of liberty. And I return thee my thanks that thouhast so greatly encouraged me to exert myself after an extraordinarymanner; nor do I stand in need of many words to encourage me, since boththou and I are of the same mind, and partakers of the same resolutions, and this before we have conferred together. I have indeed but one swordgirt on, but this one will serve us both. Come on, therefore, let us setabout the work. Do thou go first, if thou hast a mind, and bid me followthee; or else I will go first, and thou shalt assist me, and we willassist one another, and trust one another. Nor is there a necessity foreven one sword to such as have a mind disposed to such works, by whichmind the sword uses to be successful. I am zealous about this action, nor am I solicitous what I may myself undergo; for I can not at leisureto consider the dangers that may come upon myself, so deeply am Itroubled at the slavery our once free country is now under, and at thecontempt cast upon our excellent laws, and at the destruction whichhangs over all men, by the means of Caius. I wish that I may be judgedby thee, and that thou mayst esteem me worthy of credit in thesematters, seeing we are both of the same opinion, and there is herein nodifference between us. " 10. When Minucianus saw the vehemency with which Cherea deliveredhimself, he gladly embraced him, and encouraged him in his bold attempt, commending him, and embracing him; so he let him go with his goodwishes; and some affirm that he thereby confirmed Minuclanus in theprosecution of what had been agreed among them; for as Cherea enteredinto the court, the report runs, that a voice came from among themultitude to encourage him, which bid him finish what he was about, andtake the opportunity that Providence afforded; and that Cherea at firstsuspected that some one of the conspirators had betrayed him, and hewas caught, but at length perceived that it was by way of exhortation. Whether somebody [3] that was conscious of what he was about, gave asignal for his encouragement, or whether it was God himself, who looksupon the actions of men, that encouraged him to go on boldly in hisdesign, is uncertain. The plot was now communicated to a great many, andthey were all in their armor; some of the conspirators being senators, and some of the equestrian order, and as many of the soldiery as weremade acquainted with it; for there was not one of them who would notreckon it a part of his happiness to kill Caius; and on that accountthey were all very zealous in the affair, by what means soever any onecould come at it, that he might not be behindhand in these virtuousdesigns, but might be ready with all his alacrity or power, both bywords and actions, to complete this slaughter of a tyrant. And besidesthese, Callistus also, who was a freed-man of Caius, and was the onlyman that had arrived at the greatest degree of power under him, --sucha power, indeed, as was in a manner equal to the power of the tyranthimself, by the dread that all men had of him, and by the great richeshe had acquired; for he took bribes most plenteously, and committedinjuries without bounds, and was more extravagant in the use of hispower in unjust proceedings than any other. He also knew the dispositionof Caius to be implacable, and never to be turned from what he hadresolved on. He had withal many other reasons why he thought himself indanger, and the vastness of his wealth was not one of the least of them;on which account he privately ingratiated himself with Claudius, andtransferred his courtship to him, out of this hope, that in case, uponthe removal of Caius, the government should come to him, his interestin such changes should lay a foundation for his preserving his dignityunder him, since he laid in beforehand a stock of merit, and didClaudius good offices in his promotion. He had also the boldness topretend that he had been persuaded to make away with Claudius, bypoisoning him, but had still invented ten thousand excuses for delayingto do it. But it seems probable to me that Callistus only counterfeitedthis, in order to ingratiate himself with Claudius; for if Caiushad been in earnest resolved to take off Claudius, he would not haveadmitted of Callistus's excuses; nor would Callistus, if he had beenenjoined to do such an act as was desired by Caius, have put it off;nor if he had disobeyed those injunctions of his master, had he escapedimmediate punishment; while Claudius was preserved from the madness ofCaius by a certain Divine providence, and Callistus pretended to such apiece of merit as he no way deserved. 11. However, the execution of Cherea's designs was put off from day today, by the sloth of many therein concerned; for as to Cherea himself, he would not willingly make any delay in that execution, thinking everytime a fit time for it; for frequent opportunities offered themselves;as when Caius went up to the capitol to sacrifice for his daughter, orwhen he stood upon his royal palace, and threw gold and silver piecesof money among the people, he might be pushed down headlong, because thetop of the palace, that looks towards the market-place, was very high;and also when he celebrated the mysteries, which he had appointedat that time; for he was then no way secluded from the people, butsolicitous to do every thing carefully and decently, and was free fromall suspicion that he should be then assaulted by any body; and althoughthe gods should afford him no divine assistance to enable him to takeaway his life, yet had he strength himself sufficient to despatch Caius, even without a sword. Thus was Chorea angry at his fellow conspirators, for fear they should suffer a proper opportunity to pass by; and theywere themselves sensible that he had just cause to be angry at them, andthat his eagerness was for their advantage; yet did they desire he wouldhave a little longer patience, lest, upon any disappointment they mightmeet with, they should put the city into disorder, and an inquisitionshould be made after the conspiracy, and should render the courage ofthose that were to attack Caius without success, while he would thensecure himself more carefully than ever against them; that it wouldtherefore be the best to set about the work when the shows wereexhibited in the palace. These shows were acted in honor of that Caesar[4] who first of all changed the popular government, and transferred itto himself; galleries being fixed before the palace, where the Romansthat were patricians became spectators, together with their childrenand their wives, and Caesar himself was to be also a spectator; and theyreckoned, among those many ten thousands who would there be crowded intoa narrow compass, they should have a favorable opportunity to make theirattempt upon him as he came in, because his guards that should protecthim, if any of them should have a mind to do it, would not here be ableto give him any assistance. 12. Cherea consented to this delay; and when the shows were exhibited, it was resolved to do the work the first day. But fortune, which alloweda further delay to his slaughter, was too hard for their foregoingresolution; and as three days of the regular times for these shows werenow over, they had much ado to get the business done on the last day. Then Cherea called the conspirators together, and spake thus to them:"So much time passed away without effort is a reproach to us, asdelaying to go through such a virtuous design as we are engaged in; butmore fatal will this delay prove if we be discovered, and the designbe frustrated; for Caius will then become more cruel in his unjustproceedings. Do we not see how long we deprive all our friends of theirliberty, and give Caius leave still to tyrannize over them? while weought to have procured them security for the future, and, by layinga foundation for the happiness of others, gain to ourselves greatadmiration and honor for all time to come. " Now while the conspiratorshad nothing tolerable to say by way of contradiction, and yet did notquite relish what they were doing, but stood silent and astonished, hesaid further, "O my brave comrades! why do we make such delays? Do notyou see that this is the last day of these shows, and that Caius isabout to go to sea? for he is preparing to sail to Alexandria, in orderto see Egypt. Is it therefore for your honor to let a man go out of yourhands who is a reproach to mankind, and to permit him to go, after apompous manner, triumphing both at land and sea? Shall not we be justlyashamed of ourselves, if we give leave to some Egyptian or other, whoshall think his injuries insufferable to free-men, to kill him? As formyself, I will no longer bear your stow proceedings, but will exposemyself to the dangers of the enterprise this very day, and bearcheerfully whatsoever shall be the consequence of the attempt; nor, letthem be ever so great, will I put them off any longer: for, to a wiseand courageous man, what can be more miserable than that, while I amalive, any one else should kill Caius, and deprive me of the honor of sovirtuous an action?" 13. When Cherea had spoken thus, he zealously set about the work, andinspired courage into the rest to go on with it, and they were all eagerto fall to it without further delay. So he was at the palace in themorning, with his equestrian sword girt on him; for it was the customthat the tribunes should ask for the watchword with their swords on, and this was the day on which Cherea was, by custom, to receive thewatchword; and the multitude were already come to the palace, to besoon enough for seeing the shows, and that in great crowds, and onetumultuously crushing another, while Caius was delighted with thiseagerness of the multitude; for which reason there was no order observedin the seating men, nor was any peculiar place appointed for thesenators, or for the equestrian order; but they sat at random, men andwomen together, and free-men were mixed with the slaves. So Caius cameout in a solemn manner, and offered sacrifice to Augustus Caesar, inwhose honor indeed these shows were celebrated. Now it happened, uponthe fall of a certain priest, that the garment of Asprenas, a senator, was filled with blood, which made Caius laugh, although this was anevident omen to Asprenas, for he was slain at the same time with Caius. It is also related that Caius was that day, contrary to his usualcustom, so very affable and good-natured in his conversation, thatevery one of those that were present were astonished at it. After thesacrifice was over, Caius betook himself to see the shows, and sat downfor that purpose, as did also the principal of his friends sit near him. Now the parts of the theater were so fastened together, as it used to beevery year, in the manner following: It had two doors, the one doorled to the open air, the other was for going into, or going out of, thecloisters, that those within the theater might not be thereby disturbed;but out of one gallery there went an inward passage, parted intopartitions also, which led into another gallery, to give room to thecombatants and to the musicians to go out as occasion served. When themultitude were set down, and Cherea, with the other tribunes, were setdown also, and the right corner of the theater was allotted to Caesar, one Vatinius, a senator, commander of the praetorian band, asked ofCluvius, one that sat by him, and was of consular dignity also, whetherhe had heard any thing of news, or not? but took care that nobody shouldhear what he said; and when Cluvius replied, that he had heard no news, "Know then, " said Vatinius, "that the game of the slaughter of tyrantsis to be played this day. " But Cluvius replied "O brave comrade hold thypeace, lest some other of the Achaians hear thy tale. " And as there wasabundance of autumnal fruit thrown among the spectators, and a greatnumber of birds, that were of great value to such as possessed them, onaccount of their rareness, Caius was pleased with the birds fighting forthe fruits, and with the violence wherewith the spectators seized uponthem: and here he perceived two prodigies that happened there; for anactor was introduced, by whom a leader of robbers was crucified, and thepantomime brought in a play called Cinyras, wherein he himself was tobe slain, as well as his daughter Myrrha, and wherein a great deal offictitious blood was shed, both about him that was crucified, and alsoabout Cinyras. It was also confessed that this was the same day whereinPausanias, a friend of Philip, the son of Amyntas, who was king ofMacedonia, slew him, as he was entering into the theater. And now Caiuswas in doubt whether he should tarry to the end of the shows, because itwas the last day, or whether he should not go first to the bath, and todinner, and then return and sit down as before. Hereupon Minucianus, whosat over Caius, and was afraid that the opportunity should fail them, got up, because he saw Cherea was already gone out, and made haste out, to confirm him in his resolution; but Caius took hold of his garment, inan obliging way, and said to him, "O brave man! whither art thou going?"Whereupon, out of reverence to Caesar, as it seemed, he sat down again;but his fear prevailed over him, and in a little time he got up again, and then Caius did no way oppose his going out, as thinking that he wentout to perform some necessities of nature. And Asprenas, who was one ofthe confederates, persuaded Caius to go out to the bath, and to dinner, and then to come in again, as desirous that what had been resolved onmight be brought to a conclusion immediately. 14. So Cherea's associates placed themselves in order, as the time wouldpermit them, and they were obliged to labor hard, that the placewhich was appointed them should not be left by them; but they had anindignation at the tediousness of the delays, and that what they wereabout should be put off any longer, for it was already about the ninth[5] hour of the day; and Cherea, upon Caius's tarrying so long, had agreat mind to go in, and fall upon him in his seat, although heforesaw that this could not be done without much bloodshed, both of thesenators, and of those of the equestrian order that were present; andalthough he knew this must happen, yet had he a great mind to do so, asthinking it a right thing to procure security and freedom to all, at theexpense of such as might perish at the same time. And as they were justgoing back into the entrance to the theater, word was brought them thatCaius was arisen, whereby a tumult was made; hereupon the conspiratorsthrust away the crowd, under pretense as if Caius was angry at them, butin reality as desirous to have a quiet place, that should have none init to defend him, while they set about Caius's slaughter. Now Claudius, his uncle, was gone out before, and Marcus Vinicius his sister'shusband, as also Valellus of Asia; whom though they had had such a mindto put out of their places, the reverence to their dignity hindered themso to do; then followed Caius, with Paulus Arruntius: and because Caiuswas now gotten within the palace, he left the direct road, alongwhich those his servants stood that were in waiting, and by which roadClaudius had gone out before, Caius turned aside into a private narrowpassage, in order to go to the place for bathing, as also in order totake a view of the boys that came out of Asia, who were sent thence, partly to sing hymns in these mysteries which were now celebrated, andpartly to dance in the Pyrrhic way of dancing upon the theatres. SoCherea met him, and asked him for the watchword; upon Caius's giving himone of his ridiculous words, he immediately reproached him, and drew hissword, and gave him a terrible stroke with it, yet was not this strokemortal. And although there be those that say it was so contrived onpurpose by Chorea, that Caius should not be killed at one blow, butshould be punished more severely by a multitude of wounds; yet does thisstory appear to me incredible, because the fear men are under in suchactions does not allow them to use their reason. And if Cherea was ofthat mind, I esteem him the greatest of all fools, in pleasing himselfin his spite against Caius, rather than immediately procuring safety tohimself and to his confederates from the dangers they were in, becausethere might many things still happen for helping Caius's escape, ifhe had not already given up the ghost; for certainly Cherea would haveregard, not so much to the punishment of Caius, as to the afflictionhimself and his friends were in, while it was in his power, after suchsuccess, to keep silent, and to escape the wrath of Caius's defenders, and not to leave it to uncertainty whether he should gain the end heaimed at or not, and after an unreasonable manner to act as if he had amind to ruin himself, and lose the opportunity that lay before him. Butevery body may guess as he please about this matter. However, Caius wasstaggered with the pain that the blow gave him; for the stroke of thesword falling in the middle, between the shoulder and the neck, washindered by the first bone of the breast from proceeding any further. Nor did he either cry out, [in such astonishment was he, ] nor didhe call out for any of his friends; whether it were that he had noconfidence in them, or that his mind was otherwise disordered, but hegroaned under the pain he endured, and presently went forward and fled;when Cornelius Sabinus, who was already prepared in his mind so to do, thrust him down upon his knee, where many of them stood round about him, and struck him with their swords; and they cried out, and encouraged oneanother all at once to strike him again; but all agree that Aquila gavehim the finishing stroke, which directly killed him. But one may justlyascribe this act to Cherea; for although many concurred in the actitself, yet was he the first contriver of it, and began long before allthe rest to prepare for it, and was the first man that boldly spake ofit to the rest; and upon their admission of what he said about it, hegot the dispersed conspirators together; he prepared every thing aftera prudent manner, and by suggesting good advice, showed himself farsuperior to the rest, and made obliging speeches to them, insomuchthat he even compelled them all to go on, who otherwise had not courageenough for that purpose; and when opportunity served to use his sword inhand, he appeared first of all ready so to do, and gave the first blowin this virtuous slaughter; he also brought Caius easily into the powerof the rest, and almost killed him himself, insomuch that it is but justto ascribe all that the rest did to the advice, and bravery, and laborsof the hands of Cherea. 15. Thus did Caius come to his end, and lay dead, by the many woundswhich had been given him. Now Cherea and his associates, upon Caius'sslaughter, saw that it was impossible for them to save themselves, ifthey should all go the same way, partly on account of the astonishmentthey were under; for it was no small danger they had incurred by killingan emperor, who was honored and loved by the madness of the people, especially when the soldiers were likely to make a bloody inquiry afterhis murderers. The passages also were narrow wherein the work was done, which were also crowded with a great multitude of Caius's attendants, and of such of the soldiers as were of the emperor's guard that day;whence it was that they went by other ways, and came to the house ofGermanicus, the father of Caius, whom they had now killed [which houseadjoined to the palace; for while the edifice was one, it was built inits several parts by those particular persons who had been emperors, andthose parts bare the names of those that built them or the name of himwho had begun to build its parts]. So they got away from the insults ofthe multitude, and then were for the present out of danger, that is, solong as the misfortune which had overtaken the emperor was not known. The Germans were the first who perceived that Caius was slain. TheseGermans were Caius's guard, and carried the name of the country whencethey were chosen, and composed the Celtic legion. The men of thatcountry are naturally passionate, which is commonly the temper of someother of the barbarous nations also, as being not used to considermuch about what they do; they are of robust bodies and fall upon theirenemies as soon as ever they are attacked by them; and which way soeverthey go, they perform great exploits. When, therefore, these Germanguards 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 beingbeloved by them because of the money he gave them, by which he hadpurchased their kindness to him; so they drew their swords, and Sabinusled them on. He was one of the tribunes, not by the means of thevirtuous actions of his pro genitors, for he had been a gladiator, buthe had obtained that post in the army by his having a robust body. Sothese Germans marched along the houses in quest of Caesar's murderers, and cut Asprenas to pieces, because he was the first man they fell upon, and whose garment it was that the blood of the sacrifices stained, as Ihave said already, and which foretold that this his meeting the soldierswould not be for his good. Then did Norbanus meet them, who was one ofthe principal nobility of and could show many generals of armies amonghis ancestors; but they paid no regard to his dignity; yet was he ofsuch great strength, that he wrested the sword of the first of thosethat assaulted him out of his hands, and appeared plainly not to bewilling to die without a struggle for his life, until he was surroundedby a great number of assailants, and died by the multitude of the woundswhich they gave him. The third man was Anteius, a senator, and a fewothers with him. He did not meet with these Germans by chance, as therest did before, but came to show his hatred to Caius, and because heloved to see Caius lie dead with his own eyes, and took a pleasure inthat sight; for Caius had banished Anteius's father, who was of the samename with himself, and being not satisfied with that, he sent out hissoldiers, 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 wasaiming to hide himself, he could not escape that accurate search whichthe Germans made, while they barbarously slew those that were guilty, and those that were not guilty, and this equally also. And thus werethese [three] persons slain. 16. But when the rumor that Caius was slain reached the theater, they were astonished at it, and could not believe it; even some thatentertained his destruction with great pleasure, and were more desirousof its happening than almost any other faction that could come to them, were under such a fear, that they could not believe it. There were alsothose who greatly distrusted it, because they were unwilling that anysuch thing should come to Caius, nor could believe it, though it wereever so true, because they thought no man could possibly so much poweras to kill Caius. These were the women, and the children, and theslaves, and some of the soldiery. This last sort had taken his pay, and in a manner tyrannized with him, and had abused the best of thecitizens, in being subservient to his unjust commands, in order to gainhonors and advantages to themselves; but for the women and the youth, they had been inveigled with shows, and the fighting of the gladiators, and certain distributions of flesh-meat among them, which things thempretense were designed for the pleasing of multitude, but in reality tosatiate the barbarous cruelty and madness of Caius. The slaves also weresorry, because they were by Caius allowed to accuse and to despise theirmasters, and they could have recourse to his assistance when they hadunjustly affronted them; for he was very easy in believing them againsttheir masters, even when they the city, accused them falsely; and ifthey would discover what money their masters had, they might soon obtainboth riches and liberty, as the rewards of their accusations, becausethe reward of these informers was the eighth [6] part of the criminal'ssubstance. As to the nobles, although the report appeared credibleto some of them, either because they knew of the plot beforehand, orbecause they wished it might be true; however, they concealed not onlythe joy they had at the relation of it, but that they had heard anything at all about it. These last acted so out of the fear they had, that if the report proved false, they should be punished, for havingso soon let men know their minds. But those that knew Caius was dead, because they were partners with the conspirators, they concealed allstill more cautiously, as not knowing one another's minds; and fearinglest they should speak of it to some of those to whom the continuanceof tyranny was advantageous; and if Caius should prove to be alive, theymight be informed against, and punished. And another report went about, that although Caius had been wounded indeed, yet was not he dead, butalive still, and under the physician's hands. Nor was any one lookedupon by another as faithful enough to be trusted, and to whom any onewould open his mind; for he was either a friend to Caius, and thereforesuspected to favor his tyranny, or he was one that hated him, whotherefore might be suspected to deserve the less credit, because of hisill-will to him. Nay, it was said by some [and this indeed it was thatdeprived the nobility of their hopes, and made them sad] that Caius wasin a condition to despise the dangers he had been in, and took no careof healing his wounds, but was gotten away into the market-place, and, bloody as he was, was making an harangue to the people. And thesewere the conjectural reports of those that were so unreasonable as toendeavor to raise tumults, which they turned different ways, accordingto the opinions of the bearers. Yet did they not leave their seats, forfear of being accused, if they should go out before the rest; for theyshould not be sentenced according to the real intention with which theywent out, but according to the supposals of the accusers and of thejudges. 17. But now a multitude of Germans had surrounded the theater with theirswords drawn: all the spectators looked for nothing but death, and atevery one coming in a fear seized upon them, as if they were to becut in pieces immediately; and in great distress they were, as neitherhaving courage enough to go out of the theater, nor believing themselvessafe from dangers if they tarried there. And when the Germans cameupon them, the cry was so great, that the theater rang again with theentreaties of the spectators to the soldiers, pleading that theywere entirely ignorant of every thing that related to such seditiouscontrivances, and that if there were any sedition raised, they knewnothing of it; they therefore begged that they would spare them, and notpunish those that had not the least hand in such bold crimes as belongedto other persons, while they neglected to search after such as hadreally done whatsoever it be that hath been done. Thus did these peopleappeal to God, and deplore their infelicity with shedding of tears, andbeating their faces, and said every thing that the most imminent dangerand the utmost concern for their lives could dictate to them. This brakethe fury of the soldiers, and made them repent of what they minded todo to the spectators, which would have been the greatest instance ofcruelty. And so it appeared to even these savages, when they had oncefixed the heads of those that were slain with Asprenas upon the altar;at which sight the spectators were sorely afflicted, both upon theconsideration of the dignity of the persons, and out of a commiserationof their sufferings; nay, indeed, they were almost in as great disorderat the prospect of the danger themselves were in, seeing it was stilluncertain whether they should entirely escape the like calamity. Whenceit was that such as thoroughly and justly hated Caius could yet noway enjoy the pleasure of his death, because they were themselves injeopardy of perishing together with him; nor had they hitherto any firmassurance of surviving. 18. There was at this time one Euaristus Arruntius, a public crier inthe market, and therefore of a strong and audible voice, who viedin wealth with the richest of the Romans, and was able to do what hepleased in the city, both then and afterward. This man put himselfinto the most mournful habit he could, although he had a greater hatredagainst Caius than any one else; his fear and his wise contrivance togain his safety taught him so to do, and prevailed over his presentpleasure; so he put on such a mournful dress as he would have donehad he lost his dearest friends in the world; this man came into thetheater, and informed them of the death of Caius, and by this means putan end to that state of ignorance the men had been in. Arruntius alsowent round about the pillars, and called out to the Germans, as did thetribunes with him, bidding them put up their swords, and telling themthat Caius was dead. And this proclamation it was plainly which savedthose that were collected together in the theater, and all the rest whoany way met the Germans; for while they had hopes that Caius had stillany breath in him, they abstained from no sort of mischief; and such anabundant kindness they still had for Caius, that they would willinglyhave prevented the plot against him, and procured his escape from so sada misfortune, at the expense of their own lives. But they now leftoff the warm zeal they had to punish his enemies, now they were fullysatisfied that Caius was dead, because it was now in vain for them toshow their zeal and kindness to him, when he who should reward themwas perished. They were also afraid that they should be punished by thesenate, if they should go on in doing such injuries; that is, in casethe authority of the supreme governor should revert to them. And thus atlength a stop was put, though not without difficulty, to that rage whichpossessed the Germans on account of Caius's death. 19. But Cherea was so much afraid for Minucianus, lest he should lightupon the Germans now they were in their fury, that he went and spiketo every one of the soldiers, and prayed them to take care of hispreservation, and made himself great inquiry about him, lest he shouldhave been slain. And for Clement, he let Minucianus go when he wasbrought to him, and, with many other of the senators, affirmed theaction was right, and commended the virtue of those that contrived it, and had courage enough to execute it; and said that "tyrants do indeedplease themselves and look big for a while, upon having the power to actunjustly; but do not however go happily out of the world, becausethey are hated by the virtuous; and that Caius, together with all hisunhappiness, was become a conspirator against himself, before theseother men who attacked him did so; and by becoming intolerable, insetting aside the wise provision the laws had made, taught his dearestfriends to treat him as an enemy; insomuch that although in commondiscourse these conspirators were those that slew Caius, yet that, inreality, he lies now dead as perishing by his own self. " 20. Now by this time the people in the theatre were arisen from theirseats, and those that were within made a very great disturbance; thecause of which was this, that the spectators were too hasty in gettingaway. There was also one Aleyon, a physician, who hurried away, as if tocure those that were wounded, and under that pretense he sent those thatwere with him to fetch what things were necessary for the healing ofthose wounded persons, but in reality to get them clear of the presentdangers they were in. Now the senate, during this interval, had met, andthe people also assembled together in the accustomed form, and were bothemployed in searching after the murderers of Caius. The people did itvery zealously, but the senate in appearance only; for there was presentValerius of Asia, one that had been consul; this man went to the people, as they were in disorder, and very uneasy that they could not yetdiscover who they were that had murdered the emperor; he was thenearnestly asked by them all who it was that had done it. He replied, "I wish I had been the man. " The consuls [7] also published an edict, wherein they accused Caius, and gave order to the people then gottogether, and to the soldiers, to go home; and gave the people hopesof the abatement of the oppressions they lay under; and promised thesoldiers, if they lay quiet as they used to do, and would not go abroadto do mischief unjustly, that they would bestow rewards upon them; forthere was reason to fear lest the city might suffer harm by their wildand ungovernable behavior, if they should once betake themselves tospoil the citizens, or plunder the temples. And now the whole multitudeof the senators were assembled together, and especially those that hadconspired to take away the life of Caius, who put on at this time anair of great assurance, and appeared with great magnanimity, as if theadministration of the public affairs were already devolved upon them. CHAPTER 2. How The Senators Determined To Restore The Democracy; But TheSoldiers Were For Preserving The Monarchy, Concerning The Slaughter OfCaius's Wife And Daughter. A Character Of Caius's Morals. 1. When the public affairs were in this posture, Claudius was on thesudden hurried away out of his house; for the soldiers had a meetingtogether; and when they had debated about what was to be done, they sawthat a democracy was incapable of managing such a vast weight of publicaffairs; and that if it should be set up, it would not be for theiradvantage; and in case any one of those already in the government shouldobtain the supreme power, it would in all respects be to their grief, if they were not assisting to him in this advancement; that it wouldtherefore be right for them, while the public affairs were unsettled, tochoose Claudius emperor, who was uncle to the deceased Caius, and ofa superior dignity and worth to every one of those that were assembledtogether in the senate, both on account of the virtues of his ancestors, and of the learning he had acquired in his education; and who, if oncesettled in the empire, would reward them according to their deserts, and bestow largesses upon them. These were their consultations, andthey executed the same immediately. Claudius was therefore seized uponsuddenly by the soldiery. But Cneas Sentins Saturninns, although heunderstood that Claudius was seized, and that he intended to claim thegovernment, unwillingly indeed in appearance, but in reality by his ownfree consent, stood up in the senate, and, without being dismayed, madean exhortatory oration to them, and such a one indeed as was fit for menof freedom and generosity, and spake thus: 2. "Although it be a thing incredible, O Romans! because of the greatlength of time, that so unexpected an event hath happened, yet arewe now in possession of liberty. How long indeed this will last isuncertain, and lies at the disposal of the gods, whose grant it is; yetsuch it is as is sufficient to make us rejoice, and be happy forthe present, although we may soon be deprived of it; for one hour issufficient to those that are exercised in virtue, wherein we may livewith a mind accountable only to ourselves, in our own country, now free, and governed by such laws as this country once flourished under. Asfor myself, I cannot remember our former time of liberty, as beingborn after it was gone; but I am beyond measure filled with joy at thethoughts of our present freedom. I also esteem those that were born andbred up in that our former liberty happy men, and that those men areworthy of no less esteem than the gods themselves who have given us ataste of it in this age; and I heartily wish that this quiet enjoymentof 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 inyears. It will seem an age to our old men, if they might die during itshappy duration: it may also be for the instruction of the younger sort, what kind of virtue those men, from whose loins we are derived, wereexercised in. As for ourselves, our business is, during the spaceof time, to live virtuously, than which nothing can be more to ouradvantage; which course of virtue it is alone that can preserveour liberty; for as to our ancient state, I have heard of it by therelations of others; but as to our later state, during my lifetime, I have known it by experience, and learned thereby what mischiefstyrannies have brought upon this commonwealth, discouraging all virtue, and depriving persons of magnanimity of their liberty, and proving theteachers of flattery and slavish fear, because it leaves the publicadministration not to be governed by wise laws, but by the humor ofthose that govern. For since Julius Caesar took it into his head todissolve our democracy, and, by overbearing the regular system of ourlaws, to bring disorders into our administration, and to get above rightand justice, and to be a slave to his own inclinations, there is no kindof misery but what hath tended to the subversion of this city; while allthose that have succeeded him have striven one with another to overthrowthe ancient laws of their country, and have left it destitute of suchcitizens as were of generous principles, because they thought it tendedto their safety to have vicious men to converse withal, and not only tobreak the spirits of those that were best esteemed for their virtue, butto resolve upon their utter destruction. Of all which emperors, who havebeen many in number, and who laid upon us insufferable hardships duringthe times of their government, this Caius, who hath been slain today, hath brought more terrible calamities upon us than did all the rest, not only by exercising his ungoverned rage upon his fellow citizens, but also upon his kindred and friends, and alike upon all others, and byinflicting still greater miseries upon them, as punishments, which theynever deserved, he being equally furious against men and against thegods. For tyrants are not content to gain their sweet pleasure, and thisby acting injuriously, and in the vexation they bring both upon men'sestates and their wives; but they look upon that to be their principaladvantage, when they can utterly overthrow the entire families of theirenemies; while all lovers of liberty are the enemies of tyranny. Nor canthose that patiently endure what miseries they bring on them gain theirfriendship; for as they are conscious of the abundant mischiefs theyhave brought on these men, and how magnanimously they have borne theirhard fortunes, they cannot but be sensible what evils they have done, and thence only depend on security from what they are suspicious of, if it may be in their power to take them quite out of the world. Since, then, we are now gotten clear of such great misfortunes, and are onlyaccountable to one another, [which form of government affords us thebest assurance of our present concord, and promises us the best securityfrom evil designs, and will be most for our own glory in settling thecity in good order, ] you ought, every one of you in particular, to makeprovision for his own, and in general for the public utility: or, onthe contrary, they may declare their dissent to such things as havebeen proposed, and this without any hazard of danger to come uponthem, because they have now no lord set over them, who, without fearof punishment, could do mischief to the city, and had an uncontrollablepower to take off those that freely declared their opinions. Nor has anything so much contributed to this increase of tyranny of late as sloth, and a timorous forbearance of contradicting the emperor's will; whilemen had an over-great inclination to the sweetness of peace, and hadlearned to live like slaves; and as many of us as either heard ofintolerable calamities that happened at a distance from us, or sawthe miseries that were near us, out of the dread of dying virtuously, endured a death joined with the utmost infamy. We ought, then, in thefirst place, to decree the greatest honors we are able to those thathave taken off the tyrant, especially to Cherea Cassius; for this oneman, with the assistance of the gods, hath, by his counsel and by hisactions, been the procurer of our liberty. Nor ought we to forget himnow we have recovered our liberty, who, under the foregoing tyranny, took counsel beforehand, and beforehand hazarded himself for ourliberties; but ought to decree him proper honors, and thereby freelydeclare that he from the beginning acted with our approbation. Andcertainly it is a very excellent thing, and what becomes free-men, torequite their benefactors, as this man hath been a benefactor to usall, though not at all like Cassius and Brutus, who slew Caius Julius[Caesar]; for those men laid the foundations of sedition and civil warsin 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 thetyranny. " [8] 3. And this was the purport of Sentius's oration, [9] which was receivedwith pleasure by the senators, and by as many of the equestrian order aswere present. And now one Trebellius Maximus rose up hastily, and tookoff Sentius's finger a ring, which had a stone, with the image ofCaius engraven upon it, and which, in his zeal in speaking, and hisearnestness in doing what he was about, as it was supposed, he hadforgotten to take off himself. This sculpture was broken immediately. But as it was now far in the night, Cherea demanded of the consulsthe watchword, who gave him this word, Liberty. These facts were thesubjects of admiration to themselves, and almost incredible; for itwas a hundred years since the democracy had been laid aside, when thisgiving the watchword returned to the consuls; for before the city wassubject to tyrants, they were the commanders of the soldiers. But whenCherea had received that watchword, he delivered it to those who wereon the senate's side, which were four regiments, who esteemed thegovernment without emperors to be preferable to tyranny. So these wentaway with their tribunes. The people also now departed very joyful, fullof hope and of courage, as having recovered their former democracy, andwere no longer under an emperor; and Cherea was in very great esteemwith them. 4. And now Cherea was very uneasy that Caius's daughter and wife werestill alive, and that all his family did not perish with him, sincewhosoever was left of them must be left for the ruin of the city and ofthe laws. Moreover, in order to finish this matter with the utmost zeal, and in order to satisfy his hatred of Caius, he sent Julius Lupus, oneof the tribunes, to kill Caius's wife and daughter. They proposed thisoffice to Lupus as to a kinsman of Clement, that he might be so far apartaker of this murder of the tyrant, and might rejoice in the virtueof having assisted his fellow citizens, and that he might appear to havebeen 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 moreindulge his own ill-nature than use her advice in all that he did; fromwhich ill-nature it was that the city was in so desperate a conditionwith the miseries that were brought on it, and the flower of the citywas destroyed. But others accused her of giving her consent to thesethings; nay, they ascribed all that Caius had done to her as the causeof it, and said she had given a potion to Caius, which had made himobnoxious to her, and had tied him down to love her by such evilmethods; insomuch that she, having rendered him distracted, was becomethe author of all the mischiefs that had befallen the Romans, and thathabitable world which was subject to them. So that at length it wasdetermined that she must die; nor could those of the contrary opinion atall prevail to have her saved; and Lupus was sent accordingly. Norwas there any delay made in executing what he went about, but he wassubservient to those that sent him on the first opportunity, as desirousto be no way blameable in what might be done for the advantage of thepeople. So when he was come into the palace, he found Cesonia, who wasCaius's wife, lying by her husband's dead body, which also lay down onthe ground, and destitute of all such things as the law allows to thedead, and all over herself besmeared with the blood of her husband'swounds, and bewailing the great affliction she was under, her daughterlying by her also; and nothing else was heard in these her circumstancesbut her complaint of Caius, as if he had not regarded what she had oftentold him of beforehand; which words of hers were taken in a differentsense even at that time, and are now esteemed equally ambiguous by thosethat hear of them, and are still interpreted according to the differentinclinations of people. Now some said that the words denoted that shehad advised him to leave off his mad behavior and his barbarous crueltyto the citizens, and to govern the public with moderation and virtue, lest he should perish by the same way, upon their using him as he hadused them. But some said, that as certain words had passed concerningthe conspirators, she desired Caius to make no delay, but immediatelyto put them all to death, and this whether they were guilty or not, andthat thereby he would be out of the fear of any danger; and that thiswas what she reproached him for, when she advised him so to do, but hewas 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 Lupusapproach, she showed him Caius's dead body, and persuaded him to comenearer, with lamentation and tears; and as she perceived that Lupuswas in disorder, and approached her in order to execute some designdisagreeable 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 that utterly despaired of her life, andbidding him not to boggle at finishing the tragedy they had resolvedupon relating to her. So she boldly received her death's wound at thehand of Lupus, as did the daughter after her. So Lupus made haste toinform Cherea of what he had done. 5. This was the end of Caius, after he had reigned four years, withinfour months. He was, even before he came to be emperor, ill-natured, andone that had arrived at the utmost pitch of wickedness; a slave to hispleasures, and a lover of calumny; greatly affected by every terribleaccident, and on that account of a very murderous disposition where hedurst show it. He enjoyed his exorbitant power to this only purpose, toinjure those who least deserved it, with unreasonable insolence and gothis wealth by murder and injustice. He labored to appear above regardingeither what was divine or agreeable to the laws, but was a slave to thecommendations of the populace; and whatsoever the laws determined to beshameful, and punished, that he esteemed more honorable than what wasvirtuous. He was unmindful of his friends, how intimate soever, andthough they were persons of the highest character; and if he was onceangry at any of them, he would inflict punishment upon them on thesmallest occasions, and esteemed every man that endeavored to lead avirtuous life his enemy. And whatsoever he commanded, he would not admitof any contradiction to his inclinations; whence it was that he hadcriminal conversation with his own sister; [10] from which occasionchiefly it was also that a bitter hatred first sprang up against himamong the citizens, that sort of incest not having been known of a longtime; and so this provoked men to distrust him, and to hate him that wasguilty of it. And for any great or royal work that he ever did, whichmight be for the present and for future ages, nobody can name anysuch, but only the haven that he made about Rhegium and Sicily, for thereception of the ships that brought corn from Egypt; which was indeed awork without dispute very great in itself, and of very great advantageto the navigation. Yet was not this work brought to perfection by him, but was the one half of it left imperfect, by reason of his want ofapplication to it; the cause of which was this, that he employed hisstudies about useless matters, and that by spending his money upon suchpleasures as concerned no one's benefit but his own, he could not exerthis liberality in things that were undeniably of great consequence. Otherwise he was an excellent orator, and thoroughly acquainted with theGreek tongue, as well as with his own country or Roman language. He wasalso able, off-hand and readily, to give answers to compositions made byothers, of considerable length and accuracy. He was also more skillfulin persuading others to very great things than any one else, and thisfrom a natural affability of temper, which had been improved by muchexercise and pains-taking; for as he was the grandson [11] of thebrother of Tiberius, whose successor he was, this was a stronginducement to his acquiring of learning, because Tiberius aspired afterthe highest pitch of that sort of reputation; and Caius aspired afterthe like glory for eloquence, being induced thereto by the letters ofhis kinsman and his emperor. He was also among the first rank of hisown citizens. But the advantages he received from his learning did notcountervail the mischief he brought upon himself in the exercise of hisauthority; so difficult it is for those to obtain the virtue that isnecessary for a wise man, who have the absolute power to do what theyplease without control. At the first he got himself such friends as werein all respects the most worthy, and was greatly beloved by them, while he imitated their zealous application to the learning and to theglorious actions of the best men; but when he became insolent towardsthem, they laid aside the kindness they had for him, and began to hatehim; from which hatred came that plot which they raised against him, andwherein he perished. CHAPTER 3. How Claudius Was Seized Upon And Brought Out Of His House AndBrought To The Camp; And How The Senate Sent An Embassage To Him. 1. Now Claudius, as I said before, went out of that way along whichCaius was gone; and as the family was in a mighty disorder upon the sadaccident of the murder of Caius, he was in great distress how to savehimself, and was found to have hidden himself in a certain narrow place, [12] though he had no other occasion for suspicion of any dangers, besides the dignity of his birth; for while he was a private man, hebehaved himself with moderation, and was contented with his presentfortune, applying himself to learning, and especially to that of theGreeks, and keeping himself entirely clear from every thing that mightbring on any disturbance. But as at this time the multitude were undera consternation, and the whole palace was full of the soldiers' madness, and the very emperor's guards seemed under the like fear and disorderwith private persons, the band called pretorian, which was the purestpart of the army, was in consultation what was to be done at thisjuncture. Now all those that were at this consultation had little regardto the punishment Caius had suffered, because he justly deserved suchhis fortune; but they were rather considering their own circumstances, how they might take the best care of themselves, especially while theGermans were busy in punishing the murderers of Caius; which yet wasrather done to gratify their own savage temper, than for the good of thepublic; all which things disturbed Claudius, who was afraid of his ownsafety, and this particularly because he saw the heads of Asprenas andhis partners carried about. His station had been on a certain elevatedplace, whither a few steps led him, and whither he had retired in thedark by himself. But when Gratus, who was one of the soldiersthat belonged to the palace, saw him, but did not well know by hiscountenance who he was, because it was dark, though he could well judgethat it was a man who was privately there on some design, he came nearerto him; and when Claudius desired that he would retire, he discoveredwho he was, and owned him to be Claudius. So he said to his followers, "This is a Germanicus; [12] come on, let us choose him for our emperor. "But when Claudius saw they were making preparations for taking him awayby force, and was afraid they would kill him, as they had killed Caius, he besought them to spare him, putting them in mind how quietly he haddemeaned himself, and that he was unacquainted with what had been done. Hereupon Gratus smiled upon him, and took him by the right hand, andsaid, "Leave off, sir, these low thoughts of saving yourself, while youought to have greater thoughts, even of obtaining the empire, which thegods, out of their concern for the habitable world, by taking Caius outof the way, commit to thy virtuous conduct. Go to, therefore, and acceptof 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 hisjoy at what was told him. 2. Now there was already gathered together about Gratus a great numberof the guards; and when they saw Claudius carried off, they looked witha sad countenance, as supposing that he was carried to execution for themischiefs that had been lately done; while yet they thought him a manwho never meddled with public affairs all his life long, and one thathad met with no contemptible dangers under the reign of Caius; and someof them thought it reasonable that the consuls should take cognizance ofthese matters; and as still more and more of the soldiery got together, the crowd about him ran away, and Claudius could hardly go on, his bodywas then so weak; and those who carried his sedan, upon an inquiry thatwas made about his being carried off, ran away and saved themselves, asdespairing of their Lord's preservation. But when they were come intothe 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 justreached the public treasury, many more soldiers came about him, asglad to see Claudius's face, and thought it exceeding right to makehim emperor, on account of their kindness for Germanicus, who was hisbrother, and had left behind him a vast reputation among all that wereacquainted with him. They reflected also on the covetous temper of theleading men of the senate, and what great errors they had been guiltyof when the senate had the government formerly; they also considered theimpossibility of such an undertaking, as also what dangers they shouldbe in, if the government should come to a single person, and that sucha one should possess it as they had no hand in advancing, and not toClaudius, who would take it as their grant, and as gained by theirgood-will to him, and would remember the favors they had done him, andwould make them a sufficient recompense for the same. 3. These were the discourses the soldiers had one with another bythemselves, and they communicated them to all such as came in tothem. Now those that inquired about this matter willingly embraced theinvitation that was made them to join with the rest; so theycarried Claudius into the camp, crowding about him as his guard, andencompassing him about, one chairman still succeeding another, thattheir vehement endeavors might not be hindered. But as to the populaceand senators, they disagreed in their opinions. The latter were verydesirous to recover their former dignity, and were zealous to get clearof the slavery that had been brought on them by the injurious treatmentof the tyrants, which the present opportunity afforded them; but for thepeople, who were envious against them, and knew that the emperors werecapable of curbing their covetous temper, and were a refuge from them, they were very glad that Claudius had been seized upon, and brought tothem, and thought that if Claudius were made emperor, he would prevent acivil war, such as there was in the days of Pompey. But when the senateknew that Claudius was brought into the camp by the soldiers, theysent to him those of their body which had the best character for theirvirtues, that they might inform him that he ought to do nothing byviolence, in order to gain the government; that he who was a singleperson, one either already or hereafter to be a member of their body, ought to yield to the senate, which consisted of so great a number; thathe ought to let the law take place in the disposal of all that relatedto the public order, and to remember how greatly the former tyrantshad afflicted their city, and what dangers both he and they had escapedunder Caius; and that he ought not to hate the heavy burden of tyranny, when the injury is done by others, while he did himself willfully treathis country after a mad and insolent manner; that if he would complywith them, and demonstrate that his firm resolution was to live quietlyand virtuously, he would have the greatest honors decreed to him thata free people could bestow; and by subjecting himself to the law, wouldobtain this branch of commendation, that he acted like a man of virtue, both as a ruler and a subject; but that if he would act foolishly, andlearn no wisdom by Caius's death, they would not permit him to go on;that a great part of the army was got together for them, with plentyof weapons, and a great number of slaves, which they could make useof; that good hope was a great matter in such cases, as was also goodfortune; and that the gods would never assist any others but those thatundertook to act with virtue and goodness, who can be no other than suchas fight for the liberty of their country. 4. Now these ambassadors, Veranius and Brocchus, who were both of themtribunes of the people, made this speech to Claudius; and falling downupon their knees, they begged of him that he would not throw thecity into wars and misfortunes; but when they saw what a multitude ofsoldiers encompassed and guarded Claudius, and that the forces that werewith the consuls were, in comparison of them, perfectly inconsiderable, they added, that if he did desire the government, he should accept of itas given by the senate; that he would prosper better, and be happier, ifhe came to it, not by the injustice, but by the good-will of those thatwould bestow it upon him. CHAPTER 4. What Things King Agrippa Did For Claudius; And How ClaudiusWhen He Had Taken The Government Commanded The Murderers Of Caius To BeSlain. 1. Now Claudius, though he was sensible after what an insolent mannerthe senate had sent to him yet did he, according to their advice, behavehimself for the present with moderation; but not so far that he couldnot recover himself out of his fright; so he was encouraged [to claimthe government] partly by the boldness of the soldiers, and partlyby the persuasion of king Agrippa, who exhorted him not to let sucha dominion slip out of his hands, when it came thus to him of its ownaccord. Now this Agrippa, with relation to Caius, did what became onethat had been so much honored by him; for he embraced Caius's body afterhe 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 illof his wounds. But when he had learned that Claudius was carried awayviolently by the soldiers, he rushed through the crowd to him, and whenhe found that he was in disorder, and ready to resign up the governmentto the senate, he encouraged him, and desired him to keep thegovernment; but when he had said this to Claudius, he retired home. Andupon the senate's sending for him, he anointed his head with ointment, 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;who told him the present state of affairs, and then asked his opinionabout the settlement of the public. He told them in words that he wasready to lose his life for the honor of the senate, but desired them toconsider what was for their advantage, without any regard to what wasmost agreeable to them; for that those who grasp at government willstand in need of weapons and soldiers to guard them, unless they willset up without any preparation for it, and so fall into danger. And whenthe senate replied that they would bring in weapons in abundance, and money, and that as to an army, a part of it was already collectedtogether for them, and they would raise a larger one by giving theslaves their liberty, --Agrippa made answer, "O senators! may you be ableto compass what you have a mind to; yet will I immediately tell you mythoughts, because they tend to your preservation. Take notice, then, that the army which will fight for Claudius hath been long exercised inwarlike affairs; but our army will be no better than a rude multitudeof raw men, and those such as have been unexpectedly made free fromslavery, and ungovernable; we must then fight against those that areskillful in war, with men who know not so much as how to draw theirswords. So that my opinion is, that we should send some persons toClaudius, to persuade him to lay down the government; and I am ready tobe one of your ambassadors. " 2. Upon this speech of Agrippa, the senate complied with him, and he wassent among others, and privately informed Claudius of the disorder thesenate was in, and gave him instructions to answer them in a somewhatcommanding strain, and as one invested with dignity and authority. Accordingly, Claudius said to the ambassadors, that he did not wonderthe senate had no mind to have an emperor over them, because they hadbeen harassed by the barbarity of those that had formerly been atthe head of their affairs; but that they should taste of an equitablegovernment under him, and moderate times, while he should only be theirruler in name, but the authority should be equally common to them all;and since he had passed through many and various scenes of life beforetheir eyes, it would be good for them not to distrust him. So theambassadors, upon their hearing this his answer, were dismissed. ButClaudius discoursed with the army which was there gathered together, whotook oaths that they would persist in their fidelity to him; Upon whichhe gave the guards every man five thousand [13] drachmae a-piece, and aproportionable quantity to their captains, and promised to give the sameto the rest of the armies wheresoever they were. 3. And now the consuls called the senate together into the temple ofJupiter the Conqueror, while it was still night; but some of thosesenators concealed themselves in the city, being uncertain what to do, upon the hearing of this summons; and some of them went out of the cityto their own farms, as foreseeing whither the public affairs were going, and despairing of liberty; nay, these supposed it much better forthem to be slaves without danger to themselves, and to live a lazy andinactive life, than by claiming the dignity of their forefathers, torun the hazard of their own safety. However, a hundred and no more weregotten together; and as they were in consultation about the presentposture of affairs, a sudden clamor was made by the soldiers that wereon their side, desiring that the senate would choose them an emperor, and not bring the government into ruin by setting up a multitude ofrulers. So they fully declared themselves to be for the giving thegovernment not to all, but to one; but they gave the senate leave tolook out for a person worthy to be set over them, insomuch that now theaffairs of the senate were much worse than before, because they hadnot only failed in the recovery of their liberty, which they boastedthemselves of, but were in dread of Claudius also. Yet were there thosethat hankered after the government, both on account of the dignity oftheir families and that accruing to them by their marriages; for MarcusMinucianus was illustrious, both by his own nobility, and by his havingmarried Julia, the sister of Caius, who accordingly was very ready toclaim the government, although the consuls discouraged him, and made onedelay after another in proposing it: that Minucianus also, who was oneof Caius's murderers, restrained Valerius of Asia from thinking of suchthings; and a prodigious slaughter there had been, if leave had beengiven to these men to set up for themselves, and oppose Claudius. Therewere also a considerable number of gladiators besides, and of thosesoldiers 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 thegovernment, some left off their pretensions in order to spare the city, and others out of fear for their own persons. 4. But as soon as ever it was day, Cherea, and those that were with him, came into the senate, and attempted to make speeches to the soldiers. However, the multitude of those soldiers, when they saw that they weremaking signals for silence with their hands, and were ready to beginto 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 demandedof the senate one for their ruler, as not enduring any longer delays:but the senate hesitated about either their own governing, or how theyshould themselves be governed, while the soldiers would not admit themto govern, and the murderers of Caius would not permit the soldiers todictate to them. When they were in these circumstances, Cherea was notable to contain the anger he had, and promised, that if they desiredan emperor, he would give them one, if any one would bring him thewatchword from Eutychus. Now this Eutychus was charioteer of thegreen-band faction, styled Prasine, and a great friend of Caius, whoused to harass the soldiery with building stables for the horses, and spent his time in ignominious labors, which occasioned Cherea toreproach them with him, and to abuse them with much other scurrilouslanguage; and told them he would bring them the head of Claudius; andthat it was an amazing thing, that, after their former madness, theyshould commit their government to a fool. Yet were not they moved withhis words, but drew their swords, and took up their ensigns, and went toClaudius, to join in taking the oath of fidelity to him. So the senatewere left without any body to defend them, and the very consuls differednothing from private persons. They were also under consternation andsorrow, men not knowing what would become of them, because Claudius wasvery angry at them; so they fell a reproaching one another, and repentedof what they had done. At which juncture Sabinus, one of Caius'smurderers, threatened that he would sooner come into the midst of themand kill himself, than consent to make Claudius emperor, and see slaveryreturning 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 agood thin to live, when, even by all that they had done for the recoveryof their liberty, they found it impossible to do it. But Cherea said hehad no manner of doubt upon him about killing himself; that yet he wouldfirst sound the intentions of Claudius before he did it. 5. These were the debates [about the senate]; but in the camp every bodywas crowding on all sides to pay their court to Claudius; and the otherconsul, Quintus Pomponhis, was reproached by the soldiery, as havingrather exhorted the senate to recover their liberty; whereupon they drewtheir swords, and were going to assault him, and they had done it, if Claudius had not hindered them, who snatched the consul out of thedanger he was in, and set him by him. But he did not receive that partof the senate which was with Quintus in the like honorable manner; nay, some of them received blows, and were thrust away as they came to saluteClaudius; nay, Aponius went away wounded, and they were all in danger. However, king Agrippa went up to Claudius, and desired he would treatthe senators more gently; for if any mischief should come to the senate, he would have no others over whom to rule. Claudius complied with him, and called the senate together into the palace, and was carried thitherhimself through the city, while the soldiery conducted him, though thiswas to the great vexation of the multitude; for Cherea and Sabinus, twoof Caius's murderers, went in the fore-front of them, in an open manner, while Pollio, whom Claudius, a little before, had made captain of hisguards, had sent them an epistolary edict, to forbid them to appearin public. Then did Claudius, upon his coming to the palace, get hisfriends together, and desired their suffrages about Cherea. They saidthat the work he had done was a glorious one; but they accused himthe he did it of perfidiousness, and thought it just to inflict thepunishment [of death] upon him, to discountenance such actions for thetime to come. So Cherea was led to his execution, and Lupus and manyother Romans with him. Now it is reported that Cherea bore this calamitycourageously; and this not only by the firmness of his own behaviorunder it, but by the reproaches he laid upon Lupus, who fell into tears;for when Lupus laid his garment aside, and complained of the cold [14]he said, that cold was never hurtful to Lupus [i. E. A wolf] And as agreat many men went along with them to see the sight, when Cherea cameto the place, he asked the soldier who was to be their executioner, whether this office was what he was used to, or whether this was thefirst time of his using his sword in that manner, and desired him tobring him that very sword with which he himself slew Caius. [15] So hewas happily killed at one stroke. But Lupus did not meet with such goodfortune in going out of the world, since he was timorous, and had manyblows leveled at his neck, because he did not stretch it out boldly [ashe ought to have done]. 6. Now, a few days after this, as the Parental solemnities were just athand, the Roman multitude made their usual oblations to their severalghosts, and put portions into the fire in honor of Cherea, and besoughthim to be merciful to them, and not continue his anger against them fortheir ingratitude. And this was the end of the life that Cherea came to. But for Sabinus, although Claudius not only set him at liberty, but gavehim leave to retain his former command in the army, yet did he thinkit would be unjust in him to fail of performing his obligations to hisfellow confederates; so he fell upon his sword, and killed himself, thewound reaching up to the very hilt of the sword. CHAPTER 5. How Claudius Restored To Agrippa His Grandfathers KingdomsAnd Augmented His Dominions; And How He Published An Edict In Behalf. 1. Now when Claudius had taken out of the way all those soldiers whom hesuspected, which he did immediately, he published an edict, and thereinconfirmed that kingdom to Agrippa which Caius had given him, and thereincommended the king highly. He also made all addition to it of all thatcountry over which Herod, who was his grandfather, had reigned, that is, Judea and Samaria; and this he restored to him as due to his family. But for Abila [16] of Lysanias, and all that lay at Mount Libanus, hebestowed them upon him, as out of his own territories. He also madea league with this Agrippa, confirmed by oaths, in the middle of theforum, in the city of Rome: he also took away from Antiochus thatkingdom which he was possessed of, but gave him a certain part ofCilicia and Commagena: he also set Alexander Lysimachus, the alabarch, at liberty, who had been his old friend, and steward to his motherAntonia, but had been imprisoned by Caius, whose son [Marcus] marriedBernice, the daughter of Agrippa. But when Marcus, Alexander's son, wasdead, who had married her when she was a virgin, Agrippa gave herin marriage to his brother Herod, and begged for him of Claudius thekingdom of Chalcis. 2. Now about this time there was a sedition between the Jews and theGreeks, at the city of Alexandria; for when Caius was dead, the nationof the Jews, which had been very much mortified under the reign ofCaius, and reduced to very great distress by the people of Alexandria, recovered itself, and immediately took up their arms to fight forthemselves. So Claudius sent an order to the president of Egypt to quietthat tumult; he also sent an edict, at the requests of king Agrippaand king Herod, both to Alexandria and to Syria, whose contents were asfollows: "Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, high priest, andtribune of the people, ordains thus: Since I am assured that the Jewsof Alexandria, called Alexandrians, have been joint inhabitants in theearliest times with the Alexandrians, and have obtained from their kingsequal privileges with them, as is evident by the public records thatare in their possession, and the edicts themselves; and that afterAlexandria had been subjected to our empire by Augustus, their rightsand privileges have been preserved by those presidents who have atdivers times been sent thither; and that no dispute had been raisedabout those rights and privileges, even when Aquila was governor ofAlexandria; and that when the Jewish ethnarch was dead, Augustus did notprohibit the making such ethnarchs, as willing that all men should be sosubject [to the Romans] as to continue in the observation of their owncustoms, and not be forced to transgress the ancient rules of theirown country religion; but that, in the time of Caius, the Alexandriansbecame insolent towards the Jews that were among them, which Caius, outof his great madness and want of understanding, reduced the nationof the Jews very low, because they would not transgress the religiousworship of their country, and call him a god: I will therefore that thenation of the Jews be not deprived of their rights and privileges, onaccount of the madness of Caius; but that those rights and privilegeswhich they formerly enjoyed be preserved to them, and that they maycontinue in their own customs. And I charge both parties to take verygreat care that no troubles may arise after the promulgation of thisedict. " 3. And such were the contents of this edict on behalf of the Jews thatwas sent to Alexandria. But the edict that was sent into the other partsof the habitable earth was this which follows: "Tiberius Claudius CaesarAugustus Germanicus, high priest, tribune of the people, chosen consulthe second time, ordains thus: Upon the petition of king Agrippa andking Herod, who are persons very dear to me, that I would grant the samerights and privileges should be preserved to the Jews which are in allthe Roman empire, which I have granted to those of Alexandria, I verywillingly comply therewith; and this grant I make not only for thesake of the petitioners, but as judging those Jews for whom I have beenpetitioned worthy of such a favor, on account of their fidelity andfriendship to the Romans. I think it also very just that no Greciancity should be deprived of such rights and privileges, since they werepreserved to them under the great Augustus. It will therefore be fitto permit the Jews, who are in all the world under us, to keep theirancient customs without being hindered so to do. And I do charge themalso to use this my kindness to them with moderation, and not to show acontempt of the superstitious observances of other nations, but to keeptheir own laws only. And I will that this decree of mine be engravenon tables by the magistrates of the cities, and colonies, and municipalplaces, both those within Italy and those without it, both kings andgovernors, by the means of the ambassadors, and to have them exposed tothe public for full thirty days, in such a place whence it may plainlybe read from the ground. " [17] CHAPTER 6. What Things Were Done By Agrippa At Jerusalem When He WasReturned Back Into Judea; And What It Was That Petronius Wrote To TheInhabitants Of Doris, In Behalf. 1. Now Claudius Caesar, by these decrees of his which were sent toAlexandria, and to all the habitable earth, made known what opinion hehad of the Jews. So he soon sent Agrippa away to take his kingdom, nowhe was advanced to a more illustrious dignity than before, and sentletters to the presidents and procurators of the provinces that theyshould treat him very kindly. Accordingly, he returned in haste, as waslikely he would, now he returned in much greater prosperity than he hadbefore. He also came to Jerusalem, and offered all the sacrifices thatbelonged to him, and omitted nothing which the law required; [18] onwhich account he ordained that many of the Nazarites should have theirheads 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 beenbound, he hung it up within the limits of the temple, over the treasury, [19] 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 ademonstration how the greatest prosperity may have a fall, and that Godsometimes raises up what is fallen down: for this chain thus dedicatedafforded a document to all men, that king Agrippa had been once bound ina chain for a small cause, but recovered his former dignity again; anda little while afterward got out of his bonds, and was advanced to be amore illustrious king than he was before. Whence men may understand thatall that partake of human nature, how great soever they are, may fall;and that those that fall may gain their former illustrious dignityagain. 2. And when Agrippa had entirely finished all the duties of the Divineworship, he removed Theophilus, the son of Ananus, from the highpriesthood, and bestowed that honor of his on Simon the son of Boethus, whose name was also Cantheras whose daughter king Herod married, as Ihave related above. Simon, therefore, had the [high] priesthood with hisbrethren, and with his father, in like manner as the sons of Simon, theson of Onias, who were three, had it formerly under the government ofthe Macedonians, as we have related in a former book. 3. When the king had settled the high priesthood after this manner, hereturned the kindness which the inhabitants of Jerusalem had showed him;for he released them from the tax upon houses, every one of which paidit before, thinking it a good thing to requite the tender affection ofthose that loved him. He also made Silas the general of his forces, as aman who had partaken with him in many of his troubles. But after a verylittle while the young men of Doris, preferring a rash attempt beforepiety, and being naturally bold and insolent, carried a statue of Caesarinto a synagogue of the Jews, and erected it there. This procedureof theirs greatly provoked Agrippa; for it plainly tended to thedissolution of the laws of his country. So he came without delay toPublius Petronius, who was then president of Syria, and accused thepeople of Doris. Nor did he less resent what was done than did Agrippa;for he judged it a piece of impiety to transgress the laws that regulatethe actions of men. So he wrote the following letter to the peopleof Doris in an angry strain: "Publius Petronius, the president underTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, to the magistrates ofDoris, ordains as follows: Since some of you have had the boldness, ormadness rather, after the edict of Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicuswas published, for permitting the Jews to observe the laws of theircountry, not to obey the same, but have acted in entire oppositionthereto, as forbidding the Jews to assemble together in the synagogue, by removing Caesar's statue, and setting it up therein, and thereby haveoffended not only the Jews, but the emperor himself, whose statue ismore commodiously placed in his own temple than in a foreign one, whereis the place of assembling together; while it is but a part of naturaljustice, that every one should have the power over the place belongingpeculiarly to themselves, according to the determination of Caesar, --tosay nothing of my own determination, which it would be ridiculous tomention after the emperor's edict, which gives the Jews leave to makeuse of their own customs, as also gives order that they enjoy equallythe rights of citizens with the Greeks themselves, --I therefore ordainthat Proculus Vitellius, the centurion, bring those men to me, who, contrary to Augustus's edict, have been so insolent as to do this thing, at which those very men, who appear to be of principal reputation amongthem, have an indignation also, and allege for themselves, 'that it wasnot done with their consent, but by the violence of the multitude, that they may give an account of what hath been done. I also exhort theprincipal magistrates among them, unless they have a mind to have thisaction esteemed to be done with their consent, to inform the centurionof those that were guilty of it, and take care that no handle be hencetaken for raising a sedition or quarrel among them; which those seem tome to treat after who encourage such doings; while both I myself, andking Agrippa, for whom I have the highest honor, have nothing more underour care, than that the nation of the Jews may have no occasion giventhem of getting together, under the pretense of avenging themselves, andbecome tumultuous. And that it may be more publicly known what Augustushath resolved about this whole matter, I have subjoined those edictswhich he hath lately caused to be published at Alexandria, and which, although they may be well known to all, yet did king Agrippa, for whomI have the highest honor, read them at that time before my tribunal, and pleaded that the Jews ought not to be deprived of those rights whichAugustus hath granted them. I therefore charge you, that you do not, forthe time to come, seek for any occasion of sedition or disturbance, butthat every one be allowed to follow their own religious customs. " 4. Thus did Petronius take care of this matter, that such a breach ofthe law might be corrected, and that no such thing might be attemptedafterwards against the Jews. And now king Agrippa took the [high]priesthood away from Simon Cantheras, and put Jonathan, the son ofAnanus, into it again, and owned that he was more worthy of that dignitythan the other. But this was not a thing acceptable to him, to recoverthat his former dignity. So he refused it, and said, "O king! I rejoicein the honor that thou hast for me, and take it kindly that thou wouldstgive me such a dignity of thy own inclinations, although God hath judgedthat I am not at all worthy of the high priesthood. I am satisfied withhaving once put on the sacred garments; for I then put them on aftera more holy manner than I should now receive them again. But ifthou desirest that a person more worthy than myself should have thishonorable employment, give me leave to name thee such a one. I havea brother that is pure from all sin against God, and of all offensesagainst thyself; I recommend him to thee, as one that is fit for thisdignity. " So the king was pleased with these words of his, and passedby Jonathan, and, according to his brother's desire, bestowed thehigh priesthood upon Matthias. Nor was it long before Marcus succeededPetronius, as president of Syria. CHAPTER 7. Concerning Silas And On What Account It Was That King AgrippaWas Angry At Him. How Agrippa Began To Encompass Jerusalem With A Wall;And What Benefits He Bestowed On The Inhabitants Of Berytus. 1. Now Silas, the general of the king's horse, because he had beenfaithful to him under all his misfortunes, and had never refused to bea partaker with him in any of his dangers, but had oftentimes undergonethe most hazardous dangers for him, was full of assurance, and thoughthe might expect a sort of equality with the king, on account of thefirmness of the friendship he had showed to him. Accordingly, he wouldno where let the king sit as his superior, and took the like liberty inspeaking to him upon all occasions, till he became troublesome to theking, when they were merry together, extolling himself beyond measure, and oft putting the king in mind of the severity of fortune he hadundergone, that he might, by way of ostentation, demonstrate What zealhe had showed in his service; and was continually harping upon thisstring, what pains he had taken for him, and much enlarged still uponthat subject. The repetition of this so frequently seemed to reproachthe king, insomuch that he took this ungovernable liberty of talkingvery ill at his hands. For the commemoration of times when men have beenunder ignominy, is by no means agreeable to them; and he is a very sillyman who is perpetually relating to a person what kindness he had donehim. At last, therefore, Silas had so thoroughly provoked theking's indignation, that he acted rather out of passion than goodconsideration, and did not only turn Silas out of his place, as generalof his horse, but sent him in bonds into his own country. But the edgeof his anger wore off by length of time, and made room for more justreasonings as to his judgment about this man; and he considered how manylabors he had undergone for his sake. So when Agrippa was solemnizinghis birth-day, and he gave festival entertainments to all his subjects, he sent for Silas on the sudden to be his guest. But as he was a veryfrank man, he thought he had now a just handle given him to be angry;which he could not conceal from those that came for him, but said tothem, "What honor is this the king invites me to, which I conclude willsoon be over? For the king hath not let me keep those original marksof the good-will I bore him, which I once had from him; but he hathplundered me, and that unjustly also. Does he think that I can leave offthat liberty of speech, which, upon the consciousness of my deserts, Ishall use more loudly than before, and shall relate how many misfortunesI have been delivered from; how many labors I have undergone for him, whereby I procured him deliverance and respect; as a reward for whichI have borne the hardships of bonds and a dark prison? I shall neverforget this usage. Nay, perhaps, my very soul, when it is departed outof the body, will not forget the glorious actions I did on his account. "This was the clamor he made, and he ordered the messengers to tell itto the king. So he perceived that Silas was incurable in his folly, andstill suffered him to lie in prison. 2. As for the walls of Jerusalem, that were adjoining to the new city[Bezetha], he repaired them at the expense of the public, and builtthem wider in breadth, and higher in altitude; and he had made themtoo strong for all human power to demolish, unless Marcus, the thenpresident of Syria, had by letter informed Claudius Caesar of whathe was doing. And when Claudius had some suspicion of attempts forinnovation, he sent to Agrippa to leave off the building of thosewalls presently. So he obeyed, as not thinking it proper to contradictClaudius. 3. Now this king was by nature very beneficent and liberal in his gifts, and very ambitious to oblige people with such large donations; and hemade himself very illustrious by the many chargeable presents he madethem. He took delight in giving, and rejoiced in living with goodreputation. He was not at all like that Herod who reigned before him;for that Herod was ill-natured, and severe in his punishments, and hadno mercy on them that he hated; and every one perceived that he was morefriendly to the Greeks than to the Jews; for he adorned foreign citieswith large presents in money; with building them baths and theatresbesides; nay, in some of those places he erected temples, and porticoesin others; but he did not vouchsafe to raise one of the least edificesin 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 washumane to foreigners, and made them sensible of his liberality. He wasin like manner rather of a gentle and compassionate temper. Accordingly, he loved to live continually at Jerusalem, and was exactly careful inthe observance of the laws of his country. He therefore kept himselfentirely pure; nor did any day pass over his head without its appointedsacrifice. 4. However, there was a certain mall of the Jewish nation at Jerusalem, who appeared to be very accurate in the knowledge of the law. His namewas Simon. This man got together an assembly, while the king was absentat Cesarea, and had the insolence to accuse him as not living holily, and that he might justly be excluded out of the temple, since itbelonged only to native Jews. But the general of Agrippa's army informedhim that Simon had made such a speech to the people. So the king sentfor him; and as he was sitting in the theater, he bid him sit down byhim, and said to him with a low and gentle voice, "What is there done inthis place that is contrary to the law?" But he had nothing to say forhimself, but begged his pardon. So the king was more easily reconciledto him than one could have imagined, as esteeming mildness a betterquality in a king than anger, and knowing that moderation is morebecoming 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 peculiarregard to the people of Berytus; for he erected a theater for them, superior to many others of that sort, both in Sumptuousness andelegance, as also an amphitheater, built at vast expenses; and besidesthese, he built them baths and porticoes, and spared for no costs in anyof his edifices, to render them both handsome and large. He also spenta great deal upon their dedication, and exhibited shows upon them, and brought thither musicians of all sorts, and such as made themost delightful music of the greatest variety. He also showed hismagnificence upon the theater, in his great number of gladiators; andthere it was that he exhibited the several antagonists, in order toplease the spectators; no fewer indeed than seven hundred men to fightwith seven hundred other men [20] and allotted all the malefactors hehad for this exercise, that both the malefactors might receive theirpunishment, and that this operation of war might be a recreation inpeace. And thus were these criminals all destroyed at once. CHAPTER 8. What Other Acts Were Done By Agrippa Until His Death; AndAfter What Manner He Died. 1. When Agrippa had finished what I have above related at Berytus, heremoved to Tiberias, a city of Galilee. Now he was in great esteem amongother kings. Accordingly there came to him Antiochus, king of Commalena, Sampsigeratnus, king of Emesa, and Cotys, who was king of the LesserArmenia, and Polemo, who was king of Pontus, as also Herod hisbrother, who was king of Chalcis. All these he treated with agreeableentertainments, and after an obliging manner, and so as to exhibit thegreatness of his mind, and so as to appear worthy of those respectswhich the kings paid to him, by coming thus to see him. However, while these kings staid with him, Marcus, the president of Syria, camethither. So the king, in order to preserve the respect that was due tothe 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 andMarcus; for he took with him in his chariot those other kings as hisassessors. But Marcus had a suspicion what the meaning could be of sogreat a friendship of these kings one with another, and did not think soclose an agreement of so many potentates to be for the interest of theRomans. He therefore sent some of his domestics to every one of them, and enjoined them to go their ways home without further delay. This wasvery ill taken by Agrippa, who after that became his enemy. And now hetook the high priesthood away from Matthias, and made Elioneus, the sonof Cantheras, high priest in his stead. 2. Now when Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea, he came tothe city Cesarea, which was formerly called Strato's Tower; and there heexhibited shows in honor of Caesar, upon his being informed that therewas a certain festival celebrated to make vows for his safety. At whichfestival a great multitude was gotten together of the principal persons, and such as were of dignity through his province. On the second dayof which shows he put on a garment made wholly of silver, and of acontexture truly wonderful, and came into the theater early in themorning; at which time the silver of his garment being illuminatedby the fresh reflection of the sun's rays upon it, shone out after asurprising manner, and was so resplendent as to spread a horror overthose that looked intently upon him; and presently his flatterers criedout, one from one place, and another from another, [though not for hisgood, ] that he was a god; and they added, "Be thou merciful to us; foralthough we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall wehenceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature. " Upon this the kingdid neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery. But as hepresently afterward looked up, he saw an owl [21] sitting on a certainrope over his head, and immediately understood that this bird was themessenger of ill tidings, as it had once been the messenger of goodtidings to him; and fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain alsoarose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. He thereforelooked upon his friends, and said, "I, whom you call a god, am commandedpresently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lyingwords you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept ofwhat Providence allots, as it pleases God; for we have by no means livedill, but in a splendid and happy manner. " When he said this, his painwas become violent. Accordingly he was carried into the palace, and therumor went abroad every where, that he would certainly die in a littletime. But the multitude presently sat in sackcloth, with their wivesand children, after the law of their country, and besought God for theking's recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them below lyingprostrate on the ground, he could not himself forbear weeping. And whenhe had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, hedeparted this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and inthe seventh year of his reign; for he reigned four years under CaiusCaesar, three of them were over Philip's tetrarchy only, and on thefourth he had that of Herod added to it; and he reigned, besides those, three years under the reign of Claudius Caesar; in which time he reignedover the forementioned countries, and also had Judea added to them, aswell as Samaria and Cesarea. The revenues that he received out of themwere very great, no less than twelve millions of drachme. [22] Yet didhe borrow great sums from others; for he was so very liberal that hisexpenses exceeded his incomes, and his generosity was boundless. [23] 3. But before the multitude were made acquainted with Agrippa's beingexpired, Herod the king of Chalcis, and Helcias the master of his horse, and the king's friend, sent Aristo, one of the king's most faithfulservants, and slew Silas, who had been their enemy, as if it had beendone by the king's own command. CHAPTER 9. What Things Were Done After The Death Of Agrippa; And HowClaudius, On Account Of The Youth And Unskilfulness Of Agrippa, Junior, Sent Cuspius Fadus To Be Procurator Of Judea, And Of The Entire Kingdom. 1. And thus did king Agrippa depart this life. But he left behind hima son, Agrippa by name, a youth in the seventeenth year of his age, and three daughters; one of which, Bernice, was married to Herod, hisfather's brother, and was sixteen years old; the other two, Mariamne andDrusilla, were still virgins; the former was ten years old, and Drusillasix. Now these his daughters were thus espoused by their father;Marlatone to Julius Archclaus Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus, the sonof Chelcias; and Drusilla to the king of Commagena. But when it wasknown that Agrippa was departed this life, the inhabitants of Cesareaand of Sebaste forgot the kindnesses he had bestowed on them, and actedthe part of the bitterest enemies; for they cast such reproaches uponthe deceased as are not fit to be spoken of; and so many of them as werethen soldiers, which were a great number, went to his house, and hastilycarried off the statues [24] of this king's daughters, and all at oncecarried them into the brothel-houses, and when they had set them on thetops 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 alsolaid themselves down in public places, and celebrated general feastings, with garlands on their heads, and with ointments and libations toCharon, and drinking to one another for joy that the king was expired. Nay, they were not only unmindful of Agrippa, who had extended hisliberality to them in abundance, but of his grandfather Herod also, whohad himself rebuilt their cities, and had raised them havens and templesat vast expenses. 2. Now Agrippa, the son of the deceased, was at Rome, and brought upwith Claudius Caesar. And when Caesar was informed that Agrippa wasdead, and that the inhabitants of Sebaste and Cesarea had abused him, hewas sorry for the first news, and was displeased with the ingratitudeof those cities. He was therefore disposed to send Agrippa, junior, away presently to succeed his father in the kingdom, and was willing toconfirm him in it by his oath. But those freed-men and friends of his, who had the greatest authority with him, dissuaded him from it, and saidthat it was a dangerous experiment to permit so large a kingdom to comeunder the government of so very young a man, and one hardly yet arrivedat years of discretion, who would not be able to take sufficient care ofits administration; while the weight of a kingdom is heavy enough toa grown man. So Caesar thought what they said to be reasonable. Accordingly he sent Cuspins Fadus to be procurator of Judea, and of theentire kingdom, and paid that respect to the eceased as not to introduceMarcus, who had been at variance with him, into his kingdom. But hedetermined, in the first place, to send orders to Fadus, that he shouldchastise the inhabitants of Caesarea and Sebaste for those abuses theyhad offered to him that was deceased, and their madness towards hisdaughters that were still alive; and that he should remove that body ofsoldiers that were at Cesarea and Sebaste, with the five regiments, intoPontus, that they might do their military duty there; and that he shouldchoose an equal number of soldiers out of the Roman legions that werein Syria, to supply their place. Yet were not those that had such ordersactually removed; for by sending ambassadors to Claudius, they mollifiedhim, and got leave to abide in Judea still; and these were the verymen that became the source of very great calamities to the Jews inafter-times, and sowed the seeds of that war which began under Florus;whence it was that when Vespasian had subdued the country, he removedthem out of his province, as we shall relate hereafter. BOOK XX. Containing The Interval Of Twenty-Two Years. From Fadus The Procurator To Florus. CHAPTER 1. A Sedition Of The Philadelphians Against The Jews; And AlsoConcerning The Vestments Of The High Priest. 1. Upon the death of king Agrippa, which we have related in theforegoing book, Claudius Caesar sent Cassius Longinus as successorto Marcus, out of regard to the memory of king Agrippa, who had oftendesired of him by letters, while he was alive, that he would not sufferMarcus to be any longer president of Syria. But Fadus, as soon as he wascome procurator into Judea, found quarrelsome doings between theJews that dwelt in Perea, and the people of Philadelphia, about theirborders, at a village called Mia, that was filled with men of a warliketemper; for the Jews of Perea had taken up arms without the consent oftheir principal men, and had destroyed many of the Philadelphians. WhenFadus was informed of this procedure, it provoked him very much thatthey had not left the determination of the matter to him, if theythought that the Philadelphians had done them any wrong, but had rashlytaken up arms against them. So he seized upon three of their principalmen, who were also the causes of this sedition, and ordered them to bebound, and afterwards had one of them slain, whose name was Hannibal;and he banished the other two, Areram and Eleazar. Tholomy also, thearch robber, was, after some time, brought to him bound, and slain, butnot till he had done a world of mischief to Idumea and the Arabians. Andindeed, from that time, Judea was cleared of robberies by the care andprovidence of Fadus. He also at this time sent for the high priestsand the principal citizens of Jerusalem, and this at the command of theemperor, and admonished them that they should lay up the long garmentand the sacred vestment, which it is customary for nobody but the highpriest to wear, in the tower of Antonia, that it might be under thepower of the Romans, as it had been formerly. Now the Jews durst notcontradict what he had said, but desired Fadus, however, and Longinus, [which last was come to Jerusalem, and had brought a great army withhim, out of a fear that the [rigid] injunctions of Fadus should forcethe Jews to rebel, ] that they might, in the first place, have leave tosend ambassadors to Caesar, to petition him that they may have the holyvestments under their own power; and that, in the next place, theywould tarry till they knew what answer Claudius would give to that theirrequest. So they replied, that they would give them leave to send theirambassadors, provided they would give them their sons as pledges [fortheir peaceable behavior]. And when they had agreed so to do, andhad given them the pledges they desired, the ambassadors were sentaccordingly. But when, upon their coming to Rome, Agrippa, junior, theson of the deceased, understood the reason why they came, [for he dweltwith Claudius Caesar, as we said before, ] he besought Caesar to grantthe Jews their request about the holy vestments, and to send a messageto Fadus accordingly. 2. Hereupon Claudius called for the ambassadors; and told them that hegranted their request; and bade them to return their thanks to Agrippafor this favor, which had been bestowed on them upon his entreaty. Andbesides these answers of his, he sent the following letter by them:"Claudius Caesar Germanicus, tribune of the people the fifth time, and designed consul the fourth time, and imperator the tenth time, thefather of his country, to the magistrates, senate, and people, and thewhole nation of the Jews, sendeth greeting. Upon the presentation ofyour 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 arecome to give me thanks for the care I have taken of your nation, and toentreat me, in an earnest and obliging manner, that they may have theholy vestments, with the crown belonging to them, under their power, --Igrant their request, as that excellent person Vitellius, who is verydear to me, had done before me. And I have complied with your desire, in the first place, out of regard to that piety which I profess, andbecause I would have every one worship God according to the laws oftheir own country; and this I do also because I shall hereby highlygratify king Herod, and Agrippa, junior, whose sacred regards to me, and earnest good-will to you, I am well acquainted with, and with whomI have the greatest friendship, and whom I highly esteem, and look on aspersons of the best character. Now I have written about these affairsto Cuspius Fadus, my procurator. The names of those that brought meyour letter are Cornelius, the son of Cero, Trypho, the son of Theudio, Dorotheus, the son of Nathaniel, and John, the son of Jotre. This letteris dated before the fourth of the calends of July, when Ruffis andPompeius Sylvanus are consuls. " 3. Herod also, the brother of the deceased Agrippa, who was thenpossessed of the royal authority over Chalcis, petitioned ClaudiusCaesar for the authority over the temple, and the money of the sacredtreasure, and the choice of the high priests, and obtained all that hepetitioned for. So that after that time this authority continued amongall his descendants till the end of the war [1] Accordingly, Herodremoved the last high priest, called Cimtheras, and bestowed thatdignity on his successor Joseph, the son of Cantos. CHAPTER 2. How Helena The Queen Of Adiabene And Her Son Izates, EmbracedThe Jewish Religion; And How Helena Supplied The Poor With Corn, WhenThere Was A Great Famine At Jerusalem. 1. About this time it was that Helena, queen of Adiabene, and her sonIzates, changed their course of life, and embraced the Jewish customs, and this on the occasion following: Monobazus, the king of Adiabene, whohad also the name of Bazeus, fell in love with his sister Helena, andtook her to be his wife, and begat her with child. But as he was in bedwith her one night, he laid his hand upon his wife's belly, and fellasleep, and seemed to hear a voice, which bid him take his hand off hiswife's belly, and not hurt the infant that was therein, which, by God'sprovidence, would be safely born, and have a happy end. This voice puthim into disorder; so he awaked immediately, and told the story to hiswife; and when his son was born, he called him Izates. He had indeedMonobazus, his elder brother, by Helena also, as he had other sons byother wives besides. Yet did he openly place all his affections on thishis only begotten [2] son Izates, which was the origin of that envywhich his other brethren, by the same father, bore to him; while onthis account they hated him more and more, and were all under greataffliction that their father should prefer Izates before them. Nowalthough their father was very sensible of these their passions, yetdid he forgive them, as not indulging those passions out of an illdisposition, but out of a desire each of them had to be beloved by theirfather. However, he sent Izates, with many presents, to Abennerig, theking of Charax-Spasini, and that out of the great dread he was in abouthim, lest he should come to some misfortune by the hatred his brethrenbore him; and he committed his son's preservation to him. Upon whichAbennerig gladly received the young man, and had a great affection forhim, and married him to his own daughter, whose name was Samacha: healso bestowed a country upon him, from which he received large revenues. 2. But when Monobazus was grown old, and saw that he had but a littletime to live, he had a mind to come to the sight of his son before hedied. So he sent for him, and embraced him after the most affectionatemanner, and bestowed on him the country called Carra; it was a soil thatbare amomum in great plenty: there are also in it the remains of thatark, wherein it is related that Noah escaped the deluge, and where theyare still shown to such as are desirous to see them. [3] Accordingly, Izates abode in that country until his father's death. But the veryday that Monobazus died, queen Helena sent for all the grandees, andgovernors of the kingdom, and for those that had the armies committed totheir command; and when they were come, she made the following speech tothem: "I believe you are not unacquainted that my husband was desirousIzates should succeed him in the government, and thought him worthy soto do. However, I wait your determination; for happy is he who receivesa kingdom, not from a single person only, but from the willing suffragesof a great many. " This she said, in order to try those that wereinvited, and to discover their sentiments. Upon the hearing of which, they first of all paid their homage to the queen, as their custom was, and then they said that they confirmed the king's determination, andwould submit to it; and they rejoiced that Izates's father had preferredhim before the rest of his brethren, as being agreeable to all theirwishes: but that they were desirous first of all to slay his brethrenand kinsmen, that so the government might come securely to Izates;because if they were once destroyed, all that fear would be over whichmight arise from their hatred and envy to him. Helena replied to this, that she returned them her thanks for their kindness to herself and toIzates; but desired that they would however defer the execution of thisslaughter of Izates's brethren till he should be there himself, and givehis approbation to it. So since these men had not prevailed with her, when they advised her to slay them, they exhorted her at least to keepthem in bonds till he should come, and that for their own security; theyalso gave her counsel to set up some one whom she could put the greatesttrust in, as a governor of the kingdom in the mean time. So queen Helenacomplied with this counsel of theirs, and set up Monobazus, the eldestson, to be king, and put the diadem upon his head, and gave him hisfather's ring, with its signet; as also the ornament which they callSampser, and exhorted him to administer the affairs of the kingdom tillhis brother should come; who came suddenly upon hearing that his fatherwas dead, and succeeded his brother Monobazus, who resigned up thegovernment to him. 3. Now, during the time Izates abode at Charax-Spasini, a certain Jewishmerchant, whose name was Ananias, got among the women that belongedto the king, and taught them to worship God according to the Jewishreligion. He, moreover, by their means, became known to Izates, andpersuaded him, in like manner, to embrace that religion; he also, at theearnest entreaty of Izates, accompanied him when he was sent for by hisfather to come to Adiabene; it also happened that Helena, about the sametime, was instructed by a certain other Jew and went over to them. Butwhen Izates had taken the kingdom, and was come to Adiabene, and theresaw 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 imprisonthem, but still thought it a hazardous thing for to let them have theirliberty, with the remembrance of the injuries that had been offeredthem, he sent some of them and their children for hostages to Rome, toClaudius Caesar, 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 theJewish customs, he made haste to change, and to embrace them entirely;and as he supposed that he could not be thoroughly a Jew unless hewere circumcised, he was ready to have it done. But when his motherunderstood what he was about, she endeavored to hinder him from doingit, and said to him that this thing would bring him into danger; andthat, as he was a king, he would thereby bring himself into great odiumamong his subjects, when they should understand that he was so fond ofrites that were to them strange and foreign; and that they would neverbear to be ruled over by a Jew. This it was that she said to him, andfor the present persuaded him to forbear. And when he had related whatshe had said to Ananias, he confirmed what his mother had said; and whenhe had also threatened to leave him, unless he complied with him, hewent away from him, and said that he was afraid lest such an actionbeing once become public to all, he should himself be in danger ofpunishment for having been the occasion of it, and having been theking's instructor in actions that were of ill reputation; and he saidthat he might worship God without being circumcised, even though he didresolve to follow the Jewish law entirely, which worship of God was ofa superior nature to circumcision. He added, that God would forgive him, though he did not perform the operation, while it was omitted outof necessity, and for fear of his subjects. So the king at that timecomplied with these persuasions of Ananias. But afterwards, as he hadnot quite left off his desire of doing this thing, a certain other Jewthat came out of Galilee, whose name was Eleazar, and who was esteemedvery skillful in the learning of his country, persuaded him to do thething; for as he entered into his palace to salute him, and found himreading the law of Moses, he said to him, "Thou dost not consider, Oking! that thou unjustly breakest the principal of those laws, and artinjurious to God himself, [by omitting to be circumcised]; for thououghtest not only to read them, but chiefly to practice what they enjointhee. How long wilt thou continue uncircumcised? But if thou hast notyet read the law about circumcision, and dost not know how great impietythou art guilty of by neglecting it, read it now. " When the king hadheard what he said, he delayed the thing no longer, but retired toanother room, and sent for a surgeon, and did what he was commanded todo. He then sent for his mother, and Ananias his tutor, and informedthem that he had done the thing; upon which they were presently struckwith astonishment and fear, and that to a great degree, lest the thingshould be openly discovered and censured, and the king should hazard theloss of his kingdom, while his subjects would not bear to be governedby a man who was so zealous in another religion; and lest they shouldthemselves run some hazard, because they would be supposed the occasionof his so doing. But it was God himself who hindered what they fearedfrom taking effect; for he preserved both Izates himself and his sonswhen they fell into many dangers, and procured their deliverance whenit seemed to be impossible, and demonstrated thereby that the fruit ofpiety does not perish as to those that have regard to him, and fix theirfaith upon him only. [4] But these events we shall relate hereafter. 5. But as to Helena, the king's mother, when she saw that the affairsof Izates's kingdom were in peace, and that her son was a happy man, andadmired among all men, and even among foreigners, by the means of God'sprovidence over him, she had a mind to go to the city of Jerusalem, inorder to worship at that temple of God which was so very famous amongall men, and to offer her thank-offerings there. So she desired her sonto give her leave to go thither; upon which he gave his consent towhat she desired very willingly, and made great preparations for herdismission, and gave her a great deal of money, and she went down to thecity Jerusalem, her son conducting her on her journey a great way. Nowher coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem; forwhereas a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people diedfor want of what was necessary to procure food withal, queen Helena sentsome of her servants to Alexandria with money to buy a great quantity ofcorn, and others of them to Cyprus, to bring a cargo of dried figs. Andas soon as they were come back, and had brought those provisions, whichwas done very quickly, she distributed food to those that were inwant of it, and left a most excellent memorial behind her of thisbenefaction, which she bestowed on our whole nation. And when her sonIzates was informed of this famine, [5] he sent great sums of money tothe principal men in Jerusalem. However, what favors this queen and kingconferred upon our city Jerusalem shall be further related hereafter. CHAPTER 3. How Artabanus, the King of Parthia out of Fear of the SecretContrivances of His Subjects Against Him, Went to Izates, and Was By HimReinstated in His Government; as Also How Bardanes His Son Denounced WarAgainst Izates. 1. But now Artabanus, king of the Parthians perceiving that thegovernors of the provinces had framed a plot against him, did not thinkit safe for him to continue among them; but resolved to go to Izates, in hopes of finding some way for his preservation by his means, and, ifpossible, for his return to his own dominions. So he came to Izates, and brought a thousand of his kindred and servants with him, and met himupon the road, while he well knew Izates, but Izates did not know him. When Artabanus stood near him, and, in the first place, worshippedhim, according to the custom, he then said to him, "O king! do not thouoverlook me thy servant, nor do thou proudly reject the suit I makethee; for as I am reduced to a low estate, by the change of fortune, andof a king am become a private man, I stand in need of thy assistance. Have regard, therefore, unto the uncertainty of fortune, and esteemthe care thou shalt take of me to be taken of thyself also; for if I beneglected, and my subjects go off unpunished, many other subjects willbecome the more insolent towards other kings also. " And this speechArtabanus made with tears in his eyes, and with a dejected countenance. Now as soon as Izates heard Artabanus's name, and saw him stand as asupplicant before him, he leaped down from his horse immediately, andsaid to him, "Take courage, O king! nor be disturbed at thy presentcalamity, as if it were incurable; for the change of thy sad conditionshall be sudden; for thou shalt find me to be more thy friend andthy assistant than thy hopes can promise thee; for I will eitherre-establish thee in the kingdom of Parthia, or lose my own. " 2. When he had said this, he set Artabanus upon his horse, and followedhim on foot, in honor of a king whom he owned as greater than himself;which, when Artabanus saw, he was very uneasy at it, and sware by hispresent fortune and honor that he would get down from his horse, unlessIzates would get upon his horse again, and go before him. So he compliedwith his desire, and leaped upon his horse; and when he had brought himto his royal palace, he showed him all sorts of respect when theysat together, and he gave him the upper place at festivals also, asregarding not his present fortune, but his former dignity, and that uponthis consideration also, that the changes of fortune are common toall men. He also wrote to the Parthians, to persuade them to receiveArtabanus again; and gave them his right hand and his faith, that heshould forget what was past and done, and that he would undertake forthis as a mediator between them. Now the Parthians did not themselvesrefuse to receive him again, but pleaded that it was not now in theirpower so to do, because they had committed the government to anotherperson, who had accepted of it, and whose name was Cinnamus; and thatthey were afraid lest a civil war should arise on this account. WhenCinnamus understood their intentions, he wrote to Artabanus himself, forhe had been brought up by him, and was of a nature good and gentle also, and desired him to put confidence in him, and to come and take his owndominions again. Accordingly, Artabanus trusted him, and returned home;when Cinnamus met him, worshipped him, and saluted him as a king, andtook the diadem off his own head, and put it on the head of Artabanus. 3. And thus was Artahanus restored to his kingdom again by the means ofIzates, 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, butrewarded him with such honors as were of the greatest esteem among them;for he gave him leave to wear his tiara upright, [6] and to sleep upona golden bed, which are privileges and marks of honor peculiar to thekings of Parthia. He also cut off a large and fruitful country from theking of Armenia, and bestowed it upon him. The name of the country isNisibis, wherein the Macedonians had formerly built that city which theycalled Antioch of Mygodonla. And these were the honors that were paidIzates by the king of the Parthians. 4. But in no long time Artabanus died, and left his kingdom to his sonBardanes. Now this Bardanes came to Izates, and would have persuaded himto join him with his army, and to assist him in the war he was preparingto make with the Romans; but he could not prevail with him. For Izatesso well knew the strength and good fortune of the Romans, that he tookBardanes to attempt what was impossible to be done; and having besidessent his sons, five in number, and they but young also, to learnaccurately the language of our nation, together with our learning, aswell as he had sent his mother to worship at our temple, as I have saidalready, was the more backward to a compliance; and restrained Bardanes, telling him perpetually of the great armies and famous actions of theRomans, and thought thereby to terrify him, and desired thereby tohinder him from that expedition. But the Parthian king was provoked atthis his behavior, and denounced war immediately against Izates. Yetdid he gain no advantage by this war, because God cut off all his hopestherein; for the Parthians perceiving Bardanes's intentions, and howhe had determined to make war with the Romans, slew him, and gave hiskingdom to his brother Gotarzes. He also, in no long time, perished bya plot made against him, and Vologases, his brother, succeeded him, who committed two of his provinces to two of his brothers by the samefather; that of the Medes to the elder, Pacorus; and Armenia to theyounger, Tiridates. CHAPTER 4. How Izates Was Betrayed By His Own Subjects, And FoughtAgainst By The Arabians And How Izates, By The Providence Of God, WasDelivered Out Of Their Hands. 1. Now when the king's brother, Monobazus, and his other kindred, sawhow 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 toembrace the customs of the Jews; but that act of theirs was discoveredby Izates's subjects. Whereupon the grandees were much displeased, andcould not contain their anger at them; but had an intention, when theyshould find a proper opportunity, to inflict a punishment upon them. Accordingly, they wrote to Abia, king of the Arabians, and promised himgreat sums of money, if he would make an expedition against their king;and they further promised him, that, on the first onset, they woulddesert their king, because they were desirous to punish him, by reasonof the hatred he had to their religious worship; then they obligedthemselves, by oaths, to be faithful to each other, and desired that hewould make haste in this design. The king of Arabia complied with theirdesires, and brought a great army into the field, and marched againstIzates; and, in the beginning of the first onset, and before they cameto a close fight, those Handees, as if they had a panic terror uponthem, all deserted Izates, as they had agreed to do, and, turning theirbacks upon their enemies, ran away. Yet was not Izates dismayed atthis; but when he understood that the grandees had betrayed him, he alsoretired into his camp, and made inquiry into the matter; and as soon ashe knew who they were that made this conspiracy with the king of Arabia, he cut off those that were found guilty; and renewing the fight on thenext day, he slew the greatest part of his enemies, and forced all therest to betake themselves to flight. He also pursued their king, anddrove him into a fortress called Arsamus, and following on the siegevigorously, he took that fortress. And when he had plundered it of allthe prey that was in it, which was not small, he returned to Adiabene;yet did not he take Abia alive, because, when he found himselfencompassed on every side, he slew himself. 2. But although the grandees of Adiabene had failed in their firstattempt, as being delivered up by God into their king's hands, yet wouldthey not even then be quiet, but wrote again to Vologases, who was thenking of Parthia, and desired that he would kill Izates, and set overthem some other potentate, who should be of a Parthian family; for theysaid that they hated their own king for abrogating the laws of theirforefathers, and embracing foreign customs. When the king of Parthiaheard this, he boldly made war upon Izates; and as he had no justpretense for this war, he sent to him, and demanded back those honorableprivileges which had been bestowed on him by his father, and threatened, on his refusal, to make war upon him. Upon hearing of this, Izates wasunder no small trouble of mind, as thinking it would be a reproach uponhim to appear to resign those privileges that had been bestowed upon himout of cowardice; yet because he knew, that though the king of Parthiashould receive back those honors, yet would he not be quiet, he resolvedto commit himself to God, his Protector, in the present danger he wasin of his life; and as he esteemed him to be his principal assistant, heintrusted his children and his wives to a very strong fortress, and laidup his corn in his citadels, and set the hay and the grass on fire. Andwhen he had thus put things in order, as well as he could, he awaitedthe coming of the enemy. And when the king of Parthia was come, witha great army of footmen and horsemen, which he did sooner than wasexpected, [for he marched in great haste, ] and had cast up a bank at theriver that parted Adiabene from Media, --Izates also pitched his campnot far off, having with him six thousand horsemen. But there came amessenger to Izates, sent by the king of Parthia, who told him how largehis dominions were, as reaching from the river Euphrates to Bactria, andenumerated that king's subjects; he also threatened him that he shouldbe punished, as a person ungrateful to his lords; and said that the Godwhom he worshipped could not deliver him out of the king's hands. Whenthe messenger had delivered this his message, Izates replied that heknew the king of Parthia's power was much greater than his own; but thathe knew also that God was much more powerful than all men. And when hehad returned him this answer, he betook himself to make supplication toGod, and threw himself upon the ground, and put ashes upon his head, in testimony of his confusion, and fasted, together with his wives andchildren. [7] Then he called upon God, and said, "O Lord and Governor, if I have not in vain committed myself to thy goodness, but have justlydetermined that thou only art the Lord and principal of all beings, comenow to my assistance, and defend me from my enemies, not only on my ownaccount, but on account of their insolent behavior with regard to thypower, while they have not feared to lift up their proud and arroganttongue against thee. " Thus did he lament and bemoan himself, with tearsin his eyes; whereupon God heard his prayer. And immediately that verynight Vologases received letters, the contents of which were these, thata great band of Dahe and Sacse, despising him, now he was gone so longa journey from home, had made an expedition, and laid Parthis waste; sothat he [was forced to] retire back, without doing any thing. And thusit was that Izates escaped the threatenings of the Parthians, by theprovidence of God. 3. It was not long ere Izates died, when he had completed fifty-fiveyears of his life, and had ruled his kingdom twenty-four years. He leftbehind him twenty-four sons and twenty-four daughters. However, hegave order that his brother Monobazus should succeed in the government, thereby requiting him, because, while he was himself absent after theirfather's death, he had faithfully preserved the government for him. But when Helena, his mother, heard of her son's death, she was in greatheaviness, 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 hereldest son. Accordingly, she went to him in haste; and when she was comeinto Adiabene, she did not long outlive her son Izates. But Monobazussent her bones, as well as those of Izates, his brother, to Jerusalem, and gave order that they should be buried at the pyramids [8] whichtheir mother had erected; they were three in number, and distant nomore than three furlongs from the city Jerusalem. But for the actionsof Monobazus the king, which he did during the rest of his life, we willrelate them hereafter. CHAPTER 5. Concerning Theudas And The Sons Of Judas The Galilean; AsAlso What Calamity Fell Upon The Jews On The Day Of The Passover. 1. Now it came to pass, while Fadus was procurator of Judea, that acertain magician, whose name was Theudas, [9] persuaded a great part ofthe people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the riverJordan; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his owncommand, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it; andmany were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them tomake any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen outagainst them; who, falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, and cut offhis head, and carried it to Jerusalem. This was what befell the Jews inthe time of Cuspius Fadus's government. 2. Then came Tiberius Alexander as successor to Fadus; he was the sonof Alexander the alabarch of Alexandria, which Alexander was a principalperson among all his contemporaries, both for his family and wealth: hewas also more eminent for his piety than this his son Alexander, for hedid not continue in the religion of his country. Under these procuratorsthat great famine happened in Judea, in which queen Helena bought cornin Egypt at a great expense, and distributed it to those that were inwant, as I have related already. And besides this, the sons of Judas ofGalilee were now slain; I mean of that Judas who caused the people torevolt, when Cyrenius came to take an account of the estates of theJews, as we have showed in a foregoing book. The names of those sonswere James and Simon, whom Alexander commanded to be crucified. But nowHerod, king of Chalcis, removed Joseph, the son of Camydus, from thehigh priesthood, and made Ananias, the son of Nebedeu, his successor. And now it was that Cumanus came as successor to Tiberius Alexander; asalso that Herod, brother of Agrippa the great king, departed this life, in the eighth year of the reign of Claudius Caesar. He left behindhim three sons; Aristobulus, whom he had by his first wife, withBernicianus, and Hyrcanus, both whom he had by Bernice his brother'sdaughter. But Claudius Caesar bestowed his dominions on Agrippa, junior. 3. Now while the Jewish affairs were under the administration ofCureanus, there happened a great tumult at the city of Jerusalem, and many of the Jews perished therein. But I shall first explain theoccasion whence it was derived. When that feast which is called thepassover was at hand, at which time our custom is to use unleavenedbread, and a great multitude was gathered together from all parts tothat feast, Cumanus was afraid lest some attempt of innovation shouldthen be made by them; so he ordered that one regiment of the army shouldtake their arms, and stand in the temple cloisters, to repress anyattempts of innovation, if perchance any such should begin; and this wasno 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 hisbreeches, and exposed his privy members to the multitude, which putthose that saw him into a furious rage, and made them cry out that thisimpious action was not done to approach them, but God himself; nay, someof them reproached Cumanus, and pretended that the soldier was set onby him, which, when Cumanus heard, he was also himself not a littleprovoked at such reproaches laid upon him; yet did he exhort them toleave off such seditious attempts, and not to raise a tumult at thefestival. But when he could not induce them to be quiet for they stillwent on in their reproaches to him, he gave order that the wholearmy should take their entire armor, and come to Antonia, which was afortress, as we have said already, which overlooked the temple; but whenthe multitude saw the soldiers there, they were affrighted at them, andran away hastily; but as the passages out were but narrow, and as theythought their enemies followed them, they were crowded together intheir flight, and a great number were pressed to death in those narrowpassages; nor indeed was the number fewer than twenty thousand thatperished in this tumult. So instead of a festival, they had at lasta mournful day of it; and they all of them forgot their prayers andsacrifices, and betook themselves to lamentation and weeping; so greatan affliction did the impudent obsceneness of a single soldier bringupon them. [10] 4. Now before this their first mourning was over, another mischiefbefell them also; for some of those that raised the foregoing tumult, when they were traveling along the public road, about a hundredfurlongs from the city, robbed Stephanus, a servant of Caesar, as he wasjourneying, and plundered him of all that he had with him; which thingswhen Cureanus heard of, he sent soldiers immediately, and ordered themto plunder the neighboring villages, and to bring the most eminentpersons among them in bonds to him. Now as this devastation was making, one of the soldiers seized the laws of Moses that lay in one of thosevillages, and brought them out before the eyes of all present, and torethem to pieces; and this was done with reproachful language, and muchscurrility; which things when the Jews heard of, they ran together, andthat 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 anylonger, if the laws of their forefathers must be affronted after thismanner. Accordingly Cumanus, out of fear lest the multitude should gointo a sedition, and by the advice of his friends also, took care thatthe 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 asecond time. CHAPTER 6. How There Happened A Quarrel Between The Jews And TheSamaritans; And How Claudius Put An End To Their Differences. 1. Now there arose a quarrel between the Samaritans and the Jews on theoccasion following: It was the custom of the Galileans, when they cameto the holy city at the festivals, to take their journeys through thecountry of the Samaritans; [11] and at this time there lay, in the roadthey took, a village that was called Ginea, which was situated in thelimits of Samaria and the great plain, where certain persons theretobelonging fought with the Galileans, and killed a great many of them. But when the principal of the Galileans were informed of what had beendone, they came to Cumanus, and desired him to avenge the murder ofthose that were killed; but he was induced by the Samaritans, withmoney, to do nothing in the matter; upon which the Galileans were muchdispleased, and persuaded the multitude of the Jews to betake themselvesto arms, and to regain their liberty, saying that slavery was in itselfa bitter thing, but that when it was joined with direct injuries, it wasperfectly intolerable, And when their principal men endeavored to pacifythem, and promised to endeavor to persuade Cureanus to avenge those thatwere killed, they would not hearken to them, but took their weapons, andentreated the assistance of Eleazar, the son of Dineus, a robber, whohad many years made his abode in the mountains, with which assistancethey plundered many villages of the Samaritans. When Cumanus heard ofthis action of theirs, he took the band of Sebaste, with four regimentsof 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 themalive; whereupon those that were the most eminent persons at Jerusalem, and that both in regard to the respect that was paid them, and thefamilies they were of, as soon as they saw to what a height things weregone, put on sackcloth, and heaped ashes upon their heads, and by allpossible means besought the seditious, and persuaded them that theywould set before their eyes the utter subversion of their country, theconflagration of their temple, and the slavery of themselves, theirwives, and children, [12] which would be the consequences of what theywere doing; and would alter their minds, would cast away their weapons, and for the future be quiet, and return to their own homes. Thesepersuasions of theirs prevailed upon them. So the people dispersedthemselves, 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, thepresident of Syria, who at that time was at Tyre, and accused the Jewsof setting their villages on fire, and plundering them; and said withal, that they were not so much displeased at what they had suffered, asthey were at the contempt thereby showed the Romans; while if they hadreceived any injury, they ought to have made them the judges of what hadbeen done, and not presently to make such devastation, as if they hadnot the Romans for their governors; on which account they came to him, in order to obtain that vengeance they wanted. This was the accusationwhich the Samaritans brought against the Jews. But the Jews affirmedthat the Samaritans were the authors of this tumult and fighting, andthat, in the first place, Cumanus had been corrupted by their gifts, and passed over the murder of those that were slain in silence;--whichallegations 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 exact knowledge of the truth of that matter. Sothese men went away without success. Yet was it not long ere Quadratuscame to Samaria, where, upon hearing the cause, he supposed thatthe Samaritans were the authors of that disturbance. But when he wasinformed that certain of the Jews were making innovations, he orderedthose to be crucified whom Cumanus had taken captives. From whence hecame to a certain village called Lydda, which was not less than a cityin largeness, and there heard the Samaritan cause a second time beforehis tribunal, and there learned from a certain Samaritan that one of thechief of the Jews, whose name was Dortus, and some other innovatorswith him, four in number, persuaded the multitude to a revolt from theRomans; whom Quadratus ordered to be put to death: but still he sentaway 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 ClaudiusCaesar. He also ordered the principal men, both of the Samaritans and ofthe Jews, as also Cumanus the procurator, and Ceier the tribune, to goto Italy to the emperor, that he might hear their cause, and determinetheir differences one with another. But he came again to the city ofJerusalem, out of his fear that the multitude of the Jews should attemptsome innovations; but he found the city in a peaceable state, andcelebrating one of the usual festivals of their country to God. So hebelieved that they would not attempt any innovations, and left them atthe celebration of the festival, and returned to Antioch. 3. Now Cumanus, and the principal of the Samaritans, who were sent toRome, had a day appointed them by the emperor whereon they were to havepleaded their cause about the quarrels they had one with another. Butnow Caesar's freed-men and his friends were very zealous on the behalfof Cumanus and the Samaritans; and they had prevailed over the Jews, unless Agrippa, junior, who was then at Rome, had seen the principal ofthe Jews hard set, and had earnestly entreated Agrippina, the emperor'swife, to persuade her husband to hear the cause, so as was agreeableto his justice, and to condemn those to be punished who were really theauthors of this revolt from the Roman government:--whereupon Claudiuswas so well disposed beforehand, that when he had heard the cause, andfound that the Samaritans had been the ringleaders in those mischievousdoings, he gave order that those who came up to him should be slain, and that Cureanus should be banished. He also gave order that Celer thetribune should be carried back to Jerusalem, and should be drawn throughthe city in the sight of all the people, and then should be slain. CHAPTER 7. Felix Is Made Procurator Of Judea; As Also ConcerningAgrippa, Junior And His Sisters. 1. So Claudius sent Felix, the brother of Pallas, to take care of theaffairs of Judea; and when he had already completed the twelfth year ofhis reign, he bestowed upon Agrippa the tetrarchy of Philip and Batanea, and added thereto Trachonites, with Abila; which last had been thetetrarchy of Lysanias; but he took from him Chalcis, when he hadbeen governor thereof four years. And when Agrippa had received thesecountries as the gift of Caesar, he gave his sister Drusilla in marriageto Azizus, king of Emesa, upon his consent to be circumcised; forEpiphanes, the son of king Antiochus, had refused to marry her, because, after he had promised her father formerly to come over to the Jewishreligion, he would not now perform that promise. He also gave Mariamnein marriage to Archelaus, the son of Helcias, to whom she had formerlybeen betrothed by Agrippa her father; from which marriage was derived adaughter, whose name was Bernice. 2. But for the marriage of Drusilla with Azizus, it was in no longtime afterward dissolved upon the following occasion: While Felix wasprocurator 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 hera person whose name was Simon [13] one of his friends; a Jew he was, and by birth a Cypriot, and one who pretended to be a magician, andendeavored to persuade her to forsake her present husband, and marryhim; and promised, that if she would not refuse him, he would make her ahappy woman. Accordingly she acted ill, and because she was desirous toavoid her sister Bernice's envy, for she was very ill treated by her onaccount of her beauty, was prevailed upon to transgress the laws of herforefathers, and to marry Felix; and when he had had a son by her, henamed him Agrippa. But after what manner that young man, with his wife, perished at the conflagration of the mountain Vesuvius, [14] in the daysof Titus Caesar, shall be related hereafter. [15] 3. But as for Bernice, she lived a widow a long while after the deathof Herod [king of Chalcis], who was both her husband and her uncle;but when the report went that she had criminal conversation with herbrother, [Agrippa, junior, ] she persuaded Poleme, who was king ofCilicia, to be circumcised, and to marry her, as supposing that by thismeans she should prove those calumnies upon her to be false; and Polemewas prevailed upon, and that chiefly on account of her riches. Yet didnot this matrimony endure long; but Bernice left Poleme, and, as wassaid, with impure intentions. So he forsook at once this matrimony, andthe Jewish religion; and, at the same time, Mariamne put away Archclaus, and was married to Demetrius, the principal man among the AlexandrianJews, both for his family and his wealth; and indeed he was then theiralabarch. So she named her son whom she had by him Agrippinus. But ofall these particulars we shall hereafter treat more exactly. [16] CHAPTER 8. After What Manner Upon The Death Of Claudius, Nero SucceededIn The Government; As Also What Barbarous Things He Did. Concerning TheRobbers, Murderers And Impostors, That Arose While Felix And Festus WereProcurators Of Judea. 1. Now Claudius Caesar died when he had reigned thirteen years, eightmonths, and twenty days; [17] and a report went about that he waspoisoned by his wife Agrippina. Her father was Germanicus, the brotherof Caesar. Her husband was Domitius Aenobarbus, one of the mostillustrious persons that was in the city of Rome; after whose death, and her long continuance in widowhood, Claudius took her to wife. She brought along with her a son, Domtitus, of the same name with hisfather. He had before this slain his wife Messalina, out of jealousy, by whom he had his children Britannicus and Octavia; their eldest sisterwas Antonia, whom he had by Pelina his first wife. He also marriedOctavia to Nero; for that was the name that Caesar gave him afterward, upon his adopting him for his son. 2. But now Agrippina was afraid, lest, when Britannicus should cometo man's estate, he should succeed his father in the government, anddesired to seize upon the principality beforehand for her own son[Nero]; upon which the report went that she thence compassed the deathof Claudius. Accordingly, she sent Burrhus, the general of the army, immediately, and with him the tribunes, and such also of the freed-menas were of the greatest authority, to bring Nero away into the camp, andto salute him emperor. And when Nero had thus obtained the government, he got Britannicus to be so poisoned, that the multitude should notperceive it; although he publicly put his own mother to death not longafterward, making her this requital, not only for being born of her, butfor bringing it so about by her contrivances that he obtained the Romanempire. He also slew Octavia his own wife, and many other illustriouspersons, under this pretense, that they plotted against him. 3. But I omit any further discourse about these affairs; for there havebeen a great many who have composed the history of Nero; some of whichhave departed from the truth of facts out of favor, as having receivedbenefits from him; while others, out of hatred to him, and the greatill-will which they bare him, have so impudently raved against him withtheir lies, that they justly deserve to be condemned. Nor do I wonderat such as have told lies of Nero, since they have not in their writingspreserved the truth of history as to those facts that were earlier thanhis time, even when the actors could have no way incurred their hatred, since those writers lived a long time after them. But as to those thathave no regard to truth, they may write as they please; for in that theytake delight: but as to ourselves, who have made truth our directaim, we shall briefly touch upon what only belongs remotely to thisundertaking, but shall relate what hath happened to us Jews with greataccuracy, and shall not grudge our pains in giving an account both ofthe calamities we have suffered, and of the crimes we have been guiltyof. I will now therefore 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, andAristobulus, the son of Herod, king of Chalcis, was intrusted by Nerowith the government of the Lesser Armenia. Caesar also bestowed onAgrippa a certain part of Galilee, Tiberias, and Tarichae, [18] andordered them to submit to his jurisdiction. He gave him also Julias, acity of Perea, with fourteen villages that lay about it. 5. Now as for the affairs of the Jews, they grew worse and worsecontinually, for the country was again filled with robbers andimpostors, who deluded the multitude. Yet did Felix catch and put todeath many of those impostors every day, together with the robbers. He also caught Eleazar, the son of Dineas, who had gotten togethera company of robbers; and this he did by treachery; for he gave himassurance that he should suffer no harm, and thereby persuaded him tocome to him; but when he came, he bound him, and sent him to Rome. Felix also bore an ill-will to Jonathan, the high priest, because hefrequently gave him admonitions about governing the Jewish affairsbetter than he did, lest he should himself have complaints made of himby the multitude, since he it was who had desired Caesar to send him asprocurator of Judea. So Felix contrived a method whereby he might getrid of him, now he was become so continually troublesome to him; forsuch continual admonitions are grievous to those who are disposed toact unjustly. Wherefore Felix persuaded one of Jonathan's most faithfulfriends, a citizen of Jerusalem, whose name was Doras, to bringthe robbers upon Jonathan, in order to kill him; and this he did bypromising to give him a great deal of money for so doing. Doras compliedwith the proposal, and contrived matters so, that the robbers mightmurder him after the following manner: Certain of those robbers wentup to the city, as if they were going to worship God, while they haddaggers under their garments, and by thus mingling themselves among themultitude they slew Jonathan [19] and as this murder was never avenged, the robbers went up with the greatest security at the festivals afterthis time; and having weapons concealed in like manner as before, andmingling themselves among the multitude, they slew certain of their ownenemies, 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 theimpiety of which they were guilty. And this seems to me to have been thereason why God, out of his hatred of these men's wickedness, rejectedour city; and as for the temple, he no longer esteemed it sufficientlypure for him to inhabit therein, but brought the Romans upon us, andthrew 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 allsorts of impiety. And now these impostors and deceivers persuaded themultitude to follow them into the wilderness, and pretended that theywould exhibit manifest wonders and signs, that should be performed bythe providence of God. And many that were prevailed on by them sufferedthe punishments of their folly; for Felix brought them back, and thenpunished them. Moreover, there came out of Egypt [20] about this time toJerusalem one that said he was a prophet, and advised the multitude ofthe common people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, as itwas called, which lay over against the city, and at the distance of fivefurlongs. He said further, that he would show them from hence how, athis command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down; and he promisedthem that he would procure them an entrance into the city through thosewalls, when they were fallen down. Now when Felix was informed of thesethings, he ordered his soldiers to take their weapons, and came againstthem with a great number of horsemen and footmen from Jerusalem, andattacked the Egyptian and the people that were with him. He also slewfour hundred of them, and took two hundred alive. But the Egyptianhimself escaped out of the fight, but did not appear any more. And againthe robbers stirred up the people to make war with the Romans, andsaid they ought not to obey them at all; and when any persons would notcomply with them, they set fire to their villages, and plundered them. 7. And now it was that a great sedition arose between the Jews thatinhabited Cesarea, and the Syrians who dwelt there also, concerningtheir equal right to the privileges belonging to citizens; for the Jewsclaimed the pre-eminence, because Herod their king was the builder ofCesarea, and because he was by birth a Jew. Now the Syrians did not denywhat was alleged about Herod; but they said that Cesarea was formerlycalled Strato's Tower, and that then there was not one Jewishinhabitant. When the presidents of that country heard of thesedisorders, they caught the authors of them on both sides, and tormentedthem with stripes, and by that means put a stop to the disturbance fora time. But the Jewish citizens depending on their wealth, and on thataccount despising the Syrians, reproached them again, and hoped toprovoke them by such reproaches. However, the Syrians, though they wereinferior in wealth, yet valuing themselves highly on this account, thatthe greatest part of the Roman soldiers that were there were either ofCesarea or Sebaste, they also for some time used reproachful languageto the Jews also; and thus it was, till at length they came to throwingstones at one another, and several were wounded, and fell on both sides, though still the Jews were the conquerors. But when Felix saw that thisquarrel was become a kind of war, he came upon them on the sudden, anddesired the Jews to desist; and when they refused so to do, he armed hissoldiers, and sent them out upon them, and slew many of them, and tookmore of them alive, and permitted his soldiers to plunder some of thehouses of the citizens, which were full of riches. Now those Jews thatwere more moderate, and of principal dignity among them, were afraid ofthemselves, and desired of Felix that he would sound a retreat tohis soldiers, and spare them for the future, and afford them room forrepentance for what they had done; and Felix was prevailed upon to doso. 8. About this time king Agrippa gave the high priesthood to Ismael, whowas the son of Fabi. And now arose a sedition between the high priestsand the principal men of the multitude of Jerusalem; each of whichgot them a company of the boldest sort of men, and of those that lovedinnovations about them, and became leaders to them; and when theystruggled together, they did it by casting reproachful words against oneanother, and by throwing stones also. And there was nobody to reprovethem; but these disorders were done after a licentious manner in thecity, as if it had no government over it. And such was the impudence[21] and boldness that had seized on the high priests, that they had thehardiness to send their servants into the threshing-floors, to take awaythose tithes that were due to the priests, insomuch that it so fell outthat the poorest sort of the priests died for want. To this degree didthe violence of the seditious prevail over all right and justice. 9. Now when Porcius Festus was sent as successor to Felix by Nero, theprincipal of the Jewish inhabitants of Cesarea went up to Rome to accuseFelix; and he had certainly been brought to punishment, unless Nero hadyielded to the importunate solicitations of his brother Pallas, whowas at that time had in the greatest honor by him. Two of the principalSyrians in Cesarea persuaded Burrhus, who was Nero's tutor, andsecretary for his Greek epistles, by giving him a great sum of money, todisannul that equality of the Jewish privileges of citizens which theyhitherto enjoyed. So Burrhus, by his solicitations, obtained leave ofthe emperor that an epistle should be written to that purpose. Thisepistle became the occasion of the following miseries that befell ournation; for when the Jews of Cesarea were informed of the contents ofthis epistle to the Syrians, they were more disorderly than before, tilla war was kindled. 10. Upon Festus's coming into Judea, it happened that Judea wasafflicted by the robbers, while all the villages were set on fire, and plundered by them. And then it was that the sicarii, as they werecalled, who were robbers, grew numerous. They made use of small swords, not much different in length from the Persian acinacae, but somewhatcrooked, and like the Roman sicae, [or sickles, ] as they were called;and from these weapons these robbers got their denomination; and withthese weapons they slew a great many; for they mingled themselves amongthe multitude at their festivals, when they were come up in crowds fromall parts to the city to worship God, as we said before, and easily slewthose that they had a mind to slay. They also came frequently upon thevillages belonging to their enemies, with their weapons, and plunderedthem, and set them on fire. So Festus sent forces, both horsemen andfootmen, to fall upon those that had been seduced by a certain impostor, who promised them deliverance and freedom from the miseries theywere under, if they would but follow him as far as the wilderness. Accordingly, those forces that were sent destroyed both him that haddeluded them, and those that were his followers also. 11. About the same time king Agrippa built himself a very largedining-room in the royal palace at Jerusalem, near to the portico. Nowthis palace had been erected of old by the children of Asamoneus and wassituate upon an elevation, and afforded a most delightful prospect tothose that had a mind to take a view of the city, which prospect wasdesired by the king; and there he could lie down, and eat, and thenceobserve what was done in the temple; which thing, when the chief menof Jerusalem saw they were very much displeased at it; for it was notagreeable to the institutions of our country or law that what was donein the temple should be viewed by others, especially what belongedto the sacrifices. They therefore erected a wall upon the uppermostbuilding which belonged to the inner court of the temple towards thewest, which wall when it was built, did not only intercept the prospectof the dining-room in the palace, but also of the western cloisters thatbelonged to the outer court of the temple also, where it was that theRomans kept guards for the temple at the festivals. At these doingsboth king Agrippa, and principally Festus the procurator, were muchdispleased; and Festus ordered them to pull the wall down again: but theJews petitioned him to give them leave to send an embassage about thismatter to Nero; for they said they could not endure to live if any partof the temple should be demolished; and when Festus had given them leaveso to do, they sent ten of their principal men to Nero, as also Ismaelthe high priest, and Helcias, the keeper of the sacred treasure. Andwhen Nero had heard what they had to say, he not only forgave [22] themwhat they had already done, but also gave them leave to let the wallthey had built stand. This was granted them in order to gratify Poppea, Nero's wife, who was a religious woman, and had requested these favorsof Nero, and who gave order to the ten ambassadors to go their way home;but retained Helcias and Ismael as hostages with herself. As soon asthe king heard this news, he gave the high priesthood to Joseph, who wascalled Cabi, the son of Simon, formerly high priest. CHAPTER 9. Concerning Albinus Under Whose Procuratorship James WasSlain; As Also What Edifices Were Built By Agrippa. 1. And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinusinto Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the highpriesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son ofAnanus, who was also himself called Ananus. Now the report goes thatthis eldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sonswho had all performed the office of a high priest to God, and who hadhimself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had neverhappened to any other of our high priests. But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man inhis temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, [23] who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of theJews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of thisdisposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise hisauthority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road;so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them thebrother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, andsome others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed anaccusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to bestoned: 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, theydisliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiringhim to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what hehad already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also tomeet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informedhim that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim withouthis consent. [24] Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, andwrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him topunishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the highpriesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest. 2. Now as soon as Albinus was come to the city of Jerusalem, he used allhis endeavors and care that the country might be kept in peace, and thisby destroying many of the Sicarii. But as for the high priest, Ananias[25] he increased in glory every day, and this to a great degree, andhad obtained the favor and esteem of the citizens in a signal manner;for he was a great hoarder up of money: he therefore cultivated thefriendship of Albinus, and of the high priest [Jesus], by makingthem presents; he also had servants who were very wicked, whojoined themselves to the boldest sort of the people, and went to thethrashing-floors, and took away the tithes that belonged to the priestsby violence, and did not refrain from beating such as would not givethese tithes to them. So the other high priests acted in the likemanner, as did those his servants, without any one being able toprohibit them; so that [some of the] priests, that of old were wont tobe supported with those tithes, died for want of food. 3. But now the Sicarii went into the city by night, just before thefestival, which was now at hand, and took the scribe belonging to thegovernor of the temple, whose name was Eleazar, who was the son ofAnanus [Ananias] the high priest, and bound him, and carried him awaywith them; after which they sent to Ananias, and said that they wouldsend the scribe to him, if he would persuade Albinus to release tenof those prisoners which he had caught of their party; so Ananias wasplainly forced to persuade Albinus, and gained his request of him. Thiswas the beginning of greater calamities; for the robbers perpetuallycontrived to catch some of Ananias's servants; and when they had takenthem alive, they would not let them go, till they thereby recovered someof 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 king Agrippa built Cesarea Philippilarger than it was before, and, in honor of Nero, named it Neronlas. Andwhen he had built a theater at Berytus, with vast expenses, he bestowedon them shows, to be exhibited every year, and spent therein many tenthousand [drachmae]; he also gave the people a largess of corn, anddistributed oil among them, and adorned the entire city with statues ofhis own donation, and with original images made by ancient hands; nay, he almost transferred all that was most ornamental in his own kingdomthither. This made him more than ordinarily hated by his subjects, because he took those things away that belonged to them to adorn aforeign city. And now Jesus, the son of Gamaliel, became the successorof Jesus, the son of Damneus, in the high priesthood, which the king hadtaken from the other; on which account a sedition arose between the highpriests, with regard to one another; for they got together bodies ofthe boldest sort of the people, and frequently came, from reproaches, tothrowing 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 readyto receive. Costobarus also, and Saulus, did themselves get together amultitude of wicked wretches, and this because they were of the royalfamily; and so they obtained favor among them, because of their kindredto Agrippa; but still they used violence with the people, and were veryready to plunder those that were weaker than themselves. And from thattime 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 him, he was desirous to appear to do somewhat that might be grateful to thepeople of Jerusalem; so he brought out all those prisoners who seemedto him to be most plainly worthy of death, and ordered them to be put todeath accordingly. But as to those who had been put into prison on sometrifling occasions, he took money of them, and dismissed them; by whichmeans the prisons were indeed emptied, but the country was filled withrobbers. 6. Now as many of the Levites, [26] which is a tribe of ours, as weresingers of hymns, persuaded the king to assemble a sanhedrim, and togive them leave to wear linen garments, as well as the priests for theysaid that this would be a work worthy the times of his government, thathe might have a memorial of such a novelty, as being his doing. Nor didthey fail of obtaining their desire; for the king, with the suffragesof those that came into the sanhedrim, granted the singers of hymns thisprivilege, that they might lay aside their former garments, and wearsuch a linen one as they desired; and as a part of this tribe ministeredin the temple, he also permitted them to learn those hymns as they hadbesought him for. Now all this was contrary to the laws of our country, which, whenever they have been transgressed, we have never been able toavoid the punishment of such transgressions. 7. And now it was that the temple was finished. So when the people sawthat the workmen were unemployed, who were above eighteen thousand andthat they, receiving no wages, were in want because they had earnedtheir bread by their labors about the temple; and while they wereunwilling to keep by them the treasures that were there deposited, outof fear of [their being carried away by] the Romans; and while they hada regard to the making provision for the workmen; they had a mind toexpend these treasures upon them; for if any one of them did but laborfor a single hour, he received his pay immediately; so they persuadedhim to rebuild the eastern cloisters. These cloisters belonged to theouter court, and were situated in a deep valley, and had walls thatreached four hundred cubits [in length], and were built of square andvery white stones, the length of each of which stones was twenty cubits, and their height six cubits. This was the work of king Solomon, [27] whofirst of all built the entire temple. But king Agrippa, who had the careof the temple committed to him by Claudius Caesar, considering that itis easy to demolish any building, but hard to build it up again, andthat it was particularly hard to do it to these cloisters, which wouldrequire a considerable time, and great sums of money, he denied thepetitioners their request about that matter; but he did not obstructthem when they desired the city might be paved with white stone. He alsodeprived Jesus, the son of Gamaliel, of the high priesthood, and gaveit to Matthias, the son of Theophilus, under whom the Jews' war with theRomans took its beginning. CHAPTER 10. An Enumeration Of The High Priests. 1. And now I think it proper and agreeable to this history to give anaccount of our high priests; how they began, who those are which arecapable of that dignity, and how many of them there had been at theend of the war. In the first place, therefore, history informs us thatAaron, the brother of Moses, officiated to God as a high priest, andthat, after his death, his sons succeeded him immediately; and thatthis dignity hath been continued down from them all to their posterity. Whence it is a custom of our country, that no one should take the highpriesthood of God but he who is of the blood of Aaron, while every onethat is of another stock, though he were a king, can never obtain thathigh priesthood. Accordingly, the number of all the high priests fromAaron, of whom we have spoken already, as of the first of them, untilPhanas, who was made high priest during the war by the seditious, was eighty-three; of whom thirteen officiated as high priests in thewilderness, from the days of Moses, while the tabernacle was standing, until the people came into Judea, when king Solomon erected the templeto God; for at the first they held the high priesthood till the endof their life, although afterward they had successors while they werealive. Now these thirteen, who were the descendants of two of the sonsof Aaron, received this dignity by succession, one after another; fortheir form of government was an aristocracy, and after that a monarchy, and in the third place the government was regal Now the number ofyears during the rule of these thirteen, from the day when our fathersdeparted out of Egypt, under Moses their leader, until the building ofthat temple which king Solomon erected at Jerusalem, were six hundredand twelve. After those thirteen high priests, eighteen took the highpriesthood at Jerusalem, one in succession to another, from the days ofking Solomon, until Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made an expeditionagainst that city, and burnt the temple, and removed our nation intoBabylon, and then took Josadek, the high priest, captive; the times ofthese high priests were four hundred and sixty-six years, six months, and ten days, while the Jews were still under the regal government. Butafter the term of seventy years' captivity under the Babylonians, Cyrus, king of Persia, sent the Jews from Babylon to their own land again, andgave them leave to rebuild their temple; at which time Jesus, the sonof Josadek, took the high priesthood over the captives when they werereturned home. Now he and his posterity, who were in all fifteen, untilking Antiochus Eupator, were under a democratical government for fourhundred and fourteen years; and then the forementioned Antiochus, andLysias the general of his army, deprived Onias, who was also calledMenelaus, of the high priesthood, and slew him at Berea; and drivingaway the son [of Onias the third], put Jaeimus into the place of thehigh priest, one that was indeed of the stock of Aaron, but not of thatfamily of Onias. On which account Onias, who was the nephew of Oniasthat was dead, and bore the same name with his father, came into Egypt, and got into the friendship of Ptolemy Philometor, and Cleopatra hiswife, and persuaded them to make him the high priest of that templewhich he built to God in the prefecture of Heliopolis, and this inimitation of that at Jerusalem; but as for that temple which was builtin Egypt, we have spoken of it frequently already. Now when Jacimus hadretained the priesthood three years, he died, and there was no one thatsucceeded him, but the city continued seven years without a high priest. But then the posterity of the sons of Asamoneus, who had the governmentof the nation conferred upon them, when they had beaten the Macedoniansin war, appointed Jonathan to be their high priest, who ruled over themseven years. And when he had been slain by the treacherous contrivanceof Trypho, as we have related some where, Simon his brother took thehigh priesthood; and when he was destroyed at a feast by the treacheryof his son-in-law, his own son, whose name was Hyrcanus, succeeded him, after he had held the high priesthood one year longer than his brother. This Hyrcanus enjoyed that dignity thirty years, and died an old man, leaving the succession to Judas, who was also called Aristobulus, whosebrother Alexander was his heir; which Judas died of a sore distemper, after he had kept the priesthood, together with the royal authority; forthis Judas was the first that put on his head a diadem for one year. Andwhen Alexander had been both king and high priest twenty-seven years, hedeparted this life, and permitted his wife Alexandra to appoint him thatshould be high priest; so she gave the high priesthood to Hyrcanus, butretained the kingdom herself nine years, and then departed this life. The like duration [and no longer] did her son Hyrcanus enjoy the highpriesthood; for after her death his brother Aristobulus fought againsthim, and beat him, and deprived him of his principality; and he didhimself both reign, and perform the office of high priest to God. Butwhen he had reigned three years, and as many months, Pompey came uponhim, and not only took the city of Jerusalem by force, but put him andhis children in bonds, and sent them to Rome. He also restored the highpriesthood to Hyrcanus, and made him governor of the nation, but forbadehim to wear a diadem. This Hyrcanus ruled, besides his first nine years, twenty-four years more, when Barzapharnes and Pacorus, the generals ofthe Parthians, passed over Euphrates, and fought with Hyrcanus, and tookhim alive, and made Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, king; and when hehad reigned three years and three months, Sosius and Herod besieged him, and took him, when Antony had him brought to Antioch, and slain there. Herod was then made king by the Romans, but did no longer appoint highpriests out of the family of Asamoneus; but made certain men to be sothat were of no eminent families, but barely of those that were priests, excepting that he gave that dignity to Aristobulus; for when he had madethis Aristobulus, the grandson of that Hyrcanus who was then taken bythe Parthians, and had taken his sister Mariarmne to wife, he therebyaimed to win the good-will of the people, who had a kind remembrance ofHyrcanus [his grandfather]. Yet did he afterward, out of his fear lestthey should all bend their inclinations to Aristobulus, put him todeath, and that by contriving how to have him suffocated as he wasswimming at Jericho, as we have already related that matter; but afterthis man he never intrusted the priesthood to the posterity of the sonsof Asamoneus. Archelaus also, Herod's son, did like his father in theappointment of the high priests, as did the Romans also, who took thegovernment over the Jews into their hands afterward. Accordingly, thenumber of the high priests, from the days of Herod until the daywhen Titus took the temple and the City, and burnt them, were in alltwenty-eight; the time also that belonged to them was a hundred andseven years. Some of these were the political governors of the peopleunder the reign of Herod, and under the reign of Archelaus his son, although, after their death, the government became an aristocracy, andthe high priests were intrusted with a dominion over the nation. Andthus much may suffice to be said concerning our high priests. CHAPTER 11. Concerning Florus The Procurator, Who Necessitated The JewsTo Take Up Arms Against The Romans. The Conclusion. 1. Now Gessius Florus, who was sent as successor to Albinus by Nero, filled Judea with abundance of miseries. He was by birth of the cityof Clazomene, and brought along with him his wife Cleopatra, [by whosefriendship with Poppea, Nero's wife, he obtained this government, ] whowas no way different from him in wickedness. This Florus was so wicked, and so violent in the use of his authority, that the Jews took Albinusto have been [comparatively] their benefactor; so excessive werethe mischiefs that he brought upon them. For Albinus concealed hiswickedness, 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 hiscrimes to every body, made a pompous ostentation of them to ournation, as never omitting any sort of violence, nor any unjust sort ofpunishment; for he was not to be moved by pity, and never was satisfiedwith any degree of gain that came in his way; nor had he any more regardto great than to small acquisitions, but became a partner with therobbers themselves. For a great many fell then into that practicewithout fear, as having him for their security, and depending on him, that he would save them harmless in their particular robberies; so thatthere 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 madeamong them, were all under a necessity of leaving their own habitations, and of flying away, as hoping to dwell more easily any where else in theworld among foreigners [than in their own country]. And what need I sayany more upon this head? since it was this Florus who necessitated usto take up arms against the Romans, while we thought it better to bedestroyed at once, than by little and little. Now this war began in thesecond year of the government of Florus, and the twelfth year of thereign of Nero. But then what actions we were forced to do, or whatmiseries we were enabled to suffer, may be accurately known by such aswill peruse those books which I have written about the Jewish war. 2. I shall now, therefore, make an end here of my Antiquities; after theconclusion of which events, I began to write that account of the war;and these Antiquities contain what hath been delivered down to us fromthe original creation of man, until the twelfth year of the reign ofNero, as to what hath befallen the Jews, as well in Egypt as in Syriaand in Palestine, and what we have suffered from the Assyrians andBabylonians, and what afflictions the Persians and Macedonians, andafter them the Romans, have brought upon us; for I think I may say thatI have composed this history with sufficient accuracy in all things. Ihave attempted to enumerate those high priests that we have had duringthe interval of two thousand years; I have also carried down thesuccession of our kings, and related their actions, and politicaladministration, without [considerable] errors, as also the power of ourmonarchs; and all according to what is written in our sacred books; forthis it was that I promised to do in the beginning of this history. AndI am so bold as to say, now I have so completely perfected the work Iproposed to myself to do, that no other person, whether he were a Jewor foreigner, had he ever so great an inclination to it, could soaccurately deliver these accounts to the Greeks as is done in thesebooks. For those of my own nation freely acknowledge that I far exceedthem in the learning belonging to Jews; I have also taken a greatdeal of pains to obtain the learning of the Greeks, and understandthe elements of the Greek language, although I have so long accustomedmyself to speak our own tongue, that I cannot pronounce Greek withsufficient exactness; for our nation does not encourage those that learnthe languages of many nations, and so adorn their discourses withthe smoothness of their periods; because they look upon this sort ofaccomplishment as common, not only to all sorts of free-men, but toas many of the servants as please to learn them. But they give him thetestimony of being a wise man who is fully acquainted with our laws, andis able to interpret their meaning; on which account, as there have beenmany who have done their endeavors with great patience to obtain thislearning, there have yet hardly been so many as two or three that havesucceeded therein, who were immediately well rewarded for their pains. 3. And now it will not be perhaps an invidious thing, if I treat brieflyof my own family, and of the actions of my own life [28] while thereare still living such as can either prove what I say to be false, or canattest that it is true; with which accounts I shall put an end to theseAntiquities, which are contained in twenty books, and sixty thousandverses. And if God permit me, I will briefly run over this war [29], andto add what befell them further to that very day, the 13th of Domitian, or A. D. 03, is not, that I have observed, taken distinct notice of byany one; nor do we ever again, with what befell us therein to this veryday, which is the thirteenth year of the reign of Caesar Domitian, andthe fifty-sixth year of my own life. I have also an intention to writethree books concerning our Jewish opinions about God and his essence, and about our laws; why, according to them, some things are permitted usto do, and others are prohibited. ***** PREFACE FOOTNOTES [1] This preface of Josephus is excellent in its kind, and highly worthythe repeated perusal of the reader, before he set about the perusal ofthe work itself. [2]That is, all the Gentiles, both Greeks and Romans. [3] We may seasonably note here, that Josephus wrote his Seven Books ofthe Jewish War long before he wrote these his Antiquities. Those booksof the War were published about A. D. 75, and these Antiquities, A. D. 93, about eighteen years later. [4] This Epaphroditus was certainly alive in the third year of Trajan, A. D. 100. See the note on the First Book Against Apion, sect. 1. Who hewas we do not know; for as to Epaphroditus, the freedman of Nero, andafterwards Domitian's secretary, who was put to death by Domitian in the14th or 15th year of his reign, he could not be alive in the third ofTrajan. [5] Josephus here plainly alludes to the famous Greek proverb, If God bewith us, every thing that is impossible becomes possible. [6] As to this intended work of Josephus concerning the reasons of manyof the Jewish laws, and what philosophical or allegorical sense theywould bear, the loss of which work is by some of the learned notmuch regretted, I am inclinable, in part, to Fabricius's opinion, ap. Havercamp, p. 63, 61, That "we need not doubt but that, among some vainand frigid conjectures derived from Jewish imaginations, Josephus wouldhave taught us a greater number of excellent and useful things, whichperhaps nobody, neither among the Jews, nor among the Christians, cannow inform us of; so that I would give a great deal to find it stillextant. " BOOK 1 FOOTNOTES: [1] Since Josephus, in his Preface, sect. 4, says that Moses wrote somethings enigmatically, some allegorically, and the rest in plain words, since in his account of the first chapter of Genesis, and the firstthree verses of the second, he gives us no hints of any mystery at all;but when he here comes to ver. 4, etc. , he says that Moses, after theseventh day was over, began to talk philosophically; it is not veryimprobable that he understood the rest of the second and the thirdchapters in some enigmatical, or allegorical, or philosophical sense. The change of the name of God just at this place, from Elohim to JehovahElohim, from God to Lord God, in the Hebrew, Samaritan, and Septuagint, does also not a little favor some such change in the narration orconstruction. [2] We may observe here, that Josephus supposed man to be compoundedof spirit, soul, and body, with St. Paul, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, and therest of the ancients: he elsewhere says also, that the blood of animalswas forbidden to be eaten, as having in it soul and spirit, Antiq. B. III. Ch. 11. Sect. 2. [3] Whence this strange notion came, which yet is not peculiar toJoseph, but, as Dr. Hudson says here, is derived from older authors, asif four of the greatest rivers in the world, running two of them at vastdistances from the other two, by some means or other watered paradise, is hard to say. Only since Josephus has already appeared to allegorizethis history, and take notice that these four names had a particularsignification; Phison for Ganges, a multitude; Phrath for Euphrates, either a dispersion or a flower; Diglath for Tigris, what is swift, withnarrowness; and Geon for Nile, what arises from the east, --we perhapsmistake him when we suppose he literally means those four rivers;especially as to Geon or Nile, which arises from the east, while he verywell knew the literal Nile arises from the south; though what furtherallegorical sense he had in view, is now, I fear, impossible to bedetermined. [4] By the Red Sea is not here meant the Arabian Gulf, which alone wenow call by that name, but all that South Sea, which included the RedSea, and the Persian Gulf, as far as the East Indies; as Reland andHudson here truly note, from the old geographers. [5] Hence it appears, that Josephus thought several, at least, of thebrute animals, particularly the serpent, could speak before the fall. And I think few of the more perfect kinds of those animals want theorgans of speech at this day. Many inducements there are also to anotion, that the present state they are in, is not their original state;and that their capacities have been once much greater than we now seethem, and are capable of being restored to their former condition. Butas to this most ancient, and authentic, and probably allegorical accountof that grand affair of the fall of our first parents, I have somewhatmore to say in way of conjecture, but being only a conjecture, I omitit: only thus far, that the imputation of the sin of our first parentsto their posterity, any further than as some way the cause or occasionof man's mortality, seems almost entirely groundless; and that both man, and the other subordinate creatures, are hereafter to be delivered fromthe curse then brought upon them, and at last to be delivered from thatbondage of corruption, Romans 8:19-22. [6] St. John's account of the reason why God accepted the sacrifice ofAbel, and rejected that of Cain; as also why Cain slew Abel, on accountof that his acceptance with God, is much better than this of Josephus:I mean, because "Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and hisbrother's righteous, " 1 John 3:12. Josephus's reason seems to be nobetter than a pharisaical notion or tradition. [7] From this Jubal, not improbably, came Jobel, the trumpet of jobel orjubilee; that large and loud musical instrument, used in proclaiming theliberty at the year of jubilee. [8] The number of Adam's children, as says the old tradition wasthirty-three sons, and twenty-three daughters. [9] What is here said of Seth and his posterity, that they werevery good and virtuous, and at the same time very happy, without anyconsiderable misfortunes, for seven generations, [see ch. 2. Sect. 1, before; and ch. 3. Sect. 1, hereafter, ] is exactly agreeable to thestate of the world and the conduct of Providence in all the first ages. [10] Of Josephus's mistake here, when he took Seth the son of Adam, forSeth or Sesostris, king of Egypt, the erector of this pillar in theland of Siriad, see Essay on the Old Testament, Appendix, p. 159, 160. Although the main of this relation might be true, and Adam mightforetell a conflagration and a deluge, which all antiquity witnessesto be an ancient tradition; nay, Seth's posterity might engrave theirinventions in astronomy on two such pillars; yet it is no way crediblethat they could survive the deluge, which has buried all such pillarsand edifices far under ground in the sediment of its waters, especiallysince the like pillars of the Egyptian Seth or Sesostris were extantafter the flood, in the land of Siriad, and perhaps in the days ofJosephus also, as is shown in the place here referred to. [11] This notion, that the fallen angels were, in some sense, thefathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of antiquity. [12] Josephus here supposes that the life of these giants, for ofthem only do I understand him, was now reduced to 120 years; which isconfirmed by the fragment of Enoch, sect. 10, in Authent. Rec. Part I. P. 268. For as to the rest of mankind, Josephus himself confesses theirlives were much longer than 120 years, for many generations afterthe flood, as we shall see presently; and he says they were graduallyshortened till the days of Moses, and then fixed [for some time] at 120, ch. 6. Sect. 5. Nor indeed need we suppose that either Enoch or Josephusmeant to interpret these 120 years for the life of men before the flood, to be different from the 120 years of God's patience [perhaps while theark was preparing] till the deluge; which I take to be the meaning ofGod when he threatened this wicked world, that if they so long continuedimpenitent, their days should be no more than 120 years. [13] A cubit is about 21 English inches. [14] Josephus here truly determines, that the year at the Flood beganabout the autumnal equinox. As to what day of the month the Flood began, our Hebrew and Samaritan, and perhaps Josephus's own copy, more rightlyplaced it on the 17th day, instead of the 27th, as here; for Josephusagrees with them, as to the distance of 150 days to the 17th day of the7th month, as Genesis 7. Ult. With 8:3. [15] Josephus here takes notice, that these ancient genealogies werefirst set down by those that then lived, and from them were transmitteddown to posterity; which I suppose to be the true account of thatmatter. For there is no reason to imagine that men were not taught toread and write soon after they were taught to speak; and perhaps all bythe Messiah himself, who, under the Father, was the Creator or Governorof mankind, and who frequently in those early days appeared to them. [16] This [GREEK], or Place of Descent, is the proper rendering of theArmenian name of this very city. It is called in Ptolemy Naxuana, andby Moses Chorenensis, the Armenian historian, Idsheuan; but at the placeitself Nachidsheuan, which signifies The first place of descent, and isa lasting monument of the preservation of Noah in the ark, upon the topof that mountain, at whose foot it was built, as the first city ortown after the flood. See Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 2. Sect. 3; and MosesChorenensis, who also says elsewhere, that another town was related bytradition to have been called Seron, or, The Place of Dispersion, onaccount of the dispersion of Xisuthrus's or Noah's sons, from thencefirst made. Whether any remains of this ark be still preserved, as thepeople of the country suppose, I cannot certainly tell. Mons. Tourneforthad, not very long since, a mind to see the place himself, but met withtoo great dangers and difficulties to venture through them. [17] One observation ought not here to be neglected, with regard to thatEthiopic war which Moses, as general of the Egyptians, put an end to, Antiq. B. II. Ch. 10. , and about which our late writers seem very muchunconcerned; viz. That it was a war of that consequence, as to occasionthe removal or destruction of six or seven nations of the posterity ofMitzraim, with their cities; which Josephus would not have said, ifhe had not had ancient records to justify those his assertions, thoughthose records be now all lost. [18] That the Jews were called Hebrews from this their progenitor Heber, our author Josephus here rightly affirms; and not from Abram the Hebrew, or passenger over Euphrates, as many of the moderns suppose. Shem isalso called the father of all the children of Heber, or of all theHebrews, in a history long before Abram passed over Euphrates, Genesis10:21, though it must be confessed that, Genesis 14:13, where theoriginal says they told Abram the Hebrew, the Septuagint renders it thepassenger, [GREEK]: but this is spoken only of Abram himself, who hadthen lately passed over Euphrates, and is another signification of theHebrew word, taken as an appellative, and not as a proper name. [19] It is worth noting here, that God required no other sacrificesunder the law of Moses, than what were taken from these five kinds ofanimals which he here required of Abram. Nor did the Jews feed upon anyother domestic animals than the three here named, as Reland observes onAntiq. B. IV. Ch. 4. Sect. 4. [20] As to this affliction of Abram's posterity for 400 years, seeAntiq. B. II. Ch. 9. Sect. 1. [21] These sons-in-law to Lot, as they are called, Genesis 19:12-14, might be so styled, because they were betrothed to Lot's daughters, though not yet married to them. See the note on Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 13. Sect. 1. [22] Of the War, B. IV. Ch. 8. Sect. 4. [23] This pillar of salt was, we see here, standing in the days ofJosephus, and he had seen it. That it was standing then is also attestedby Clement of Rome, contemporary with Josephus; as also that it was soin the next century, is attested by Irenaeus, with the addition ofan hypothesis, how it came to last so long, with all its membersentire. --Whether the account that some modern travelers give be true, that it is still standing, I do not know. Its remote situation, atthe most southern point of the Sea of Sodom, in the wild and dangerousdeserts of Arabia, makes it exceeding difficult for inquisitivetravelers to examine the place; and for common reports of countrypeople, at a distance, they are not very satisfactory. In the mean time, I have no opinion of Le Clerc's dissertation or hypothesis about thisquestion, which can only be determined by eye-witnesses. When Christianprinces, so called, lay aside their foolish and unchristian wars andquarrels, and send a body of fit persons to travel over the east, andbring us faithful accounts of all ancient monuments, and procure uscopies of all ancient records, at present lost among us, we may hope forfull satisfaction in such inquiries; but hardly before. [24] I see no proper wicked intention in these daughters of Lot, whenin a case which appeared to them of unavoidable necessity, they procuredthemselves to be with child by their father. Without such an unavoidablenecessity, incest is a horrid crime; but whether in such a case ofnecessity, as they apprehended this to be, according to Josephus, it wasany such crime, I am not satisfied. In the mean time, their making theirfather drunk, and their solicitous concealment of what they did fromhim, shows that they despaired of persuading him to an action which, at the best, could not but be very suspicious and shocking to so good aman. [25] It is well worth observation, that Josephus here calls thatprincipal Angel, who appeared to Abraham and foretold the birth ofIsaac, directly God; which language of Josephus here, prepares us tobelieve those other expressions of his, that Jesus was a wise man, if itbe lawful to call him a man, Antiq. B. XVIII. Ch. 3. Sect. 3, and of Godthe Word, in his homily concerning Hades, may be both genuine. Nor isthe other expression of Divine Angel, used presently, and before, alsoof any other signification. [26] Josephus here calls Ismael a young child or infant, though he wasabout 13 years of age; as Judas calls himself and his brethren youngmen, when he was 47, and had two children, Antiq. B. II. Ch. 6. Sect. 8, and they were of much the same age; as is a damsel of 12 years oldcalled a little child, Mark 5:39-42, five several times. Herod is alsosaid by Josephus to be a very young man at 25. See the note on Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 9. Sect 2, and of the War, B. I. Ch. 10. And Aristobulusis styled a very little child at 16 years of age, Antiq. B. XV. Ch. 2. Sect. 6, 7. Domitian also is called by him a very young child, when hewent on his German expedition at about 18 years of age, of the War, B. VII. Ch. 4. Sect. 2. Samson's wife, and Ruth, when they were widows, arecalled children, Antiq. B. V. Ch. 8. Sect. 6, and ch. 9. Sect. 2 3. [27] Note, that both here and Hebrews 11:17, Isaac is called Abraham'sonly begotten son, though he at the same time had another son, Ismael. The Septuagint expresses the true meaning, by rendering the text thebeloved son. [28] Here is a plain error in the copies which say that king Davidafterwards built the temple on this Mount Moriah, while it was certainlyno other than king Solomon who built that temple, as indeed Procopiuscites it from Josephus. For it was for certain David, and not Solomon, who built the first altar there, as we learn, 2 Samuel 24:18, etc. ; 1Chronicles 21:22, etc. ; and Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 13. Sect. 4. [29] It seems both here, and in God's parallel blessing to Jacob, ch. 19. Sect. 1, that Josephus had yet no notion of the hidden meaning ofthat most important and most eminent promise, "In thy seed shall allthe families of the earth be blessed. He saith not, and of seeds, as ofmany, but as of one; and to thy seed, which is Christ, " Galatians 3:16. Nor is it any wonder, he being, I think, as yet not a Christian. And hadhe been a Christian, yet since he was, to be sure, till the latter partof his life, no more than an Ebionite Christian, who, above all theapostles, rejected and despised St. Paul, it would be no great wonder ifhe did not now follow his interpretation. In the mean time, we have ineffect St. Paul's exposition in the Testament of Reuben, sect. 6, inAuthent. Rec. Part I. P. 302, who charges his sons "to worship the seedof Judah, who should die for them in visible and invisible wars; andshould be among them an eternal king. " Nor is that observation of alearned foreigner of my acquaintance to be despised, who takes notice, that as seeds in the plural, must signify posterity, so seed in thesingular may signify either posterity, or a single person; and thatin this promise of all nations being happy in the seed of Abraham, orIsaac, or Jacob, etc. , it is always used in the singular. To which Ishall add, that it is sometimes, as it were, paraphrased by the son ofAbraham, the son of David, etc. , which is capable of no such ambiguity. [30] The birth of Jacob and Esau is here said to be after Abraham'sdeath: it should have been after Sarah's death. The order of thenarration in Genesis, not always exactly according to the order of time, seems to have led Josephus into this error, as Dr. Bernard observeshere. [31] For Seir in Josephus, the coherence requires that we read Esau orSeir, which signify the same thing. [32] The supper of savory meat, as we call it, Genesis 27:4, to becaught by hunting, was intended plainly for a festival or a sacrifice;and upon the prayers that were frequent at sacrifices, Isaac expected, as was then usual in such eminent cases, that a divine impulse wouldcome upon him, in order to the blessing of his son there present, andhis foretelling his future behavior and fortune. Whence it must be, that when Isaac had unwittingly blessed Jacob, and was afterwardsmade sensible of his mistake, yet did he not attempt to alter it, howearnestly soever his affection for Esau might incline him to wish itmight be altered, because he knew that this blessing came not fromhimself, but from God, and that an alteration was out of his power. Asecond afflatus then came upon him, and enabled him to foretell Esau'sfuture behavior and foretell Esau's future behavior and fortune also. [33] Whether Jacob or his mother Rebeka were most blameable in thisimposition upon Isaac in his old age, I cannot determine. However theblessing being delivered as a prediction of future events, by a Divineimpulse, and foretelling things to befall to the posterity of Jacob andEsau in future ages, was for certain providential; and according towhat Rebeka knew to be the purpose of God, when he answered her inquiry, "before the children were born, " Genesis 25:23, "that one people shouldbe stronger than the other people; and the elder, Esau, should servethe younger, Jacob. " Whether Isaac knew or remembered this old oracle, delivered in our copies only to Rebeka; or whether, if he knew andremembered it, he did not endeavor to alter the Divine determination, out of his fondness for his elder and worser son Esau, to the damage ofhis younger and better son Jacob, as Josephus elsewhere supposes, Antiq. B. II. Ch. 7. Sect. 3; I cannot certainly say. If so, this might temptRebeka to contrive, and Jacob to put this imposition upon him. However, Josephus says here, that it was Isaac, and not Rebeka, who inquired ofGod at first, and received the forementioned oracle, sect. 1; which, ifit be the true reading, renders Isaac's procedure more inexcusable. Norwas it probably any thing else that so much encouraged Esau formerly tomarry two Canaanitish wives, without his parents' consent, as Isaac'sunhappy fondness for him. [34] By this "deprivation of the kingdom that was to be given Esauof God, " as the first-born, it appears that Josephus thought that a"kingdom to be derived from God" was due to him whom Isaac should blessas his first-born, which I take to be that kingdom which was expectedunder the Messiah, who therefore was to be born of his posterity whomIsaac should so bless. Jacob therefore by obtaining this blessing of thefirst-born, became the genuine heir of that kingdom, in opposition toEsau. [35] Here we have the difference between slaves for life and servants, such as we now hire for a time agreed upon on both sides, and dismissagain after he time contracted for is over, which are no slaves, butfree men and free women. Accordingly, when the Apostolical Constitutionsforbid a clergyman to marry perpetual servants or slaves, B. VI. Ch. 17. , it is meant only of the former sort; as we learn elsewhere fromthe same Constitutions, ch. 47. Can. LXXXII. But concerning these twelvesons of Jacob, the reasons of their several names, and the times oftheir several births in the intervals here assigned, their severalexcellent characters, their several faults and repentance, the severalaccidents of their lives, with their several prophecies at their deaths, see the Testaments of these twelve patriarchs, still preserved at largein the Authent. Rec. Part I. P. 294-443. [36] I formerly explained these mandrakes, as we, with the Septuagint, and Josephus, render the Hebrew word Dudaim, of the Syrian Maux, withLudolphus, Antbent. Rec. Part I. P. 420; but have since seen such a veryprobable account in M. S. Of my learned friend Mr. Samuel Barker, ofwhat we still call mandrakes, and their description by the ancientnaturalists and physicians, as inclines me to think these here mentionedwere really mandrakes, and no other. [37] Perhaps this may be the proper meaning of the word Israel, by thepresent and the old Jerusalem analogy of the Hebrew tongue. In the meantime, it is certain that the Hellenists of the first century, in Egyptand elsewhere, interpreted Israel to be a man seeing God, as is evidentfrom the argument fore-cited. [38] Of this slaughter of the Shechemites by Simeon and Levi, seeAuthent. Rec. Part I. P. 309, 418, 432-439. But why Josephus has omittedthe circumcision of these Shechemites, as the occasion of their death;and of Jacob's great grief, as in the Testament of Levi, sect. 5; Icannot tell. [39] Since Benoni signifies the son of my sorrow, and Benjamin the sonof days, or one born in the father's old age, Genesis 44:20, I suspectJosephus's present copies to be here imperfect, and suppose that, incorrespondence to other copies, he wrote that Rachel called her son'sname Benoni, but his father called him Benjamin, Genesis 35:18. As forBenjamin, as commonly explained, the son of the right hand, it makes nosense at all, and seems to be a gross modern error only. The Samaritanalways writes this name truly Benjamin, which probably is here of thesame signification, only with the Chaldee termination in, instead ofim in the Hebrew; as we pronounce cherubin or cherubim indifferently. Accordingly, both the Testament of Benjamin, sect. 2, p. 401, and Philode Nominum Mutatione, p. 1059, write the name Benjamin, but explain itnot the son of the right hand, but the son of days. BOOK 2 FOOTNOTES [1] We may here observe, that in correspondence to Joseph's seconddream, which implied that his mother, who was then alive, as well as hisfather, should come and bow down to him, Josephus represents her hereas still alive after she was dead, for the decorum of the dream thatforetold it, as the interpretation of the dream does also in all ourcopies, Genesis 37:10. [2] The Septuagint have twenty pieces of gold; the Testament of Gadthirty; the Hebrew and Samaritan twenty of silver; and the vulgar Latinthirty. What was the true number and true sum cannot therefore now beknown. [3] That is, bought it for Pharaoh at a very low price. [4] This Potiphar, or, as Josephus, Petephres, who was now a priest ofOn, or Heliopolis, is the same name in Josephus, and perhaps in Mosesalso, with him who is before called head cook or captain of the guard, and to whom Joseph was sold. See Genesis 37:36; 39:1, with 41:50. Theyare also affirmed to be one and the same person in the Testament ofJoseph, sect. 18, for he is there said to have married the daughterof his master and mistress. Nor is this a notion peculiar to thatTestament, but, as Dr. Bernard confesses, note on Antiq. B. II. Ch. 4. Sect. 1, common to Josephus, to the Septuagint interpreters, and toother learned Jews of old time. [5] This entire ignorance of the Egyptians of these years of faminebefore they came, told us before, as well as here, ch. 5. Sect. 7, byJosephus, seems to me almost incredible. It is in no other copy that Iknow of. [6] The reason why Symeon might be selected out of the rest for Joseph'sprisoner, is plain in the Testament of Symeon, viz. That he was oneof the bitterest of all Joseph's brethren against him, sect. 2; whichappears also in part by the Testament of Zabulon, sect. 3. [7] The coherence seems to me to show that the negative particle ishere wanting, which I have supplied in brackets, and I wonder none havehitherto suspected that it ought to be supplied. [8] Of the precious balsam of Judea, and the turpentine, see the note onAntiq. B. VIII. Ch. 6. Sect. 6. [9] This oration seems to me too large, and too unusual a digression, tohave been composed by Judas on this occasion. It seems to me a speech ordeclamation composed formerly, in the person of Judas, and in the wayof oratory, that lay by him, and which he thought fit to insert on thisoccasion. See two more such speeches or declamations, Antiq. B. VI. Ch. 14. Sect. 4 [10] In all this speech of Judas we may observe, that Josephus stillsupposed that death was the punishment of theft in Egypt, in the days ofJoseph, though it never was so among the Jews, by the law of Moses. [11] All the Greek copies of Josephus have the negative particle here, that Jacob himself was not reckoned one of the 70 souls that came intoEgypt; but the old Latin copies want it, and directly assure us hewas one of them. It is therefore hardly certain which of these wasJosephus's true reading, since the number 70 is made up without him, ifwe reckon Leah for one; but if she be not reckoned, Jacob must himselfbe one, to complete the number. [12] Josephus thought that the Egyptians hated or despised theemployment of a shepherd in the days of Joseph; whereas BishopCumberland has shown that they rather hated such Poehnician or Canaaniteshepherds that had long enslaved the Egyptians of old time. See hisSanchoniatho, p. 361, 362. [13] Reland here puts the question, how Josephus could complain of itsnot raining in Egypt during this famine, while the ancients affirmthat it never does naturally rain there. His answer is, that when theancients deny that it rains in Egypt, they only mean the Upper Egyptabove the Delta, which is called Egypt in the strictest sense; but thatin the Delta [and by consequence in the Lower Egypt adjoining to it] itdid of old, and still does, rain sometimes. See the note on Antiq. B. III. Ch. 1. Sect. 6. [14] Josephus supposes that Joseph now restored the Egyptians theirlands again upon the payment of a fifth part as tribute. It seems tome rather that the land was now considered as Pharaoh's land, and thisfifth part as its rent, to be paid to him, as he was their landlord, and they his tenants; and that the lands were not properly restored, andthis fifth part reserved as tribute only, till the days of Sesostris. See Essay on the Old Testament, Append. 148, 149. [15] As to this encomium upon Joseph, as preparatory to Jacob's adoptingEphraim and Manasses into his own family, and to be admitted for twotribes, which Josephus here mentions, all our copies of Genesis omit it, ch. 48. ; nor do we know whence he took it, or whether it be not his ownembellishment only. [16] As to the affliction of Abraham's posterity for 400 years, seeAntiq. B. I. Ch. 10. Sect. 3; and as to what cities they built in Egypt, under Pharaoh Sesostris, and of Pharaoh Sesostris's drowning in the RedSea, see Essay on the Old Testament, Append. P. 132-162. [17] Of this building of the pyramids of Egypt by the Israelites, seePerizonius Orig. Aegyptiac, ch. 21. It is not impossible they mightbuild one or more of the small ones; but the larger ones seem muchlater. Only, if they be all built of stone, this does not so well agreewith the Israelites' labors, which are said to have been in brick, andnot in stone, as Mr. Sandys observes in his Travels. P. 127, 128. [18] Dr. Bernard informs us here, that instead of this single priestor prophet of the Egyptians, without a name in Josephus, the Targum ofJonathan names the two famous antagonists of Moses, Jannes and Jambres. Nor is it at all unlikely that it might be one of these who foreboded somuch misery to the Egyptians, and so much happiness to the Israelites, from the rearing of Moses. [19] Josephus is clear that these midwives were Egyptians, and notIsraelites, as in our other copies: which is very probable, it being noteasily to be supposed that Pharaoh could trust the Israelite midwives toexecute so barbarous a command against their own nation. [Consult, therefore, and correct hence our ordinary copies, Exodus 1:15, 22. ] And, indeed, Josephus seems to have had much completer copies ofthe Pentateuch, or other authentic records now lost, about the birthand actions of Moses, than either our Hebrew, Samaritan, or Greek Biblesafford us, which enabled him to be so large and particular about him. [20] Of this grandfather of Sesostris, Ramestes the Great, who slew theIsraelite infants, and of the inscription on his obelisk, containing, inmy opinion, one of the oldest records of mankind, see Essay on the OldTest. Append. P. 139, 145, 147, 217-220. [21] What Josephus here says of the beauty of Moses, that he was of adivine form, is very like what St. Stephen says of the same beauty; thatMoses was beautiful in the sight of Acts 7:20. [22] This history of Moses, as general of the Egyptians against theEthiopians, is wholly omitted in our Bibles; but is thus by Irenaeus, from Josephus, and that soon after his own age:--"Josephus says, thatwhen Moses was nourished in the palace, he was appointed general of thearmy against the Ethiopians, and conquered them, when he married thatking's daughter; because, out of her affection for him, she deliveredthe city up to him. " See the Fragments of Irenaeus, ap. Edit. Grab. P. 472. Nor perhaps did St. Stephen refer to any thing else when he said ofMoses, before he was sent by God to the Israelites, that he was not onlylearned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, but was also mighty in wordsand in deeds, Acts 7:22. [23] Pliny speaks of these birds called ibes; and says, "The Egyptiansinvoked them against the serpents, " Hist. Nat. B. X. Ch. 28. Strabospeaks of this island Meroe, and these rivers Astapus and Astaboras, B. XVI. P. 771, 786; and B XVII. P. 82]. [24] This superstitious fear of discovering the name with four letters, which of late we have been used falsely to pronounce Jehovah, but seemsto have been originally pronounced Jahoh, or Jao, is never, I think, heard of till this passage of Josephus; and this superstition, in notpronouncing that name, has continued among the Rabbinical Jews to thisday [though whether the Samaritans and Caraites observed it so early, does not appear]. Josephus also durst not set down the very words of theten commandments, as we shall see hereafter, Antiq. B. III. Ch. 5. Sect. 4, which superstitious silence I think has yet not been continuedeven by the Rabbins. It is, however, no doubt but both these cautiousconcealments were taught Josephus by the Pharisees, a body of men atonce very wicked and very superstitious. [25] Of this judicial hardening the hearts and blinding the eyes ofwicked men, or infatuating them, as a just punishment for their otherwillful sins, to their own destruction, see the note on Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 9. Sect. 6. [26] As to this winter or spring hail near Egypt and Judea, see thelike on thunder and lightning there, in the note on Antiq. B. VI. Ch. 5. Sect. 6. [27] These large presents made to the Israelites, of vessels of andvessels of gold, and raiment, were, as Josephus truly calls them, giftsreally given them; not lent them, as our English falsely renders them. They were spoils required, not of them, Genesis 15:14; Exodus 3:22;11:2; Psalm 105:37, ] as the same version falsely renders the Hebrew wordExodus 12:35, 36. God had ordered the Jews to demand these as their payand reward, during their long and bitter slavery in Egypt, as atonementsfor the lives of the Egyptians, and as the condition of the Jews'departure, and of the Egyptians' deliverance from these terriblejudgments, which, had they not now ceased, they had soon been all deadmen, as they themselves confess, ch. 12. 33. Nor was there any sense inborrowing or lending, when the Israelites were finally departing out ofthe land for ever. [28] Why our Masorete copy so groundlessly abridges this account inExodus 12:40, as to ascribe 430 years to the sole peregrination of theIsraelites in Egypt, when it is clear even by that Masorete chronologyelsewhere, as well as from the express text itself, in the Samaritan, Septuagint, and Josephus, that they sojourned in Egypt but half thattime, --and that by consequence, the other half of their peregrinationwas in the land of Canaan, before they came into Egypt, --is hard to say. See Essay on the Old Testament, p. 62, 63. [29] Take the main part of Reland's excellent note here, which greatlyillustrates Josephus, and the Scripture, in this history, as follows:"[A traveller, says Reland, whose name was] Eneman, when he returned outof Egypt, told me that he went the same way from Egypt to Mount Sinai, which he supposed the Israelites of old traveled; and that he foundseveral mountainous tracts, that ran down towards the Red Sea. Hethought the Israelites had proceeded as far as the desert of Etham, Exodus 13:20, when they were commanded by God to return back, Exodus14:2, and to pitch their camp between Migdol and the sea; and that whenthey were not able to fly, unless by sea, they were shut in on each sideby mountains. He also thought we might evidently learn hence, how itmight be said that the Israelites were in Etham before they went overthe sea, and yet might be said to have come into Etham after they hadpassed over the sea also. Besides, he gave me an account how he passedover a river in a boat near the city Suez, which he says must needs bethe Heroopolia of the ancients, since that city could not be situate anywhere else in that neighborhood. " As to the famous passage produced hereby Dr. Bernard, out of Herodotus, as the most ancient heathen testimonyof the Israelites coming from the Red Sea into Palestine, BishopCumberland has shown that it belongs to the old Canaanite or Phoenicianshepherds, and their retiring out of Egypt into Canaan or Phoenicia, long before the days of Moses. Sanchoniatho, p. 374, &c. [30] Of these storms of wind, thunder, and lightning, at this drowningof Pharaoh's army, almost wanting in our copies of Exodus, but fullyextant in that of David, Psalm 77:16-18, and in that of Josephus here, see Essay on the Old Test. Append. P. 15, 1, 155. [31] What some have here objected against this passage of the Israelitesover the Red Sea, in this one night, from the common maps, viz. Thatthis sea being here about thirty miles broad, so great an army could notpass over it in so short a time, is a great mistake. Mons. Thevenot, anauthentic eye-witness, informs us, that this sea, for about five days'journey, is no where more than about eight or nine miles over-cross, andin one place but four or five miles, according to De Lisle's map, whichis made from the best travelers themselves, and not copied from others. What has been further objected against this passage of the Israelites, and drowning of the Egyptians, being miraculous also, viz. That Mosesmight carry the Israelites over at a low tide without any miracle, whileyet the Egyptians, not knowing the tide so well as he, might be drownedupon the return of the tide, is a strange story indeed! That Moses, whonever had lived here, should know the quantity and time of the fluxand reflux of the Red Sea better than the Egyptians themselves in itsneighborhood! Yet does Artapanus, an ancient heathen historian, informus, that this was what the more ignorant Memphites, who lived at agreat distance, pretended, though he confesses, that the more learnedHeliopolitans, who lived much nearer, owned the destruction ofthe Egyptians, and the deliverance of the Israelites, to have beenmiraculous: and De Castro, a mathematician, who surveyed this sea withgreat exactness, informs us, that there is no great flux or reflux inthis part of the Red Sea, to give a color to this hypothesis; nay, thatat the elevation of the tide there is little above half the height ofa man. See Essay on the Old Test. Append. P. 239, 240. So vain andgroundless are these and the like evasions and subterfuges of our modernsceptics and unbelievers, and so certainly do thorough inquiries andauthentic evidence disprove and confute such evasions and subterfugesupon all occasions. [32] What that hexameter verse, in which Moses's triumphant song is heresaid to be written, distinctly means, our present ignorance of the oldHebrew metre or measure will not let us determine. Nor does it appearto me certain that even Josephus himself had a distinct notion of it, though he speaks of several sort of that metre or measure, both here andelsewhere. Antiq. B. IV. Ch. 8. Sect. 44; and B. VII. Ch. 12. Sect. 3. [33] Take here the original passages of the four old authors that stillremain, as to this transit of Alexander the Great over the PamphylianSea: I mean, of Callisthenes, Strabu, Arrian, and Appian. As toCallisthenes, who himself accompanied Alexander in this expedition, Eustathius, in his Notes on the third Iliad of Homer, [as Dr. Bernardhere informs us, ] says, That "this Callisthenes wrote how the PamphylianSea did not only open a passage for Alexander, but, by rising and didpay him homage as its king. " Strabo's is this [Geog. B. XIV. P. 666]:"Now about Phaselis is that narrow passage, by the sea-side, throughwhich his army. There is a mountain called Climax, adjoins to the Seaof Pamphylia, leaving a narrow passage on the shore, which, in calmweather, is bare, so as to be passable by travelers, but when the seaoverflows, it is covered to a great degree by the waves. Now then, theascent by the mountains being round about and steep, in still weatherthey make use of the road along the coast. But Alexander fell into thewinter season, and committing himself chiefly to fortune, he marched onbefore the waves retired; and so it happened that were a whole day injourneying over it, and were under water up to the navel. " Arrian'saccount is this [B. I. P. 72, 73]: "Alexander removed from Phaselis, he sent some part his army over the mountains to Perga; which road theThracians showed him. A difficult way it was, but short. He himselfconducted those that were with him by the sea-shore. This road isimpassable at any other time than when the north wind blows; but if thesouth wind prevail, there is no passing by the shore. Now at this time, after strong south winds, a north wind blew, and that not without theDivine Providence, [as both he and they that were with him supposed, ]and afforded him an easy and quick passage. " Appian, when he comparesCaesar and Alexander together, [De Bel. Civil. B. II. P. 522, ] says, "That they both depended on their boldness and fortune, as much as ontheir skill in war. As an instance of which, Alexander journeyed over acountry without water, in the heat of summer, to the oracle of [Jupiter]Hammon, and quickly passed over the Bay of Pamphylia, when, by DivineProvidence, the sea was cut off--thus Providence restraining the seaon his account, as it had sent him rain when he traveled [over thedesert]. " N. B. --Since, in the days of Josephus, as he assures us, allthe more numerous original historians of Alexander gave the account hehas here set down, as to the providential going back of the watersof the Pamphylian Sea, when he was going with his army to destroy thePersian monarchy, which the fore-named authors now remaining fullyconfirm, it is without all just foundation that Josephus is here blamedby some late writers for quoting those ancient authors upon the presentoccasion; nor can the reflections of Plutarch, or any other author laterthan Josephus, be in the least here alleged to contradict him. Josephuswent by all the evidence he then had, and that evidence of the mostauthentic sort also. So that whatever the moderns may think of thething itself, there is hence not the least color for finding fault withJosephus: he would rather have been much to blame had he omitted thesequotations. BOOK 3 FOOTNOTES [1] Dr. Bernard takes notice here, that this place Mar, where the waterswere bitter, is called by the Syrians and Arabians Mariri, and by theSyrians sometimes Morath, all derived from the Hebrew Mar. He also takesnotice, that it is called The Bitter Fountain by Pliny himself; whichwaters remain there to this day, and are still bitter, as Thevenotassures us and that there are also abundance of palm-trees. See hisTravels, Part I. Ch. 26. P. 166. [2]The additions here to Moses's account of the sweetening of the watersat Marah, seem derived from some ancient profane author, and he suchan author also as looks less authentic than are usually followed byJosephus. Philo has not a syllable of these additions, nor any otherancienter writer that we know of. Had Josephus written these hisAntiquities for the use of Jews, he would hardly have given them thesevery improbable circumstances; but writing to Gentiles, that they mightnot complain of his omission of any accounts of such miracles derivedfrom Gentiles, he did not think proper to conceal what he had met withthere about this matter. Which procedure is perfectly agreeable to thecharacter and usage of Josephus upon many occasions. This note is, Iconfess, barely conjectural; and since Josephus never tells us whenhis own copy, taken out of the temple, had such additions, or whenany ancient notes supplied them; or indeed when they are derived fromJewish, and when from Gentile antiquity, --we can go no further than bareconjectures in such cases; only the notions of Jews were generallyso different from those of Gentiles, that we may sometimes make noimprobable conjectures to which sort such additions belong. See alsosomewhat like these additions in Josephus's account of Elisha's makingsweet the bitter and barren spring near Jericho, War, B. IV. Ch. 8. Sect. 3. [3] It seems to me, from what Moses, Exodus 16:18, St. Paul, 2Corinthians 8:15, and Josephus here say, compared together, that thequantity of manna that fell daily, and did not putrefy, was just somuch as came to an omer apiece, through the whole host of Israel, and nomore. [4] This supposal, that the sweet honey-dew or manna, so celebrated inancient and modern authors, as falling usually in Arabia, was of thevery same sort with this manna sent to the Israelites, savors more ofGentilism than of Judaism or Christianity. It is not improbable thatsome ancient Gentile author, read by Josephus, so thought; nor would hehere contradict him; though just before, and Antiq. B. IV. Ch. 3. Sect. 2, 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 inArtapanus, a heathen writer, it is compared to meal, color like to snow, rained down by God, " Essay on the Old Test. Append. P. 239. But as tothe derivation of the word manna, whether from man, which Josephus saysthen signified What is it or from mannah, to divide, i. E. , a dividend orportion allotted to every one, it is uncertain: I incline to the latterderivation. This manna is called angels' food, Psalm 78:26, and by ourSacior, John 6:31, etc. , as well as by Josephus here and elsewhere, Antiq. B. III. Ch. 5. Sect. 3, said to be sent the Jews from heaven. [5] This rock is there at this day, as the travelers agree; and must bethe same that was there in the days of Moses, as being too large to bebrought thither by our modern carriages. [6] Note here, that the small book of the principal laws of Mosesis ever said to be laid up in the holy house itself; but the largerPentateuch, as here, some where within the limits of the temple and itscourts only. See Antiq. B. V. Ch. 1. Sect. 17. [7] This eminent circumstance, that while Moses's hands were lift uptowards heaven, the Israelites prevailed, and while they were let downtowards the earth, the Amalekites prevailed, seems to me the earliestintimation we have of the proper posture, used of old, in solemn prayer, which was the stretching out of the hands [and eyes] towards heaven, asother passages of the Old and New Testament inform us. Nay, by the way, this posture seemed to have continued in the Christian church, till theclergy, instead of learning their prayers by heart, read them out ofa book, which is in a great measure inconsistent with such an elevatedposture, and which seems to me to have been only a later practice, introduced under the corrupt state of the church; though the constantuse of divine forms of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, appears tome to have been the practice of God's people, patriarchs, Jews, andChristians, in all the past ages. [8] This manner of electing the judges and officers of the Israelites bythe testimonies and suffrages of the people, before they were ordainedby God, or by Moses, deserves to be carefully noted, because it wasthe pattern of the like manner of the choice and ordination of bishops, presbyters, and deacons, in the Christian church. [9] Since this mountain, Sinai, is here said to be the highest of allthe mountains that are in that country, it must be that now called St. Katherine's, which is one-third higher than that within a mile of it, now called Sinai, as Mons. Thevenot informs us, Travels, Part I. Ch. 23. P. 168. The other name of it, Horeb, is never used by Josephus, andperhaps was its name among the Egyptians only, whence the Israeliteswere lately come, as Sinai was its name among the Arabians, Canaanites, and other nations. Accordingly when [1 Kings 9:8] the Scripture saysthat Elijah came to Horeb, the mount of God, Josephus justly says, Antiq. B. VIII. Ch. 13. Sect. 7, that he came to the mountain calledSinai: and Jerome, here cited by Dr. Hudson, says, that he took thismountain to have two names, Sinai and Choreb. De Nomin. Heb. P. 427. [10] Of this and another like superstitious notion of the Pharisees, which Josephus complied with, see the note on Antiq. B. II. Ch. 12. Sect. 4. [11] This other work of Josephus, here referred to, seems to be thatwhich does not appear to have been ever published, which yet he intendedto publish, about the reasons of many of the laws of Moses; of which seethe note on the Preface, sect. 4. [12] Of this tabernacle of Moses, with its several parts and furniture, see my description at large, chap. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. , heretobelonging. [13] The use of these golden bells at the bottom of the high priest'slong garment, seems to me to have been this: That by shaking his garmentat the time of his offering incense in the temple, on the great day ofexpiation, or at other proper periods of his sacred ministrations there, on the great festivals, the people might have notice of it, and mightfall to their own prayers at the time of incense, or other properperiods; and so the whole congregation might at once offer those commonprayers jointly with the high priest himself to the Almighty SeeLuke 1:10; Revelation 8:3, 4. Nor probably is the son of Sirach to beotherwise understood, when he says of Aaron, the first high priest, Ecelus. 45:9, "And God encompassed Aaron with pomegranates, and withmany golden bells round about, that as he went there might be a sound, and a noise made that might be heard in the temple, for a memorial tothe children of his people. " [14] The reader ought to take notice here, that the very Mosaic Petalon, or golden plate, for the forehead of the Jewish high priest, was itselfpreserved, not only till the days of Josephus, but of Origen; and thatits inscription, Holiness to the Lord, was in the Samaritan characters. See Antiq. B. VIII. Ch. 3. Sect. 8, Essay on the Old Test. P. 154, andReland, De pol. Templi, p. 132. [15] When Josephus, both here and ch. 6. Sect. 4, supposes thetabernacle to have been parted into three parts, he seems to esteem thebare entrance to be a third division, distinct from the holy and themost holy places; and this the rather, because in the temple afterwardthere was a real distinct third part, which was called the Porch:otherwise Josephus would contradict his own description of thetabernacle, which gives as a particular account of no more than twoparts. [16] This explication of the mystical meaning of the Jewish tabernacleand its vessels, with the garments of the high priest, is taken out ofPhilo, and fitted to Gentile philosophical notions. This may possibly beforgiven in Jews, greatly versed in heathen learning and philosophy, asPhilo had ever been, and as Josephus had long been when he wrote theseAntiquities. In the mean time, it is not to be doubted, but in theireducation they must have both learned more Jewish interpretations, suchas we meet with in the Epistle of Barnabas, in that to the Hebrews, andelsewhere among the old Jews. Accordingly when Josephus wrote hisbooks of the Jewish War, for the use of the Jews, at which time hewas comparatively young, and less used to Gentile books, we find onespecimen of such a Jewish interpretation; for there [B. VII. Ch. 5. Sect. 5] he makes the seven branches of the temple-candlestick, withtheir seven lamps, an emblem of the seven days of creation and rest, which are here emblems of the seven planets. Nor certainly ought ancientJewish emblems to be explained any other way than according to ancientJewish, and not Gentile, notions. See of the War, B. I. Ch. 33. Sect. 2. [17] It is well worth our observation, that the two principalqualifications required in this section for the constitution of thefirst high priest, [viz. That he should have an excellent character forvirtuous and good actions; as also that he should have the approbationof the people, ] are here noted by Josephus, even where the nominationbelonged to God himself; which are the very same qualifications whichthe Christian religion requires in the choice of Christian bishops, priests, and deacons; as the Apostolical Constitutions inform us, B. II. Ch. 3. [18] This weight and value of the Jewish shekel, in the days ofJosephus, equal to about 2s. 10d. Sterling, is, by the learned Jews, owned to be one-fifth larger than were their old shekels; whichdetermination agrees perfectly with the remaining shekels that haveSamaritan inscriptions, coined generally by Simon the Maccabee, about230 years before Josephus published his Antiquities, which neverweigh more than 2s. 4d. , and commonly but 2s. 4d. See Reland De NummisSamaritanorum, p. 138. [19] The incense was here offered, according to Josephus's opinion, before sun-rising, and at sun-setting; but in the days of Pompey, according to the same Josephus, the sacrifices were offered in themorning, and at the ninth hour. Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 4. Sect. 3. [20] Hence we may correct the opinions of the modern Rabbins, who saythat only one of the seven lamps burned in the day-time; whereas ourJosephus, an eyewitness, says there were three. [21] Of this strange expression, that Moses "left it to God to bepresent at his sacrifices when he pleased, and when he pleased to beabsent, " see the note on B. II. Against Apion, sect. 16. [22]These answers by the oracle of Urim and Thummim, which wordssignify, light and perfection, or, as the Septuagint render them, revelation and truth, and denote nothing further, that I see, butthe shining stones themselves, which were used, in this method ofillumination, in revealing the will of God, after a perfect and truemanner, to his people Israel: I say, these answers were not made by theshining of the precious stones, after an awkward manner, in thehigh priest's breastplate, as the modern Rabbins vainly suppose; forcertainly the shining of the stones might precede or accompany theoracle, without itself delivering that oracle, see Antiq. B. VI. Ch. 6. Sect. 4; but rather by an audible voice from the mercy-seat between thecherubims. See Prideaux's Connect. At the year 534. This oracle had beensilent, as Josephus here informs us, two hundred years before he wrotehis Antiquities, or ever since the days of the last good high priestof the family of the Maccabees, John Hyrcanus. Now it is here very wellworth our observation, that the oracle before us was that by which Godappeared to be present with, and gave directions to, his people Israelas their King, all the while they submitted to him in that capacity; anddid not set over them such independent kings as governed according totheir own wills and political maxims, instead of Divine directions. Accordingly we meet with this oracle [besides angelic and propheticadmonitions] all along from the days of Moses and Joshua to theanointing of Saul, the first of the succession of the kings, Numbers27:21; Joshua 6:6, etc. ; 19:50; Judges 1:1; 18:4-6, 30, 31; 20:18, 23, 26-28; 21:1, etc. ; 1 Samuel 1:17, 18; 3. Per tot. ; 4. Per tot. ; nay, till Saul's rejection of the Divine commands in the war with Amalek, when he took upon him to act as he thought fit, 1 Samuel 14:3, 18, 19, 36, 37, then this oracle left Saul entirely, [which indeed he had seldomconsulted before, 1 Samuel 14:35; 1 Chronicles 10:14; 13:3; Antiq. B. 7ch. 4 sect 2. ] and accompanied David, who was anointed to succeed him, and who consulted God by it frequently, and complied with its directionsconstantly [1 Samuel 14:37, 41; 15:26; 22:13, 15; 23:9, 10; 30:7, 8, 18;2 Samuel 2:1; 5:19, 23; 21:1; 23:14; 1 Chronicles 14:10, 14; Antiq. B IVch. 12 sect. 5]. Saul, indeed, long after his rejection by God, andwhen God had given him up to destruction for his disobedience, did onceafterwards endeavor to consult God when it was too late; but God wouldnot then answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets, 1Samuel 28:6. Nor did any of David's successors, the kings of Judah, that we know of, consult God by this oracle, till the very Babylonishcaptivity itself, when those kings were at an end; they taking uponthem, I suppose, too much of despotic power and royalty, and too littleowning the God of Israel for the supreme King of Israel, though a few ofthem consulted the prophets sometimes, and were answered by them. At thereturn of the two tribes, without the return of the kingly government, the restoration of this oracle was expected, Nehemiah 7;63; 1 Esd. 5:40;1 Macc. 4:46; 14:41. And indeed it may seem to have been restored forsome time after the Babylonish captivity, at least in the days of thatexcellent high priest, John Hyrcanus, whom Josephus esteemed as a king, a priest, and a prophet; and who, he says, foretold several thingsthat came to pass accordingly; but about the time of his death, he hereimplies, that this oracle quite ceased, and not before. The followinghigh priests now putting diadems on their heads, and ruling according totheir own will, and by their own authority, like the other kings of thepagan countries about them; so that while the God of Israel was allowedto be the supreme King of Israel, and his directions to be theirauthentic guides, God gave them such directions as their supreme Kingand Governor, and they were properly under a theocracy, by this oracleof Urim, but no longer [see Dr. Bernard's notes here]; though I confessI cannot but esteem the high priest Jaddus's divine dream, Antiq. B. XI. Ch. 8. Sect. 4, and the high priest Caiaphas's most remarkable prophecy, John 11:47-52, as two small remains or specimens of this ancient oracle, which properly belonged to the Jewish high priests: nor perhaps ought weentirely to forget that eminent prophetic dream of our Josephus himself, [one next to a high priest, as of the family of the Asamoneans orMaccabees, ] as to the succession of Vespasian and Titus to the Romanempire, 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. Ch. 8. Sect. 9. This, I think, may well be looked on as the very last instanceof any thing like the prophetic Urim among the Jewish nation, and justpreceded their fatal desolation: but how it could possibly come to passthat such great men as Sir John Marsham and Dr. Spenser, should imaginethat this oracle of Urim and Thummim with other practices as old orolder than the law of Moses, should have been ordained in imitation ofsomewhat like them among the Egyptians, which we never hear of till thedays of Diodorus Siculus, Aelian, and Maimonides, or little earlier thanthe Christian era at the highest, is almost unaccountable; whilethe main business of the law of Moses was evidently to preserve theIsraelites from the idolatrous and superstitious practices of theneighboring pagan nations; and while it is so undeniable, that theevidence for the great antiquity of Moses's law is incomparably beyondthat for the like or greater antiquity of such customs in Egypt or othernations, which indeed is generally none at all, it is most absurdto derive any of Moses's laws from the imitation of those heathenpractices, Such hypotheses demonstrate to us how far inclination canprevail over evidence, in even some of the most learned part of mankind. [23] What Reland well observes here, out of Josephus, as compared withthe law of Moses, Leviticus 7:15, [that the eating of the sacrifice thesame day it was offered, seems to mean only before the morning of thenext, although the latter part, i. E. The night, be in strictness partof the next day, according to the Jewish reckoning, ] is greatly to beobserved upon other occasions also. The Jewish maxim in such cases, itseems, is this: That the day goes before the night; and this appears tome to be the language both of the Old and New Testament. See also thenote on Antiq. B. IV. Ch. 4. Sect. 4, and Reland's note on B. IV. Ch. 8. Sect. 28. [24] We may here note, that Josephus frequently calls the camp the city, and the court of the Mosaic tabernacle a temple, and the tabernacleitself a holy house, with allusion to the latter city, temple, and holyhouse, which he knew so well long afterwards. [25] These words of Josephus are remarkable, that the lawgiver of theJews required of the priests a double degree of parity, in comparisonof that required of the people, of which he gives several instancesimmediately. It was for certain the case also among the firstChristians, of the clergy, in comparison of the laity, as theApostolical Constitutions and Canons every where inform us. [26] We must here note with Reland, that the precept given to thepriests of not drinking wine while they wore the sacred garments, isequivalent; to their abstinence from it all the while they ministered inthe temple; because they then always, and then only, wore those sacredgarments, which were laid up there from one time of ministration toanother. [27] See Antiq, B. XX. Ch. 2. Sect, 6. And Acts 11:28. BOOK 4 FOOTNOTES [1] Reland here takes notice, that although our Bibles say littleor nothing of these riches of Corah, yet that both the Jews andMahommedans, as well as Josephus, are full of it. [2] It appears here, and from the Samaritan Pentateuch, and, in effect, from the psalmist, as also from the Apostolical Constitutions, fromClement's First Epistle to the Corinthians, from Ignatius's Epistle tothe Magnesians, and from Eusebius, that Corah was not swallowed up withthe Reubenites, but burned with the Levites of his own tribe. See Essayon the Old Testament, p. 64, 65. [3] Concerning these twelve rods of the twelve tribes of Israel, see St. Clement's account, much larger than that in our Bibles, 1 Epist. Sect. 45; as is Josephus's present account in measure larger also. [4] Grotius, on Numbers 6:18, takes notice that the Greeks also, aswellas the Jews, sometimes consecrated the hair of their heads to the gods. [5] Josephus here uses this phrase, "when the fortieth year wascompleted, " for when it was begun; as does St. Luke when the day ofPentecost was completed, " Acts 2:1. [6] Whether Miriam died, as Josephus's. Greek copies imply, on the firstday of the month, may be doubted, because the Latin copies say it was onthe tenth, and so say the Jewish calendars also, as Dr. Bernard assuresus. It is said her sepulcher is still extant near Petra, the old capitalcity of Arabia Petraea, at this day; as also that of Aaron, not far off. [7] What Josephus here remarks is well worth our remark in this placealso; viz. That the Israelites were never to meddle with the Moabites, or Ammonites, or any other people, but those belonging to the land ofCanaan, and the countries of Sihon and Og beyond Jordan, as far as thedesert and Euphrates, and that therefore no other people had reason tofear the conquests of the Israelites; but that those countries giventhem by God were their proper and peculiar portion among the nations, and that all who endeavored to dispossess them might ever be justlydestroyed by them. [8] Note that Josephus never supposes Balaam to be an idolater, nor toseek idolatrous enchantments, or to prophesy falsely, but to be no otherthan an ill-disposed prophet of the true God; and intimates that God'sanswer the second time, permitting him to go, was ironical, and ondesign that he deceived [which sort of deception, by way of punishmentfor former crimes, Josephus never scruples to admit, as ever esteemingsuch wicked men justly and providentially deceived]. But perhaps we hadbetter keep here close to the text which says Numbers 23:20, 21, thatGod only permitted Balaam to go along with the ambassadors, in casethey came and called him, or positively insisted on his going along withthem, on any terms; whereas Balaam seems out of impatience to have risenup in the morning, and saddled his ass, and rather to have called them, than staid for their calling him, so zealous does he seem to have beenfor his reward of divination, his wages of unrighteousness, Numbers23:7, 17, 18, 37; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 5, 11; which reward or wages thetruly religious prophets of God never required nor accepted, as ourJosephus justly takes notice in the cases of Samuel, Antiq. B. V. Ch. 4. Sect. 1, and Daniel, Antiq. B. X. Ch. 11. Sect. 3. See also Genesis14:22, 23; 2 Kings 5:15, 16, 26, 27; and Acts 8;17-24. [9] Whether Josephus had in his copy but two attempts of Balaam in allto curse Israel; or whether by this his twice offering sacrifice, hemeant twice besides that first time already mentioned, which yet is notvery probable; cannot now be certainly determined. In the mean time, all other copies have three such attempts of Balaam to curse them in thepresent history. [10] Such a large and distinct account of this perversion of theIsraelites by the Midianite women, of which our other copies give us butshort intimations, Numbers 31:16 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11; Revelation2:14, is preserved, as Reland informs us, in the Samaritan Chronicle, inPhilo, and in other writings of the Jews, as well as here by Josephus. [11] This grand maxim, That God's people of Israel could never be hurtnor destroyed, but by drawing them to sin against God, appears to betrue, by the entire history of that people, both in the Bible and inJosephus; and is often taken notice of in them both. See in particular amost remarkable Ammonite testimony to this purpose, Judith 5:5-21. [12] What Josephus here puts into the mouths of these Midianite women, who came to entice the Israelites to lewdness and idolatry, viz. Thattheir worship of the God of Israel, in opposition to their idol gods, implied their living according to the holy laws which the true Godhad given them by Moses, in opposition to those impure laws which wereobserved under their false gods, well deserves our consideration; andgives us a substantial reason for the great concern that was ever shownunder the law of Moses to preserve the Israelites from idolatry, andin the worship of the true God; it being of no less consequence than, Whether God's people should be governed by the holy laws of thetrue God, or by the impure laws derived from demons, under the paganidolatry. [13] The mistake in all Josephus's copies, Greek and Latin which havehere fourteen thousand instead of twenty-four thousand, is so flagrant, that our very learned editors, Bernard and Hudson, have put the latternumber directly into the text. I choose rather to put it in brackets. [14] The slaughter of all the Midianite women that had prostitutedthemselves to the lewd Israelites, and the preservation of those thathad not been guilty therein; the last of which were no fewer thanthirty-two thousand, both here and Numbers 31:15-17, 35, 40, 46, andboth by the particular command of God; are highly remarkable, andshow that, even in nations otherwise for their wickedness doomed todestruction, the innocent were sometimes particularly and providentiallytaken care of, and delivered from that destruction; which directlyimplies, that it was the wickedness of the nations of Canaan, andnothing else, that occasioned their excision. See Genesis 15;16; 1Samuel 15:18, 33; Apost. Constit. B. VIII. Ch. 12. P. 402. In thefirst of which places, the reason of the delay of the punishment of theAmorites is given, because "their iniquity was not yet full. " Inthe secured, Saul is ordered to go and "destroy the sinners, theAmalekites;" plainly implying that they were therefore to be destroyed, because they were sinners, and not otherwise. In the third, the reasonis given why king Agag was not to be spared, viz. Because of his formercruelty: "As thy sword hath made the [Hebrew] women childless, so shallthy mother be made childless among women by the Hebrews. " In the lastplace, the apostles, or their amanuensis Clement, gave this reason forthe necessity of the coming of Christ, that "men had formerly pervertedboth the positive law, and that of nature; and had cast out of theirmind the memory of the Flood, the burning of Sodom, the plagues of theEgyptians, and the slaughter of the inhabitants of Palestine, " as signsof the most amazing impenitence and insensibility, under the punishmentsof horrid wickedness. [15] Josephus here, in this one sentence, sums up his notion of Moses'svery long and very serious exhortations in the book of Deuteronomy; andhis words are so true, and of such importance, that they deserve to behad in constant remembrance. [16] This law, both here and Exodus 20:25, 26, of not going up to God'saltar by ladder-steps, but on an acclivity, seems not to have belongedto the altar of the tabernacle, which was in all but three cubits high, Exodus 27:4; nor to that of Ezekiel, which was expressly to be goneup to by steps, ch. 43:17; but rather to occasional altars of anyconsiderable altitude and largeness; as also probably to Solomon'saltar, to which it is here applied by Josephus, as well as to that inZorobabel's and Herod's temple, which were, I think, all ten cubitshigh. See 2 Chronicles 4:1, and Antiq. B. VIII. Ch. 3. Sect. 7. Thereason why these temples, and these only, were to have this ascent onan acclivity, and not by steps, is obvious, that before the invention ofstairs, such as we now use, decency could not be otherwise provided forin the loose garments which the priests wore, as the law required. SeeLamy of the Tabernacle and Temple, p. 444. [17] The hire of public or secret harlots was given to Venus in Syria, as Lucian informs us, p. 878; and against some such vile practice of theold idolaters this law seems to have been made. [18] The Apostolical Constitutions, B. II. Ch. 26. Sect. 31, expoundthis law of Moses, Exodus 22. 28, "Thou shalt not revile or blasphemethe gods, " or magistrates, which is a much more probable exposition thanthis of Josephus, of heathen gillis, as here, and against Apion, B. II. Ch. 3. Sect. 31. What book of the law was thus publicly read, see thenote on Antiq. B. X. Ch. 5. Sect. 5, and 1 Esd. 9:8-55. [19]Whether these phylacteries, and other Jewish memorials of the lawhere mentioned by Josephus, and by Muses, [besides the fringes on theborders of their garments, Numbers 15:37, ] were literally meant by God, I much question. That they have been long observed by the Pharisees andRabbinical Jews is certain; however, the Karaites, who receive not theunwritten traditions of the elders, but keep close to the written law, with Jerome and Grotius, think they were not literally to be understood;as Bernard and Reland here take notice. Nor indeed do I remember that, either in the ancienter books of the Old Testament, or in the bookswe call Apocrypha, there are any signs of such literal observationsappearing among the Jews, though their real or mystical signification, i. E. The constant remembrance and observation of the laws of God byMoses, be frequently inculcated in all the sacred writings. [20] Here, as well as elsewhere, sect. 38, of his Life, sect. 14, andof the War, B. II. Ch. 20. Sect. 5, are but seven judges appointedfor small cities, instead of twenty-three in the modern Rabbins; whichmodern Rabbis are always but of very little authority in comparison ofour Josephus. [21] I have never observed elsewhere, that in the Jewish governmentwomen were not admitted as legal witnesses in courts of justice. Noneof our copies of the Pentateuch say a word of it. It is very probable, however, that this was the exposition of the scribes and Pharisees, andthe practice of the Jews in the days of Josephus. [22] This penalty of "forty stripes save one, " here mentioned, andsect. 23, was five times inflicted on St. Paul himself by the Jews, 2Corinthians 11:24 [23] Josephus's plain and express interpretation of this law of Moses, Deuteronomy 14:28, 29; 26:12, etc. , that the Jews were bound every thirdyear to pay three tithes, that to the Levites, that for sacrifices atJerusalem, and this for the indigent, the widow, and the orphans, isfully confirmed by the practice of good old Tobit, even when he was acaptive in Assyria, against the opinions of the Rabbins, Tobit 1:6-8. [24] These tokens of virginity, as the Hebrew and Septuagint style them, Deuteronomy 22:15, 17, 20, seem to me very different from what our laterinterpreters suppose. They appear rather to have been such close linengarments as were never put off virgins, after, a certain age, till theywere married, but before witnesses, and which, while they were entire, were certain evidences of such virginity. See these, Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 8. Sect. 1; 2 Samuel 13:18; Isaiah 6:1 Josephus here determines nothingwhat were these particular tokens of virginity or of corruption: perhapshe thought he could not easily describe them to the heathens, withoutsaying what they might have thought a breach of modesty; which seemingbreach of modesty laws cannot always wholly avoid. [25] These words of Josephus are very like those of the Pharisees to ourSavior upon this very subject, Matthew 19:3, "Is it lawful for a man toput away his wife for every cause?" [26] Here it is supposed that this captive's husband, if she were beforea married woman, was dead before, or rather was slain in this verybattle, otherwise it would have been adultery in him that married her. [27] See Herod the Great insisting on the execution of this law, withrelation to two of his own sons, before the judges at Berytus, Antiq. B. XVI. Ch. 11. Sect. 2. [28] Philo and others appear to have understood this law, Exodus 21:22, 23, better than Josephus, who seems to allow, that though the infant inthe mother's womb, even after the mother were quick, and so the infanthad a rational soul, were killed by the stroke upon the mother, yet ifthe mother escaped, the offender should only be fined, and not put todeath; while the law seems rather to mean, that if the infant in thatcase be killed, though the mother escape, the offender must be put todeath, and not only when the mother is killed, as Josephus understoodit. It seems this was the exposition of the Pharisees in the days ofJosephus. [29] What we render a witch, according to our modern notions ofwitchcraft, Exodus 22:15, Philo and Josephus understood of a poisoner, or one who attempted by secret and unlawful drugs or philtra, to takeaway the senses or the lives of men. [30] This permission of redeeming this penalty with money is not in ourcopies, Exodus 21:24, 25; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21. [31] We may here note, that thirty shekels, the price our Savior wassold for by Judas to the Jews, Matthew 26:15, and 27;3, was the oldvalue of a bought servant or slave among that people. [32] This law against castration, even of brutes, is said to be sorigorous elsewhere, as to inflict death on him that does it which seemsonly a Pharisaical interpretation in the days of Josephus of that law, Leviticus 21:20, and 22:24: only we may hence observe, that the Jewscould then have no oxen which are gelded, but only bulls and cows, inJudea. [33] These laws seem to be those above-mentioned, sect, 4, of thischapter. [34] What laws were now delivered to the priests, see the note on Antiq. B. III. Ch. 1. Sect. 7. [35] Of the exact place where this altar was to be built, whether nearerMount Gerizzim or Mount Ebal, according to Josephus, see Essay onthe Old Testament, p. 168--171. Dr. Bernard well observes here, howunfortunate this neglect of consulting the Urim was to Joshua himself, in the case of the Gibeonites, who put a trick upon him, and ensnaredhim, together with the rest of the Jewish rulers, with a solemn oathto preserve them, contrary to his commission to extirpate all theCanaanites, root and branch; which oath he and the other rulers neverdurst break. See Scripture Politics, p. 55, 56; and this snare theywere brought into because they "did not ask counsel at the mouth of theLord, " Joshua 9:14. [36] Since Josephus assures us here, as is most naturally to besupposed, and as the Septuagint gives the text, Deuteronomy 33:6, thatMoses blessed every one of the tribes of Israel, it is evident thatSimeon was not omitted in his copy, as it unhappily now is, both in ourHebrew and Samaritan copies. BOOK 5 FOOTNOTES [1] The Amorites were one of the seven nations of Canaan. Hence Relandis willing to suppose that Josephus did not here mean that their landbeyond Jordan was a seventh part of the whole land of Canaan, but meantthe Arnorites as a seventh nation. His reason is, that Josephus, as wellas our Bible, generally distinguish the land beyond Jordan from theland of Canaan; nor can it be denied, that in strictness they were allforgot: yet after two tribes and a half of the twelve tribes came toinherit it, it might in a general way altogether be well included underthe land of Canaan, or Palestine, or Judea, of which we have a clearexample here before us in Josephus, whose words evidently imply, thattaking the whole land of Canaan, or that inhabited by all the twelvetribes together, and parting it into seven parts, the part beyond Jordanwas in quantity of ground one seventh part of the whole. And this wellenough agrees to Reland's own map of that country, although this landbeyond Jordan was so peculiarly fruitful, and good for pasturage, asthe two tribes and a half took notice, Numbers 32:1, 4, 16, that itmaintained about a fifth part of the whole people. [2] It plainly appears by the history of these spies, and the innkeeperRahab's deception of the king of Jericho's messengers, by telling themwhat was false in order to save the lives of the spies, and yet thegreat commendation of her faith and good works in the New Testament, Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25, as well as by many other parallel examples, both in the Old Testament and in Josephus, that the best men didnot then scruple to deceive those public enemies who might justly bedestroyed; as also might deceive ill men in order to save life, anddeliver themselves from the tyranny of their unjust oppressors, andthis by telling direct falsehoods; I mean, all this where no oathwas demanded of them, otherwise they never durst venture on such aprocedure. Nor was Josephus himself of any other opinion or practice, asI shall remark in the note on Antiq. B. IX. Ch. 4. Sect. 3. And observe, that I still call this woman Rahab, an innkeeper, not a harlot, thewhole history, both in our copies, and especially in Josephus, implyingno more. It was indeed so frequent a thing, that women who wereinnkeepers were also harlots, or maintainers of harlots, that the wordcommonly used for real harlots was usually given them. See Dr. Bernard'snote here, and Judges 11:1, and Antiq. B. V. Ch. 7. Sect. 8. [3] Upon occasion of this devoting of Jericho to destruction, and theexemplary punishment of Achar, who broke that duerein or anathema, andof the punishment of the future breaker of it, Hiel, 1 Kings 16:34, as also of the punishment of Saul, for breaking the like chefera oranathema, against the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15. , we may observe what wasthe true meaning of that law, Leviticus 27:28: "None devoted whichshall be devoted of shall be redeemed; but shall be put to death;" i. E. Whenever any of the Jews' public enemies had been, for their wickedness, solemnly devoted to destruction, according to the Divine command, aswere generally the seven wicked nations of Canaan, and those sinnersthe Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:18, it was utterly unlawful to permit thoseenemies to be redeemed; but they were to be all utterly destroyed. Seealso Numbers 23:2, 3. [4] That the name of this chief was not Achan, as in the common copies, but Achar, as here in Josephus, and in the Apostolical Constit. B. VII. Ch. 2. , and elsewhere, is evident by the allusion to that name in thecurse of Joshua, "Why hast thou troubled us?--the Lord shall troublethee;" where the Hebrew word alludes only to the name Achar, but not toAchan. Accordingly, this Valley of Achar, or Achor, was and is a knownplace, a little north of Gilgal, so called from the days of Joshua tillthis day. See Joshua 7:26; Isaiah 65:10; Hosea 2:15; and Dr. Bernard'snotes here. [5] Here Dr. Bernard very justly observes, that a few words are droppedout of Josephus's copies, on account of the repetition of the wordshekels, and that it ought to be read thus:--"A piece of gold thatweighed fifty shekels, and one of silver that weighed two hundredshekels, " as in our other copies, Joshua 7:21. [6] I agree here with Dr. Bernard, and approve of Josephus'sinterpretation of Gilgal for liberty. See Joshua 5:9. [7] Whether this lengthening of the day, by the standing still of thesun and moon, were physical and real, by the miraculous stoppage of thediurnal motion of the earth for about half a revolution, or whether onlyapparent, by aerial phosphori imitating the sun and moon as stationaryso long, while clouds and the night hid the real ones, and thisparhelion or mock sun affording sufficient light for Joshua's pursuitand complete victory, [which aerial phosphori in other shapes have beenmore than ordinarily common of late years, ] cannot now be determined:philosophers and astronomers will naturally incline to this latterhypothesis. In the mean thee, the fact itself was mentioned in the bookof Jasher, now lost, Joshua 10:13, and is confirmed by Isaiah, 28:21, Habakkuk, 3:11, and by the son of Sirach, Ecclus. 46:4. In the 18thPsalm of Solomon, yet it is also said of the luminaries, with relation, no doubt, to this and the other miraculous standing still and goingback, in the days of Joshua and Hezekiah, "They have not wandered, fromthe day that he created them; they have not forsaken their way, fromancient generations, unless it were when God enjoined them [so to do] bythe command of his servants. " See Authent. Rec. Part i. P. 154. [8] Ofthe books laid up in the temple, see the note on Antiq. B. III. Ch. 1. Sect. 7. [9] Since not only Procopius and Suidas, but an earlier author, MosesChorenensis, p. 52, 53, and perhaps from his original author MaribaCarina, one as old as Alexander the Great, sets down the famousinscription at Tangier concerning the old Canaanites driven out ofPalestine by Joshua, take it here in that author's own words: "We arethose exiles that were governors of the Canaanites, but have been drivenaway by Joshua the robber, and are come to inhabit here. " See the notethere. Nor is it unworthy of our notice what Moses Chorenensis adds, p. 53, and this upon a diligent examination, viz. That "one of thoseeminent men among the Canaanites came at the same thee into Armenia, andfounded the Genthuniaa family, or tribe; and that this was confirmedby the manners of the same family or tribe, as being like those of theCanaanites. " [10] By prophesying, when spoken of a high priest, Josephus, both hereand 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 Josephus, and of the same country, madeuse of this style, when he says that "Caiaphas being high priest thatyear, prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation, and not for thatnation only, but that also he should gather together in one the childrenof God that were scattered abroad, " chap. 11;51, 52, he may possiblymean, that this was revealed to the high priest by an extraordinaryvoice from between the cherubims, when he had his breastplate, or Urimand Thummim, on before; or the most holy place of the temple, which wasno other than the oracle of Urim and Thummim. Of which above, in thenote on Antiq. B. III. Ch. 8. Sect. 9. [11] This great number of seventy-two reguli, or small kings, over whomAdonibezek had tyrannized, and for which he was punished according tothe lex talionis, as well as the thirty-one kings of Canaan subdued byJoshua, and named in one chapter, Joshua 12. , and thirty-two kings, orroyal auxiliaries to Benhadad king of Syria, 1 Kings 20:1; Antiq. B. VIII. Ch. 14. Sect. 1, intimate to us what was the ancient form ofgovernment among several nations before the monarchies began, viz. Thatevery city or large town, with its neighboring villages, was a distinctgovernment by itself; which is the more remarkable, because this wascertainly the form of ecclesiastical government that was settled by theapostles, and preserved throughout the Christian church in the firstages of Christianity. Mr. Addison is of opinion, that "it wouldcertainly be for the good of mankind to have all the mighty empiresand monarchies of the world cantoned out into petty states andprincipalities, which, like so many large families, might lie under theobservation of their proper governors, so that the care of the princemight extend itself to every individual person under his protection;though he despairs of such a scheme being brought about, and thinks thatif it were, it would quickly be destroyed. " Remarks on Italy, 4to, p. 151. Nor is it unfit to be observed here, that the Armenian records, though they give us the history of thirty-nine of their ancientestheroes or governors after the Flood, before the days of Sardanapalus, had no proper king till the fortieth, Parerus. See Moses Chorehensis, p. 55. And that Almighty God does not approve of such absolute andtyrannical monarchies, any one may learn that reads Deuteronomy17:14-20, and 1 Samuel 8:1-22; although, if such kings are set up as ownhim for their supreme King, and aim to govern according to his laws, he hath admitted of them, and protected them and their subjects in allgenerations. [12] Josephus's early date of this history before the beginning of theJudges, or when there was no king in Israel, Judges 19;1, is stronglyconfirmed by the large number of Benjamites, both in the days of Asa andJehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles 14:8, and 16:17, who yet were here reduced tosix hundred men; nor can those numbers be at all supposed genuine, ifthey were reduced so late as the end of the Judges, where our othercopies place this reduction. [13] Josephus seems here to have made a small mistake, when he took theHebrew word Bethel, which denotes the house of God, or the tabernacle, Judges 20:18, for the proper name of a place, Bethel, it no wayappearing that the tabernacle was ever at Bethel; only so far it istrue, that Shiloh, the place of the tabernacle in the days of theJudges, was not far from Bethel. [14] It appears by the sacred history, Judges 1:16; 3:13, that Eglon'spavilion or palace was at the City of Palm-Trees, as the place whereJericho had stood is called after its destruction by Joshua, that is, at or near the demolished city. Accordingly, Josephus says it was atJericho, or rather in that fine country of palm-trees, upon, or nearto, the same spot of ground on which Jericho had formerly stood, and onwhich it was rebuilt by Hiel, 1 Kings 16:31. Our other copies that avoidits proper name Jericho, and call it the City of Palm-Trees only, speakhere more accurately than Josephus. [15] These eighty years for the government of Ehud are necessary toJosephus's usual large numbers between the exodus and the building ofthe temple, of five hundred and ninety-two or six hundred and twelveyears, but not to the smallest number of four hundred and eighty years, 1 Kings 6:1; which lesser number Josephus seems sometimes to havefollowed. And since in the beginning of the next chapter it is saidby Josephus, that there was hardly a breathing time for the Israelitesbefore Jabin came and enslaved them, it is highly probable that some ofthe copies in his time had here only eight years instead of eighty; ashad that of Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolye. 1. Iii. , and this mostprobably from his copy of Josephus. [16] Our present copies of Josephus all omit Tola among the judges, though the other copies have him next after Abimelech, and allottwenty-three years to his administration, Judges 10:1, 2; yet do allJosephus's commentators conclude, that in Josephus's sum of the yearsof the judges, his twenty-three years are included; hence we are toconfess, that somewhat has been here lost out of his copies. [17] Josephus justly condemns Jephtha, as do the ApostolicalConstitutions, B. VII. Ch. 37. , for his rash vow, whether it were forsacrificing his daughter, as Josephus thought, or for dedicating her, who was his only child, to perpetual virginity, at the tabernacle orelsewhere, which I rather suppose. If he had vowed her for a sacrifice, she ought to have been redeemed, Leviticus 27:1-8; but of the sense ofver. 28, 29, as relating not to things vowed to. God, but devoted todestruction, see the note on Antiq. B. V. Ch. 1. Sect. 8. [18] I can discover no reason why Manoah and his wife came so constantlyinto these suburbs to pray for children, but because there was asynagogue or place of devotion in those suburbs. [19] Here, by a prophet, Josephus seems only to mean one that was bornby a particular providence, lived after the manner of a Nazarite devotedto God, and was to have an extraordinary commission and strength fromGod for the judging and avenging his people Israel, without any properprophetic revelations at all. [20] This fountain, called Lehi, or the Jaw-bone, is still in being, as travelers assure us, and was known by this very name in the days ofJosephus, and has been known by the same name in all those past ages. See Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 12. Sect. 4. [21] See this justly observed in the Apostolical Constitutions, B. VII. Ch. 37. , that Samson's prayer was heard, but that it was before this histransgression. [22] Although there had been a few occasional prophets before, yet wasthis Samuel the first of a constant succession of prophets in the Jewishnation, as is implied in St. Peter's words, Acts 3:24 "Yea, and allthe prophets, from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as havespoken, have likewise foretold of those days. " See also Acts 13:20. Theothers were rather sometime called righteous men, Matthew 10:41; 13:17. BOOK 6 Footnotes [1] Dagon, a famous maritime god or idol, is generally supposed to havebeen like a man above the navel, and like a fish beneath it. [2] Spanheim informs us here, that upon the coins of Tenedos, andthose of other cities, a field-mouse is engraven, together with ApolloSmintheus, or Apollo, the driver away of field-mice, on account of hisbeing supposed to have freed certain tracts of ground from those mice;which coins show how great a judgment such mice have sometimes been, andhow the deliverance from them was then esteemed the effect of a divinepower; which observations are highly suitable to this history. [3] This device of the Philistines, of having a yoke of kine to drawthis cart, into which they put the ark of the Hebrews, is greatlyillustrated by Sanchoniatho's account, under his ninth generation, thatAgrouerus, or Agrotes, the husbandman, had a much-worshipped statueand temple, carried about by one or more yoke of oxen, or kine, inPhoenicia, in the neighborhood of these Philistines. See Cumberland'sSanchoniatho, p. 27 and 247; and Essay on the Old Testament, Append. P. 172. [4] These seventy men, being not so much as Levites, touched the arkin a rash or profane manner, and were slain by the hand of God for suchtheir rashness and profaneness, according to the Divine threatenings, Numbers 4:15, 20; but how other copies come to add such an incrediblenumber as fifty thousand in this one town, or small city, I know not. See Dr. Wall's Critical Notes on 1 Samuel 6:19. [5] This is the first place, so far as I remember, in these Antiquities, where Josephus begins to call his nation Jews, he having hithertousually, if not constantly, called them either Hebrews or Israelites. The second place soon follows; see also ch. 3. Sect. 5. [6] Of this great mistake of Saul and his servant, as if true prophet ofGod would accept of a gift or present, for foretelling what was desiredof him, see the note on B. IV. Ch. 6. Sect. 3. [7] It seems to me not improbable that these seventy guests of Samuel, as here, with himself at the head of them, were a Jewish sanhedrim, andthat hereby Samuel intimated to Saul that these seventy-one were to behis constant counselors, and that he was to act not like a sole monarch, but with the advice and direction of these seventy-one members of thatJewish sanhedrim upon all occasions, which yet we never read that heconsulted afterward. [8] An instance of this Divine fury we have after this in Saul, ch. 5. Sect. 2, 3; 1 Samuel 11:6. See the like, Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29;13:25; and 14:6. [9] Take here Theodoret's note, cited by Dr. Hudson:--"He that exposeshis shield to the enemy with his left hand, thereby hides his left eye, and looks at the enemy with his right eye: he therefore that plucks outthat eye, makes men useless in war. " [10] Mr. Reland observes here, and proves elsewhere in his note onAntiq. B. III. Ch. 1. Sect. 6, that although thunder and lightning withus usually happen in summer, yet in Palestine and Syria they are chieflyconfined to winter. Josephus takes notice of the same thing again, War, B. IV. Ch. 4. Sect. 5. [11] Saul seems to have staid till near the time of the eveningsacrifice, on the seventh day, which Samuel the prophet of God hadappointed him, but not till the end of that day, as he ought to havedone; and Samuel appears, by delaying to come to the full time of theevening sacrifice on that seventh day, to have tried him [who seems tohave been already for some time declining from his strict and boundensubordination to God and his prophet; to have taken life-guards forhimself and his son, which was entirely a new thing in Israel, andsavored of a distrust of God's providence; and to have affected morethan he ought that independent authority which the pagan kings took tothemselves]; Samuel, I say, seems to have here tried Saul whether hewould stay till the priest came, who alone could lawfully offer thesacrifices, nor would boldly and profanely usurp the priest's office, which he venturing upon, was justly rejected for his profaneness. SeeApost. Constit. B. II. Ch. 27. And, indeed, since Saul had acceptedkingly power, which naturally becomes ungovernable and tyrannical, as God foretold, and the experience of all ages has shown, the Divinesettlement by Moses had soon been laid aside under the kings, hadnot God, by keeping strictly to his laws, and severely executing thethreatenings therein contained, restrained Saul and other kings in somedegree of obedience to himself; nor was even this severity sufficient torestrain most of the future kings of Israel and Judah from the grossestidolatry and impiety. Of the advantage of which strictness, in theobserving Divine laws, and inflicting their threatened penalties, seeAntiq. B. VI. Ch. 12. Sect. 7; and Against Apion, B. II. Sect. 30, whereJosephus speaks of that matter; though it must be noted that it seems, at least in three instances, that good men did not always immediatelyapprove of such Divine severity. There seems to be one instance, 1Samuel 6:19, 20; another, 1 Samuel 15:11; and a third, 2 Samuel 6:8, 9;Antiq. B. VI. Ch. 7. Sect. 2; though they all at last acquiesced in theDivine conduct, as knowing that God is wiser than men. [12] By this answer of Samuel, and that from a Divine commission, which is fuller in l Samuel 13:14, and by that parallel note inthe Apostolical Constitutions just now quoted, concerning the greatwickedness of Saul in venturing, even under a seeming necessity ofaffairs, to usurp the priest's office, and offer sacrifice without thepriest, we are in some degree able to answer that question, which Ihave ever thought a very hard one, viz. Whether, if there were a city orcountry of lay Christians without any clergymen, it were lawful forthe laity alone to baptize, or celebrate the eucharist, etc. , or indeedwhether they alone could ordain themselves either bishops, priests, ordeacons, for the due performance of such sacerdotal ministrations; orwhether they ought not rather, till they procure clergymen to comeamong them, to confine themselves within those bounds of piety andChristianity which belong alone to the laity; such particularly as arerecommended in the first book of the Apostolical Constitutions, whichpeculiarly concern the laity, and are intimated in Clement's undoubtedepistle, sect. 40. To which latter opinion I incline. [13] This rash vow or curse of Saul, which Josephus says was confirmedby the people, and yet not executed, I suppose principally becauseJonathan did not know of it, is very remarkable; it being of the essenceof the obligation of all laws, that they be sufficiently known andpromulgated, otherwise the conduct of Providence, as to the sacrednessof solemn oaths and vows, in God's refusing to answer by Urim till thisbreach of Saul's vow or curse was understood and set right, and Godpropitiated by public prayer, is here very remarkable, as indeed it isevery where else in the Old Testament. [14] Here we have still more indications of Saul's affectation ofdespotic power, and of his entrenching upon the priesthood, and makingand endeavoring to execute a rash vow or curse, without consultingSamuel or the sanhedrim. In this view it is also that I look upon thiserection of a new altar by Saul, and his offering of burnt-offeringshimself upon it, and not as any proper instance of devotion or religion, with other commentators. [15] The reason of this severity is distinctly given, 1 Samuel 15:18, "Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites:" nor indeed do weever meet with these Amalekites but as very cruel and bloody people, and particularly seeking to injure and utterly to destroy the nation ofIsrael. See Exodus 17:8-16; Numbers 14:45; Deuteronomy 25:17-19; Judges6:3, 6; 1 Samuel 15:33; Psalms 83:7; and, above all, the most barbarousof all cruelties, that of Haman the Agagite, or one of the posterity ofAgag, the old king of the Amalekites, Esther 3:1-15. [16] Spanheim takes notice here that the Greeks had such singers ofhymns; and that usually children or youths were picked out for thatservice; as also, that those called singers to the harp, did the samethat David did here, i. E. Join their own vocal and instrumental musictogether. [17] Josephus says thrice in this chapter, and twice afterwards, ch. 11. Sect. 2, and B. VII. Ch. 1. Sect. 4, i. E. Five times in all, that Saulrequired not a bare hundred of the foreskins of the Philistines, butsix hundred of their heads. The Septuagint have 100 foreskins, but theSyriac and Arabic 200. Now that these were not foreskins, with our othercopies, but heads, with Josephus's copy, seems somewhat probable, from1 Samuel 29:4, where all copies say that it was with the heads of suchPhilistines that David might reconcile himself to his master, Saul. [18] Since the modern Jews have lost the signification of the Hebrewword here used, cebr; and since the LXX. , as well as Josephus, reader itthe liver of the goat, and since this rendering, and Josephus's account, are here so much more clear and probable than those of others, it isalmost unaccountable that our commentators should so much as hesitateabout its true interpretation. [19] These violent and wild agitations of Saul seem to me to have beenno other than demoniacal; and that the same demon which used to seizehim, since he was forsaken of God, and which the divine hymns andpsalms which were sung to the harp by David used to expel, was now ina judicial way brought upon him, not only in order to disappoint hisintentions against innocent David, but to expose him to the laughter andcontempt of all that saw him, or heard of those agitations; such violentand wild agitations being never observed in true prophets, when theywere under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Our other copies, whichsay the Spirit of God came him, seem not so here copy, which mentionsnothing of God at all. Nor does Josephus seem to ascribe this impulseand ecstasy of Saul to any other than to his old demoniacal spirit, which on all accounts appears the most probable. Nor does the formerdescription of Saul's real inspiration by the Divine Spirit, 1 Samuel10:9-12; Antiq. B. VI. Ch. 4. Sect. 2, which was before he was becomewicked, well agree with the descriptions before us. [20] What is meant by Saul's lying down naked all that day, and all thatnight, 1 Samuel 19:4, and whether any more than laying aside his royalapparel, or upper garments, as Josephus seems to understand it, is byno means certain. See the note on Antiq. B. VIII. Ch. 14. Sect. 2. [21] This city Nob was not a city allotted to the priests, nor had theprophets, that we know of, any particular cities allotted them. It seemsthe tabernacle was now at Nob, and probably a school of the prophetswas here also. It was full two days' journey on foot from Jerusalem, 1 Samuel 21:5. The number of priests here slain in Josephus is threehundred and eighty-five, and but eighty-five in our Hebrew copies; yetare they three hundred and five in the Septuagint. I prefer Josephus'snumber, the Hebrew having, I suppose, only dropped the hundreds, theother the tens. This city Nob seems to have been the chief, or perhapsthe only seat of the family of Ithamar, which here perished, accordingto God's former terrible threatenings to Eli, 1 Samuel 2:27-36; 3:11-18. See ch. 14. Sect. D, hereafter. [22] This section contains an admirable reflection of Josephusconcerning the general wickedness of men in great authority, and thedanger they are in of rejecting that regard to justice and humanity, toDivine Providence and the fear of God, which they either really had, orpretended to have, while they were in a lower condition. It can neverbe too often perused by kings and great men, nor by those who expect toobtain such elevated dignities among mankind. See the like reflectionsof our Josephus, Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 1. Sect. 5, at the end; and B. VIII. Ch. 10. Sect. 2, at the beginning. They are to the like purport with onebranch of Agur's prayer: "One thing have I required of thee, deny it menot before I die: Give me not riches, lest I be full, and deny thee, andsay, Who is the Lord?" Proverbs 30:7-9. [23] The phrase in David's speech to Saul, as set down in Josephus, thathe had abstained from just revenge, puts me in mind of the like wordsin the Apostolical Constitutions, B. VII. Ch. 2. , "That revenge is notevil, but that patience is more honorable. " [24] The number of men that came first to David, are distinctly inJosephus, and in our common copies, but four hundred. When he was atKeilah still but four hundred, both in Josephus and in the LXXX. ; butsix hundred in our Hebrew copies, 1 Samuel 23:3; see 30:9, 10. Now thesix hundred there mentioned are here estimated by Josephus to havebeen so many, only by an augmentation of two hundred afterward, which Isuppose is the true solution of this seeming disagreement. [25] In this and the two next sections, we may perceive how Josephus, nay, how Abigail herself, would understand, the "not avenging ourselves, but heaping coals of fire on the head of the injurious, " Proverbs 25:22;Romans 12:20, not as we do now, of them into but of leaving them tothe judgment of God, "to whom vengeance belongeth, " Deuteronomy 32:35;Psalms 94:1; Hebrews 10:30, and who will take vengeance on the wicked. And since all God's judgments are just, and all fit to be executed, andall at length for the good of the persons punished, I incline to thinkthat to be the meaning of this phrase of "heaping coals of fire on theirheads. " [26] We may note here, that how sacred soever an oath was esteemed amongthe people of God in old times, they did not think it obligatory wherethe action was plainly unlawful. For so we see it was in this case ofDavid, who, although he had sworn to destroy Nabal and his family, yet does he here, and 1 Samuel 25:32-41, bless God for preventing hiskeeping his oath, and shedding of blood, which he had swore to do. [27] This history of Saul's consultation, not with a witch, as we renderthe Hebrew word here, but with a necromancer, as the whole historyshows, is easily understood, especially if we consult the Recognitionsof Clement, B. I. Ch. 5. At large, and more briefly, and nearer the daysof Samuel Ecclus. 46:20, "Samuel prophesied after his death, and showedthe king his end, and lift up his voice from the earth in prophecy, " toblot out "the wickedness of the people. " Nor does the exactness ofthe accomplishment of this prediction, the very next day, permit us tosuppose any imposition upon Saul in the present history; for as toall modern hypotheses against the natural sense of such ancientand authentic histories, I take them to be of very small value orconsideration. [28] These great commendations of this necromantic woman of Endor, andof Saul's martial courage, when yet he knew he should die in the battle, are somewhat unusual digressions in Josephus. They seem to me extractedfrom some speeches or declamations of his composed formerly, in the wayof oratory, that lay by him, and which he thought fit to insert uponthis occasion. See before on Antiq. B. I. Ch. 6 sect. 8. [29] This way of speaking in Josephus, of fasting "seven days withoutmeat or drink, " is almost like that of St. Paul, Acts 27:33, "Thisday is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried, and continued fasting, having taken nothing:" and as the nature of the thing, and theimpossibility of strictly fasting so long, require us here to understandboth Josephus and the sacred author of this history, 1 Samuel 30:13, from whom he took it, of only fasting fill the evening; so must weunderstand St. Paul, either that this was really the fourteenth daythat they had taken nothing till the evening, or else that this was thefourteenth day of their tempestuous weather in the Adriatic Sea, as ver. 27, and that on this fourteenth day alone they had continued fasting, and had taken nothing before that evening. The mention of their longabstinence, ver. 21, inclines me to believe the former explication to bethe truth, and that the case was then for a fortnight what it was herefor a week, that they kept all those days entirely as lasts till theevening, but not longer. See Judges 20:26; 21:2; 1 Samuel 14:24; 2Samuel 1:12; Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 7. Sect. 4. BOOK 7 Footnotes [1] It ought to be here noted, that Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were allthree David's nephews, the sons of his sister Zeraiah, as 1 Chronicles2:16; and that Amasa was also his nephew by his other sister Abigail, ver. 17. [2] This may be a true observation of Josephus's, that Samuel by commandfrom God entailed the crown on David and his posterity; for no furtherdid that entail ever reach, Solomon himself having never had any promisemade him that his posterity should always have the right to it. [3] These words of Josephus concerning the tribe of Issachar, whoforeknew what was to come hereafter, " are best paraphrased by theparallel text. 1 Chronicles 12:32, "Who had understanding of the timesto know what Israel ought to do;" that is, who had so much knowledge inastronomy as to make calendars for the Israelites, that they might keeptheir festivals, and plough and sow, and gather in their harvests andvintage, in due season. [4] What our other copies say of Mount Sion, as alone properly calledthe city of David, 2 Samuel 5:6-9, and of this its siege and conquestnow by David, Josephus applies to the whole city Jerusalem, thoughincluding the citadel also; by what authority we do not now knowperhaps, after David had united them together, or joined the citadel tothe lower city, as sect. 2, Josephus esteemed them as one city. However, this notion seems to be confirmed by what the same Josephus saysconcerning David's and many other kings of Judah's sepulchers, which asthe authors of the books of Kings and Chronicles say were in the city ofDavid, so does Josephus still say they were in Jerusalem. The sepulcherof David seems to have been also a known place in the several days ofHyrcanus, of Herod, and of St. Peter, Antiq. B. XIII. Ch. 8. Sect. 4 B. XVI. Ch. 8. Sect. 1; Acts 2:29. Now no such royal sepulchers havebeen found about Mount Sion, but are found close by the north wall ofJerusalem, which I suspect, therefore, to be these very sepulchers. Seethe note on ch. 15. Sect. 3. In the meantime, Josephus's explicationof the lame, and the blind, and the maimed, as set to keep this city orcitadel, seems to be the truth, and gives the best light to that historyin our Bible. Mr. Ottius truly observes, [up. Hayercamp, p. 305, ] thatJosephus never mentions Mount Sion by that name, as taking it for anappellative, as I suppose, and not for a proper name; he still eitherstyles it The Citadel, or The Upper City; nor do I see any reason forMr. Ottius's evil suspicions about this procedure of Josephus. [5] Some copies of Josephus have here Solyma, or Salem; and othersHierosolyma, or Jerusalem. The latter best agree to what Josephus sayselsewhere, [Of the War, B. VI. Ch. 10. , ] that this city was calledSolyma, or Salem, before the days of Melchisedec, but was by him calledHierosolyma, or Jerusalem. I rather suppose it to have been so calledafter Abraham had received that oracle Jehovah Jireh, "The Lord willsee, or provide, " Genesis 22;14. The latter word, Jireh, with a littlealteration, prefixed to the old name Salem, Peace, will be Jerusalem;and since that expression, "God will see, " or rather, "God will providehimself a lamb for a burnt-offering, " ver. 8, 14, is there said tohave been proverbial till the days of Moses, this seems to me the mostprobable derivation of that name, which will then denote that God wouldprovide peace by that "Lamb of God which was to take away the sinsof the world. " However, that which is put into brackets can hardly besupposed the genuine words of Josephus, as Dr. Hudson well judges. [6] It deserves here to be remarked, that Saul very rarely, and Davidvery frequently, consulted God by Urim; and that David aimed alwaysto depend, not on his own prudence or abilities but on the Divinedirection, contrary to Saul's practice. See sect. 2, and the note onAntiq. B. III. Ch. 8. Sect. 9; and when Saul's daughter, [but David'swife, ] Michal, laughed at David's dancing before the ark, 2 Samuel 6:16, &c. , and here, sect. L, 2, 3, it is probable she did so, because herfather Saul did not use to pay such a regard to the ark, to the Urimthere inquired by, or to God's worship before it, and because shethought it beneath the dignity of a king to be so religious. [7] Josephus seems to be partly in the right, when he observes herethat Uzzah was no priest, [though perhaps he might be a Levite, ] and wastherefore struck dead for touching the ark, contrary to the law, and forwhich profane rashness death was the penalty by that law, Numbers4:15, 20. See the like before, Antiq. B. VI. Ch. 1. Sect. 4. It is notimprobable that the putting this ark in a cart, when it ought to havebeen carried by the priests or Levites, as it was presently here inJosephus so carried from Obededom's house to David's, might be alsoan occasion of the anger of God on that breach of his law. See Numbers4:15; 1 Chronicles 15:13. [8] Josephus here informs us, that, according to his understanding ofthe sense of his copy of the Pentateuch, Moses had himself foretold thebuilding of the temple, which yet is no where, that I know of, in ourpresent copies. And that this is not a mistake set down by him unwarily, appears by what he observed before, on Antiq. B. IV. Ch. 8. Sect. 46, how Moses foretold that, upon the Jews' future disobedience, theirtemple should be burnt and rebuilt, and that not once only, but severaltimes afterward. See also Josephus's mention of God's former commandsto build such a temple presently, ch. 14. Sect. 2, contrary to our othercopies, or at least to our translation of the Hebrew, 2 Samuel 7:6, 7; 1Chronicles 17:5, 6. [9] Josephus seems, in this place, with our modern interpreters toconfound the two distinct predictions which God made to David andto Nathan, concerning the building him a temple by one of David'sposterity; the one belongeth to Solomon, the other to the Messiah;the distinction between which is of the greatest consequence to theChristian religion. [10] Whether Syria Zobah, 2 Samuel 3:8; 1 Chronicles 18:3-8, be Sophene, as Josephus here supposes; which yet Ptolemy places beyond Euphrates, as Dr. Hudson observes here, whereas Zobah was on this side; or whetherJosephus was not here guilty of a mistake in his geography; I cannotcertainly determine. [11] David's reserving only one hundred chariots for himself out of onethousand he had taken from Hadadezer, was most probably in compliancewith the law of Moses, which forbade a king of Israel "to multiplyhorses to himself, " Deuteronomy 17:16; one of the principal uses ofhorses in Judea at that time being for drawing their chariots. SeeJoshua 12:6; and Antiq. B. V. Ch. 1. Sect. 18. It deserves here to beremarked, that this Hadad, being a very great king, was conquered byDavid, whose posterity yet for several generations were called Benhadad, or the son of Hadad, till the days of Hazael, whose son Adar or Aderis also in our Hebrew copy [2 Kings 13:24] written Benhadad, but inJosephus Adad or Adar. And strange it is, that the son of Hazael, saidto be such in the same text, and in Josephus, Antiq. B. IX. Ch. 8. Sect. 7, should still be called the son of Hadad. I would, therefore, herecorrect our Hebrew copy from Josephus's, which seems to have the truereading, nor does the testimony of Nicolaus of Damascus, produced inthis place by Josephus, seem to be faultless, when it says that hewas the third of the Hadads, or second of the Benhadads, who besiegedSamaria in the days of Ahab. He must rather have been the seventh oreighth, if there were ten in all of that name, as we are assured therewere. For this testimony makes all the Hadads or Benhadads of the sameline, and to have immediately succeeded one another; whereas Hazael wasnot of that line, nor is he called Hadad or Benhadad in any copy. Andnote, that from this Hadad, in the days of David, to the beginningof Hazael, were near two hundred years, according to the exactestchronology of Josephus. [12] By this great victory over the Idameans or Edomites, the posterityof Esau, and by the consequent tribute paid by that nation to the Jews, were the prophecies delivered to Rebecca before Jacob and Esau wereborn, and by old Isaac before his death, that the elder, Esau, [or theEdomites, ] should serve and the younger, Jacob, [or the Israelites, ]and Jacob [or the Israelites] should be Esau's [or the Edomites'] lord, remarkably fulfilled. See Antiq. B. VIII. Ch 7. Sect. 6; Genesis 25;9, 3;and the notes on Antiq. B. I. Ch. 18. Sect. 5, 6. [13] That a talent of gold was about seven pounds weight, see thedescription of the temple ch. 13. Nor could Josephus well estimate ithigher, since he here says that David wore it on his head perpetually. [14] Whether Josephus saw the words of our copies, 2 Samuel 12:31, and1 Chronicles 20:3, that David put the inhabitants, or at least thegarrison of Rabbah, and of the other Ammonite cities, which he besiegedand took, under, or cut them with saws, and under, or with harrows ofiron, and under, or with axes of iron, and made them pass through thebrick-kiln, is not here directly expressed. If he saw them, as ismost probable he did, he certainly expounded them of tormenting theseAmmonites to death, who were none of those seven nations of Canaan whosewickedness had rendered them incapable of mercy; otherwise I shouldbe inclinable to think that the meaning, at least as the words are inSamuel, might only be this: That they were made the lowest slaves, towork in sawing of timber or stone, in harrowing the fields, in hewingtimber, in making and burning bricks, and the like hard services, butwithout taking away their lives. We never elsewhere, that I remember, meet with such methods of cruelty in putting men to death in all theBible, or in any other ancient history whatsoever; nor do the words inSamuel seem naturally to refer to any such thing. [15] Of this weight of Absalom's hair, how in twenty or thirty yearsit might well amount to two hundred shekels, or to somewhat above sixpounds avoirdupois, see the Literal Accomplishment of Prophecies, p. 77, 78. But a late very judicious author thinks that the LXXX. Meant not itsweight, but its value, Was twenty shekels. --Dr. Wall's Critical Noteson the Old Testament, upon 2 Samuel 14:26. It does not appear what wasJosephus's opinion: he sets the text down honestly as he found it in hiscopies, only he thought that "at the end of days, " when Absalom polledor weighed his hair, was once a week. [16] This is one of the best corrections that Josephus's copy affordsus of a text that in our ordinary copies is grossly corrupted. They saythat this rebellion of Absalom was forty years after what went before, [of his reconciliation to his father, ] whereas the series of thehistory shows it could not be more than four years after it, as herein Josephus; whose number is directly confirmed by that copy of theSeptuagint version whence the Armenian translation was made, which givesus the small number of four years. [17] This reflection of Josephus's, that God brought to nought thedangerous counsel of Ahithophel, and directly infatuated wicked Absalomto reject it, [which infatuation is what the Scripture styles thejudicial hardening the hearts and blinding the eyes of men, who, bytheir former voluntary wickedness, have justly deserved to be destroyed, and are thereby brought to destruction, ] is a very just one, and in himnot unfrequent. Nor does Josephus ever puzzle himself, or perplexhis readers, with subtle hypotheses as to the manner of such judicialinfatuations by God, while the justice of them is generally so obvious. That peculiar manner of the Divine operations, or permissions, or themeans God makes use of in such cases, is often impenetrable by us. "Secret things belong to the Lord our God; but those things that arerevealed belong to us, and to our children for ever, that we may do allthe words of this law, " Deuteronomy 29:29. Nor have all the subtletiesof the moderns, as far as I see, given any considerable light in this, and many other the like points of difficulty relating either to Divineor human operations. --See the notes on Antiq. B. V ch. 1. Sect. 2; andAntiq. B. IX. Ch. 4. Sect. 3. [18] Those that take a view of my description of the gates of thetemple, will not be surprised at this account of David's throne, bothhere and 2 Samuel 18:21, that it was between two gates or portals. Gatesbeing in cities, as well as at the temple, large open places, with aportal at the entrance, and another at the exit, between which judicialcauses were heard, and public consultations taken, as is well knownfrom several places of Scripture, 2 Chronicles 31:2; Psalm 9:14; 137:5;Proverbs 1:21; 8:3, 31; 31:23, and often elsewhere. [19] Since David was now in Mahanairn, and in the open place of thatcity gate, which seems still to have been built the highest of any partof the wall, and since our other copies say he went up to the chamberover the gate, 2 Samuel 18:33, I think we ought to correct our presentreading in Josephus, and for city, should read gate, i. E. Instead ofthe highest part of the city, should say the highest part of the gate. Accordingly we find David presently, in Josephus, as well as in ourother copies, 2 Samuel 19:8, sitting as before, in the gate of the city. [20] By David's disposal of half Mephibosheth's estate to Ziba, onewould imagine that he was a good deal dissatisfied, and doubtful whetherMephibosheth's story were entirely true or not; nor does David nowinvite 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 thatMephibosheth made use of here, and 2 Samuel 19:24, wholly freefrom suspicion by hypocrisy. If Ziba neglected or refused to bringMephibosheh an ass of his own, on which he might ride to David, it ishalf to suppose that so great a man as he was should not be able toprocure some other beast for the same purpose. [21] I clearly prefer Josephus's reading here, when it supposes eleventribes, including Benjamin, to be on the one side, and the tribe ofJudah alone on the other, since Benjamin, in general, had been stillfather of the house of Saul, and less firm to David hitherto, than anyof the rest, and so cannot be supposed to be joined with Judah at thistime, to make it double, especially when the following rebellion washeaded by a Benjamite. See sect. 6, and 2 Samuel 20:2, 4. [22] This section is a very remarkable one, and shows that, in theopinion of Josephus, David composed the Book of Psalms, not at severaltimes before, as their present inscriptions frequently imply, butgenerally 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 NewTestament, nor the Apostolical Constitutions, seem to have ascribed anyof them to any other author than to David himself. See Essay on the OldTestament, pages 174, 175. Of these metres of the Psalms, see the noteon Antiq. B. II. Ch. 16. Sect. 4. [23] The words of God by Moses, Exodus 30:12, sufficiently satisfy thereason here given by Josephus for the great plague mentioned in thischapter:--"When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel aftertheir number, then shall they give a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague amongst them, whennumberest them. " Nor indeed could David's or the neglect of executingthis law at this numeration of half a shekel apiece with them, when theycame numbered. The great reason why nations are so committed by and withtheir wicked kings and governors that they almost constantly comply withthem in their of or disobedience to the Divine laws, and suffer Divinelaws to go into disuse or contempt, in order to kings and governors; andthat they sub-political laws and commands of those governors, insteadof the righteous laws of God, which all mankind ought ever to obey, lettheir kings and governors say what they please to the contrary; thispreference of human before Divine laws seeming to me the principalcharacter of idolatrous or antichristian nations. Accordingly, Josephuswell observes, Antiq. B. IV. Ch. 8. Sect. 17, that it was the duty ofthe people of Israel to take care that their kings, when they shouldhave them, did not exceed their proper limits of power, and proveungovernable by the laws of God, which would certainly be a mostpernicious thing to their Divine settlement. Nor do I think thatnegligence peculiar to the Jews: those nations which are calledChristians, are sometimes indeed very solicitous to restrain their kingsand governors from breaking the human laws of their several kingdoms, but without the like care for restraining them from breaking the laws ofGod. "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto men morethan to God, judge ye, " Acts 4:19. "We ought to obey God rather thanmen, " ver. 29. [24] What Josephus adds here is very remarkable, that this Mount Moriahwas not only the very place where Abraham offered up Isaac long ago, butthat God had foretold to David by a prophet, that here his son shouldbuild him a temple, which is not directly in any of our other copies, though very agreeable to what is in them, particularly in 1 Chronicles21:25, 28; 22:1, to which places I refer the reader. [25] Of the quantity of gold and silver expended in the building ofSolomon's temple, and whence it arose, see the description of ch. 13. [26] David is here greatly blamed by some for recommending Joab andShimei to be punished by Solomon, if he could find a proper occasion, after he had borne with the first a long while, and seemed to havepardoned the other entirely, which Solomon executed accordingly; yetI cannot discern any fault either in David or Solomon in these cases. Joab's murder of Abner and Amasa were very barbarous, and could notproperly be forgiven either by David or Solomon; for a dispensing powerin kings for the crime of willful murder is warranted by no law of God, nay, is directly against it every where; nor is it, for certain, in thepower of men to grant such a prerogative to any of their kings; thoughJoab was so nearly related to David, and so potent in the army under awarlike administration, that David durst not himself put him to death, 2 Samuel 3:39; 19:7. Shimei's cursing the Lord's anointed, and thiswithout any just cause, was the highest act of treason against God andhis anointed king, and justly deserved death; and though David couldforgive treason against himself, yet had he done no more in the caseof Shimei than promised him that he would not then, on the day of hisreturn and reinauguration, or upon that occasion, himself put him todeath, 2 Samuel 19:22; and he swore to him no further, ver. 23, as thewords are in Josephus, than that he would not then put him to death, which he performed; nor was Solomon under any obligation to spare such atraitor. BOOK 8 FOOTNOTES [1] This execution upon Joab, as a murderer, by slaying him, even whenhe had taken sanctuary at God's altar, is perfectly agreeable to thelaw of Moses, which enjoins, that "if a man come presumptuously uponhis neighbor to slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altarthat he die, " Exodus 21:14. [2] This building of the walls of Jerusalem, soon after David's death, illustrates the conclusion of the 51st Psalm, where David prays, "Buildthou the walls of Jerusalem;" they being, it seems, unfinished orimperfect at that time. See ch. 6. Sect. 1; and ch. 1. Sect. 7; also 1Kings 9:15. [3] It may not be amiss to compare the daily furniture of king Solomon'stable, here set down, and 1 Kings 4;22, 23, with the like dailyfurniture of Nehemiah the governor's table, after the Jews were comeback from Babylon; and to remember withal, that Nehemiah was nowbuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and maintained, more than usual, abovea hundred and fifty considerable men every day, and that, because thenation was then very poor, at his own charges also, without laying anyburden upon the people at all. "Now that which was prepared for me dailywas one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine; and yet for all thisrequired not the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavyupon this people, " Nehemiah 5:18: see the whole context, ver. 14-19. Nor did the governor's usual allowance of forty shekels of silver a-day, ver. 15, amount to 45 a day, nor to 1800 a-year. Nor does it indeedappear that, under the judges, or under Samuel the prophet, there wasany such public allowance to those governors at all. Those great chargesupon the public for maintaining courts came in with kings, as Godforetold they would, 1 Samuel 8:11-18. [4] Some pretended fragments ofthese books of conjuration of Solomon are still extant in Fabricius'sCod. Pseudepigr. Vet. Test. Page 1054, though I entirely differ fromJosephus in this his supposal, that such books and arts of Solomon wereparts of that wisdom which was imparted to him by God in his youngerdays; they must rather have belonged to such profane but curious arts aswe find mentioned Acts 19:13-20, and had been derived from the idolatryand superstition of his heathen wives and concubines in his old age, when he had forsaken God, and God had forsaken him, and given him up todemoniacal delusions. Nor does Josephus's strange account of the rootBaara [Of the War, B. VIII. Ch. 6. Sect. 3] seem to be other than thatof its magical use in such conjurations. As for the following history, it confirms what Christ says, Matthew 12;27 "If I by Beelzebub cast outdemons, by whom do your Sons cast them out?" [5] These epistles of Solomon and Hiram are those in 1 Kings 5:3-9, and, as enlarged, in 2 Chronicles 2:3-16, but here given us by Josephus inhis own words. [6] What Josephus here puts into his copy of Hiram's epistle to Solomon, and repeats afterwards, ch. 5. Sect. 3, that Tyre was now an island, is not in any of the three other copies, viz. That of the Kings, Chronicles, or Eusebius; nor is it any other, I suppose, than his ownconjectural paraphrase; for when I, many years ago, inquired intothis matter, I found the state of this famous city, and of the islandwhereupon it stood, to have been very different at different times. Theresult of my inquiries in this matter, with the addition of some laterimprovements, stands thus: That the best testimonies hereto relating, imply, that Paketyrus, or Oldest Tyre, was no other than that mostancient smaller fort or city Tyre, situated on the continent, andmentioned in Joshua 19:29, out of which the Canaanite or Phoenicianinhabitants were driven into a large island, that lay not far off in thesea, by Joshua: that this island was then joined to the continent at thepresent remains of Paketyrus, by a neck of land over against Solomon'scisterns, still so called; and the city's fresh water, probably, wascarried along in pipes by that neck of land; and that this island wastherefore, in strictness, no other than a peninsula, having villages inits fields, Ezekiel 26:6, and a wall about it, Amos 1:10, and the citywas not of so great reputation as Sitlon for some ages: that it wasattacked both by sea and land by Salmanasser, as Josephus informs us, Antiq. B. IX. Ch. 14. Sect. 2, and afterwards came to be the metropolisof Phoenicia; and was afterwards taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, according to the numerous Scripture prophecies thereto relating, Isaiah23. ; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; 47:4; Ezekiel 26. , 27. , 28. : that seventyyears after that destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, this city was in somemeasure revived and rebuilt, Isaiah 23:17, 18, but that, as the prophetEzekiel had foretold, chap. 26:3-5, 14; 27: 34, the sea arose higherthan before, till at last it over flowed, not only the neck of land, butthe main island or peninsula itself, and destroyed that old and famouscity for ever: that, however, there still remained an adjoining smallerisland, once connected to Old Tyre itself by Hiram, which was afterwardsinhabited; to which Alexander the Great, with incredible pains, raised anew bank or causeway: and that it plainly appears from Ifaundreh, amost authentic eye-witness, that the old large and famous city, on theoriginal large island, is now laid so generally under water, that scarcemore than forty acres of it, or rather of that adjoining small islandremain at this day; so that, perhaps, not above a hundredth part of thefirst island and city is now above water. This was foretold in thesame prophecies of Ezekiel; and according to them, as Mr. Maundrelldistinctly observes, these poor remains of Old Tyre are now "become likethe top of a rock, a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of thesea. " [7] Of the temple of Solomon here described by Josephus, in this and thefollowing sections of this chapter, see my description of the templesbelonging to this work, ch. 13, These small rooms, or side chambers, seem to have been, by Josephus's description, no less than twenty cubitshigh a piece, otherwise there must have been a large interval betweenone and the other that was over it; and this with double floors, the oneof six cubits distance from the floor beneath it, as 1 Kings 6:5 [8] Josephus says here that the cherubims were of solid gold, and onlyfive cubits high, while our Hebrew copies [1 Kings 6;23, 28] say theywere of the olive tree, and the LXXX. Of the cypress tree, and onlyoverlaid with gold; and both agree they were ten cubits high. I supposethe number here is falsely transcribed, and that Josephus wrote tencubits also. [9] As for these two famous pillars, Jachin and Booz, their height couldbe no more than eighteen cubits, as here, and 1 Kings 7:15; 2 Kings25:17; Jeremiah 3:21; those thirty-five cubits in 2 Chronicles 3:15, being contrary to all the rules of architecture in the world. [10] The round or cylindrical lavers of four cubits in diameter, andfour in height, both in our copies, 1 Kings 7:38, 39, and here inJosephus, 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 Josephus honestly followed his copies here, though they had beencorrupted, and he was not able to restore the true reading. In the meantime, the forty baths are probably the true quantity contained in eachlaver, since they went upon wheels, and were to be drawn by the Levitesabout the courts of the priests for the washings they were designed for;and had they held much more, they would have been too heavy to have beenso drawn. [11] Here Josephus gives us a key to his own language, of right and lefthand in the tabernacle and temple; that by the right hand he means whatis against our left, when we suppose ourselves going up from the eastgate of the courts towards the tabernacle or temple themselves, and sovice versa; whence it follows, that the pillar Jachin, on the right handof the temple was on the south, against our left hand; and Booz on thenorth, against our right hand. Of the golden plate on the high priest'sforehead that was in being in the days of Josephus, and a century or twoat least later, seethe note on Antiq. B. III. Ch. 7. Sect. 6. [12] When Josephus here says that the floor of the outmost temple orcourt of the Gentiles was with vast labor raised to be even, or of equalheight, with the floor of the inner, or court of the priests, he mustmean this in a gross estimation only; for he and all others agree, that the inner temple, or court of the priests, was a few cubits moreelevated than the middle court, the court of Israel, and that much morewas the court of the priests elevated several cubits above that outmostcourt, since the court of Israel was lower than the one and higher thanthe other. The Septuagint say that "they prepared timber and stones tobuild the temple for three years, " 1 Kings 5:18; and although neitherour present Hebrew copy, nor Josephus, directly name that number ofyears, yet do they both say the building itself did not begin tillSolomon's fourth year; and both speak of the preparation of materialsbeforehand, 1 Kings v. 18; Antiq. B. VIII. Ch. 5. Sect. 1. There isno reason, therefore, to alter the Septuagint's number; but we are tosuppose three years to have been the just time of the preparation, as Ihave done in my computation of the expense in building that temple. [13] This solemn removal of the ark from Mount Sion to Mount Moriah, atthe distance of almost three quarters of a mile, confutes that notion ofthe modern Jews, and followed by many Christians also, as if thosetwo were after a sort one and the same mountain, for which there is, Ithink, very little foundation. [14] This mention of the Corinthian ornaments of architecture inSolomon's palace by Josephus seems to be here set down by way ofprophecy although it appears to me that the Grecian and Roman mostancient orders of architecture were taken from Solomon's temple, as fromtheir original patterns, yet it is not so clear that the last and mostornamental order of the Corinthian was so ancient, although what thesame Josephus says, [Of the War, B. V. Ch. 5. Sect. 3, ] that one ofthe gates of Herod's temple was built according to the rules of thisCorinthian order, is no way improbable, that order being, withoutdispute, much older than the reign of Herod. However, upon some trial, Iconfess I have not hitherto been able fully to understand the structureof this palace of Solomon, either as described in our Bibles, or evenwith the additional help of this description here by Josephus; onlythe reader may easily observe with me, that the measures of this firstbuilding in Josephus, a hundred cubits long, and fifty cubits broad, arethe very same with the area of the cart of the tabernacle of Moses, andjust hall' an Egyptian orout, or acre. [15] This signification of the name Pharaoh appears to be true. But whatJosephus adds presently, that no king of Egypt was called Pharaoh afterSolomon's father-in-law, does hardly agree to our copies, which havelong afterwards the names of Pharaoh Neehob, and Pharaoh Hophrah, 2Kings 23:29; Jeremiah 44:30, besides the frequent mention of that namePharaoh in the prophets. However, Josephus himself, in his own speechto the Jews, Of the War, B. V. Ch. 9. Sect. 4, speaks of Neehao, who wasalso called Pharaoh, as the name of that king of Egypt with whom Abrahamwas concerned; of which name Neehao yet we have elsewhere no mentiontill the days of Josiah, but only of Pharaoh. And, indeed, it mustbe conceded, that here, and sect. 5, we have more mistakes made byJosephus, and those relating to the kings of Egypt, and to that queen ofEgypt and Ethiopia, whom he supposes to have come to see Solomon, thanalmost any where else in all his Antiquities. [16] That this queen of Sheba was a queen of Sabea in South Arabia, andnot of Egypt and Ethiopia, as Josephus here asserts, is, I suppose, nowgenerally agreed. And since Sabea is well known to be a country near thesea in the south of Arabia Felix, which lay south from Judea also; andsince our Savior calls this queen, "the queen of the south, " and says, "she came from the utmost parts of the earth, " Matthew 12:42; Luke11:31, which descriptions agree better to this Arabia than to Egypt andEthiopia; there is little occasion for doubting in this matter. [17] Some blame Josephus for supposing that the balsam tree might befirst brought out of Arabia, or Egypt, or Ethiopia, into Judea, by thisqueen of Sheba, since several have said that of old no country bore thisprecious balsam but Judea; yet it is not only false that this balsam waspeculiar to Judea but both Egypt and Arabia, and particularly Sabea; hadit; which last was that very country whence Josephus, if understood notof Ethiopia, but of Arabia, intimates this queen might bring it firstinto Judea. Nor are we to suppose that the queen of Sabaea could wellomit such a present as this balsam tree would be esteemed by Solomon, incase it were then almost peculiar to her own country. Nor is the mentionof balm or balsam, as carried by merchants, and sent as a present outof Judea by Jacob, to the governor of Egypt, Genesis 37:25; 43:11, tobe alleged to the contrary, since what we there render balm or balsam, denotes rather that turpentine which we now call turpentine of Chio, orCyprus, the juice of the turpentine tree, than this precious balm. Thislast is also the same word that we elsewhere render by the same mistakebalm of Gilead; it should be rendered, the turpentine of Gilead, Jeremiah 8:22. [18] Whether these fine gardens and rivulets of Etham, about six milesfrom Jerusalem, whither Solomon rode so often in state, be not thosealluded to, Ecclesiastes 2:5, 6, where he says, "He made him gardens andorchards, and planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits: he made himpools of water, to water the wood that bringeth forth trees;" and tothe finest part whereof he seems to allude, when, in the Canticles, hecompares his spouse to a garden "enclosed, " to a "spring shut up, " to a"fountain sealed, " ch. 4. 12 [part of which from rains are still extant, as Mr. Matmdrell informs us, page 87, 88]; cannot now be certainlydetermined, but may very probably be conjectured. But whether this Ethamhas any relation to those rivers of Etham, which Providence once driedup in a miraculous manner, Psalm 74:15, in the Septuagint, I cannot say. [19] These seven hundred wives, or the daughters of great men, andthe three hundred concubines, the daughters of the ignoble, make onethousand in all; and are, I suppose, those very one thousand womenintimated elsewhere by Solomon himself, when he speaks of his not havingfound one [good] woman among that very number, Ecclesiastes 7:28. [20] Josephus is here certainly too severe upon Solomon, who, in makingthe cherubims, and these twelve brazen oxen, seems to have done no morethan imitate the patterns left him by David, which were all given Davidby Divine inspiration. See my description of the temples, ch. 10. Andalthough God gave no direction for the lions that adorned his throne, yet does not Solomon seem therein to have broken any law of Moses;for although the Pharisees and latter Rabbins have extended the secondcommandment, to forbid the very making of any image, though without anyintention to have it worshipped, yet do not I suppose that Solomon sounderstood it, nor that it ought to be so understood. The making anyother altar for worship but that at the tabernacle was equally forbiddenby Moses, Antiq. B. IV. Ch. 8. Sect. 5; yet did not the two tribes anda half offend when they made an altar for a memorial only, Joshua 22;Antiq. B. V. Ch. 1. Sect. 26, 27. [21] Since the beginning of Solomon's evil life and adversity was thetime when Hadad or Ader, who was born at least twenty or thirty yearsbefore Solomon came to the crown, in the days of David, began to givehim disturbance, this implies that Solomon's evil life began early, andcontinued very long, which the multitude of his wives and concubinesdoes imply also; I suppose when he was not fifty years of age. [22] This youth of Jeroboam, when Solomon built the walls of righteousand keep the laws, because he hath proposed to thee the greatest of allrewards for thy piety, and the honor thou shalt pay to God, namely, tobe as greatly exalted as thou knowest David to have been. " Jerusalem, not very long after he had finished his twenty years building of thetemple and his own palace, or not very long after the twenty-fourth ofhis reign, 1 Kings 9:24; 2 Chronicles 8:11, and his youth here stillmentioned, when Solomon's wickedness was become intolerable, fullyconfirm my former observation, that such his wickedness began early, andcontinued very long. See Ecclus. 47:14. [23] That by scorpions is not here meant that small animal so called, which was never used in corrections, but either a shrub, furze bush, or else some terrible sort of whip of the like nature see Hudson's andSpanheim's notes here. [24] Whether these "fountains of the Lesser Jordan" were near a placecalled 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 thenarising near the mountain Paneum, and thence running through the lakeScmochonitis to the Sea of Galilee, and so far called the Lesser Jordan;is hardly certain, even in Josephus himself, though the latter accountbe the most probable. However, the northern idolatrous calf, set up byJeroboam, was where Little Jordan fell into Great Jordan, near a placecalled Daphnae, as Josephus elsewhere informs us, Of the War, B. IV. Ch. 1. Sect. 1: see the note there. [25] How much a larger and better copy Josephus had in this remarkablehistory of the true prophet of Judea, and his concern with Jeroboam, andwith the false prophet of Bethel, than our other copies have, is evidentat first sight. The prophet's very name, Jadon, or, as the Constitutionscall him, Adonias, is wanting in our other copies; and it is there, withno little absurdity, said that God revealed Jadon the true prophet'sdeath, not to himself as here, but to the false prophet. Whether theparticular account of the arguments made use of, after all, by thefalse prophet against his own belief and his own conscience, in orderto persuade Jeroboam to persevere in his idolatry and wickedness, thanwhich more plausible could not be invented, was intimated in Josephus'scopy, or in some other ancient book, cannot now be determined; our othercopies say not one word of it. [26] That this Shishak was not the same person with the famousSesostris, as some have very lately, in contradiction to all antiquity, supposed, and that our Josephus did not take him to be the same, as theypretend, but that Sesostris was many centuries earlier than Shishak, seeAuthent. Records, part II. Page 1024. [27] Herodotus, as here quoted by Josephus, and as this passage stillstands in his present copies, B. II. Ch. 14. , affirms, that "thePhoenicians and Syrians in Palestine [which last are generally supposedto denote the Jews] owned their receiving circumcision from theEgyptians;" whereas it is abundantly evident that the Jews receivedtheir circumcision from the patriarch Abraham, Genesis 17:9-14; John7:22, 23, as I conclude the Egyptian priests themselves did also. It isnot therefore very unlikely that Herodotus, because the Jews had livedlong in Egypt, and came out of it circumcised, did thereupon think theyhad learned that circumcision in Egypt, and had it not broke. Manetho, the famous Egyptian chronologer and historian, who knew the history ofhis own country much better than Herodotus, complains frequently of hismistakes about their affairs, as does Josephus more than once in thischapter. Nor indeed does Herodotus seem at all acquainted with theaffairs of the Jews; for as he never names them, so little or nothing ofwhat he says about them, their country, or maritime cities, two of whichhe alone mentions, Cadytus and Jenysus, proves true; nor indeed do thereappear to have ever been any such cities on their coast. [28] This is a strange expression in Josephus, that God is his ownworkmanship, or that he made himself, contrary to common sense and tocatholic Christianity; perhaps he only means that he was not made byone, but was unoriginated. [29] By this terrible and perfectly unparalleled slaughter of fivehundred thousand men of the newly idolatrous and rebellious ten tribes, God's high displeasure and indignation against that idolatry andrebellion fully appeared; the remainder were thereby seriously cautionednot to persist in them, and a kind of balance or equilibrium was madebetween the ten and the two tribes for the time to come; while otherwisethe perpetually idolatrous and rebellious ten tribes would naturallyhave been too powerful for the two tribes, which were pretty frequentlyfree both from such idolatry and rebellion; nor is there any reason todoubt of the truth of the prodigious number upmost: signal an occasion. [30] The reader is to remember that Cush is not Ethiopia, but Arabia. See Bochart, B. IV. Ch. 2. [31] Here is a very great error in our Hebrew copy in this place, 2Chronicles 15:3-6, as applying what follows to times past, and not totimes future; whence that text is quite misapplied by Sir Isaac Newton. [32] This Abelmain, or, in Josephus's copy, Abellane, that belongedto the land of Israel, and bordered on the country of Damascus, issupposed, both by Hudson and Spanheim, to be the same with Abel, orAhila, whence came Abilene. This may be that city so denominated fromAbel the righteous, there buried, concerning the shedding of whose bloodwithin the compass of the land of Israel, I understand our Savior'swords about the fatal war and overthrow of Judea by Titus and his Romanarmy; "That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon theland, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son ofBarnchins, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily, I sayunto you, all these things shall come upon this generation, " Matthew23;35, 36; Luke 11:51. [33] Josephus, in his present copies, says, that a little while rainupon the earth; whereas, in our other copies, it is after many days, 1 Kings 18:1. Several years are also intimated there, and in Josephus, sect. 2, as belonging to this drought and famine; nay, we have theexpress mention of the third year, which I suppose was reckoned from therecovery of the widow's son, and the ceasing of this drought in Phmuiela[which, as Menander informs us here, lasted one whole year]; and bothour Savior and St. James affirm, that this drought lasted in all threeyears and six months, as their copies of the Old Testament then informedthem, Luke 4:25; James 5:17. Josephus here seems to mean, that thisdrought affected all the habitable earth, and presently all the earth, as our Savior says it was upon all the earth, Luke 4:25. They whorestrain these expressions to the land of Judea alone, go withoutsufficient authority or examples. [34] Mr. Spanheim takes notice here, that in the worship of Mithra [thegod of the Persians] the priests cut themselves in the same manneras did these priests in their invocation of Baal [the god of thePhoenicians]. [35] For Izar we may here read [with Hudson and Cocceius] Isachar, i. E of the tribe of Isachar, for to that tribe did Jezreel belong; andpresently at the beginning of sect. 8, as also ch. 15. Sect. 4, we mayread for Iar, with one MS. Nearly, and the Scripture, Jezreel, for thatwas the city meant in the history of Naboth. [36] "The Jews weep to this day, " [says Jerome, here cited by Reland, ]"and roll themselves upon sackcloth, in ashes, barefoot, upon suchoccasions. " To which Spanheim adds, "that after the same manner Bernice, when his life was in danger, stood at the tribunal of Florus barefoot. "Of the War, B. II. Ch. 15. Sect. 1. See the like of David, 2 Samuel15:30; Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 9. Sect. 2. [37] Mr. Reland notes here very truly, that the word naked does notalways signify entirely naked, but sometimes without men's usual armor, without heir usual robes or upper garments; as when Virgil bids thehusbandman plough naked, and sow naked; when Josephus says [Antiq. B. IV. Ch. 3. Sect. 2] that God had given the Jews the security of armorwhen they were naked; and when he here says that Ahab fell on theSyrians when they were naked and drunk; when [Antiq. B. XI. Ch. 5. Sect. 8] he says that Nehemiah commanded those Jews that were building thewalls of Jerusalem to take care to have their armor on upon occasion, that the enemy might not fall upon them naked. I may add, that the caseseems to be the same in the Scripture, when it says that Saul lay downnaked among the prophets, 1 Samuel 19:24; when it says that Isaiahwalked naked and barefoot, Isaiah 20:2, 3; and when it says that Peter, before he girt his fisher's coat to him, was naked, John 21:7. What issaid of David also gives light to this, who was reproached by Michalfor "dancing before the ark, and uncovering himself in the eyes of hishandmaids, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself, "2 Samuel 6:14, 20; yet it is there expressly said [ver. 14] that "Davidwas girded with a linen ephod, " i. E. He had laid aside his robes ofstate, and put on the sacerdotal, Levitical, or sacred garments, properfor such a solemnity. [38] Josephus's number, two myriads and seven thousand, agrees here withthat in our other copies, as those that were slain by the falling downof the walls of Aphek; but I suspected at first that this number inJosephus's present copies could not be his original number, because hecalls them "oligoi, " a few, which could hardly be said of so many astwenty-seven thousand, and because of the improbability of the fall ofa particular wall killing so many; yet when I consider Josephus's nextwords, how the rest which were slain in the battle were "ten othermyriads, " that twenty-seven thousand are but a few in comparison ofa hundred thousand, and that it was not "a wall, " as in our Englishversion, but "the walls" or "the entire walls" of the city that felldown, as in all the originals, I lay aside that suspicion, and firmlybelieve that Josephus himself hath, with the rest, given us the justnumber, twenty-seven thousand. [39] This manner of supplication for men's lives among the Syrians, withropes or halters about their heads or necks, is, I suppose, no strangething in later ages, even in our own country. [40] It is here remarkable, that in Josephus's copy this prophet, whosesevere denunciation of a disobedient person's slaughter by a lion hadlately come to pass, was no other than Micaiah, the son of Imlah, who, as he now denounced God's judgment on disobedient Ahab, seems directlyto have been that very prophet whom the same Ahab, in 1 Kings 22:8, 18, complains of, "as one whom he hated, because he did not prophesy goodconcerning him, but evil, " and who in that chapter openly repeats hisdenunciations against him; all which came to pass accordingly; nor isthere any reason to doubt but this and the former were the very sameprophet. [41] What is most remarkable in this history, and in many histories onother occasions in the Old Testament, is this, that during the Jewishtheocracy God acted entirely as the supreme King of Israel, and thesupreme General of their armies, and always expected that the Israelitesshould be in such absolute subjection to him, their supreme and heavenlyKing, and General of their armies, as subjects and soldiers are totheir earthly kings and generals, and that usually without knowing theparticular reasons of their injunctions. [42] These reasonings of Zedekiah the false prophet, in order topersuade Ahab not to believe Micaiah the true prophet, are plausible;but being omitted in our other copies, we cannot now tell whenceJosephus had them, whether from his own temple copy, from some otheroriginal author, or from certain ancient notes. That some such plausibleobjection was now raised against Micaiah is very likely, otherwiseJehoshaphat, who used to disbelieve all such false prophets, could neverhave been induced to accompany Ahab in these desperate circumstances. [43] This reading of Josephus, that Jehoshaphat put on not his own, butAhab's robes, in order to appear to be Ahab, while Ahab was withoutany robes at all, and hoped thereby to escape his own evil fate, anddisprove Micaiah's prophecy against him, is exceeding probable. It givesgreat light also to this whole history; and shows, that although Ahabhoped Jehoshaphat would be mistaken for him, and run the only risk ofbeing slain in the battle, yet he was entirely disappointed, while stillthe escape of the good man Jehoshaphat, and the slaughter of the badman Ahab, demonstrated the great distinction that Divine providence madebetwixt them. [44] We have here a very wise reflection of Josephus about DivineProvidence, and what is derived from it, prophecy, and the inevitablecertainty of its accomplishment; and that when wicked men think theytake proper methods to elude what is denounced against them, and toescape the Divine judgments thereby threatened them, without repentance, they are ever by Providence infatuated to bring about their owndestruction, and thereby withal to demonstrate the perfect veracity ofthat God whose predictions they in vain endeavored to elude. BOOK 9 FOOTNOTES [1] These judges constituted by Jehoshaphat were a kind of JerusalemSanhedrim, out of the priests, the Levites, and the principal of thepeople, both here and 2 Chronicles 19:8; much like the old Christianjudicatures of the bishop, the presbyters, the deacons, and the people. [2] Concerning this precious balsam, see the note on Atiq. B. VIII. Ch. 6. Sect. 6. [3] What are here Pontus and Thrace, as the places whither Jehoshaphat'sfleet sailed, are in our other copies Ophir and Tarshish, and the placewhence it sailed is in them Eziongeber, which lay on the Red Sea, whenceit was impossible for any ships to sail to Pontus or Thrace; so thatJosephus's copy differed from our other copies, as is further plain fromhis own words, which render what we read, that "the ships were broken atEziongeber, from their unwieldy greatness. " But so far we may conclude, that Josephus thought one Ophir to be some where in the Mediterranean, and not in the South Sea, though perhaps there might be another Ophir inthat South Sea also, and that fleets might then sail both from Phoeniciaand from the Red Sea to fetch the gold of Ophir. [4] This god of flies seems to have been so called, as was the like godamong the Greeks, from his supposed power over flies, in driving themaway from the flesh of their sacrifices, which otherwise would have beenvery troublesome to them. [5] It is commonly esteemed a very cruel action of Elijah, when hecalled for fire from heaven, and consumed no fewer than two captains anda hundred soldiers, and this for no other crime than obeying the ordersof their king, in attempting to seize him; and it is owned by ourSavior, that it was an instance of greater severity than the spirit ofthe New Testament allows, Luke 9:54. But then we must consider that itis not unlikely that these captains and soldiers believed that they weresent to fetch the prophet, that he might be put to death for foretellingthe death of the king, and this while they knew him to be the prophet ofthe true God, the supreme King of Israel, [for they were still under thetheocracy, ] which was no less than impiety, rebellion, and treason, inthe highest degree: nor would the command of a subaltern, or inferiorcaptain, contradicting the commands of the general, when the captain andthe soldiers both knew it to be so, as I suppose, justify or excuse suchgross rebellion and disobedience in soldiers at this day. Accordingly, when Saul commanded his guards to slay Ahimelech and the priests at Nob, they knew it to be an unlawful command, and would not obey it, 1 Samuel22:17. From which cases both officers and soldiers may learn, that thecommands of their leaders or kings cannot justify or excuse them indoing what is wicked in the sight of God, or in fighting in an unjustcause, when they know it so to be. [6] This practice of cutting down, or plucking up by the roots, thefruit trees was forbidden, even in ordinary wars, by the law of Moses, Deuteronomy 20:19, 20, and only allowed by God in this particular case, when the Moabites were to be punished and cut off in an extraordinarymanner for their wickedness See Jeremiah 48:11-13, and many the likeprophecies against them. Nothing could therefore justify this practicebut a particular commission from God by his prophet, as in the presentcase, which was ever a sufficient warrant for breaking any such ritualor ceremonial law whatsoever. [7] That this woman who cried to Elisha, and who in our Bible is styled"the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, " 2 Kings 4:1, was no otherthan the widow of Obadiah, the good steward of Ahab, is confirmed by theChaldee paraphrast, and by the Rabbins and others. Nor is that unlikelywhich Josephus here adds, that these debts were contracted by herhusband for the support of those "hundred of the Lord's prophets, whomhe maintained by fifty in a cave, " in the days of Ahab and Jezebel, 1Kings 18:4; which circumstance rendered it highly fit that the prophetElisha should provide her a remedy, and enable her to redeem herselfand her sons from the fear of that slavery which insolvent debtors wereliable to by the law of Moses, Leviticus 25:39; Matthew 18:25; which hedid accordingly, with God's help, at the expense of a miracle. [8] Dr. Hudson, with very good reason, suspects that there is no smalldefect in our present copies of Josephus, just before the beginning ofthis section, and that chiefly as to that distinct account which he hadgiven us reason to expect in the first section, and to which he seemsto refer, ch. 8. Sect. 6. Concerning the glorious miracles which Elishawrought, which indeed in our Bibles are not a few, 2 Kings 6-9. , but ofwhich we have several omitted in Josephus's present copies. One of thosehistories, omitted at present, was evidently in his Bible, I mean thatof the curing of Nanman's leprosy, 2 Kings 5. ; for he plainly alludes toit, B. III. Ch. 11. Sect. 4, where he observes, that "there were lepersin many nations who yet have been in honor, and not only free fromreproach and avoidance, but who have been great captains of armies, andbeen intrusted with high offices in the commonwealth, and have had theprivilege of entering into holy places and temples. " But what makes memost regret the want of that history in our present copies of Josephusis this, that we have here, as it is commonly understood, one of thegreatest difficulties in all the Bible, that in 2 Kings 5:18, 19, whereNaaman, after he had been miraculously cured by a prophet of the trueGod, and had thereupon promised [ver. 17] that "he would henceforthoffer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto theLord, " adds, "In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when mymaster goeth into the house of Rimnu to worship there, and he leanethon my hands, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmort; when I bow downmyself in the house of Rimmort, the Lord pardon thy servant in thisthing. And Elisha said, Go in peace. " This looks like a prophet'spermission for being partaker in idolatry itself, out of compliance withan idolatrous court. [9] Upon occasion of this stratagem of Elisha, in Josephus, we may takenotice, that although Josephus was one of the greatest lovers of truthin the world, yet in a just war he seems to have had no manner ofscruple upon him by all such stratagems possible to deceive publicenemies. See this Josephus's account of Jeremiah's imposition on thegreat men of the Jews in somewhat like case, Antiq. B. X. Ch. 7. Sect. 6; 2 Samuel 16:16, &c. [10] This son of a murderer was Joram, the son of Ahab, which Ahab slew, or permitted his wife Jezebel to slay, the Lord's prophets, and Naboth, 1 Kings 18:4; 21:19; and he is here called by this name, I suppose, because he had now also himself sent an officer to murder him; yet isJosephus's account of Joram's coming himself at last as repenting of hisintended cruelty, much more probable than that in our copies, 2 Kings6:33, which rather implies the contrary. [11] This law of the Jews, for the exclusion of lepers out of the campin the wilderness, and out of the cities in Judea, is a known one, Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:14. [12] Since Elijah did not live to anoint Hazael king of Syria himself, as he was empowered to do, 1 Kings 19:15, it was most probably now done, in his name, by his servant and successor Elisha. Nor does it seem to meotherwise but that Benhadad immediately recovered of his disease, as theprophet foretold; and that Hazael, upon his being anointed to succeedhim though he ought to have staid till he died by the course of nature, or some other way of Divine punishment, as did David for many years inthe like case, was too impatient, and the very next day smothered orstrangled him, in order to come directly to the succession. [13] What Mr. Le Clerc pretends here, that it is more probable thatHazael and his son were worshipped by the Syrians and people of Damascustill the days of Josephus, than Benhadad and Hazael, because underBenhadad they had greatly suffered, and because it is almost incrediblethat both a king and that king's murderer should be worshipped by thesame Syrians, is of little force against those records, out of whichJosephus drew this history, especially when it is likely that theythought Benhadad died of the distemper he labored under, and not byHazael's treachery. Besides, the reason that Josephus gives for thisadoration, that these two kings had been great benefactors to theinhabitants of Damascus, and had built them temples, is too remote fromthe political suspicions of Le Clerc; nor ought such weak suspicions tobe deemed of any force against authentic testimonies of antiquity. [14] This epistle, in some copies of Josephus, is said to come to Jotarefrom Elijah, with this addition, " for he was yet upon earth, " whichcould not be true of Elijah, who, as all agree, was gone from the earthabout four years before, and could only be true of Elisha; nor perhapsis there any more mystery here, than that the name of Elijah has veryanciently crept into the text instead of Elisha, by the copiers, therebeing nothing in any copy of that epistle peculiar to Elijah. [15] Spanheim here notes, that this putting off men's garments, and strewing them under a king, was an Eastern custom, which he hadelsewhere explained. [16] Our copies say that this "driving of the chariots was like thedriving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously, " 2 Kings9:20; whereas Josephus's copy, as he understood it, was this, that, on the contrary, Jehu marched slowly, and in good order. Nor can it bedenied, that since there was interval enough for king Joram to send outtwo horsemen, one after another, to Jehu, and at length to go out withking Ahaziah to meet him, and all this after he was come within sightof the watchman, and before he was come to Jezreel, the probability isgreatly on the side of Josephus's copy or interpretation. [17] This character of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, that "he was a goodman, and in his disposition not at all like to his father, " seems adirect contradiction to our ordinary copies, which say [2 Kings 13:11]that "he did evil in the sight of the Lord; and that he departed notfrom all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel tosin: he walked therein. " Which copies are here the truest it is hardpositively to determine. If Josephus's be true, this Joash is the singleinstance of a good king over the ten tribes; if the other be true, wehave not one such example. The account that follows, in all copies, of Elisha the prophet's concern for him, and his concern for Elisha, greatly favors Josephus's copies, and supposes this king to have beenthen a good man, and no idolater, with whom God's prophets used not tobe so familiar. Upon the whole, since it appears, even by Josephus's ownaccount, that Amaziah, the good king of Judah, while he was a good king, was forbidden to make use of the hundred thousand auxiliaries he hadhired of this Joash, the king of Israel, as if he and they were thenidolaters, 2 Chronicles 25:6-9, it is most likely that these differentcharacters of Joash suited the different parts of his reign, and that, according to our common copies, he was at first a wicked king, andafterwards was reclaimed, and became a good one, according to Josephus. [18] What I have above noted concerning Jehoash, seems to me to havebeen true also concerning his son Jeroboam II. , viz. That although hebegan wickedly, as Josephus agrees with our other copies, and, as headds, "was the cause of a vast number of misfortunes to the Israelites"in those his first years, [the particulars of which are unhappilywanting both in Josephus and in all our copies, ] so does it seem to methat he was afterwards reclaimed, and became a good king, and so wasencouraged by the prophet Jonah, and had great successes afterward, when "God had saved the Israelites by the hand of Jeroboam, the sonof Joash, " 2 Kings 14:27; which encouragement by Jonah, and greatsuccesses, are equally observable in Josephus, and in the other copies. [19] When Jonah is said in our Bibles to have gone to Tarshish, Jonah1:3, Josephus understood it that he went to Tarsus in Cilicia, or to theMediterranean Sea, upon which Tarsus lay; so that he does not appearto have read the text, 1 Kings 22:48, as our copies do, that shipsof Tarshish could lie at Ezion-geber, upon the Red Sea. But as toJosephus's assertion, that Jonah's fish was carried by the strength ofthe current, upon a nean, it is by no means an improbable determinationin Josephus. [20] This ancient piece of religion, of supposing there was great sinwhere there was great misery, and of casting lots to discover greatsinners, not only among the Israelites, but among these heathenmariners, seems a remarkable remains of the ancient tradition whichprevailed of old over all mankind, that I Providence used to interposevisibly in all human affairs, and storm, as far as the Euxine Sea, it isno way impossible; and since the storm might have driven the ship, while Jonah was in it never to bring, or at least not long to continue, notorious judge, near to that Euxine Sea, and since in three more days, while but for notorious sins, which the most ancient Book of he was inthe fish's belly, that current might bring him to the Job shows to havebeen the state of mankind for about the Assyrian coast, and since withalthat coast could bring him former three thousand years of the world, till the days of Job nearer to Nineveh than could any coast of theMediterranian and Moses. [21] This account of an earthquake at Jerusalem at the very same timewhen Uzziah usurped the priest's office, and went into the sanctuaryto burn incense, and of the consequences of the earthquake, is entirelywanting in our other copies, though it be exceeding like to a prophecyof Jeremiah, now in Zechariah 14:4, 5; in which prophecy mention is madeof "fleeing from that earthquake, as they fled from this earthquake inthe days of Uzziah king of Judah;" so that there seems to have beensome considerable resemblance between these historical and propheticalearthquakes. [22] Dr. Wall, in his critical notes on 2 Kings 15:20, observes, "thatwhen this Menahem is said to have exacted the money of Israel of all themighty 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 moneyraised by any [Israelite] king by tax on the people; that they usedbefore to raise it out of the treasures of the house of the Lord, orof their own house; that it was a poll-money on the rich men, [and themonly, ] to raise oe353, 000, or, as others count a talent, oe400, 000, atthe rate of oe6 or oe7 per head; and that God commanded, by Ezekiel, ch. 45:8; 46:18, that no such thing should be done [at the Jews'restoration], but the king should have land of his own. " [23] This passage is taken out of the prophet Nahum, ch. 2:8-13, and isthe principal, or rather the only, one that is given us almost verbatim, but a little abridged, in all Josephus's known writings: by whichquotation we learn what he himself always asserts, viz. That he made useof the Hebrew original and not of the Greek version]; as also we learn, that his Hebrew copy considerably differed from ours. See all threetexts particularly set down and compared together in the Essay on theOld Testament, page 187. [24] This siege of Samaria, though not given a particular account of, either in our Hebrew or Greek Bibles, or in Josephus, was so verylong, no less than three years, that it was no way improbable but thatparents, and particularly mothers, might therein be reduced to eattheir own children, as the law of Moses had threatened upon theirdisobedience, Leviticus 26;29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57; and as wasaccomplished in the other shorter sieges of both the capital cities, Jerusalem and Samaria; the former mentioned Jeremiah 19:9; Antiq. B. IX. Ch. 4. Sect. 4, and the latter, 2 Kings 6:26-29. BOOK 10 FOOTNOTES [1] This title of great king, both in our Bibles, 2 Kings 18:19; Isaiah36:4, and here in Josephus, is the very same that Herodotus gives thisSennacherib, as Spanheim takes notice on this place. [2] What Josephus says here, how Isaiah the prophet assured Hezekiahthat "at this time he should not be besieged by the king of Assyria;that for the future he might be secure of being not at all disturbed byhim; and that [afterward] the people might go on peaceably, and withoutfear, with their husbandry and other affairs, " is more distinct in ourother copies, both of the Kings and of Isaiah, and deserves very greatconsideration. The words are these: "This shall be a sign unto thee, Yeshall eat this year such as groweth of itself, and the second year thatwhich springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof, " 2 Kings 19:29; Isaiah37:30; which seem to me plainly to design a Sabbatic year, a year ofjubilee next after it, and the succeeding usual labors and fruits ofthem on the third and following years. [3] That this terrible calamity of the slaughter of the 185, 000Assyrians is here delivered in the words of Berosus the Chaldean, andthat it was certainly and frequently foretold by the Jewish prophets, and that it was certainly and undeniably accomplished, see Authent. Rec. Part II. P. 858. [3] We are here to take notice, that these two sons of Sennacherib, thatran away into Armenia, became the heads of two famous families there, the Arzerunii and the Genunii; of which see the particular histories inMoses Chorenensis, p. 60. [4] Josephus, and all our copies, place the sickness of Hezekiah afterthe destruction of Sennacherib's army, because it appears to have beenafter his first assault, as he was going into Arabia and Egypt, where hepushed his conquests as far as they would go, and in order to despatchhis story altogether; yet does no copy but this of Josephus say it wasafter 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 tohave 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 anda few months; whereas the first assault of Sennacherib was on thefourteenth year of Hezekiah, but the destruction of Sennacherib's armywas not till his eighteenth year. [5] As to this regress of the shadow, either upon a sun-dial, or thesteps of the royal palace built by Ahaz, whether it were physically doneby the real miraculous revolution of the earth in its diurnal motionbackward from east to west for a while, and its return again to its oldnatural revolution from west to east; or whether it were not apparentonly, and performed by an aerial phosphorus, which imitated thesun's motion backward, while a cloud hid the real sun; cannot now bedetermined. Philosophers and astronomers will naturally incline to thelatter hypothesis. However, it must be noted, that Josephus seems tohave understood it otherwise than we generally do, that the shadowwas accelerated as much at first forward as it was made to go backwardafterward, and so the day was neither longer nor shorter than usual;which, it must be confessed agrees best of all to astronomy, whoseeclipses, older than the time were observed at the same times of the dayas if this miracle had never happened. After all, this wonderful signalwas not, it seems, peculiar to Judea, but either seen, or at least heardof, at Babylon also, as appears by 2 Chronicles 32:31, where we learnthat the Babylonian ambassadors were sent to Hezekiah, among otherthings, to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land. [6] This expression of Josephus, that the Medes, upon this destructionof the Assyrian army, "overthrew" the Assyrian empire, seems to be toostrong; for although they immediately cast off the Assrian yoke, and setup Deioces, a king of their own, yet it was some time before the Medesand Babylonians overthrew Nineveh, and some generations ere theMedes and Persians under Cyaxares and Cyrus overthrew the Assyrian orBabylonian empire, and took Babylon. [7] It is hard to reconcile the account in the Second Book of Kings[ch. 23:11] with this account in Josephus, and to translate this passagetruly in Josephus, whose copies are supposed to be here imperfect. However, the general sense of both seems to be this: That there werecertain chariots, with their horses, dedicated to the idol of the sun, or to Moloch; which idol might be carried about in procession, andworshipped by the people; which chariots were now "taken away, " asJosephus says, or, as the Book of Kings says, "burnt with fire, byJosiah. " [8] This is a remarkable passage of chronology in Josephus, thatabout the latter end of the reign of Josiah, the Medes and Babyloniansoverthrew the empire of the Assyrians; or, in the words of Tobit'scontinuator, that "before Tobias died, he heard of the destruction ofNineveh, which was taken by Nebuchodonosor the Babylonian, and Assuerusthe Mede, " Tob. 14:15. See Dean Prideaux's Connexion, at the year 612. [9] This battle is justly esteemed the very same that Herodotus [B. II. Sect. 156] mentions, when he says, that "Necao joined battle with theSyrians [or Jews] at Magdolum, [Megiddo, ] and beat them, " as Dr. Hudsonhere observes. [10] Whether Josephus, from 2 Chronicles 35:25, here means the book ofthe Lamentations of Jeremiah, still extant, which chiefly belongs tothe destruction of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, or to any other likemelancholy poem now lost, but extant in the days of Josephus, belongingpeculiarly to Josiah, cannot now be determined. [11] This ancient city Hamath, which is joined with Arpad, or Aradus, and with Damascus, 2 Kings 18:34; Isaiah 36:19; Jeremiah 49:23, citiesof Syria and Phoenicia, near the borders of Judea, was also itselfevidently near the same borders, though long ago utterly destroyed. [12] Josephus says here that Jeremiah prophesied not only of the returnof the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, and this under the Persiansand Medes, as in our other copies; but of cause they did not both saythe same thing as to this circumstance, he disbelieved what they bothappeared to agree in, and condemned them as not speaking truth therein, although all the things foretold him did come to pass according to theirprophecies, as we shall show upon a fitter opportunity their rebuildingthe temple, and even the city Jerusalem, which do not appear in ourcopies under his name. See the note on Antiq. B. XI. Ch. 1. Sect. 3. [13] This observation of Josephus about the seeming disagreement ofJeremiah, ch. 32:4, and 34:3, and Ezekiel 12:13, but real agreement atlast, concerning the fate of Zedekiah, is very true and very remarkable. See ch. 7. Sect. 2. Nor is it at all unlikely that the courtiers andfalse prophets might make use of this seeming contradiction to dissuadeZedekiah from believing either of those prophets, as Josephus hereintimates he was dissuaded thereby. [14] I have here inserted in brackets this high priest Azarias, thoughhe be omitted in all Josephus's copies, out of the Jewish chronicle, Seder Olam, of how little authority soever I generally esteem such lateRabbinical historians, because we know from Josephus himself, that thenumber of the high priests belonging to this interval was eighteen, Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 10. , whereas his copies have here but seventeen. Ofthis character of Baruch, the son of Neriah, and the genuineness ofhis book, that stands now in our Apocrypha, and that it is really acanonical book, and an appendix to Jeremiah, see Authent. Rec. Part I. P. 1--11. [15] Herodotus says, this king of Egypt [Pharaoh Hophra, or Apries]was slain by the Egyptians, as Jeremiah foretold his slaughter by hisenemies, Jeremiah 44:29, 30, and that as a sign of the destructionof Egypt [by Nebuchadnezzar]. Josephus says, this king was slain byNebuchadnezzar himself. [16] We see here that Judea was left in a manner desolate after thecaptivity of the two tribes and was not I with foreign colonies, perhapsas an indication of Providence that the Jews were to repeople it withoutopposition themselves. I also esteem the latter and present desolatecondition of the same country, without being repeopled by foreigncolonies, to be a like indication, that the same Jews are hereafterto repeople it again themselves, at their so long expected futurerestoration. [17] That Daniel was made one of these eunuchs of which Isaiahprophesied, Isaiah 39:7, and the three children his companions also, seems to me plain, both here in Josephus, and in our copies of Daniel, Daniel 1:3, 6-11, 18, although it must be granted that some marriedpersons, that had children, were sometimes called eunuchs, in a generalacceptation for courtiers, on account that so many of the ancientcourtiers were real eunuchs. See Genesis 39:1. [18] Of this most remarkable passage in Josephus concerning the "stonecut out of the mountain, and destroying the image, " which he would notexplain, but intimated to be a prophecy of futurity, and probably notsafe for him to explain, as belonging to the destruction of the Romanempire by Jesus Christ, the true Messiah of the Jews, take the wordsof Hayercamp, ch. 10. Sect. 4: "Nor is this to be wondered at, that hewould not now meddle with things future, for he had no mind to provokethe Romans, by speaking of the destruction of that city which theycalled the Eternal City. " [19] Since Josephus here explains the seven prophetic times which wereto pass over Nebuchadnezzar [Daniel 4:16] to be seven years, we thencelearn how he most probably must have understood those other parallelphrases, of "a time, times, and a half, " Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 25. , of somany prophetic years also, though he withal lets us know, by his hintat the interpretation of the seventy weeks, as belonging to the fourthmonarchy, and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the days ofJosephus, ch. 2. Sect. 7, that he did not think those years to be bareyears, but rather days for years; by which reckoning, and by whichalone, could seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days, reachto the age of Josephus. But as to the truth of those seven years'banishment of Nebuchadnezzar from men, and his living so long amongthe beasts, the very small remains we have any where else of thisNebuchadnezzar prevent our expectation of any other full account of it. So far we knew by Ptolemy's canon, a contemporary record, as well as byJosephus presently, that he reigned in all forty-three years, that is, eight years after we meet with any account of his actions; one of thelast of which was the thirteen years' siege of Tyre, Antiq. B. XI. Ch. 11. , where yet the Old Latin has but three years and ten months: yetwere his actions before so remarkable, both in sacred and profaneauthors, that a vacuity of eight years at the least, at the latter endof his reign, must be allowed to agree very well with Daniel's accounts;that after a seven years' brutal life, he might return to his reason, and to the exercise of his royal authority, for one whole year at leastbefore his death. [20] These forty-three years for the duration of the reign ofNebuchadnezzar are, as I have just now observed, the very same number inPtolemy's canon. Moses Chorenensis does also confirm this captivity ofthe Jews under Nebuchadnezzar, and adds, what is very remarkable, thatsale of those Jews that were carried by him into captivity got away intoArmenia, and raised the great family of the Bagratide there. [21] These twenty-one years here ascribed to one named Naboulassar, inthe first book against Apion, or to Nabopollassar, the father of thegreat Nebuchadnezzar, are also the very same with those given him inPtolemy's canon. And note here, that what Dr. Prideaux says, at theyear, that Nebuchadnezzar must have been a common name of other kingsof Babylon, besides the great Nebuchadnezzar himself is a groundlessmistake of some modern chronologers rely, and destitute of all properoriginal authority. [22] These fifteen days for finishing such vast buildings at Babylon, inJosephus's copy of Berosus, would seem too absurd to be supposed to bethe true number, were it not for the same testimony extant also in thefirst book against Apion, sect. 19, with the same number. It thenceindeed appears that Josephus's copy of Berosus had this small number, but that it is the true number I still doubt. Josephus assures us, thatthe walls of so much a smaller city as Jerusalem were two years and fourmonths in building by Nehemiah, who yet hastened the work all he could, Antiq. B. XI. Ch. 5. Sect. 8. I should think one hundred and fifteendays, or a year and fifteen days, much more proportionable to so great awork. [23] It is here remarkable that Josephus, without the knowledge ofPtolemy's canon, should call the same king whom he himself here [Bar. I. 11, and Daniel 5:1, 2, 9, 12, 22, 29, 39] styles Beltazar, orBelshazzar, from the Babylonian god Bel, Naboandelus also; and in thefirst book against Apion, sect. 19, vol. Iii. , from the same citationout of Berosus, Nabonnedon, from the Babylonian god Nabo or Nebo. Thislast is not remote from the original pronunciation itself in Ptolemy'scanon, Nabonadius; for both the place of this king in that canon, as thelast of the Assyrian or Babylonian kings, and the number of years of hisreign, seventeen, the same in both demonstrate that it is one and thesame king that is meant by them all. It is also worth noting, thatJosephus knew that Darius, the partner of Cyrus, was the son ofAstyages, and was called by another name among the Greeks, though itdoes not appear he knew what that name was, as having never seenthe best history of this period, which is Xenophon's. But then whatJosephus's present copies say presently, sect. 4, that it was onlywithin no long time after the hand-writing on the wall that Baltasar wasslain, does not so well agree with our copies of Daniel, which say itwas the same night, Daniel 5:30. [24] This grandmother, or mother of Baltasar, the queen dowager ofBabylon, [for she is distinguished from his queen, Daniel 5:10, 13, ]seems to have been the famous Nitocris, who fortified Babylon againstthe Medes and Persians, and, in all probability governed under Baltasar, who seems to be a weak and effeminate prince. [25] It is no way improbable that Daniel's enemies might suggest thisreason to the king why the lions did not meddle with him and that theymight suspect the king's kindness to Daniel had procured these lionsto be so filled beforehand, and that thence it was that he encouragedDaniel to submit to this experiment, in hopes of coming off safe; andthat this was the true reason of making so terrible an experiment uponthose his enemies, and all their families, Daniel 6:21, though our othercopies do not directly take notice of it. [26] What Josephus here says, that the stones of the sepulchers of thekings of Persia at this tower, or those perhaps of the same sort thatare now commonly called the ruins of Persepolis, continued so entireand unaltered in his days, as if they were lately put there, "I [saysReland] here can show to be true, as to those stones of the Persianmansoleum, which Com. Brunius brake off and gave me. " He ascribed thisto the hardness of the stones, which scarcely yields to iron tools, andproves frequently too hard for cutting by the chisel, but oftentimesbreaks it to pieces. BOOK 11 FOOTNOTES [1] This Cyrus is called God's shepherd by Xenophon, as well as byIsaiah, Isaiah 44:28; as also it is said of him by the same prophet, that "I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a manthan the golden wedge of Ophir, " Isaiah 13:12, which character makesXenophon's most excellent history of him very credible. [2] This leave to build Jerusalem, sect. 3, and this epistle of Cyrus toSisinnes and Sathrabuzanes, to the same purpose, are most unfortunatelyomitted in all our copies but this best and completest copy of Josephus;and by such omission the famous prophecy of Isaiah, Isaiah 44:28, wherewe are informed that God said of or to Cyrus, "He is my shepherd, andshall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shaltbe built, and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid, " could nothitherto be demonstrated from the sacred history to have been completelyfulfilled, I mean as to that part of it which concerned his giving leaveor commission for rebuilding the city Jerusalem as distinct from thetemple, whose rebuilding is alone permitted or directed in the decree ofCyrus in all our copies. [3] Of the true number of golden and silver vessels here and elsewherebelonging to the temple of Solomon, see the description of the temples, chap. 13. [4] Josephus here follows Herodotus, and those that related how Cyrusmade war with the Scythians and Massagets, near the Caspian Sea, andperished in it; while Xenophon's account, which appears never to havebeen seen by Josephus, that Cyrus died in peace in his own country ofPersia, is attested to by the writers of the affairs of Alexander theGreat, when they agree that he found Cyrus's sepulcher at Pasargadae, near Persepolis. This account of Xenophon is also confirmed by thecircumstances of Cambyses, upon his succession to Cyrus, who, instead ofa war to avenge his father's death upon the Scythians and Massagets, andto prevent those nations from overrunning his northern provinces, whichwould have been the natural consequence of his father's ill successand death there, went immediately to an Egyptian war, long ago begun byCyrus, according to Xenophon, p. 644, and conquered that kingdom; nor isthere, that I ever heard of, the least mention in the reign of Cambysesof any war against the Scythians and Massagets that he was ever engagedin all his life. [5] The reader is to note, that although the speeches or papers ofthese three of the king's guard are much the same, in our Third Bookof Esdras, ch. 3. And 4. , as they are here in Josephus, yet that theintroduction of them is entirely different, while in our Esdras thewhole is related as the contrivance of the three of the king's guardsthemselves; and even the mighty rewards are spoken of as proposed bythemselves, and the speeches are related to have been delivered bythemselves to the king in writing, while all is contrary in Josephus. Ineed not say whose account is the most probable, the matters speak forthemselves; and there can be no doubt but Josephus's history is here tobe very much preferred before the other. Nor indeed does it seem to meat all unlikely that the whole was a contrivance of king Darius's own, in order to be decently and inoffensively put in mind by Zorobabel offulfilling his old vow for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, and the restoration of the worship of the "one true God" there. Nordoes the full meaning of Zorobabel, when he cries out, 3 Esd. 4. 41], "Blessed be the God of truth;" and here, "God is true and righteous;" oreven of all the people, 3 Esd. 4. 41, "Great is truth, and mighty aboveall things;" seem to me much different from this, "There is but one trueGod, the God of Israel. " To which doctrine, such as Cyrus and Darius;etc. , the Jews' great patrons, seem not to have been very averse, thoughthe entire idolatry of their kingdoms made them generally conceal it. [6] This strange reading in Josephus's present copies of four millionsinstead of forty thousand, is one of the grossest errors that isin them, and ought to be corrected from Ezra 2:61; 1 Esd. 5:40; andNehemiah 7:66, who all agree the general sum was but about forty-twothousand three hundred and sixty. It is also very plain that Josephusthought, that when Esdras afterwards brought up another company out ofBabylon and Persia, in the days of Xerxes, they were also, as well asthese, out of the two tribes, and out of them only, and were in all nomore than "a seed" and "a remnant, " while an "immense number" of theten tribes never returned, but, as he believed, continued then beyondEuphrates, ch. 5. Sect. 2, 3; of which multitude, the Jews beyondEuphrates, he speaks frequently elsewhere, though, by the way, he nevertakes them to be idolaters, but looks on them still as observers of thelaws of Moses. The "certain part" of the people that now came up fromBabylon, at the end of this chapter, imply the same smaller number ofJews that now came up, and will no way agree with the four millions. [7] The history contained in this section is entirely wanting in all ourother copies, both of Ezra and Esdras. [8] Dr. Hudson takes notice here, that this kind of brass or copper, orrather mixture of gold and brass or copper, was called aurichalcum, andthat this was of old esteemed the most precious of all metals. [9] This procedure of Esdras, and of the best part of the Jewish nation, after their return from the Babylonish captivity, of reducing the Jewishmarriages, once for all, to the strictness of the law of Moses, withoutany regard to the greatness of those who had broken it, and withoutregard to that natural affection or compassion for their heathen wives, and their children by them, which made it so hard for Esdras to correctit, deserves greatly to be observed and imitated in all attempts forreformation among Christians, the contrary conduct having ever been thebane of true religion, both among Jews and Christians, while politicalviews, or human passions, or prudential motives, are suffered totake place instead of the Divine laws, and so the blessing of God isforfeited, and the church still suffered to continue corrupt from onegeneration to another. See ch. 8. Sect. 2. [10] This Jewish feast of tabernacles was imitated in several heathensolemnities, as Spanheim here observes and proves. He also furtherobserves presently, what great regard many heathens had to the monumentsof their forefathers, as Nehemiah had here, sect. 6. [11] This rule of Esdras, not to fast on a festival day, is quoted inthe Apostolical Constitutions, B. V. , as obtaining among Christiansalso. [12] This miserable condition of the Jews, and their capital, musthave been after the death of Esdras, their former governor, and beforeNehemiah came with his commission to build the walls of Jerusalem. Noris that at all disagreeable to these histories in Josephus, since Esdrascame on the seventh, and Nehemiah not till the twenty-fifth of Xerxes, at the interval of eighteen years. [13] This showing king Xerxes's epistles to God, or laying them openbefore God in the temple, is very like the laying open the epistles ofSennacherib before him also by Hezekiah, 2 Kings 19:14; Isaiah 37:14, although this last was for a memorial, to put him in mind of theenemies, in order to move the Divine compassion, and the present asa token of gratitude for mercies already received, as Hayercamp wellobserves on this place. [14] It may not be very improper to remark here, with what an unusualaccuracy Josephus determines these years of Xerxes, in which the wallsof Jerusalem were built, viz. That Nehemiah came with his commissionin the twenty-fifth of Xerxes, that the walls were two years and fourmonths in building, and that they were finished on the twenty-eighthof Xerxes, sect. 7, 8. It may also be remarked further, that Josephushardly ever mentions more than one infallible astronomical character, Imean an eclipse of the moon, and this a little before the death ofHerod the Great, Antiq. B. XVII. Ch. 6. Sect. 4. Now on these twochronological characters in great measure depend some of the mostimportant points belonging to Christianity, viz. The explication ofDaniel's seventy weeks, and the duration of our Savior's ministry, andthe time of his death, in correspondence to those seventy weeks. See theSupplement to the Lit. Accorap. Of Proph. P. 72. [15] Since some skeptical persons are willing to discard this Book ofEsther as no true history; and even our learned and judicious Dr. Wall, in his late posthumous Critical Notes upon all the other Hebrew booksof the Old Testament, gives none upon the Canticles, or upon Esther, and seems thereby to give up this book, as well as he gives up theCanticles, as indefensible; I shall venture to say, that almost allthe objections against this Book of Esther are gone at once, if, as wecertainly ought to do, and as Dean Prideaux has justly done, we placethis history under Artsxerxes Longimanus, as do both the Septuagintinterpretation and Josephus. The learned Dr. Lee, in his posthumousDissertation on the Second Book of Esdras, p. 25, also says, that "thetruth of this history is demonstrated by the feast of Purlin, keptup from that time to this very day. And this surprising providentialrevolution in favor of a captive people, thereby constantlycommemorated, standeth even upon a firmer basis than that there ever wassuch a man as king Alexander [the Great] in the world, of whose reignthere is no such abiding monument at this day to be found any where. Norwill they, I dare say, who quarrel at this or any other of the sacredhistories, find it a very easy matter to reconcile the differentaccounts which were given by historians of the affairs of this king, orto confirm any one fact of his whatever with the same evidence which ishere given for the principal fact in this sacred book, or even so muchas to prove the existence of such a person, of whom so great things arerelated, but upon granting this Book of Esther, or sixth of Esdras, [asit is placed in some of the most ancient copies of the Vulgate, ] to be amost true and certain history, " etc. [16] If the Chaldee paraphrast be in the right, that Artaxerxes intendedto show Vashti to his guests naked, it is no wonder at all that shewould not submit to such an indignity; but still if it were not so grossas that, yet it might, in the king's cups, be done in a way so indecent, as the Persian laws would not then bear, no more than the common lawsof modesty. And that the king had some such design seems not improbable, for otherwise the principal of these royal guests could be no strangersto the queen, nor unapprized of her beauty, so far as decency admitted. However, since Providence was now paving the way for the introduction ofa Jewess into the king's affections, in order to bring about one of themost wonderful deliverances which the Jewish or any other nation everhad, we need not be further solicitous about the motives by which theking was induced to divorce Vashti, and marry Esther. [17] Herodotus says that this law [against any one's coming uncalled tothe kings of Persia when they were sitting on their thrones] was firstenacted by Deioces [i. E. By him who first withdrew the Medes from thedominion of the Assyrians, and himself first reigned over them]. Thusalso, lays Spanheim, stood guards, with their axes, about the throneof Tenus, or Tenudus, that the offender might by them be punishedimmediately. [18] Whether this adoration required of Mordecai to Haman were by himdeemed too like the adoration due only to God, as Josephus seems here tothink, as well as the Septuagint interpreters also, by their translationof Esther 13:12-14, or whether he thought he ought to pay no sort ofadoration to an Amalekite, which nation had been such great sinners asto have been universally devoted to destruction by God himself, Exodus17:14-16; 1 Samuel 15:18, or whether both causes concurred, cannot now, I doubt, be certainly determined. [19] The true reason why king Artaxerxes did not here properly revokehis former barbarous decree for the universal slaughter of the Jews, butonly empowered and encouraged the Jews to fight for their lives, and tokill their enemies, if they attempted their destruction, seems to havebeen that old law of the Medes and Persians, not yet laid aside, thatwhatever decree was signed both by the king and his lords could notbe changed, but remained unalterable, Daniel 6:7-9, 12, 15, 17; Esther1:19; 8:8. And Haman having engrossed the royal favor might perhapshave himself signed this decree for the Jews' slaughter instead of theancient lords, and so might have rendered it by their rules irrevocable. [21] These words give an intimation as if Artaxerxes suspected a deeperdesign in Haman than openly appeared, viz. That knowing the Jews wouldbe faithful to him, and that he could never transfer the crown to hisown family, who was an Agagite, Esther 3:1, 10, or of the posterity ofAgag, the old king of the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:8, 32, 33, while theywere alive, and spread over all his dominions, he therefore endeavoredto destroy them. Nor is it to me improbable that those seventy-fivethousand eight hundred of the Jews' enemies which were soon destroyedby the Jews, on the permission of the king, which must be on some greatoccasion, were Amalekites, their old and hereditary enemies, Exodus17:14, 15; and that thereby was fulfilled Balaam's prophecy, "Amalek wasthe first of the nations, but his latter end shall be, that he perishfor ever" Numbers 24:20. [21] Take here part of Reland's note on this disputed passage: "InJosephus's copies these Hebrew words, 'days of Purim, ' or ' lots, ' as inthe Greek copies of Esther, ch. 9:26, 28-32, is read 'days of Phurim, 'or 'days of protection, ' but ought to be read' days of Parira, ' as inthe Hebrew; than which creation, " says he, "nothing is more certain. "And had we any assurance that Josephus's copy mentioned the "castingof lots, " as our other copies do, Esther 3:7, I should fully agree withReland; but, as it now stands, it seems to me by no means certain. Asto this whole Book of Esther in the present Hebrew copy, it is so veryimperfect, in a case where the providence of God was so very remarkable, and the Septuagint and Josephus have so much of religion, that it hasnot so much as the name of God once in it; and it is hard to say whomade that epitome which the Masorites have given us for the genuinebook itself; no religious Jews could well be the authors of it, whoseeducation obliged them to have a constant regard to God, and whatsoeverrelated to his worship; nor do we know that there ever was so imperfecta copy of it in the world till after the days of Barchochab, in thesecond century. [22] Concerning this other Artaxerxes, called Muemon, and the Persianaffliction and captivity of the Jews under him, occasioned by the murderof the high priest's brother in the holy house itself, see Authent. Rec. At large, p. 49. And if any wonder why Josephus wholly omits the rest ofthe kings of Persia after Artaxerxes Mnemon, till he came to their lastking Darius, who was conquered by Alexander the Great, I shall give themVossius's and Dr. Hudson's answer, though in my own words, viz. ThatJosephus did not do ill in admitting those kings of Persia with whom theJews had no concern, because he was giving the history of the Jews, andnot of the Persians [which is a sufficient reason also why he entirelyomits the history and the Book of Job, as not particularly relating tothat nation]. He justly therefore returns to the Jewish affairs afterthe death of Longimanus, without any intention of Darius II. BeforeArtaxerxes Mnemon, or of Ochus or Arogus, as the Canon of Ptolemy namesthem, after him. Nor had he probably mentioned this other Artaxerxes, unless Bagoses, one of the governors and commanders under him, had occasioned the pollution of the Jewish temple, and had greatlydistressed the Jews upon that pollution. [23] The place showed Alexander might be Daniel 7:6; 8:3-8, 20--22;11:3; some or all of them very plain predictions of Alexander'sconquests and successors. BOOK 12 FOOTNOTES [1] Here Josephus uses the very word koinopltagia, "eating thingscommon, " for "eating things unclean;" as does our New Testament, Acts10:14, 15, 28; 11:8, 9; Romans 14:14. [2] The great number of these Jews and Samaritans that were formerlycarried into Egypt by Alexander, and now by Ptolemy the son of Lagus, appear afterwards in the vast multitude who as we shall see presently, were soon ransomed by Philadelphus, and by him made free, before hesent for the seventy-two interpreters; in the many garrisons and othersoldiers of that nation in Egypt; in the famous settlement of Jews, andthe number of their synagogues at Alexandria, long afterward; and in thevehement contention between the Jews and Samatitans under Philometer, about the place appointed for public worship in the law of Moses, whether at the Jewish temple of Jerusalem, or at the Samaritan templeof Gerizzim; of all which our author treats hereafter. And as to theSamaritans carried into Egypt under the same princes, Scaliger supposesthat those who have a great synagogue at Cairo, as also those whom theArabic geographer speaks of as having seized on an island in the RedSea, are remains of them at this very day, as the notes here inform us. [3] Of the translation of the other parts of the Old Testament byseventy Egyptian Jews, in the reigns of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, and Philadelphus; as also of the translation of the Pentateuch byseventy-two Jerusalem Jews, in the seventh year of Philadelphus atAlexandria, as given us an account of by Aristeus, and thence by Philoand Josephus, with a vindication of Aristeus's history; see the Appendixto Lit. Accorap. Of Proph. At large, p. 117--152. [4] Although this number one hundred and twenty drachmee [of Alexandria, or sixty Jewish shekels] be here three times repeated, and that inall Josephus's copies, Greek and Latin; yet since all the copies ofAristeus, whence Josephus took his relation, have this sum severaltimes, and still as no more than twenty drachmae, or ten Jewish shekels;and since the sum of the talents, to be set down presently, which islittle above four hundred and sixty, for somewhat more than one hundredthousand slaves, and is nearly the same in Josephus and Aristeus, doesbetter agree to twenty than to one hundred and twenty drachmae; andsince the value of a slave of old was at the utmost but thirty shekels, or sixty drachmae; see Exodus 21:32; while in the present circumstancesof these Jewish slaves, and those so very numerous, Philadelphus wouldrather redeem them at a cheaper than at a dearer rate;--there is greatreason to prefer here Aristeus's copies before Josephus's. [5] We have a very great encomium of this Simon the Just, the son ofOnias, in the fiftieth chapter of the Ecclesiasticus, through the wholechapter. Nor is it improper to consult that chapter itself upon thisoccasion. [6] When we have here and presently mention made of Philadelphus's queenand sister Arsinoe, we are to remember, with Spanheim, that Arsinoe wasboth his sister and his wife, according to the old custom of Persia, andof Egypt at this very time; nay, of the Assyrians long afterwards. See Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 2. Sect. 1. Whence we have, upon the coins ofPhiladelphus, this known inscription, "The divine brother and sister. " [7] The Talmudists say, that it is not lawful to write the law inletters of gold, contrary to this certain and very ancient example. SeeHudson's and Reland's notes here. [8] This is the most ancient example I have met with of a grace, orshort prayer, or thanksgiving before meat; which, as it is used to besaid by a heathen priest, was now said by Eleazar, a Jewish priest, whowas one of these seventy-two interpreters. The next example I have metwith, is that of the Essenes, [Of the War, B. II. Ch. 8. Sect. 5, ] bothbefore and after it; those of our Savior before it, Mark 8:6; John 6:11, 23; and St. Paul, Acts 27:35; and a form of such a grace or prayerfor Christians, at the end of the fifth book of the ApostolicalConstitutions, which seems to have been intended for both times, bothbefore and after meat. [9] They were rather political questions and answers, tending to thegood and religious government of mankind. [10] This purification of the interpreters, by washing in the sea, before they prayed to God every morning, and before they set abouttranslating, may be compared with the like practice of Peter theapostle, in the Recognitions of Clement, B. IV. Ch. 3. , and B. V. Ch. 36. , and with the places of the Proseuchre, or of prayer, which weresometimes built near the sea or rivers also; of which matter see Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 10. Sect. 9, 3; Acts 16:13. 16. [11] The use of oil was much greater, and the donatives of it much morevaluable, in Judea, and the neighboring countries, than it is amongstus. It was also, in the days of Josephus, thought unlawful for Jews tomake use of any oil that was prepared by heathens, perhaps on accountof some superstitions intermixed with its preparation by those heathens. When therefore the heathens were to make them a donative of oil, : theypaid them money instead of it. See Of the War, B. II. Ch. 21. Sect. 2;the Life of Josephus, sect. 13; and Hudson's note on the place beforeus. [12] This, and the like great and just characters, of the justice, andequity, and generosity of the old Romans, both to the Jews and otherconquered nations, affords us a very good reason why Almighty God, upon the rejection of the Jews for their wickedness, chose them forhis people, and first established Christianity in that empire; of whichmatter see Josephus here, sect. 2; as also Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 10. Sect. 22, 23; B. XVI. Ch. 2. Sect. 4. [13] The name of this place, Phicol, is the very same with that ofthe chief captain of Abimelech's host, in the days of Abraham, Genesis21:22, and might possibly be the place of that Phicol's nativity orabode, for it seems to have been in the south part of Palestine, as thatwas. [14] Whence it comes that these Lacedemonians declare themselves hereto be of kin to the Jews, as derived from the same ancestor, Abraham, Icannot tell, unless, as Grotius supposes, they were derived from Dores, that came of the Pelasgi. These are by Herodotus called Barbarians, andperhaps were derived from the Syrians and Arabians, the posterity ofAbraham by Keturah. See Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 10. Sect. 22; and Of the War, B. I. Ch. 26. Sect. L; and Grot. On 1 Macc. 12:7. We may further observefrom the Recognitions of Clement, that Eliezer, of Damascus, the servantof Abraham, Genesis 15:2; 24. , was of old by some taken for his son. So that if the Lacedemonians were sprung from him, they might thinkthemselves to be of the posterity of Abraham, as well as the Jews, whowere sprung from Isaac. And perhaps this Eliezer of Damascus is thatvery Damascus whom Trogus Pompeius, as abridged by Justin, makes thefounder of the Jewish nation itself, though he afterwards blunders, andmakes Azelus, Adores, Abraham, and Israel kings of Judea, and successorsto this Damascus. It may not be improper to observe further, that MosesChorenensis, in his history of the Armenians, informs us, that thenation of the Parthians was also derived from Abraham by Keturah and herchildren. [15] This word" Gymnasium" properly denotes a place where the exerciseswere performed naked, which because it would naturally distinguishcircumcised Jews from uncircumcised Gentiles, these Jewish apostatesendeavored to appear uncircumcised, by means of a surgical operation, hinted at by St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 7:18, and described by Celsus, B. VII. Ch. 25. , as Dr. Hudson here informs us. [16] Hereabout Josephus begins to follow the First Book of theMaccabees, a most excellent and most authentic history; and accordinglyit is here, with great fidelity and exactness, abridged by him; betweenwhose present copies there seem to be fewer variations than in any othersacred Hebrew book of the Old Testament whatsoever, [for this book alsowas originally written in Hebrew, ] which is very natural, because it waswritten so much nearer to the times of Josephus than the rest were. [17] This citadel, of which we have such frequent mention in thefollowing history, both in the Maccabees and Josephus, seems to havebeen a castle built on a hill, lower than Mount Zion, though upon itsskirts, and higher than Mount Moriah, but between them both; which hillthe enemies of the Jews now got possession of, and built on it thiscitadel, and fortified it, till a good while afterwards the Jewsregained it, demolished it, and leveled the hill itself with the commonground, that their enemies might no more recover it, and might thenceoverlook the temple itself, and do them such mischief as they had longundergone from it, Antiq. B. XIII. Ch. 6. Sect. 6. [18] This allegation of the Samaritans is remarkable, that though theywere not Jews, yet did they, from ancient times, observe the Sabbathday, and, as they elsewhere pretend, the Sabbatic year also, Antiq. B. XI. Ch. 8. Sect. 6. [19] That this appellation of Maccabee was not first of all given toJudas Maccabeus, nor was derived from any initial letters of the Hebrewwords on his banner, "Mi Kamoka Be Elire, Jehovah?" ["Who is like untothee among the gods, O Jehovah?"] Exodus 15:11 as the modern Rabbinsvainly pretend, see Authent. Rec. Part I. P. 205, 206. Only we maynote, by the way, that the original name of these Maccabees, andtheir posterity, was Asamoneans; which was derived from Asamoneus, thegreat-grandfather of Mattathias, as Josephus here informs us. [20] The reason why Bethshah was called Scythopolis is well known fromHerodotus, B. I. P. 105, and Syncellus, p. 214, that the Scythians, whenthey overran Asia, in the days of Josiah, seized on this city, and keptit as long as they continued in Asia, from which time it retained thename of Scythopolis, or the City of the Scythians. [21] This most providential preservation of all the religious Jews inthis expedition, which was according to the will of God, is observableoften among God's people, the Jews; and somewhat very like it in thechanges of the four monarchies, which were also providential. SeePrideaux at the years 331, 333, and 334. [22] Here is another great instance of Providence, that when, even atthe very time that Simon, and Judas, and Jonathan were so miraculouslypreserved and blessed, in the just defense of their laws and religion, these other generals of the Jews, who went to fight for honor in avain-glorious way, and without any commission from God, or the family hehad raised up to deliver them, were miserably disappointed and defeated. See 1 Macc. 5:61, 62. [23] Since St. Paul, a Pharisee, confesses that hehad not known concupiscence, or desires, to be sinful, had not the tenthcommandment said, "Thou shalt not covet, " Romans 7:7, the case seemsto have been much the same with our Josephus, who was of the same sect, that he had not a deep sense of the greatness of any sins that proceededno further than the intention. However, since Josephus speaks hereproperly of the punishment of death, which is not intended by any law, either of God or man, for the bare intention, his words need not to bestrained to mean, that sins intended, but not executed, were no sins atall. [24] No wonder that Josephus here describes Antiochus Eupator as young, and wanting tuition, when he came to the crown, since Appian informs us[Syriac. P. 177] that he was then but nine years old. [25] It is no way probable that Josephus would call Bacchidoa, thatbitter 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 ofMaccabees, whom Josephus here follows, instead of that character, saysof him, is, that he was a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to hisking; which was very probably Josephus's meaning also. [26] Josephus's copies must have been corrupted when they here givevictory to Nicanor, contrary to the words following, which imply that hewho was beaten fled into the citadel, which for certain belonged to thecity of David, or to Mount Zion, and was in the possession of Nicanor'sgarrison, and not of Judas's. As also it is contrary to the expresswords of Josephus's original author, 1 Macc. 7:32, who says that Nicanorlost about five thousand men, and fled to the city of David. [27] This account of the miserable death of Alcimus, or Jac-mus, thewicked high priest, [the first that was not of the family of the highpriests, and made by a vile heathen, Lysias, ] before the death of Judas, and of Judas's succession to him as high priest, both here, and at theconclusion of this book, directly contradicts 1 Macc. 9:54-57, whichplaces his death after the death of Judas, and says not a syllable ofthe high priesthood of Judas. How well the Roman histories agree to thisaccount of the conquests and powerful condition of the Romans at thistime, see the notes in Havercamp's edition; only that the number of thesenators of Rome was then just three hundred and twenty, is, I think, only known from 1 Macc. 8:15. [28] This subscription is wanting 1 Macc. 8:17, 29, and must be thewords of Josephus, who by mistake thought, as we have just now seen, that Judas was at this time high priest, and accordingly then reckonedhis brother Jonathan to be the general of the army, which yet he seemsnot to have been till after the death of Judas. [29] That this copy of Josephus, as he wrote it, had here not onethousand, but three thousand, with 1 Macc 9:5, is very plain, becausethough the main part ran away at first, even in Josephus, as well asin 1 Macc. 9:6, yet, as there, so here, eight hundred are said to haveremained with Judas, which would be absurd, if the whole number had beenno more than one thousand. BOOK 13 FOOTNOTES [1] This Alexander Bala, who certainly pretended to be the son ofAntiochus Epiphanes, and was owned for such by the Jews and Romans, and many others, and yet is by several historians deemed to be acounterfeit, and of no family at all, is, however, by Josephus believedto have been the real son of that Antiochus, and by him always spokenof accordingly. And truly, since the original contemporary and authenticauthor of the First Book of Maccabees [10:1] calls him by his father'sname, Epiphanes, and says he was the son of Antiochus, I suppose theother writers, who are all much later, are not to be followed againstsuch evidence, though perhaps Epiphanes might have him by a woman of nofamily. The king of Egypt also, Philometor, soon gave him his daughterin marriage, which he would hardly have done, had he believed him tobe a counterfeit, and of so very mean a birth as the later historianspretend. [2] Since Jonathan plainly did not put on the pontifical robes tillseven or eight years after the death of his brother Judas, or not tillthe feast of tabernacles, in the 160th of the Seleucidm, 1 Macc. 10;21, Petitus's emendation seems here to deserve consideration, who, insteadof "after four years since the death of his brother Judas, " would haveus read, "and therefore after eight years since the death of his brotherJudas. " This would tolerably well agree with the date of the Maccabees, and with Josephus's own exact chronology at the end of the twentiethbook of these Antiquities, which the present text cannot be made to do. [3] Take Grotius's note here: "The Jews, " says he, "were wont to presentcrowns to the kings [of Syria]; afterwards that gold which was paidinstead of those crowns, or which was expended in making them, wascalled the crown gold and crown tax. " On 1 Macc. 10:29. [4] Since the rest of the historians now extant give this Demetriusthirteen years, and Josephus only eleven years, Dean Prideaux does notamiss in ascribing to him the mean number twelve. [5] It seems to me contrary to the opinion of Josephus, and of themoderns, both Jews and Christians, that this prophecy of Isaiah, 19:19, etc. , "In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst ofthe land of Egypt, " etc. , directly foretold the building of this templeof Onias in Egypt, and was a sufficient warrant to the Jews for buildingit, and for worshipping the true God, the God of Israel, therein. SeeAuthent. Rec. 11. P. 755. That God seems to have soon better accepted ofthe sacrifices and prayers here offered him than those at Jerusalem, seethe note on ch. 10. Sect. 7. And truly the marks of Jewish corruptionor interpolation in this text, in order to discourage their peoplefrom approving of the Worship of God here, are very strong, and highlydeserve our consideration and correction. The foregoing verse in Isaiahruns thus in our common copies, "In that day shall five cities in theland of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, " [the Hebrew language; shallbe full of Jews, whose sacred books were in Hebrew, ] "and swear tothe Lord of hosts; one" [or the first] "shall be called, The City ofDestruction, " Isaiah 19:18. A strange-name, "City of Destruction, " uponso joyful occasion, and a name never heard of in the land of Egypt, orperhaps in any other nation. The old reading was evidently the City ofthe Sun, or Heliopolis; and Unkelos, in effect, and Symmachus, withthe Arabic version, entirely confess that to be the true reading. TheSeptuagint also, though they have the text disguised in the commoncopies, and call it Asedek, the City of Righteousness; yet in two orthree other copies the Hebrew word itself for the Sun, Achares, orThares, is preserved. And since Onias insists with the king and queen, that Isaiah's prophecy contained many other predictions relating to thisplace besides the words by him recited, it is highly probable that thesewere especially meant by him; and that one main reason why he appliedthis prediction to himself, and to his prefecture of Heliopolis, whichDean Prideaux well proves was in that part of Egypt, and why he choseto build in that prefecture of Heliopolis, though otherwise an improperplace, was this, that the same authority that he had for buildingthis temple in Egypt, the very same he had for building it in his ownprefecture of Heliopolis also, which he desired to do, and which he didaccordingly. Dean Prideaux has much ado to avoid seeing this corruptionof the Hebrew; but it being in support of his own opinion about thistemple, he durst not see it; and indeed he reasons here in the mostinjudicious manner possible. See him at the year 149. [6] A very unfair disputation this! while the Jewish disputant, knowingthat he could not properly prove out of the Pentateuch, that "the placewhich the Lord their God shall choose to place his name there, " so oftenreferred to in the Book of Deuteronomy, was Jerusalem any more thanGerizzim, that being not determined till the days of David, Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 13. Sect. 4, proves only, what the Samaritans did not deny, that the temple at Jerusalem was much more ancient, and much morecelebrated and honored, than that at Gerizzim, which was nothing to thepresent purpose. The whole evidence, by the very oaths of both parties, being, we see, obliged to be confined to the law of Moses, or to thePentateuch alone. However, worldly policy and interest and the multitudeprevailing, the court gave sentence, as usual, on the stronger side, andpoor Sabbeus and Theodosius, the Samaritan disputants, were martyred, and this, so far as appears, without any direct hearing at all, whichis like the usual practice of such political courts about matters ofreligion. Our copies say that the body of the Jews were in a greatconcern about those men [in the plural] who were to dispute for theirtemple at Jerusalem, whereas it seems here they had but one disputant, Andronicus by name. Perhaps more were prepared to speak on the Jews'side; but the firstraying answered to his name, and overcome theSamaritans, there was necessity for any other defender of the Jerusalemtemple. [7] Of the several Apollonius about these ages, see Dean Prideaux atthe year 148. This Apollonius Daus was, by his account, the son of thatApollonius who had been made governor of Celesyria and Phoenicia bySeleueus Philopater, and was himself a confidant of his son Demetriusthe father, and restored to his father's government by him, butafterwards revolted from him to Alexander; but not to Demetrius the son, as he supposes. [8] Dr. Hudson here observes, that the Phoenicians and Romans used toreward such as had deserved well of them, by presenting to them a goldenbutton. See ch. 5. Sect. 4. [9] This name, Demetrius Nicator, or Demetrius the conqueror, is sowritten on his coins still extant, as Hudson and Spanheim inform us; thelatter of whom gives us here the entire inscription, "King Demetrius theGod, Philadelphus, Nicator. " [10] This clause is otherwise rendered in the First Book of Maccabees, 12:9, "For that we have the holy books of Scripture in our hands tocomfort us. " The Hebrew original being lost, we cannot certainly judgewhich was the truest version only the coherence favors Josephus. But ifthis were the Jews' meaning, that they were satisfied out of their Biblethat the Jews and Lacedemonians were of kin, that part of their Bible isnow lost, for we find no such assertion in our present copies. [11] Those that suppose Josephus to contradict himself in his threeseveral accounts of the notions of the Pharisees, this here, and thatearlier one, which is the largest, Of the War B. II. Ch. 8. Sect. 14, and that later, Antiq. B. XVIII. Ch. 1. Sect. 3, as if he sometimes saidthey introduced an absolute fatality, and denied all freedom of humanactions, is almost wholly groundless if he ever, as the very learnedCasaubon here truly observes, asserting, that the Pharisees were betweenthe Essens and Sadducees, and did so far ascribe all to fate or DivineProvidence as was consistent with the freedom of human actions. However, their perplexed way of talking about fate, or Providence, as overrulingall things, made it commonly thought they were willing to excuse theirsins by ascribing them to fate, as in the Apostolical Constitutions, B. VI. Ch. 6. Perhaps under the same general name some difference ofopinions in this point might be propagated, as is very common in allparties, especially in points of metaphysical subtilty. However, ourJosephus, who in his heart was a great admirer of the piety of theEssens, was yet in practice a Pharisee, as he himself informs us, in hisown Life, sect. 2. And his account of this doctrine of the Pharisees isfor certain agreeable to his own opinion, who ever both fully allowedthe freedom of human actions, and yet strongly believed the powerfulinterposition of Divine Providence. See concerning this matter aremarkable clause, Antiq. B. XVI. Ch. 11. Sect. 7. [12] This king, who was of the famous race of Arsaces, is bethused tocall them; but by the elder author of the First Maccahere, and 1 Macc. 14:2, called by the family name Arsaces; was, the king of the Persiansand Medes, according to the land but Appion says his proper name wasPhraates. He is language of the Eastern nations. See Authent. Rec. PartII. Also called by Josephus the king of the Parthians, as the Greeks p. 1108. [13] There is some error in the copies here, when no more than fouryears are ascribed to the high priesthood of Jonathan. We know byJosephus's last Jewish chronology, Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 10. , that there wasan interval of seven years between the death of Alcimus, or Jacimus, thelast high priest, and the real high priesthood of Jonathan, to whom yetthose seven years seem here to be ascribed, as a part of them were toJudas before, Antiq. B. XII. Ch. 10. Sect. 6. Now since, besides theseseven years interregnum in the pontificate, we are told, Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 10. , that Jonathan's real high priesthood lasted seven years more, these two seven years will make up fourteen years, which I suppose wasJosephus's own number in this place, instead of the four in our presentcopies. [14] These one hundred and seventy years of the Assyrians mean no more, as Josephus explains himself here, than from the sara of Seleucus, whichas it is known to have began on the 312th year before the Christiansara, from its spring in the First Book of Maccabees, and from itsautumn in the Second Book of Maccabees, so did it not begin at Babylontill the next spring, on the 311th year. See Prid. At the year 312. Andit is truly observed by Dr. Hudson on this place, that the Syrians andAssyrians are sometimes confounded in ancient authors, according to thewords of Justin, the epitomiser of Trogus-pompeius, who says that "theAssyrians were afterward called Syrian. " B. I. Ch. 11. See Of the War, B. V. Ch. 9. Sect. 4, where the Philistines themselves, at the verysouth limit of Syria, in its utmost extent, are called Assyrians byJosephus as Spanheim observes. [15] It must here be diligently noted, that Josephus's copy of the FirstBook of Maccabees, which he had so carefully followed, and faithfullyabridged, as far as the fiftieth verse of the thirteenth chapter, seemsthere to have ended. What few things there are afterward common to both, might probably be learned by him from some other more imperfect records. However, we must exactly observe here, what the remaining part of thatbook of the Maccabees informs us of, and what Josephus would never haveomitted, had his copy contained so much, that this Simon the Great, the Maccabee, made a league with Antiochus Soter, the son of DemetriusSoter, and brother of the other Demetrius, who was now a captive inParthis: that upon his coming to the crown, about the 140th year beforethe Christian sets, he granted great privileges to the Jewish nation, and to Simon their high priest and ethnarch; which privileges Simonseems to have taken of his own accord about three years before. Inparticular, he gave him leave to coin money for his country with his ownstamp; and as concerning Jerusalem and the sanctuary, that they shouldbe free, or, as the vulgar Latin hath it, "holy and free, " 1 Macc. 15:6, 7, which I take to be the truer reading, as being the very words of hisfather's concession offered to Jonathan several years before, ch. 10:31;and Antiq. B, XIII. Ch. 2. Sect. 3. Now what makes this date and thesegrants greatly remarkable, is the state of the remaining genuine shekelsof the Jews with Samaritan characters, which seem to have been [mostof them at least] coined in the first four years of this Simon theAsamonean, and having upon them these words on one side, "Jerusalem theHoly;" and on the reverse, "In the Year of Freedom, " 1, or 2, or 3, or4; which shekels therefore are original monuments of these times, andundeniable marks of the truth of the history in these chapters, thoughit be in great measure omitted by Josephus. See Essay on the Old Test. P. 157, 158. The reason why I rather suppose that his copy of theMaccabees wanted these chapters, than that his own copies are hereimperfect, is this, that all their contents are not here omitted, thoughmuch the greatest part be. [16] How Trypho killed this Antiochus the epitome of Livy informs us, ch. 53, viz. That he corrupted his physicians or surgeons, who falselypretending to the people that he was perishing with the stone, as theycut him for it, killed him, which exactly agrees with Josephus. [17] That this Antiochus, the son of Alexander Balas, was called "TheGod, " is evident from his coins, which Spanheim assures us bear thisinscription, "King Antiochus the God, Epiphanes the Victorious. " [18] Here Josephus begins to follow and to abridge the next sacredHebrew book, styled in the end of the First Book of Maccabees, "TheChronicle of John [Hyrcanus's] high priesthood;" but in some of theGreek copies, " The Fourth Book of Maccabees. " A Greek version of thischronicle was extant not very long ago in the days of Sautes Pagninus, and Sixtus Senensis, at Lyons, though it seems to have been there burnt, and to be utterly lost. See Sixtus Senensis's account of it, of its manyHebraisms, and its great agreement with Josephus's abridgement, in theAuthent. Rec. Part I. P. 206, 207, 208. [19] Hence we learn, that in the days of this excellent high priest, John Hyrcanus, the observation of the Sabbatic year, as Josephussupposed, required a rest from war, as did that of the weekly sabbathfrom work; I mean this, unless in the case of necessity, when the Jewswere attacked by their enemies, in which case indeed, and in whichalone, they then allowed defensive fighting to be lawful, even on thesabbath day, as we see in several places of Josephus, Antlq. B. XII. Ch. 6. Sect. 2; B. XIII. Ch. 1. Sect. 2; Of the War, B. I. Ch. 7. Sect. 3. But then it must be noted, that this rest from war no way appears in theFirst Book of Maccabees, ch. 16. , but the direct contrary; though indeedthe Jews, in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, did not venture uponfighting on the Sabbath day, even in the defense of their own lives, till the Asamoneans or Maccabees decreed so to do, 1 Macc. 2:32-41;Antiq. B. XII. Ch. 6. Sect. 2. [20] Josephus's copies, both Greek and Latin, have here a gross mistake, when they say that this first year of John Hyrcanus, which we havejust now seen to have been a Sabbatic year, was in the 162nd olympiad, whereas it was for certain the second year of the 161st. See the likebefore, B. XII. Ch. 7. Sect. 6. [21] This heliacal setting of the Pleiades, or seven stars, was, in thedays of Hyrcanus and Josephus, early in the spring, about February, thetime of the latter rain in Judea; and this, so far as I remember, is theonly astronomical character of time, besides one eclipse of the moon inthe reign of Herod, that we meet with in all Josephus; the Jews beinglittle accustomed to astronomical observations, any further than for theuses of their calendar, and utterly forbidden those astrological useswhich the heathens commonly made of them. [22] Dr. Hudson tells us here, that this custom of gilding the horns ofthose oxen that were to be sacrificed is a known thing both in the poetsand orators. [23] This account in Josephus, that the present Antiochus was persuaded, though in vain, not to make peace with the Jews, but to cut them offutterly, is fully confirmed by Diodorus Siculus, in Photiua's extractsout of his 34th Book. [24] The Jews were not to march or journey on the sabbath, or on sucha great festival as was equivalent to the sabbath, any farther than asabbath day's journey, or two thousand cubits, see the note on Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 8. Sect. 6. [25] This account of the Idumeans admitting circumcision, and the entireJewish law, from this time, or from the days of Hyrcanus, is confirmedby their entire history afterward. See Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 8. Sect. 1;B. XV. Ch. 7. Sect. 9. Of the War, B. II. Ch. 3. Sect. 1; B. IV. Ch. 4. Sect. 5. This, in the opinion of Josephus, made them proselytes ofjustice, or entire Jews, as here and elsewhere, Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 8. Sect. 1. However, Antigonus, the enemy of Herod, though Herod werederived from such a proselyte of justice for several generations, willallow him to be no more than a half Jew, B. XV. Ch. 15. Sect. 2. But still, take out of Dean Prideaux, at the year 129, the words ofAmmouius, a grammarian, which fully confirm this account of the Idumeansin Josephus: "The Jews, " says he, are such by nature, and from thebeginning, whilst the Idumeans were not Jews from the beginning, butPhoenicians and Syrians; but being afterward subdued by the Jews, and compelled to be circumcised, and to unite into one nation, and besubject to the same laws, they were called Jews. " Dio also says, as theDean there quotes him, from Book XXXVI. P. 37, "That country is calledJudea, and the people Jews; and this name is given also to as manyothers as embrace their religion, though of other nations. " But thenupon what foundation so good a governor as Hyrcanus took upon him tocompel those Idumeans either to become Jews, or to leave the country, deserves great consideration. I suppose it was because they had long agobeen driven out of the land of Edom, and had seized on and possessed thetribe of Simeon, and all the southern parts of the tribe of Judah, whichwas the peculiar inheritance of the worshippers of the true God withoutidolatry, as the reader may learn from Reland, Palestine, Part I. P. 154, 305; and from Prideaux, at the years 140 and 165. [26] In this decree of the Roman senate, it seems that these ambassadorswere sent from the "people of the Jews, " as well as from their prince orhigh priest, John Hyrcanus. [27] Dean Prideaux takes notice at the year 130, that Justin, inagreement with Josephus, says, "The power of the Jews was now grown sogreat, that after this Antiochus they would not bear any Macedonian kingover them; and that they set up a government of their own, and infestedSyria with great wars. " [28] The original of the Sadducees, as a considerable party among theJews, being contained in this and the two following sections, take DeanPrideaux's note upon this their first public appearance, which Isuppose to be true: "Hyrcanus, " says be, "went over to the party of theSadducees; that is, by embracing their doctrine against the traditionsof the eiders, added to the written law, and made of equal authoritywith it, but not their doctrine against the resurrection and a futurestate; for this cannot be supposed of so good and righteous a man asJohn Hyrcanus is said to be. It is most probable, that at this time theSadducees had gone no further in the doctrines of that sect than to denyall their unwritten traditions, which the Pharisees were so fond of; forJosephus mentions no other difference at this time between them; neitherdoth he say that Hyrcanna went over to the Sadducees in any otherparticular than in the abolishing of all the traditionary constitutionsof the Pharisees, which our Savior condemned as well as they. " [At theyear. ] [29] This slander, that arose from a Pharisee, has been preserved bytheir successors the Rabbins to these later ages; for Dr. Hudson assuresus that David Gantz, in his Chronology, S. Pr. P. 77, in Vorstius'sversion, relates that Hyrcanus's mother was taken captive in MountModinth. See ch. 13. Sect. 5. [30] Here ends the high priesthood, and the life of this excellentperson John Hyrcanus, and together with him the holy theocracy, orDivine government of the Jewish nation, and its concomitant oracle byUrim. Now follows the profane and tyrannical Jewish monarchy, first ofthe Asamoneans or Maccabees, and then of Herod the Great, the Idumean, till the coming of the Messiah. See the note on Antiq. B. III. Ch. 8. Sect. 9. Hear Strabo's testimony on this occasion, B. XVI. P. 761, 762: "Those, " says he, "that succeeded Moses continued for some time inearnest, both in righteous actions and in piety; but after a whilethere were others that took upon them the high priesthood, at firstsuperstitious and afterward tyrannical persons. Such a prophet was Mosesand those that succeeded him, beginning in a way not to be blamed, butchanging for the worse. And when it openly appeared that the governmentwas become tyrannical, Alexander was the first that set up himself fora king instead of a priest; and his sons were Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. "All in agreement with Josephus, excepting this, that Strabo omits thefirst king, Aristobulus, who reigning but a single year, seems hardlyto have come to his knowledge. Nor indeed does Aristobulus, the son ofAlexander, pretend that the name of king was taken before his fatherAlexander took it himself, Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 3. Sect. 2. See also ch. 12. Sect. L, which favor Strabo also. And indeed, if we may judge fromthe very different characters of the Egyptian Jews under high priests, and of the Palestine Jews under kings, in the two next centuries, we maywell suppose that the Divine Shechinah was removed into Egypt, and thatthe worshippers at the temple of Onias were better men than those at thetemple of Jerusalem. [31] Hence we learn that the Essens pretended to have ruled wherebymen might foretell things to come, and that this Judas the Essen taughtthose rules to his scholars; but whether their pretense were of anastrological or magical nature, which yet in such religious Jews, whowere utterly forbidden such arts, is no way probable, or to any BathCol, spoken of by the later Rabbins, or otherwise, I cannot tell. See Ofthe War, B. II. Ch. 8. Sect. 12. [32] The reason why Hyrcanus suffered not this son of his whom hedid not love to come into Judea, but ordered him to be brought up inGalilee, is suggested by Dr. Hudson, that Galilee was not esteemed sohappy and well cultivated a country as Judea, Matthew 26:73; John 7:52;Acts 2:7, although another obvious reason occurs also, that he was outof his sight in Galilee than he would have been in Judea. [33] From these, and other occasional expressions, dropped by Josephus, we may learn, that where the sacred hooks of the Jews were deficient, he had several other histories then extant, [but now most of them lost, ]which he faithfully followed in his own history; nor indeed have we anyother records of those times, relating to Judea, that can be comparedto these accounts of Josephus, though when we do meet with authenticfragments of such original records, they almost always confirm hishistory. [34] This city, or island, Cos, is not that remote island in the AegeanSea, famous for the birth of the great Hippocrates, but a city or islandof the same name adjoining to Egypt, mentioned both by Stephanus andPtolemy, as Dr. Mizon informs us. Of which Cos, and the treasures therelaid up by Cleopatra and the Jews, see Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 7, sect. 2. [35] This account of the death of Antiochus Grypus is confirmed byAppion, Syriac. P. 132, here cited by Spanheim. [36] Porphyry says that this Antiochus Grypus reigned but twenty-sixyears, as Dr. Hudson observes. The copies of Josephus, both Greek andLatin, have here so grossly false a reading, Antiochus and Antoninus, or Antonius Plus, for Antiochus Pius, that the editors are forced tocorrect the text from the other historians, who all agree that thisking's name was nothing more than Antiochus Plus. [37] These two brothers, Antiochus and Philippus are called twins byPorphyry; the fourth brother was king of Damascus: both which are theobservations of Spanheim. [38] This Laodicea was a city of Gilead beyond Jordan. However, Porphyrysays that this Antiochus Pius did not die in this battle; but, runningaway, was drowned in the river Orontes. Appian says that he, wasdeprived of the kingdom of Syria by Tigranes; but Porphyry makes thisLaodice queen of the Calamans;-all which is noted by Spanheim. In suchconfusion of the later historians, we have no reason to prefer anyof them before Josephus, who had more original ones before him. Thisreproach upon Alexander, that he was sprung from a captive, seems onlythe repetition of the old Pharisaical calumny upon his father, ch. 10. Sect. 5. [39] This Theodorus was the son of Zeno, and was in possession ofAreathus, as we learn from sect. 3 foregoing. [40] This name Thracida, which the Jews gave Alexander, must, by thecoherence, denote as barbarous as a Thracian, or somewhat like it; butwhat it properly signifies is not known. [41] Spanheim takes notice that this Antiochus Dionysus [the brother ofPhilip, and of Demetrius Eucerus, and of two others] was the fifth sonof Antiochus Grypus; and that he is styled on the coins, "Antiochus, Epiphanes, Dionysus. " [42] This Aretas was the first king of the Arabians who took Damascus, and reigned there; which name became afterwards common to such Arabiankings, both at Petra and at Damascus, as we learn from Josephus in manyplaces; and from St. Paul, 2 Corinthians 11:32. See the note on Antiq. B. XVI. Ch. 9. Sect. 4. [43] We may here and elsewhere take notice, that whatever countries orcities the Asamoneans conquered from any of the neighboring nations, orwhatever countries or cities they gained from them that had notbelonged to them before, they, after the days of Hyrcanus, compelled theinhabitants to leave their idolatry, and entirely to receive the law ofMoses, as proselytes of justice, or else banished them into other lands. That excellent prince, John Hyrcanus, did it to the Idumeans, as I havenoted on ch. 9. Sect. 1, already, who lived then in the Promised Land, and this I suppose justly; but by what right the rest did it, even tothe countries or cities that were no part of that land, I do not at allknow. This looks too like unjust persecution for religion. [44] It seems, by this dying advice of Alexander Janneus to his wife, that he had himself pursued the measures of his father Hyrcanus andtaken part with the Sadducees, who kept close to the written law, against the Pharisees, who had introduced their own traditions, ch. 16. Sect. 2; and that he now saw a political necessity of submitting to thePharisees and their traditions hereafter, if his widow and familyminded to retain their monarchical government or tyranny over the Jewishnation; which sect yet, thus supported, were at last in a great measurethe ruin of the religion, government, and nation of the Jews, andbrought them into so wicked a state, that the vengeance of God came uponthem to their utter excision. Just thus did Caiaphas politically advisethe Jewish sanhedrim, John 11:50, "That it was expedient for them thatone man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perishnot;" and this in consequence of their own political supposal, ver. 48, that, "If they let Jesus alone, " with his miracles, "all men wouldbelieve on him, and the Romans would come and take away both their placeand nation. " Which political crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth broughtdown the vengeance of God upon them, and occasioned those very Romans, of whom they seemed so much afraid, that to prevent it they put himto death, actually to "come and take away both their place and nation"within thirty-eight years afterwards. I heartily wish the politiciansof Christendom would consider these and the like examples, and nolonger sacrifice all virtue and religion to their pernicious schemes ofgovernment, to the bringing down the judgments of God upon themselves, and the several nations intrusted to their care. But this is adigression. I wish it were an unseasonable one also. Josephus himselfseveral times makes such digressions, and I here venture to follow him. See one of them at the conclusion of the very next chapter. [45] The number 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. Wehave had already several such extravagant numbers in Josephus's presentcopies, which are not to be at all ascribed to him. Accordingly, Iincline to Dr. Hudson's emendation here, which supposes them but fortythousand. [46] This fortress, castle, citadel, or tower, whither the wife andchildren of Aristobulus were new sent, and which overlooked the temple, could be no other than what Hyrcanus I. Built, [Antiq. B. XVIII ch. 4. Sect. 3, ] and Herod the Great rebuilt, and called the "Tower ofAntonia, " Aatiq. B. XV. Ch. 11. Sect. 5. BOOK 14 FOOTNOTES [1] Reland takes notice here, very justly, how Josephus's declaration, that it was his great concern not only to write "an agreeable, anaccurate, " and "a true" history, but also distinctly not to omit anything [of consequence], either through "ignorance or laziness, " impliesthat he could not, consistently with that resolution, omit the mentionof [so famous a person as] "Jesus Christ. " [2] That the famous Antipater's or Antipas's father was also Antipateror Antipas [which two may justly be esteemed one and the same frame, the former with a Greek or Gentile, the latter with a Hebrew or Jewishtermination] Josephus here assures us, though Eusebias indeed says itwas Herod. [3] This "golden vine, " or "garden, " seen by Strabo at Rome, has itsinscription here as if it were the gift of Alexander, the father ofAristobulus, and not of Aristobulus himself, to whom yet Josephusascribes it; and in order to prove the truth of that part of hishistory, introduces this testimony of Strabo; so that the ordinarycopies seem to be here either erroneous or defective, and the originalreading seems to have been either Aristobulus, instead of Alexander, with one Greek copy, or else "Aristobulus the son of Alexander, " withthe Latin copies; which last seems to me the most probable. For as toArchbishop Usher's conjectures, that Alexander made it, and dedicated itto God in the temple, and that thence Aristobulus took it, and sentit to Pompey, they are both very improbable, and no way agreeableto Josephus, who would hardly have avoided the recording both theseuncommon points of history, had he known any thing of them; nor wouldeither the Jewish nation, or even Pompey himself, then have relishedsuch a flagrant instance of sacrilege. [4] These express testimonies of Josephus here, and Antiq. B. VIII. Ch. 6. Sect. 6, and B. XV. Ch. 4. Sect. 2, that the only balsam gardens, and the best palm trees, were, at least in his days, near Jerichoand Kugaddi, about the north part of the Dead Sea, [whereabout alsoAlexander the Great saw the balsam drop, ] show the mistake of those thatunderstand Eusebius and Jerom as if one of those gardens were at thesouth part of that sea, at Zoar or Segor, whereas they must either meananother Zoar or Segor, which was between Jericho and Kugaddi, agreeablyto Josephus: which yet they do not appear to do, or else they directlycontradict Josephus, and were therein greatly mistaken: I mean this, unless that balsam, and the best palm trees, grew much more southwardin Judea in the days of Eusebius and Jerom than they did in the days ofJosephus. [5] The particular depth and breadth of this ditch, whence the stonesfor the wall about the temple were probably taken, are omitted in ourcopies of Josephus, but set down by Strabo, B. XVI. P. 763; from whomwe learn that this ditch was sixty feet deep, and two hundred and fiftyfeet broad. However, its depth is, in the next section, said by Josephusto be immense, which exactly agrees to Strabo's description, and whichnumbers in Strabo are a strong confirmation of the truth of Josephus'sdescription also. [6] That is, on the 23rd of Sivan, the annual fast for the defection andidolatry of Jeroboam, "who made Israel to sin;" or possibly some otherfast might fall into that month, before and in the days of Josephus. [7] It deserves here to be noted, that this Pharisaical, superstitiousnotion, that offensive fighting was unlawful to Jews, even under theutmost necessity, on the Sabbath day, of which we hear nothing beforethe times of the Maccabees, was the proper occasion of Jerusalem's beingtaken by Pompey, by Sosius, and by Titus, as appears from the placesalready quoted in the note on Antiq. B. XIII. Ch. 8. Sect. 1; whichscrupulous superstition, as to the observation of such a rigorous restupon the Sabbath day, our Savior always opposed, when the PharisaicalJews insisted on it, as is evident in many places in the New Testament, though he still intimated how pernicious that superstition might proveto them in their flight from the Romans, Matthew 25:20. [8] This is fully confirmed by the testimony of Cicero, who: says, inhis oration for Flaecus, that "Cneius Pompeius, when he was conqueror, and had taken Jerusalem, did not touch any thing belonging to thattemple. " [9] Of this destruction of Gadara here presupposed, and its restorationby Pompey, see the note on the War, B. I. Ch. 7. Sect. 7. [10] Dean Prideaux well observes, "That notwithstanding the clamoragainst Gabinius at Rome, Josephus gives him a able character, as ifhe had acquitted himself with honor in the charge committed to him" [inJudea]. See at the year 55. [11] This history is best illustrated by Dr. Hudson out of Livy, whosays that "A. Gabinius, the proconsul, restored Ptolemy of Pompey andGabinius against the Jews, while neither of them say any thing new whichis not in the other to his kingdom of Egypt, and ejected Archelaus, whomthey had set up for king, " &c. See Prid. At the years 61 and 65. [12] Dr. Hudson observes, that the name of this wife of Antipater inJosephus was Cypros, as a Hebrew termination, but not Cypris, the Greekname for Venus, as some critics were ready to correct it. [13] Take Dr. Hudson's note upon this place, which I suppose to be thetruth: "Here is some mistake in Josephus; for when he had promised usa decree for the restoration of Jerusalem he brings in a decree of fargreater antiquity, and that a league of friendship and union only. One may easily believe that Josephus gave order for one thing, and hisamanuensis performed another, by transposing decrees that concerned theHyrcani, and as deluded by the sameness of their names; for that belongsto the first high priest of this name, [John Hyrcanus, ] which Josephushere ascribes to one that lived later [Hyrcanus, the son of AlexanderJanneus]. However, the decree which he proposes to set down follows alittle lower, in the collection of Raman decrees that concerned the Jewsand is that dated when Caesar was consul the fifth time. " See ch. 10. Sect. 5. [14] Those who will carefully observe the several occasional numbers andchronological characters in the life and death of this Herod, and ofhis children, hereafter noted, will see that twenty-five years, and notfifteen, must for certain have been here Josephus's own number for theage of Herod, when he was made governor of Galilee. See ch. 23. Sect. 5, and ch. 24. Sect. 7; and particularly Antiq. B. XVII. Ch. 8. Sect. 1, where about forty-four years afterwards Herod dies an old man at aboutseventy. [15] It is here worth our while to remark, that none could be put todeath in Judea but by the approbation of the Jewish Sanhedrim, therebeing an excellent provision in the law of Moses, that even in criminalcauses, and particularly where life was concerned, an appeal should liefrom the lesser councils of seven in the other cities to the supremecouncil of seventy-one at Jerusalem; and that is exactly according toour Savior's words, when he says, "It could not be that a prophet shouldperish out of Jerusalem, " Luke 13:33. [16] This account, as Reland observes, is confirmed by the Talmudists, who call this Sameas, "Simeon, the son of Shetach. " [17] That Hyreanus was himself in Egypt, along with Antipater, at thistime, to whom accordingly the bold and prudent actions of his deputyAntipater are here ascribed, as this decree of Julius Caesar supposes, we are further assured by the testimony of Strabo, already produced byJosephus, ch. 8. Sect. 3. [18] Dr. Hudson justly supposes that the Roman imperators, or generalsof armies, meant both here and sect. 2, who gave testimony to Hyrcanus'sand the Jews' faithfulness and goodwill to the Romans before the senateand people of Rome, were principally Pompey, Scaurus, and Gabinius; ofall whom Josephus had already given us the history, so far as the Jewswere concerned with them. [19] We have here a most remarkable and authentic attestation of thecitizens of Pergamus, that Abraham was the father of all the Hebrews;that their own ancestors were, in the oldest times, the friends of thoseHebrews; and that the public arts of their city, then extant, confirmedthe same; which evidence is too strong to be evaded by our presentignorance of the particular occasion of such ancient friendship andalliance between those people. See the like full evidence of the kindredof the Lacedemonians and the Jews; and that became they were both of theposterity of Abraham, by a public epistle of those people to the Jews, preserved in the First Book of the Maccabees, 12:19-23; and thence byJosephus, Antiq. B. XII. Ch. 4 sect. 10; both which authentic recordsare highly valuable. It is also well worthy of observation, what MosesChorenensis, the principal Armenian historian, informs us of, p. 83, that Arsaces, who raised the Parthian empire, was of the seed of Abrahamby Chetura; and that thereby was accomplished that prediction whichsaid, "Kings of nations shall proceed from thee, " Genesis 17:6. [20] If we compare Josephus's promise in sect. 1, to produce all thepublic decrees of the Romans in favor of the Jews, with his excusehere for omitting many of them, we may observe, that when he cameto transcribe all those decrees he had collected, he found them sonumerous, that he thought he should too much tire his readers if he hadattempted it, which he thought a sufficient apology for his omittingthe rest of them; yet do those by him produced afford such a strongconfirmation to his history, and give such great light to even the Romanantiquities themselves, that I believe the curious are not a littlesorry for such his omissions. [21] For Marcus, this president of Syria, sent as successor to SextusCaesar, the Roman historians require us to read "Marcus" in Josephus, and this perpetually, both in these Antiquities, and in his History ofthe Wars, as the learned generally agree. [22] In this and the following chapters the reader will easily remark, how truly Gronovius observes, in his notes on the Roman decrees in favorof the Jews, that their rights and privileges were commonly purchased ofthe Romans with money. Many examples of this sort, both as to theRomans and others in authority, will occur in our Josephus, both nowand hereafter, and need not be taken particular notice of on the severaloccasions in these notes. Accordingly, the chief captain confessesto St. Paul that "with a great sum he had obtained his freedom, " Acts22:28; as had St. Paul's ancestors, very probably, purchased the likefreedom for their family by money, as the same author justly concludesalso. [23] This clause plainly alludes to that well-known but unusual and verylong darkness of the sun which happened upon the murder of Julius Cesarby Brutus and Cassius, which is greatly taken notice of by Virgil, Pliny, and other Roman authors. See Virgil's Georgics, B. I. , justbefore the end; and Pliny's Nat. Hist. B. IL ch. 33. [24] We may here take notice that espousals alone were of old esteemeda sufficient foundation for affinity, Hyrcanus being here calledfather-in-law to Herod because his granddaughter Mariarune was betrothedto him, although the marriage was not completed till four yearsafterwards. See Matthew 1:16. [25] This law of Moses, that the priests were to be "without blemish, "as to all the parts of their bodies, is in Leviticus 21:17-24 [26] Concerning the chronology of Herod, and the time when he was firstmade king at Rome, and concerning the time when he began his secondreign, without a rival, upon the conquest and slaughter of Antigonus, both principally derived from this and the two next chapters inJosephus, see the note on sect. 6, and ch. 15. Sect. 10. [27] This grievous want of water at Masada, till the place had like tohave been taken by the Parthians, [mentioned both here, and Of the War, B. I. Ch. 15. Sect. 1, ] is an indication that it was now summer time. [28] This affirmation of Antigonus, spoken in the days of Herod, and ina manner to his face, that he was an Idumean, i. E. A half Jew, seemsto me of much greater authority than that pretense of his favorite andflatterer Nicolaus of Damascus, that he derived his pedigree from Jewsas far backward as the Babylonish captivity, ch. 1. Sect. 3. AccordinglyJosephus always esteems him an Idumean, though he says his fatherAntipater was of the same people with the Jews, ch. Viii. Sect. 1. And by birth a Jew, Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 8. Sect. 7; as indeed all suchproselytes of justice, as the Idumeans, were in time esteemed the verysame people with the Jews. [29] It may be worth our observation here, that these soldiers of Herodcould not have gotten upon the tops of these houses which were full ofenemies, in order to pull up the upper floors, and destroy them beneath, but by ladders from the out side; which illustrates some texts in theNew Testament, by which it appears that men used to ascend thitherby ladders on the outsides. See Matthew 24:17; Mark 13:15; Luke 5:19;17:31. [30] Note here, that Josephus fully and frequently assures us that therepassed above three years between Herod's first obtaining the kingdom atRome, and his second obtaining it upon the taking of Jerusalem and deathof Antigonus. The present history of this interval twice mentions thearmy going into winter quarters, which perhaps belonged to two severalwinters, ch. 15. Sect. 3, 4; and though Josephus says nothing how longthey lay in those quarters, yet does he give such an account of the longand studied delays of Ventidius, Silo, and Macheras, who were to seeHerod settled in his new kingdom, but seem not to have had sufficientforces for that purpose, and were for certain all corrupted by Antigonusto make the longest delays possible, and gives us such particularaccounts of the many great actions of Herod during the same interval, asfairly imply that interval, before Herod went to Samosata, to havebeen very considerable. However, what is wanting in Josephus, is fullysupplied by Moses Chorenensis, the Armenian historian, in his historyof that interval, B. II ch. 18. , where he directly assures us thatTigranes, then king of Armenia, and the principal manager of thisParthian war, reigned two years after Herod was made king at Rome, andyet Antony did not hear of his death, in that very neighborhood, atSamosata, till he was come thither to besiege it; after which Herodbrought him an army, which was three hundred and forty miles' march, andthrough a difficult country, full of enemies also, and joined with himin the siege of Samosata till that city was taken; then Herod and Sosinsmarched back with their large armies the same number of three hundredand forty miles; and when, in a little time, they sat down to besiegeJerusalem, they were not able to take it but by a siege of five months. All which put together, fully supplies what is wanting in Josephus, andsecures the entire chronology of these times beyond contradiction. BOOK 15 FOOTNOTES [1] The city here called "Babylon" by Josephus, seems to be one whichwas built by some of the Seleucidae upon the Tigris, which long afterthe utter desolation of old Babylon was commonly so called, and Isuppose not far from Seleueia; just as the latter adjoining city Bagdathas been and is often called by the same old name of Babylon till thisvery day. [2] Here we have an eminent example of Herod's worldly and profanepolitics, when by the abuse of his unlawful and usurped power, to makewhom he pleased high priest, in the person of Ananelus, he occasionedsuch disturbances in his kingdom, and in his own family, as suffered himto enjoy no lasting peace or tranquillity ever afterward; and suchis frequently the effect of profane court politics about matters ofreligion in other ages and nations. The Old Testament is full of themiseries of the people of the Jews derived from such court politics, especially in and after the days of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, "who madeIsrael to sin;" who gave the most pernicious example of it; who broughton the grossest corruption of religion by it; and the punishment ofwhose family for it was most remarkable. The case is too well known tostand in need of particular citations. [3] Of this wicked Dellius, see the note on the War, B. I. Ch. 15. Sect. 3. [4] When Josephus says here that this Ananelus, the new high priest, was"of the stock of the high priests, " and since he had been just tellingus that he was a priest of an obscure family or character, ch. 2. 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 here makes aremarkable observation, that this Ananelus was the third that was everunjustly and wickedly turned out of the high priesthood by the civilpower, no king or governor having ventured to do so, that Josephus knewof, but that heathen tyrant and persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes; thatbarbarous parricide Aristobulus, the first that took royal authorityamong the Maccabees; and this tyrant king Herod the Great, althoughafterward that infamous practice became frequent, till the verydestruction of Jerusalem, when the office of high priesthood was at anend. [5] This entirely confutes the Talmudists, who pretend that no one undertwenty years of age could officiate as high priest among the Jews. [6] A Hebrew chronicle, cited by Reland, says this drowning was atJordan, not at Jericho, and this even when he quote Josephus. I suspectthe transcriber of the Hebrew chronicle mistook the name, and wroteJordan for Jericho. [7] The reading of one of Josephus's Greek MSS. Seems here to be right, that Aristobulus was "not eighteen years old" when he was drowned, forhe was not seventeen when he was made high priest, ch. 2. Sect. 6, ch. 3. Sect. 3, and he continued in that office but one year, as in theplace before us. [8] The reader is here to take notice, that this seventh year of thereign of Herod, and all the other years of his reign, in Josephus, aredated from the death of Antigonus, or at the soonest from the conclusionof Antigonus, and the taking of Jerusalem a few months before, and neverfrom his first obtaining the kingdom at Rome, above three years before, as some have very weakly and injudiciously done. [9] Herod says here, that as ambassadors were sacred when they carriedmessages to others, so did the laws of the Jews derive a sacredauthority by being delivered from God by angels, [or Divineambassadors, ] which is St. Paul's expression about the same laws, Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2;2. [10] This piece of religion, the supplicating God with sacrifices, byHerod, before he went to this fight with the Arabians, taken notice ofalso in the first book of the War, ch. 19. Sect. 5, is worth remarking, because it is the only example of this nature, so far as I remember, that Josephus ever mentions in all his large and particular accountsof this Herod; and it was when he had been in mighty distress, anddiscouraged by a great defeat of his former army, and by a very greatearthquake in Judea, such times of affliction making men most religious;nor was he disappointed of his hopes here, but immediately gained a mostsignal victory over the Arabians, while they who just before had been sogreat victors, and so much elevated upon the earthquake in Judea asto venture to slay the Jewish ambassadors, were now under a strangeconsternation, and hardly able to fight at all. [11] Whereas Mariamne is here represented as reproaching: Herod with themurder of her father [Alexander], as well as her brother [Aristobulus], while it was her grandfather Hyrcanus, and not her father Alexander, whom he caused to be slain, [as Josephus himself informs us, ch. 6. Sect. 2, ] we must either take Zonaras's reading, which is heregrandfather, rightly, or else we must, as before, ch. 1. Sect. 1, allowa slip of Josephus's pen or memory in the place before us. [12] Here is a plain example of a Jewish lady giving a bill of divorceto her husband, though in the days of Josephus it was not esteemedlawful for a woman so to do. See the like among the Parthians, Antiq. B. XVIII. Ch. 9. Sect. 6. However, the Christian law, when it alloweddivorce for adultery, Matthew 5:32, allowed the innocent wife to divorceher guilty husband, as well as the innocent husband to divorce hisguilty wife, as we learn from the shepherd of Hermas, Mand. B. IV. , and from: the second apology of Justin Martyr, where a persecution wasbrought upon the Christians upon such a divorce; and I think the Romanlaws permitted it at that time, as well as the laws of Christianity. Nowthis Babas, who was one of the race of the Asamoneans or Maccabees, asthe latter end of this section informs us, is related by the Jews, asDr. Hudson here remarks, to have been so eminently religious in theJewish way, that, except the day following the tenth of Tisri, the greatday of atonement, when he seems to have supposed all his sins entirelyforgiven, he used every day of the whole year to offer a sacrifice forhis sins of ignorance, or such as he supposed he had been guilty of, butdid not distinctly remember. See somewhat like it of Agrippa the Great, Antiq. B. XIX. Ch. 3. Sect. 3, and Job 1:4, 5. [13] These grand plays, and shows, and Thymelici, or music meetings, andchariot races, when the chariots were drawn by two, three, or four pairof horses, etc. , instituted by Herod in his theatres, were still, as wesee here, looked on by the sober Jews as heathenish sports, and tendingto corrupt the manners of the Jewish nation, and to bring them inlove with paganish idolatry, and paganish conduct of life, but to thedissolution of the law of Moses, and accordingly were greatly and justlycondemned by them, as appears here and every where else in Josephus. Nor is the case of our modern masquerades, plays, operas, and the like"pomps and vanities of this wicked world, " of any better tendency underChristianity. [14] Here we have an eminent example of the language of Josephus in hiswriting to Gentiles, different from that when he wrote to Jews; in hiswriting to whom he still derives all such judgments from the angerof God; but because he knew many of the Gentiles thought they mightnaturally come in certain periods, he complies with them in thefollowing sentence. See the note on the War. B. I. Ch. 33. Sect. 2. [15] This famine for two years that affected Judea and Syria, thethirteenth mid fourteenth years of Herod, which are the twenty-third andtwenty-fourth years before the Christian era, seems to have been moreterrible during this time than was that in the days of Jacob, Genesis41. , 42. And what makes the comparison the more remarkable is this, thatnow, as well as then, the relief they had was from Egypt also; then fromJoseph the governor of Egypt, under Pharaoh king of Egypt; and now fromPetronius the prefect of Egypt, under Augustus the Roman emperor. Seealmost the like case, Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 2. Sect. 6. It is also wellworth our observation here, that these two years were a Sabbatic year, and a year of jubilee, for which Providence, during the theocracy, usedto provide a triple crop beforehand; but became now, when the Jews hadforfeited that blessing, the greatest years of famine to them ever sincethe days of Ahab, 1 Kings 17. , 18. [16] This Aelius Gallus seems to be no other than that Aelius Lagus whomDio speaks of as conducting an expedition that was about this time madeinto Arabia Felix, according to Betarius, who is here cited by Spanheim. See a full account of this expedition in Prideaux, at the years 23 and24. [17] One may here take notice, that how tyrannical and extravagantsoever Herod were in himself, and in his Grecian cities, as to thoseplays, and shows, and temples for idolatry, mentioned above, ch. 8. Sect. 1, and here also; yet durst even he introduce very few of theminto the cities of the Jews, who, as Josephus here notes, would not eventhen have borne them, so zealous were they still for many of the lawsof Moses, even under so tyrannical a government as this was of Herodthe Great; which tyrannical government puts me naturally in mind ofDean Prideaux's honest reflection upon the like ambition after suchtyrannical power in Pompey and Caesar: "One of these [says he, at theyear 60] could not bear an equal, nor the other a superior; and throughthis ambitions humor and thirst after more power in these two men, thewhole Roman empire being divided into two opposite factions, there wasproduced hereby the most destructive war that ever afflicted it; and thelike folly too much reigns in all other places. Could about thirty menbe persuaded to live at home in peace, without enterprising uponthe rights of each other, for the vain glory of conquest, and theenlargement of power, the whole world might be at quiet; but theirambition, their follies, and their humor, leading them constantly toencroach upon and quarrel with each other, they involve all that areunder them in the mischiefs thereof; and many thousands are they whichyearly perish by it; so that it may almost raise a doubt, whether thebenefit which the world receives from government be sufficient to makeamends for the calamities which it suffers from the follies, mistakes, and real-administrations of those that manage it. " [18] Cesarea being here said to be rebuilt and adorned in twelve years, and soon afterwards in ten years, Antiq. B. XVI. Ch. 5. Sect. 1, theremust be a mistake in one of the places as to the true number, but inwhich of them it is hard positively to determine. [19] This Pollio, with whom Herod's sons lived at Rome, was not Polliothe Pharisee, already mentioned by Josephus, ch. 1. Sect. 1, and againpresently after this, ch. 10. Sect. 4; but Asinine Pollo, the Roman, asSpanheim here observes. [20] The character of this Zenodorus is so like that of a famous robberof the same name in Strabo, and that about this very country, and aboutthis very time also, that I think Dr. Hudson hardly needed to have put aoverlaps to his determination that they were the same. [21] A tetrarchy properly and originally denoted the fourth part of anentire kingdom or country, and a tetrarch one that was ruler of such afourth part, which always implies somewhat less extent of dominion andpower than belong to a kingdom and to a king. [22] We may here observe, that the fancy of the modern Jews, in callingthis temple, which was really the third of their temples, the secondtemple, followed so long by later Christians, seems to be without anysolid foundation. The reason why the Christians here followed the Jewsis, because of the prophecy of Haggai, 2:6-9, which they expound ofthe Messiah's coning to the second or Zorobabel's temple, of whichthey suppose this of Herod to be only a continuation; which is meant, I think, of his coming to the fourth and last temple, of that future, largest, and most glorious one, described by Ezekiel; whence I takethe former notion, how general soever, to be a great mistake. See Lit. Accorap. Of Proph. P. 2. [23] Some of our modern students in architecture have made a strangeblunder here, when they imagine that Josephus affirms the entirefoundations of the temple or holy house sunk down into the rockymountain on which it stood no less than twenty cubits, whereas he isclear that they were the foundations of the additional twenty cubitsonly above the hundred [made perhaps weak on purpose, and only for showand grandeur] that sunk or fell down, as Dr. Hudson rightly understandshim; nor is the thing itself possible in the other sense. Agrippa'spreparation for building the inner parts of the temple twentycubits higher [History of the War, B. V. Ch. 1. Sect. 5] must in allprobability refer to this matter, since Josephus says here, that thiswhich had fallen down was designed to be raised up again under Nero, under whom Agrippa made that preparation. But what Josephus sayspresently, that Solomon was the first king of the Jews, appears by theparallel place, Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 9. Sect. 7, and other places, to bemeant only the first of David's posterity, and the first builder of thetemple. [24] "Into none Of these three did king Herod enter, " i. E. 1. Not intothe court of the priests; 2. Nor into the holy house itself; 3. Nor intothe separate place belonging to the altar, as the words following imply;for none but priests, or their attendants the Levites, might come intoany of them. See Antiq. B. XVI. Ch. 4. Sect. 6, when Herod goes into thetemple, and makes a speech in it to the people, but that could only beinto the court of Israel, whither the people could come to hear him. [25] This tradition which Josephus here mentions, as delivered down fromfathers to their children, of this particular remarkable circumstancerelating to the building of Herod's temple, is a demonstration that suchits building was a known thing in Judea at this time. He was born aboutforty-six years after it is related to have been finished, and mighthimself have seen and spoken with some of the builders themselves, and with a great number of those that had seen it building. The doubttherefore about the truth of this history of the pulling down andrebuilding this temple by Herod, which some weak people have indulged, was not then much greater than it soon may be, whether or not our St. Paul's church in London was burnt down in the fire of London, A. D. 1666, and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren a little afterward. BOOK 16 FOOTNOTES [1] We may here observe the ancient practice of the Jews, of dedicatingthe sabbath day, not to idleness, but to the learning their sacred ritesand religious customs, and to the meditation on the law of Moses; thelike to which we meet with elsewhere in Josephus also against Apion, B. I. Sect. 22. [2] This interval of ten years for the duration of Marcus Agrippa'sgovernment in Asia seems to be true, and agreeable to the Roman history. See Usher's Annals at A. M. 3392. [3] Although Herod met Augustus at Aquilei, yet was this accusation ofhis sons deferred till they came to Rome, as sect. 3 assures us, and aswe are particularly informed in the History of the War, B. I. Ch. 23. Sect. 3; though what he here says belonged distinctly to Alexander, theelder brother, I mean his being brought to Rome, is here justly extendedto both the brothers, and that not only in our copies, but in that ofZonaras also; nor is there reason to doubt but they were both at thissolemn hearing by Augustus, although the defense was made by Alexanderalone, who was the eldest brother, and one that could speak very well. [4] Since some prejudiced men have indulged a wild suspicion, as we havesupposed already, Antiq. B. XV. Ch. 11. Sect. 7, that Josephus's historyof Herod's rebuilding the temple is no better than a fable, it maynot be amiss to take notice of this occasional clause in the speech ofAlexander before his father Herod, in his and his brother's vindication, which mentions the temple as known by every body to have been built byHerod. [5] See John 2:20. See also another speech of Herod's own to the youngmen that pulled down his golden eagle from the front of the temple, where he takes notice how the building of the temple cost him a vastsum; and that the Asamoneans, in those one hundred and twenty-five yearsthey held the government, were not able to perform so great a work, tothe honor of God, as this was, Antiq. B. XVII. Ch. 6. Sect. 3. [6] Dr. Hudson here gives us the words of Suetonius concerning thisNicopolis, when Augustus rebuilt it: "And that the memory of the victoryat Actium might be celebrated the more afterward, he built Nicopolisat Actium, and appointed public shows to be there exhibited every fifthyear. " In August, sect. 18. [7] Augustus here calls Julius Caesar his father, though by birth he wasonly his uncle, on account of his adoption by him. See the same Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 14. Sect. 4. [8] This is authentic evidence that the Jews, in the days of Augustus, began to prepare for the celebration of the sabbath at the ninth houron Friday, as the tradition of the elders did, it seems, then require ofthem. [9] The remaining part of this chapter is remarkable, as justlydistinguishing natural justice, religion, and morality, from positiveinstitutions in all countries, and evidently preferring the formerbefore the latter, as did the true prophets of God always under the OldTestament, and Christ and his New; whence Josephus seems to have been atthis time nearer Christianity than were the Scribes and Pharisees ofhis age; who, as we know from the New Testament, were entirely of adifferent opinion and practice. [10] It is here worth our observation, how careful Josephus was as tothe discovery of truth in Herod's history, since he would not followNicolaus of Damascus himself, so great an historian, where there wasgreat reason to suspect that he flattered Herod; which impartiality inhistory Josephus here solemnly pro fesses, and of which impartiality hehas given more demonstrations than almost any historian whomsoever; butas to Herod's taking great wealth out of David's sepulcher, though Icannot prove it, yet do I strongly suspect it from this very history. [11] These joint presidents of Syria, Saturninus and Volumnius, were notperhaps of equal authority, but the latter like a procurator under theformer, as the very learned Noris and Pagi, and with them Dr. Hudson, determine. [12] This Aretas was now become so established a name for the kingsof Arabia, [at Petra and Damascus, ] that when the crown came tothis Aeneas, he changed his name to Aretas, as Havercamp here justlyobserves. See Antiq. B. XIII. Ch. 15. Sect, 2. [13] This oath, by the fortune of Caesar, was put to Polycarp, a bishopof Smyrna, by the Roman governor, to try whether he were a Christian, as they were then esteemed who refused to swear that oath. Martyr. Polycarp, sect. 9. [14] What Josephus relates Augustus to have here said, that Berytus wasa city belonging to the Romans, is confirmed by Spanheim's notes here:"It was, " says he, "a colony placed there by Augustus. Whence Ulpian, De Gens. Bel. L. T. XV. The colony of Berytus was rendered famous by thebenefits of Caesar; and thence it is that, among the coins of Augustus, we meet with some having this inscription: The happy colony of Augustusat Berytua. " [15] The reader is here to note, that this eighth section is entirelywanting in the old Latin version, as Spanheim truly observes; nor isthere any other reason for it, I suppose, than the great difficulty ofan exact translation. BOOK 17 FOOTNOTES [1] Those who have a mind to know all the family and descendants ofAntipater the Idumean, and of Herod the Great, his son, and have amemory to preserve them all distinctly, may consult Josephus, Antiq. B. XVIII. Ch. 5. Sect. 4; and Of the War, B. I. Ch. 28. Sect. 4; inHavercamp's edition, p. 336; and Spanheim, lb. P. 402--405; and Reland, Paleslin. Part I. P. 178, 176. [2] This is now wanting. [3] Pheroras's wife, and her mother and sister, and Doris, Antipater'smother. [4]His wife, her mother, and sister. [5] It seems to me, by this whole story put together, that Pheroraswas not himself poisoned, as is commonly supposed; for Antipater hadpersuaded him to poison Herod, ch. V. Sect. 1, which would fall to theground if he wore himself poisoned; nor could the poisoning of Pherorasserve any design that appears now going forward; it was only thesupposal of two of his freed-men, that this love-potion, or poison, which they knew was brought to Pheroras's wife, was made use of forpoisoning him; whereas it appears to have been brought for her husbandto poison Herod withal, as the future examinations demonstrate. [6] That the making of images, without an intention to worship them, wasnot unlawful to the Jews, see the note on Antiq. B VIII. Ch. 7. Sect. 5. [7] This fact, that one Joseph was made high priest for a single day, on occasion of the action here specified, that befell Matthias, the realhigh priest, in his sleep, the night before the great day of expiation, is attested to both in the Mishna and Talmud, as Dr. Hudson here informsus. And indeed, from this fact, thus fully attested, we may confutethat pretended rule in the Talmud here mentioned, and endeavored to beexcused lay Reland, that the high priest was not suffered to sleep thenight before that great day of expiation; which watching would surelyrather unfit him for the many important duties he was to perform onthat solemn day, than dispose him duly to perform them. Nor do suchTalmudical rules, when unsupported by better evidence, much less whencontradicted there by, seem to me of weight enough to deserve thatso great a man as Reland should spend his time in endeavors at theirvindication. [8] This eclipse of the moon [which is the only eclipse of either of theluminaries mentioned by our Josephus in any of his writings] is of thegreatest consequence for the determination of the time for the death ofHerod and Antipater, and for the birth and entire chronology of JesusChrist. It happened March 13th, in the year of the Julian period 4710, and the 4th year before the Christian era. See its calculation by therules of astronomy, at the end of the Astronomical Lectures, edit. Lat. P. 451, 452. [9] A place for the horse-races. [10] When it is here said that Philip the tetrarch, and Archelaus theking, or ethnarch, were own brother, or genuine brothers, if those wordsmean own brothers, or born of the same father and mother, there must behere some mistake; because they had indeed the same father, Herod, butdifferent mothers; the former Cleopatra, and Archclaus Malthace. Theywere indeed brought up together privately at Rome like when he went tohave his kingdom confirmed to him at Rome, ch. 9. Sect. 5; and Of theWar, B. II. Ch. 2. Sect. 1; which intimacy is perhaps all that Josephusintended by the words before us. [11] These numbers of years for Herod's reign, 34 and 37, are the verysame with those, Of the War, B. I. Ch. 33. Sect. 8, and are among theprincipal chronological characters belonging to the reign or death ofHerod. See Harm. P. 150--155. [12] At eight stadia or furlongs a-day, as here, Herod's funeral, conducted to Herodium, which lay at the distance from Jericho, where hedied, of 200 stadia or furlongs, Of the War, B. 1. Ch. 33. Sect. 9, musthave taken up no less than twenty-five days. [13] This passover, when the sedition here mentioned was moved againstArchelaus, was not one, but thirteen months after the eclipse of themoon already mentioned. [14] See Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 13. Sect. 10; and Of the War; B. II. Ch. 12. Sect. 9. [15] These great devastations made about the temple here, and Of theWar, B. II. Ch. 3. Sect. 3, seem not to have been full re-edified inthe days of Nero; till whose time there were eighteen thousand workmencontinually employed in rebuilding and repairing that temple, asJosephus informs us, Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 9. Sect. 7. See the note on thatplace. [16] Unless this Judas, the son of Ezekias, be the same with thatTheudas, mentioned Acts 5:36, Josephus must have omitted him; forthat other Thoualas, whom he afterward mentions, under Fadus the Romangovernor, B. XX. Ch. 5. Sect. 1, is much too late to correspond to himthat is mentioned in the Acts. The names Theudas, Thaddeus, and Judasdiffer but little. See Archbishop Usher's Annals at A. M. 4001. However, since Josephus does not pretend to reckon up the heads of all those tenthousand disorders in Judea, which he tells us were then abroad, seesect. 4 and 8, the Theudas of the Acts might be at the head of one ofthose seditions, though not particularly named by him. Thus he informsus here, sect. 6, and Of the War, B. II. Ch. 4. Sect. 2, that certainof the seditious came and burnt the royal palace at Amsthus, orBetharamphta, upon the river Jordan. Perhaps their leader, who is notnamed by Josephus, might be this Theudas. [17] See Of the War, B. II. Ch. 2. Sect. 3. [18] See the note, Of the War, B. II. Ch. 6. Sect. 1. [19] He was tetrarch afterward. [20] If any one compare that Divine prediction concerning the tyrannicalpower which Jewish kings would exercise over them, if they would be sofoolish as to prefer it before their ancient theocracy or aristocracy, 1 Samuel 8:1-22; Antiq. B. VI. Ch. 4. Sect. 4, he will soon find that itwas superabundantly fulfilled in the days of Herod, and that to such adegree, that the nation now at last seem sorely to repent of such theirancient choice, in opposition to God's better choice for them, andhad much rather be subject to even a pagan Roman government, and theirdeputies, than to be any longer under the oppression of the family ofHerod; which request of theirs Augustus did not now grant them, but didit for the one half of that nation in a few years afterward, upon freshcomplaints made by the Jews against Archelaus, who, under the morehumble name of an ethnarch, which Augustus only would 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. 13. Sect. 2. [21] This is not true. See Antiq. B. XIV. Ch. 9. Sect. 3, 4; and ch. 12. Sect. 2; and ch. 13. Sect. 1, 2. Antiq. B. XV. Ch. 3. Sect. 5; andch. 10. Sect. 2, 3. Antiq. B. XVI. Ch. 9. Sect. 3. Since Josephus hereinforms us that Archelaus had one half of the kingdom of Herod, andpresently informs us further that Archelaus's annual income, afteran abatement of one quarter for the present, was 600 talents, we maytherefore ga ther pretty nearly what was Herod the Great's yearlyincome, I mean about 1600 talents, which, at the known value of 3000shekels to a talent, and about 2s. 10d. To a shekel, in the days ofJosephus, see the note on Antiq. B. III. Ch. 8. Sect. 2, amounts to680, 000 sterling per annum; which income, though great in itself, bearing no proportion to his vast expenses every where visible inJosephus, and to the vast sums he left behind him in his will, ch. 8. Sect. 1, and ch. 12. Sect. 1, the rest must have arisen either from hisconfiscation of those great men's estates whom he put to death, or madeto pay fine for the saving of their lives, or from some other heavymethods of oppression which such savage tyrants usually exercise upontheir miserable subjects; or rather from these several methods nottogether, all which yet seem very much too small for his expenses, beingdrawn from no larger a nation than that of the Jews, which was verypopulous, but without the advantage of trade to bring them riches; sothat I cannot but strongly suspect that no small part of this his wealtharose from another source; I mean from some vast sums he took out ofDavid's sepulcher, but concealed from the people. See the note on Antiq. B. VII. Ch. 15. Sect. 3. [22] Take here a very useful note of Grotias, on Luke 3:1, here quotedby Dr. Hudson: "When Josephus says that some part of the house [orpossession] of Zenodorus [i. E. Abilene] was allotted to Philip, hethereby declares that the larger part of it belonged to another. This other was Lysanias, whom Luke mentions, of the posterity of thatLysanias who was possessed of the same country called Abilene, from thecity Abila, and by others Chalcidene, from the city Chaleis, when thegovernment of the East was under Antonius, and this after Ptolemy, theson of Menneus; from which Lysanias this country came to be commonlycalled the Country of Lysanias; and as, after the death of the formerLyanias, it was called the tetrarchy of Zenodorus, so, after the deathof Zenodorus, or when the time for which he hired it was ended whenanother Lysanias, of the same name with the former, was possessed of thesame country, it began to be called the Tetrarchy of Lysanias. "However, since Josephus elsewhere [Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 7. Sect. 1] clearlydistinguishes Abilene from Cilalcidcue, Groius must be here so farmistaken. [23] Spanheim seasonably observes here, that it was forbidden theJews to marry their brother's wife when she had children by her firsthusband, and that Zonaras [cites, or] interprets the clause before usaccordingly. BOOK 18 FOOTNOTES [1] Since St. Luke once, Acts 5:37, and Josephus four several times, once here, sect. 6; and B. XX. Ch. 5. Sect. 2; Of the War, B. II. Ch. 8. Sect. 1; and ch. 17. Sect. 8, calls this Judas, who was the pestilentauthor of that seditious doctrine and temper which brought the Jewishnation to utter destruction, a Galilean; but here [sect. 1] Josephuscalls him a Gaulonite, of the city of Gamala; it is a great questionwhere this Judas was born, whether in Galilee on the west side, or inGaulonitis on the east side, of the river Jordan; while, in the placejust now cited out of the Antiquities, B. XX. Ch. 5. Sect. 2, he isnot only called a Galilean, but it is added to his story, "as I havesignified in the books that go before these, " as if he had stillcalled him a Galilean in those Antiquities before, as well as in thatparticular place, as Dean Aldrich observes, Of the War, B. II. Ch. 8. Sect. 1. Nor can one well imagine why he should here call him aGaulonite, when in the 6th sect. Following here, as well as twice Of theWar, he still calls him a Galilean. As for the city of Gamala, whencethis Judas was derived, it determines nothing, since there were two ofthat name, the one in Gaulonitis, the other in Galilee. See Reland onthe city or town of that name. [2] It seems not very improbable to me that this Sadduc, the Pharisee, was the very same man of whom the Rabbins speak, as the unhappy, butundesigning, occasion of the impiety or infidelity of the Sadducees; norperhaps had the men this name of Sadducees till this very time, thoughthey were a distinct sect long before. See the note on B. XIII. Ch. 10. Sect 5; and Dean Prideaux, as there quoted. Nor do we, that I knowof, find the least footsteps of such impiety or infidelity of theseSadducees before this time, the Recognitions assuring us that they beganabout the days of John the Baptist; B. 1. Ch. 54. See note above. [3] It seems by what Josephus says here, and Philo himself elsewhere, Op. P. 679, that these Essens did not use to go to the Jewish festivalsat Jerusalem, or to offer sacrifices there, which may be one greatoccasion why they are never mentioned in the ordinary books of the NewTestament; though, in the Apostolical Constitutions, they are mentionedas those that observed the customs of their forefathers, and thatwithout any such ill character laid upon them as is there laid upon theother sects among that people. [4] Who these Polistae in Josephus, or in Strabo, among the PythagoricDacae, were, it is not easy to determine. Scaliger offers no improbableconjecture, that some of these Dacae lived alone, like monks, in tentsor caves; but that others of them lived together in built cities, andthence were called by such names as implied the same. [5] We may here take notice, as well as in the parallel parts of thebooks Of the War, B. II. Ch. 9. Sect. 1, that after the death of Herodthe Great, and the succession of Archclaus, Josephus is very brief inhis accounts of Judea, till near his own time. I suppose the reason is, that after the large history of Nicolaus of Damascus, including the lifeof Herod, and probably the succession and first actions of his sons, hehad but few good histories of those times before him. [6] Numbers 19:11-14. [7] This citation is now wanting. [8] These Jews, as they are here called, whose blood Pilate shed on thisoccasion, may very well be those very Galilean Jews, "whose blood Pilatehad mingled with their sacrifices, " Luke 13:1, 2; these tumults beingusually excited at some of the Jews' great festivals, when they slewabundance of sacrifices, and the Galileans being commonly much more busyin such tumults than those of Judea and Jerusalem, as we learn from thehistory of Archelaus, Antiq. B. XVII. Ch. 9. Sect. 3 and ch. 10. Sect. 2, 9; though, indeed, Josephus's present copies say not one word of"those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, "which the 4th verse of the same 13th chapter of St. Luke informs us of. But since our gospel teaches us, Luke 23:6, 7, that "when Pilate heardof Galilee, he asked whether Jesus were a Galilean. And as soon as heknew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod;"and ver. 12, "The same day Pilate and Herod were made friends togetherfor before they had been at enmity between themselves;" take the veryprobable key of this matter in the words of the learned Noldius, deHerod. No. 219: "The cause of the enmity between Herod and Pilate [sayshe] seems to have been this, that Pilate had intermeddled with thetetrarch's jurisdiction, and had slain some of his Galilean subjects, Luke 13:1; and, as he was willing to correct that error, he sent Christto Herod at this time. " [9] A. D. 33, April 3. [10] April 5. [11] Of the banishment of these four thousand Jews into Sardinia byTiberius, see Suetonlus in Tiber. Sect. 36. But as for Mr. Reland's notehere, which supposes that Jews could not, consistently 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 provingexcellent soldiers in war; and indeed many of the best of them, and evenunder heathen kings themselves, did so; those, I mean, who allowed themtheir rest on the sabbath day, and other solemn festivals, and letthem live according to their own laws, as Alexander the Great and thePtolemies of Egypt did. It is true, they could not always obtainthose privileges, and then they got executed as well as they could, orsometimes absolutely refused to fight, which seems to have been the casehere, as to the major part of the Jews now banished, but nothing more. See several of the Roman decrees in their favor as to such matters, B. XIV. Ch. 10. [12] Since Moses never came himself beyond Jordan, nor particularly toMount Gerizzim, and since these Samaritans have a tradition among them, related here by Dr. Hudson, from Reland, who was very skillful inJewish and Samaritan learning, that in the days of Uzzi or Ozis thehigh priest, 1 Chronicles 6:6; the ark and other sacred vessels were, by God's command, laid up or hidden in Mount Gerizzim, it is highlyprobable that this was the foolish foundation the present Samaritanswent upon, in the sedition here described. [13] This mention of the high priest's sacred garments received sevendays before a festival, and purified in those days against a festival, as having been polluted by being in the custody of heathens, inJosephus, agrees well with the traditions of the Talmudists, as Relandhere observes. Nor is there any question but the three feasts herementioned were the passover, pentecost, and feast of tabernacles; andthe fast so called by way of distinction, as Acts 27:9, was the greatday of expiation. [14] This calculation, from all Josephus's Greek copies, is exactlyright; for since Herod died about September, in the fourth year beforethe Christian era, and Tiberius began, as is well known, Aug. 19, A. D. 14, it is evident that the thirty-seventh year of Philip, reckoned fromhis father's death, was the twentieth of Tiberius, or near the end ofA. D. 33, [the very year of our Savior's death also, ] or, however, in thebeginning of the next year, A. D. 34. This Philip the tetrarch seems tohave been the best of all the posterity of Herod, for his love of peace, and his love of justice. An excellent example this. [15] This Herod seems to have had the additional name of Philip, asAntipus was named Herod-Antipas: and as Antipus and Antipater seem to bein a manner the very same name, yet were the names of two sons of Herodthe Great; so might Philip the tetrarch and this Herod-Philip be twodifferent sons of the same father, all which Grotias observes onMatthew 14:3. Nor was it, as I with Grotias and others of the Philipthe tetrarch, but this Herod-Philip, whose wife Herod the tetrarch hadmarried, and that in her first husband's lifetime, and when her firsthusband had issue by her-; for which adulterous and incestuous marriageJohn the Baptist justly reproved Herod the tetrarch, and for whichreproof Salome, the daughter of Herodias by her first husbandHerod-Philip, who was still alive, occasioned him to be unjustlybeheaded. [16] Whether this sudden extinction of almost the entire lineage ofHerod the Great, which was very numerous, as we are both here and inthe next section informed, was not in part as a punishment for the grossincests they were frequently guilty of, in marrying their own nephewsand nieces, well deserves to be considered. See Leviticus 18:6, 7;21:10; and Noldius, De Herod, No. 269, 270. [17] There are coins still extant of this Eraess, as Spanheim informsus. Spanheim also informs us of a coin still extant of this Jotape, daughter of the king of Commageus. [18] Spanheim observes, that we have here an instance of the Atticquantity of use-money, which was the eighth part of the original sum, or12 per cent. , for such is the proportion of 2500 to 20, 000. [19] The governor of the Jews there. [20] Tiberius, junior of Germanicus. [21] This high commendation of Antonia for marrying but once, givenhere, and supported elsewhere; Antiq. B. XVII. Ch. 13. Sect. 4, andthis, notwithstanding the strongest temptations, shows how honorablesingle marriages were both among the Jews and Romans, in the days ofJosephus and of the apostles, and takes away much of that surprise whichthe modern Protestants have at those laws of the apostles, where nowidows, but those who had been the wives of one husband only, are takeninto the church list; and no bishops, priests, or deacons are allowed tomarry more than once, without leaving off to officiate as clergymen anylonger. See Luke 2:36; 1 Timothy 5:11, 12; 3:2, 12; Titus 1:10; Constit. Apost. B. II. Sect. 1, 2; B. VI. Sect. 17; Can. B. XVII, ; Grot. InLuc. Ii. 36; and Resports. Ad Consult. Cassand. P. 44; and Cotelet. In Constit. B. VI. Sect. 17. And note, that Tertullian owns this lawagainst second marriages of the clergy had been once at least executedin his time; and heavily complains elsewhere, that the breach thereofhad not been always punished by the catholics, as it ought to have been. Jerome, speaking of the ill reputation of marrying twice, says, that nosuch person could be chosen into the clergy in his days; which Augustinetestifies also; and for Epiphanius, rather earlier, he is clear and fullto the same purpose, and says that law obtained over the whole catholicchurch in his days, --as the places in the forecited authors inform us. [22] Dr. Hudson here takes notice, out of Seneca, Epistle V. That thiswas the custom of Tiberius, to couple the prisoner and the soldier thatguarded him together in the same chain. [23] Tiberius his own grandson, and Caius his brother Drusus's grandson. [24] So I correct Josephus's copy, which calls Germanicus his brother, who was his brother's son. [25] This is a known thing among the Roman historians and poets, thatTiberius was greatly given to astrology and divination. [26] This name of a lion is often given to tyrants, especially bythe such Agrippa, and probably his freed-man Marsyas, in effect were, Ezekiel 19:1, 9; Esther 4:9 2 Timothy 4:17. They are also sometimescompared to or represented by wild beasts, of which the lion is theprincipal, Daniel 7:3, 8; Apoc. 13:1, 2. [27] Although Caius now promised to give Agrippa the tetrarchy ofLysanias, yet was it not actually conferred upon him till the reign ofClaudius, as we learn, Antiq. B. XIX, ch. 5. Sect. 1. [28] Regarding instances of the interpositions of Providence, as havebeen always very rare among the other idolatrous nations, but of oldvery many among the posterity of Abraham, the worshippers of the trueGod; nor do these seem much inferior to those in the Old Testament, which are the more remarkable, because, among all their otherfollies and vices, the Jews were not at this time idolaters; and thedeliverances here mentioned were done in order to prevent their relapseinto that idolatry. [29] Josephus here assures us that the ambassadors from Alexandria toCaius were on each part no more than three in number, for the Jews, andfor the Gentiles, which are but six in all; whereas Philo, who was theprincipal ambassador from the Jews, as Josephus here confesses, [as wasApion for the Gentiles, ] says, the Jews' ambassadors were themselvesno fewer than live, towards the end of his legation to Caius; which, ifthere be no mistake in the copies, must be supposed the truth; nor, inthat case, would Josephus have contradicted so authentic a witness, hadhe seen that account of Philo's; which that he ever did does not appear. [30] This Alexander, the alabarch, or governor of the Jews, atAlexandria, and brother to Philo, is supposed by Bishop Pearson, in Act. Apost. P. 41, 42, to be the same with that Alexander who is mentioned bySt. Luke, as of the kindred of the high priests, Acts 4:6. [31] What Josephus here, and sect. 6, relates as done by the Jews seedtime, is in Philo, "not far off the time when the corn was ripe, " who, as Le Clerc notes, differ here one from the other. This is anotherindication that Josephus, when he wrote this account, had not seenPhilo's Legat. Ad Caiurn, otherwise he would hardly trove hereindiffered from him. [32] This. Publius Petronius was after this still president of Syria, under Cladius, and, at the desire of Agrippa, published a severe decreeagainst the inhabitants of Dora, who, in a sort of intitiation of Caius, had set op a statue of Claudius in a Jewish synagogue there. This decreeis extant, B. XIX. Ch. 6. Sect. 3, and greatly confirms the presentaccounts of Josephus, as do the other decrees of Claudius, relating tothe like Jewish affairs, B. XIX. Ch. 5. Sect. 2, 3, to which I refer theinquisitive reader. [33] Josephus here uses the solemn New Testament words, the presence andappearance of God, for the extraordinary manifestation of his powerand providence to Petronius, by sending rain in a time of distress, immediately upon the resolution he had taken to preserve the templeunpolluted, at the hazard of his own life, without any other miraculousappearance at all in that case; which well deserves to be taken noticeof here, and greatly illustrates several texts, both in the Old and NewTestament. [34] This behavior of Caius to Agrippa is very like that of HerodAntipas, his uncle, to Herodias, Agrippa's sister, about it John theBaptist, Matthew 14:6--11. [35] The joining of the right hands was esteemed among the Peoians [andParthians] in particular a most inviolable obligation to fidelity, asDr. Hudson here observes, and refers to the commentary on Justin, B. XI. Ch. 15. , for its confirmation. We often meet with the like use of it inJosephus. [36] This custom of the Mesopotamians to carry their household godsalong with them wherever they traveled is as old as the days of Jacob, when Rachel his wife did the same, Genesis 31:19, 30-35; nor is it topass here unobserved, what great miseries came on these Jews, becausethey suffered one of their leaders to marry an idolatrous wife, contraryto the law of Moses. Of which matter see the note on B. XIX. Ch. 5. Sect. 3. [37] 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, inorder to show their despite against the Christians, the Turks will notsuffer them to hire horses, but asses only, when they go abroad to seethe country, as Mr. Maundrell assures us, p. 128. BOOK 19 FOOTNOTES [1] In this and the three next chapters we have, I think, a larger andmore distinct account of the slaughter of Caius, and the succession ofClaudius, than we have of any such ancient facts whatsoever elsewhere. Some of the occasions of which probably were, Josephus's bitter hatredagainst tyranny, and the pleasure he took in giving the history of theslaughter of such a barbarous tyrant as was this Caius Caligula, as alsothe deliverance his own nation had by that slaughter, of which he speakssect. 2, together with the great intimacy he had with Agrippa, junior, whose father was deeply concerned in the advancement of Claudius, uponthe death of Caius; from which Agrippa, junior, Josephus might be fullyinformed Of his history. [2] Called Caligula by the Romans. [3] Just such a voice as this is related to be came, and from an unknownoriginal also, to the famous Polycarp, as he was going to martyrdom, bidding him "play the man;" as the church of Smyrna assures us in theiraccount of that his martyrdom, sect. 9. [4] Here Josephus supposes that it was Augustus, and not Julius Caesar, who first changed the Roman commonwealth into a monarchy; for theseshows were in honor of Augustus, as we shall learn in the next section. [5] Suetonius says Caius was slain about the seventh hour of the day, the ninth. The series of the narration favors Josephus. [6] The rewards proposed by the Roman laws to informers was sometimes aneighth part as Spanheim assures us, from the criminal's goods, as here, and sometimes a fourth part. [7] These consuls are named in the War of the Jews, B. II. Ch. 11. Sect;1, Sentius Saturninus and Pomponius Secundus, as Spanheim notes here. The speech of the former of them is set down in the next chapter, sect. 2. [8] In this oration of Sentius Saturninus, we may see the great valuevirtuous men put upon public liberty, and the sad misery they underwent, while they were tyrannized over by such emperors as Caius. SeeJosephus's own short but pithy reflection at the end of the chapter:"So difficult, " says he, "it is for those to obtain the virtue that isnecessary to a wise man, who have the absolute power to do what theyplease without control. " [9] Hence we learn that, in the opinion of Saturninus, the sovereignauthority of the consuls and senate had been taken away just a hundredyears before the death of Caius, A. D. 41, or in the sixtieth year beforethe Christian saga, when the first triumvirate began under Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. [10] Spanheim here notes from Suetonius, that the name of Caius's sisterwith whom he was guilty of incest, was Drusilla and that Suetonius adds, he was guilty of the same crime with all his sisters also. He notesfurther, that Suetonius omits the mention of the haven for ships, whichour author esteems the only public work for the good of the presentand future ages which Caius left behind him, though in an imperfectcondition. [11] This Caius was the son of that excellent person Germanicus, who wasthe son of Drusus, the brother of Tiberius the emperor. [11] The first place Claudius came to was inhabited, and calledHerincure, as Spanheim here informs us from Suetonius, in Claud. Ch. 10. [12] How Claudius, another son of Drusus, which Drusus was the father ofGermanicus, could be here himself called Germanicus, Suetonius informsus, when he assures us that, by a decree of the senate, the surname ofGermanicus was bestowed upon Drusus, and his posterity also. --In Claud. Ch. 1. [13] This number of drachmae to be distributed to each private soldier, five thousand drachmae, equal to twenty thousand sesterces, or onehundred and sixty-one pounds sterling, seems much too large, anddirectly contradicts Suetonius, ch. 10. , who makes them in all butfifteen sesterces, or two shillings and four pence. Yet might Josephushave this number from Agrippa, junior, though I doubt the thousands, orat least the hundreds, have been added by the transcribers, of which wehave had several examples already in Josephus. [14] This piercing cold here complained of by Lupus agrees well to thetime of the year when Claudius began his reign; it being for certainabout the months of November, December, or January, and most probablya few days after January the twenty-fourth, and a few days before theRoman Parentalia. [15] It is both here and elsewhere very remarkable, that the murders ofthe vilest tyrants, who yet highly deserved to die, when those murdererswere under oaths, or other the like obligations of fidelity to them, were usually revenged, and the murderers were cut off themselves, andthat after a remarkable manner; and this sometimes, as in the presentcase, by those very persons who were not sorry for such murders, butgot kingdoms by them. The examples are very numerous, both in sacred andprofane histories, and seem generally indications of Divine vengeanceon such murderers. Nor is it unworthy of remark, that such murderers oftyrants do it usually on such ill principles, in such a cruel manner, and as ready to involve the innocent with the guilty, which was the casehere, ch. 1. Sect. 14, and ch. 2. Sect. 4, as justly deserved the Divinevengeance upon them. Which seems to have been the case of Jehu also, when, besides the house of Ahab, for whose slaughter he had a commissionfrom God, without any such commission, any justice or commiseration, hekilled Ahab's great men, and acquaintance, and priests, and forty-two ofthe kindred of Ahaziah, 2 Kings 10:11-14. See Hosea 1:4. I do notmean here to condemn Ehud or Judith, or the like executioners of God'svengeance on those wicked tyrants who had unjustly oppressed God's ownpeople under their theocracy; who, as they appear still to have had noselfish designs nor intentions to slay the innocent, so had they stilla Divine commission, or a Divine impulse, which was their commission forwhat they did, Judges 3:15, 19, 20; Judith 9:2; Test. Levi. Sect. 5, inAuthent. Rec. P. 312. See also page 432. [16] Here St. Luke is in some measure confirmed, when he reforms us, ch. 3:1, that Lysanias was some time before tetrarch of Abilene, whosecapital was Abila; as he is further confirmed by Ptolemy, the greatgeographer, which Spanheim here observes, when he calls that city Abilaof Lysanias. See the note on B. XVII. Ch. 11. Sect. 4; and Prid. At theyears 36 and 22. I esteem this principality to have belonged to theland of Canaan originally, to have been the burying-place of Abel, andreferred to as such, Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51. See Authent. Rec. Part. II. P. 883--885. [17] This form was so known and frequent among the Romans, as Dr. Hudsonhere tells us from the great Selden, that it used to be thus representedat the bottom of their edicts by the initial letters only, U. D. P. R. L. P, Unde De Plano Recte Lege Possit; "Whence it may be plainly readfrom the ground. " [18] Josephus shows, both here and ch. 7. Sect. 3, that he had a muchgreater opinion of king Agrippa I. Than Simon the learned Rabbi, thanthe people of Cesarea and Sebaste, ch. 7. Sect. 4; and ch. 9. Sect. 1;and indeed than his double-dealing between the senate and Claudius, ch. 4. Sect. 2, than his slaughter of James the brother of John, and hisimprisonment of Peter, or his vain-glorious behavior before he died, both in Acts 12:13; and here, ch. 4. Sect. 1, will justify or allow. Josephus's character was probably taken from his son Agrippa, junior. [19] This treasury-chamber seems to have been the very same in which ourSavior taught, and where the people offered their charity money for therepairs or other uses of the temple, Mark 12:41, etc. ; Luke 22:1; John8:20. [20] A strange number of condemned criminals to be under the sentence ofdeath at once; no fewer, it seems, than one thousand four hundred! [21] We have a mighty cry made here by some critics, as the greatEusebius had on purpose falsified this account of Josephus, so as tomake it agree with the parallel account in the Acts of the Apostles, because the present copies of his citation of it, Hist. Eceles. B. II. Ch. 10. , omit the words an owl--on a certain rope, which Josephus'spresent copies retain, and only have the explicatory word or angel; asif he meant that angel of the Lord which St. Luke mentions as smitingHerod, Acts 12:23, and not that owl which Josephus called an angelor messenger, formerly of good, but now of bad news, to Agrippa. Thisaccusation is a somewhat strange one in the case of the great Eusebius, who is known to have so accurately and faithfully produced a vast numberof other ancient records, and particularly not a few out of our Josephusalso, without any suspicion of prevarication. Now, not to allege howuncertain we are whether Josephus's and Eusebius's copies of the fourthcentury were just like the present in this clause, which we have nodistinct evidence of, the following words, preserved still in Eusebius, will not admit of any such exposition: "This [bird] [says Eusebius]Agrippa presently perceived to be the cause of ill fortune, as it wasonce of good fortune, to him;" which can only belong to that bird, the owl, which as it had formerly foreboded his happy deliverance fromimprisonment, Antiq. B. XVIII. Ch. 6. Sect. 7, so was it then foretoldto prove afterward the unhappy forerunner of his death in five days'time. If the improper words signifying cause, be changed for Josephus'sproper word angel or messenger, and the foregoing words, be inserted, Esuebius's text will truly represent that in Josephus. Had thisimperfection been in some heathen author that was in good esteem withour modern critics, they would have readily corrected these as barelyerrors in the copies; but being in an ancient Christian writer, notso well relished by many of those critics, nothing will serve but theill-grounded supposal of willful corruption and prevarication. [22] This sum of twelve millions of drachmae, which is equal to threemillions of shekels, i. E. At 2s. 10d. A shekel, equal to four hundredand twenty-five thousand pounds sterling, was Agrippa the Great's yearlyincome, or about three quarters of his grandfather Herod's income; hehaving abated the tax upon houses at Jerusalem, ch. 6. Sect. 3, and wasnot so tyrannical as Herod had been to the Jews. See the note onAntiq. B. XVII. Ch. 11. Sect. 4. A large sum this! but not, it seems, sufficient for his extravagant expenses. [23] Reland takes notice here, not improperly, that Josephus omits thereconciliation of this Herod Agrippa to the Tyrians and Sidoninus, bythe means of Blastus the king's chamberlain, mentioned Acts 12:20. Noris there any history in the world so complete, as to omit nothing thatother historians take notice of, unless the one be taken out of theother, and accommodated to it. [24] Photius, who made an extract out of this section, says they werenot the statues or images, but the ladies themselves, who were thusbasely abused by the soldiers. BOOK 20 FOOTNOTES [1] Here is some error in the copies, or mistake in Josephus; for thepower of appointing high priests, alter Herod king of Chalcis was dead, and Agrippa, junior, was made king of Chalcis in his room, belonged tohim; and he exercised the same all along till Jerusalem was destroyed, as Josephus elsewhere informs us, ch. 8. Sect. , 11; ch. 9. Sect. 1, 4, 6, 7. [2] Josephus here uses the word monogene, an only begotten son, for noother than one best beloved, as does both the Old and New Testament, I mean where there were one or more sons besides, Genesis 22:2; Hebrew11:17. See the note on B. I. Ch. 13. Sect. 1. [3] It is here very remarkable, that the remains of Noah's ark werebelieved to be still in being in the days of Josephus. See the note onB. I. Ch. 3. Sect. 5. [4] Josephus is very full and express in these three chapters, 3. , 4. , and 5. , in observing how carefully Divine Providence preserved thisIzates, king of Adiabene, and his sons, while he did what he thought washis bounden duty, notwithstanding the strongest political motives to thecontrary. [5] This further account of the benefactions of Izates and Helena tothe Jerusalem Jews which Josephus here promises is, I think, no whereperformed by him in his present works. But of this terrible famineitself in Judea, take Dr. Hudson's note here:--"This [ says he ] is thatfamine foretold by Agabus, Acts 11:28, which happened when Claudius wasconsul the fourth time; and not that other which happened when Claudiuswas consul the second time, and Cesina was his colleague, as Scaligersays upon Eusebius, p. 174. " Now when Josephus had said a littleafterward, ch. 5. Sect. 2, that "Tiberius Alexander succeeded CuspiusFadus as procurator, " he immediately subjoins, that" under theseprocurators there happened a great famine in Judea. " Whence it is plainthat this famine continued for many years, on account of its durationunder these two procurators. Now Fadus was not sent into Judea tillafter the death of king Agrippa, i. E. Towards the latter end of the 4thyear of Claudius; so that this famine foretold by Agabus happened uponthe 5th, 6th, 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 Churenensis, p. 144, 145, where it is observed in the notesthat Pausanias mentions that her monument also. [6] This privilege of wearing the tiara upright, or with the tip of thecone erect, is known to have been of old peculiar to great kings, fromXenophon and others, as Dr. Hudson observes here. [7] This conduct of Izates is a sign that he was become either a Jew, or an Ebionite Christian, who indeed differed not much from proper Jews. See ch. 6. Sect. 1. However, his supplications were heard, and he wasprovidentially delivered from that imminent danger he was in. [8] These pyramids or pillars, erected by Helena, queen of Adiabene, near Jerusalem, three in number, are mentioned by Eusebius, inhis Eccles. Hist. B. II. Ch. 12, for which Dr. Hudson refers us toValesius's notes upon that place. --They are also mentioned by Pausanias, as hath been already noted, ch. 2. Sect. 6. Reland guesses that that nowcalled Absalom's Pillar may be one of them. [9] This Theudas, who arose under Fadus the procurator, about A. D. 45 or46, could not be that Thendas who arose in the days of the taxing, underCyrenius, or about A. D. 7, Acts v. 36, 37. Who that earlier Theudas was, see the note on B. XVII. Ch. 10. Sect. 5. [10] This and many more tumults and seditions which arose at the Jewishfestivals, in Josephus, illustrate the cautious procedure of the Jewishgovernors, when they said, Matthew 26:5, "Let us not take Jesus on thefeast-day, lest there be an up roar among the people;" as Reland wellobserves on tins place. Josephus also takes notice of the same thing, Ofthe War, B. I. Ch. 4. Sect. 3. [11] This constant passage of the Galileans through the country ofSamaria, as they went to Judea and Jerusalem, illustrates severalpassages in the Gospels to the same purpose, as Dr. Hudson rightlyobserves. See Luke 17:11; John 4:4. See also Josephus in his own Life, sect. 52, where that journey is determined to three days. [12] Our Savior had foretold that the Jews' rejection of his gospelwould bring upon them, among other miseries, these three, which theythemselves here show they expected would be the consequences of theirpresent tumults and seditions: the utter subversion of their country, the conflagration of their temple, and the slavery of themselves, theirwives, and children See Luke 21:6-24. [13] This Simon, a friend of Felix, a Jew, born in Cyprus, though hepretended to be a magician, and seems to have been wicked enough, couldhardly be that famous Simon the magician, in the Acts of the Apostles, 8:9, etc. , as some are ready to suppose. This Simon mentioned in theActs was not properly a Jew, but a Samaritan, of the town of Gittae, in the country of Samaria, as the Apostolical Constitutions, VI. 7, theRecognitions of Clement, II. 6, and Justin Martyr, himself born in thecountry of Samaria, Apology, I. 34, inform us. He was also the author, not of any ancient Jewish, but of the first Gentile heresies, as theforementioned authors assure us. So I suppose him a different personfrom the other. I mean this only upon the hypothesis that Josephus wasnot misinformed as to his being a Cypriot Jew; for otherwise the time, the name, the profession, and the wickedness of them both would stronglyincline one to believe them the very same. As to that Drusilla, thesister of Agrippa, junior, as Josephus informs us here, and a Jewess, asSt. Luke informs us, Acts 24:24, whom this Simon mentioned by Josephuspersuaded to leave her former husband, Azizus, king of Emesa, aproselyte of justice, and to marry Felix, the heathen procurator ofJudea, Tacitus, Hist. V. 9, supposes her to be a heathen; and thegrand-daughter of Antonius and Cleopatra, contrary both to St. Luke andJosephus. Now Tacitus lived somewhat too remote, both as to time andplace, to be compared with either of those Jewish writers, in a matterconcerning the Jews in Judea in their own days, and concerning a sisterof Agrippa, junior, with which Agrippa Josephus was himself so wellacquainted. It is probable that Tacitus may say true, when he informs usthat this Felix [who had in all three wives, or queens, as Suetoniusin Claudius, sect. 28, assures us] did once marry such a grandchild ofAntonius and Cleopatra; and finding the name of one of them to havebeen Drusilla, he mistook her for that other wife, whose name he did notknow. [14] This eruption of Vesuvius was one of the greatest we have inhistory. See Bianchini's curious and important observations on thisVesuvius, and its seven several great eruptions, with their remainsvitrified, and still existing, in so many different strata underground, till the diggers came to the antediluvian waters, with theirproportionable interstices, implying the deluge to have been above twothousand five hundred years before the Christian era, according to ourexactest chronology. [15] This is now wanting. [16] This also is now wanting. [17] This duration of the reign of Claudius agrees with Dio, as Dr. Hudson here remarks; as he also remarks that Nero's name, which was atfirst L. Domitius Aenobarbus, after Claudius had adopted him was NeroClaudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. This Soleus as [own Life, sect. 11, as also] by Dio Cassius and Taeims, as Dr. Hudson informs us. [18] This agrees with Josephus's frequent accounts elsewhere in his ownLife, that Tibetans, and Taricheae, and Gamala were under this Agrippa, junior, till Justus, the son of Pistus, seized for the Jews, upon thebreaking out of the war. [19] This treacherous and barbarous murder of the good high priestJonathan, by the contrivance of this wicked procurator, Felix, was theimmediate occasion of the ensuing murders by the Sicarii or ruffians, and one great cause of the following horrid cruelties and miseries ofthe Jewish nation, as Josephus here supposes; whose excellent reflectionon the gross wickedness of that nation, as the direct cause of theirterrible destruction, is well worthy the attention of every Jewish andof every Christian reader. And since we are soon coming to the catalogueof the Jewish high priests, it may not be amiss, with Reland, to insertthis Jonathan among them, and to transcribe his particular catalogueof the last twenty-eight high priests, taken out of Josephus, and beginwith Ananelus, who was made by Herod the Great. See Antiq. B. XV. Ch. 2. Sect. 4, and the note there. 1. Ananelus. 2. Aristobulus. 3. Jesus, the son of Fabus. 4. Simon, the son of Boethus. 5. Marthias, the sonof Theophiltu. 6. Joazar, the son of Boethus. 7. Eleazar, the son ofBoethus. 8. Jesus, the son of Sic. 9. [Annas, or] Ananus, the son ofSeth. 10. Ismael, the son of Fabus. 11. Eleazar, the son of Ananus. 12. Simon, the son of Camithus. 13. Josephus Caiaphas, the son-in-law toAnanus. 14. Jonathan, the son of Ananus. 15. Theophilus, his brother, and son of Ananus. 16. Simon, the son of Boethus. 17. Matthias, thebrother of Jonathan, and son of Ananus. 18. Aljoneus. 19. Josephus, the son of Camydus. 20. Ananias, the son of Nebedeus. 21. Jonathas. 22. Ismael, the son of Fabi. 23. Joseph Cabi, the son of Simon. 24. Ananus, the son of Artanus. 25. Jesus, the son of Damnetas. 26. Jesus, the sonof Gamaliel. 27. Matthias, the son of Theophilus. 28. Phannias, the sonof Samuel. As for Ananus and Joseph Caiaphas, here mentioned aboutthe middle of this catalogue, they are no other than those Annas andCaiaphas so often mentioned in the four Gospels; and that Ananias, theson of Nebedeus, was that high priest before whom St. Paul pleaded hisown cause, Acts 24. [20] Of these Jewish impostors and false prophets, with many othercircumstances and miseries of the Jews, till their utter destruction, foretold by our Savior, see Lit. Accompl. Of Proph. P. 58-75. Of thisEgyptian impostor, and the number of his followers, in Josephus, seeActs 21:38. [21] The wickedness here was very peculiar and extraordinary, that thehigh priests should so oppress their brethren the priests, as to starvethe poorest of them to death. See the like presently, ch. 9. Sect. 2. Such fatal crimes are covetousness and tyranny in the clergy, as well asin the laity, in all ages. [22] We have here one eminent example of Nero's mildness and goodnessin his government towards the Jews, during the first five years of hisreign, so famous in antiquity; we have perhaps another in Josephus's ownLife, sect. 3; and a third, though of a very different nature here, insect. 9, just before. However, both the generous acts of kindness wereobtained of Nero by his queen Poppea, who was a religious lady, andperhaps privately a Jewish proselyte, and so were not owing entirely toNero's own goodness. [23] It hence evidently appears that Sadducees might be high priests inthe days of Josephus, and that these Sadducees were usually very severeand inexorable judges, while the Pharisees were much milder, and moremerciful, as appears by Reland's instances in his note on thisplace, and on Josephus's Life, sect. 31, and those taken from the NewTestament, from Josephus himself, and from the Rabbins; nor do we meetwith any Sadducees later than this high priest in all Josephus. [24] Of this condemnation of James the Just, and its causes, as alsothat he did not die till long afterwards, see Prim. Christ. Revived, vol. III. Ch. 43-46. The sanhedrim condemned our Savior, but could notput him to death without the approbation of the Roman procurator; norcould therefore Ananias and his sanhedrim do more here, since they neverhad Albinus's approbation for the putting this James to death. [25] This Ananias was not the son of Nebedeus, as I take it, but he whowas called Annas or Ananus the elder, the ninth in the catalogue, and who had been esteemed high priest for a long time; and, besidesCaiaphas, his son-in-law, had five of his own sons high priests afterhim, which were those of numbers 11, 14, 15, 17, 24, in the foregoingcatalogue. Nor ought we to pass slightly over what Josephus here saysof Annas, or Ananias, that he was high priest a long time before hischildren were so; he was the son of Seth, and is set down first forhigh priest in the foregoing catalogue, under number 9. He was madeby Quirinus, and continued till Ismael, the 10th in number, for abouttwenty-three years, which long duration of his high priesthood, joinedto the successions of his son-in-law, and five children of his own, madehim a sort of perpetual high priest, and was perhaps the occasion thatformer high priests kept their titles ever afterwards; for I believe itis hardly met with be fore him. [26] This insolent petition of some of the Levites, to wear thesacerdotal garments when they sung hymns to God in the temple, was veryprobably owing to the great depression and contempt the haughty highpriests had now brought their brethren the priests into; of which seech. 8. Sect. 8, and ch. 9, sect. 2. [27] Of these cloisters of Solomon, see the description of the temple, ch. 13. They seem, by Josephus's words, to have been built from thebottom of the valley. [28] See the Life at the beginning of the volume. [29] What Josephus here declares his intention to do, if God permitted, to give the public again an abridgement of the Jewish War hear of itelsewhere, whether he performed what he now intended or not. Some of thereasons of this design of his might possibly be, his observation of themany errors he had been guilty of in the two first of those seven booksof the War, which were written when he was comparatively young, and lessacquainted with the Jewish antiquities than he now was, and in whichabridgement we might have hoped to find those many passages whichhimself, as well as those several passages which others refer to, aswritten by him, but which are not extant in his present works. However, since many of his own references to what he had written elsewhere, aswell as most of his own errors, belong to such early times as could notwell come into this abridgement of the Jewish War; and since none ofthose that quote things not now extant in his works, including himselfas well as others, ever cite any such abridgement; I am forced ratherto suppose that he never did publish any such work at all; I mean, asdistinct from his own Life, written by himself, for an appendix to theseAntiquities, and this at least seven years after these Antiquities werefinished. Nor indeed does it appear to me that Josephus ever publishedthat other work here mentioned, as intended by him for the public also:I mean the three or four books concerning God and his essence, andconcerning the Jewish laws; why, according to them, some things werepermitted the Jews, and others prohibited; which last seems to be thesame work which Josephus had also promised, if God permitted, at theconclusion of his preface to these Antiquities; nor do I suppose thathe ever published any of them. The death of all his friends at court, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, and the coming of those he had noacquaintance with to the crown, I mean Nerva and Trajan, together withhis removal from Rome to Judea, with what followed it, might easilyinterrupt such his intentions, and prevent his publication of thoseworks.