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heard what they had to say, he not only forgave * them what they had already done, but also gave them leave to let the wall they have built stand. This was granted them in order to gratify Poppea, Nero's wife, who was a religious woman, and had requested these favours of 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 as the king heard this news, he gave the high-priesthood to Joseph, who was called Cabi, the son of Simon, formerly high-priest..

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Concerning Albinus, under whose procuratorship James was slain; as also what edifices were built by Agrippa.

1. AND now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high-priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was himself called Ananus. Now the report goes, that this eldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons, who had all performed the office of a high-priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had never happened to any other of our highpriests. But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high-priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent: he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, † who are very rigid in judging offenders above

*We have here one eminent example of Nero's mildness and goodness in his government towards the Jews, during the first five years of his reign, so famous in antiquity: we have perhaps another in Josephus's own life, § 3. and a third, though of a very different nature here, in § 9. just before. However, both the generous acts of kindness was obtained of Nero by his queen Poppea, who was a religious lady, and perhaps privately a Jewish proselyte, and so were not owing entirely to Nero's own goodness.

+ It hence evidently appears that Sadducees might be high-priests in the days of Josephus, and that these Sadducees were usually very severe and inexorable judges, while the Pharisees were much milder and more merciful, as appears by Reland's instances in his note on this place, and on Josephus's life, i 34. and those taken from the New Testament, from Josephus himself, and from the rabbins; nor do we meet with any Sadducees later than this high-priest in all Josephus.

all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority.] Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions.] And when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citi zens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king, [Agrippa,] desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified: nay, *some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him, that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent. Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which account king Agrippa took the high-priesthood 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 all his endeavours and care that the country might be kept in peace, and this by destroying many of the Sicarii. But as for the high-priest Ananias,† he increased

Of this condemnation of James the just, and its causes, as also, that he did not die till long afterwards, see Prim. Christ. revived, ch. 43-46. The Sanhedrim condemned our Saviour, but could not put him to death without the approbation of the Roman procurator; nor could, therefore, Anan as and his Sanhedrim do more here, since they never had had Albinus's approbation for the putting this James to death.

†This Ananias was not the son of Nebedeus, as I take it, but he who was called Annus or Ananus the elder, the 9th in the catalogue, and who had been esteemed high-priest, for a long time; and besides, Caiaphas his son-in-law, had five of his own sons highpriests after him, which were those of numbers 11, 14, 15, 17, 24, in the foregoing catalogue. Nor ought we to pass slightly over what Josephus here says of Annas or Ananias, that he was a high-priest long time before his children were so; he was the son of Seth, and is set down first for high-priest in the foregoing catalogue, under number 9. He was made by Quirinus, and continued till Ismael, the 10th in number, for about 23 years; which long duration of

in glory every day, and this to a great degree, and had obtained the favour and esteem of the citizens in a signal manner; for he was a great hoarder up of money; he, therefore, cultivated the friendship of Albinus, and of the high-priest [Jesus,] by making them presents: he had also servants who who were very wicked, who joined themselves to the boldest sort of the people, and went to the threshing-floors, and took away the tithes,that belonged to the priests, by violence, and did not refrain from beating such as would not give these tithes to them. So the other high-priests, acted in the like manner, as did those his servants, without any one's being able to prohibit them; so that [some of the] priests, that of old were wont to be supported by these tithes, died for want of food.

3. But now the Sicarii went into the city by night, just before the festival, which was now at hand, and took the scribe belonging to the governor of the temple, whose name was Eleazar, who was the son of Ananus [Ananias] the highpriest, and bound him, and carried him away with them; after which they sent to Ananias, and said, that they would send the scribe to him if he would persuade Albinus to release ten of those prisoners, which he had caught of their party; so Ananias was plainly forced to persuade Albinus, and gained his request of him. This was the beginning of greater calamities; for the robbers perpetually contrived to catch some of Ananias's servants, and when they had taken them alive, they would not let them go till they thereby recovered some of their own Sicarii. And as they were again hecome no small number, they grew bold, and were a great afflic tion to the whole country.

4. About this time it was that king Agrippa built Caesarea Philippi larger than it was before, and, in honour of Nero, named it Neronias. And when he had built a theatre at Berytus, with vast expenses, he bestowed on them shows, to be exhibited every year, and spent therein many ten thousand [drachmae:] he also gave the people a largess of corn, and distributed oil among them, and adorned the entire city with statues of his own donation, and with original images made by ancient hands; nay, he almost transferred all that his high priesthood, joined to the successions of his son-in-law, and five children of his own, made him a sort of perpetual highpriest, and was, perhaps, the occasion that former high-priests kept their titles ever afterwards; for I believe it is hardly met with before him.

was most ornamental in his own kingdom thither. This made him more than ordinarily hated by his subjects: because he took those things away that belonged to them, to adorn a foreign city. And now Jesus, the son of Gamaliel, became the successor of Jesus, the son of Damneus, in the high-priesthood, which the king had taken from the other; on which account a sedition arose between the high-priests, with regard to one another; for they got together bodies of the boldest sort of the people, and frequently came from reproaches to throwing of stones at each other. But Ananias was too hard for the rest, by his riches, which enabled him to gain those that were most ready to receive. Costobarus also, and Saulas, did themselves get together a multitude of wicked wretches, and this because they were of the royal family; and se they obtained favour among them, because of their kindred to Agrippa; but still they used violence with the people, and were very ready to plunder those that were weaker than themselves. And from that time it principally came to pass, that our city was greatly disordered, and that all things grew worse and worse among us.

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 the people of Jerusalem; so he brought out all those prisoners who seemed to him to be the most plainly worthy of death, and ordered them to be put to death accordingly. But as to those who had been put into prison on some trifling occasions, he took money of them, and dismissed them; by which means the prisons were indeed emptied, but the country was filled with robbers.

6. Now as many of the Levites,* which is a tribe of ours, as were singers of hymns, persuaded the king to assemble a sanhedrim, and to give them leave to wear linen garments, as well as the priests; for they said that this would be a work worthy the times of his government, that he might have a memorial of such a novelty, as being his doing. Nor did they fail of obtaining their desire; for the king, with the suffrages of those that came into the sanhedrim, granted

This insolent petition of some of the Levites, to wear the sacerdotal garments, when they sung hymns to God in the temple, was very probably, owing to the great depression and contempt the haughty high-priests had now brought their brethren the priests. into; which see chap. viii. § 8. and crap. ix. § 2.

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they desired; and as a part of this tribute mi temple, he also permitted them to learn those had besought him for. Now all this was co

laws of our country, which, whenever they h gressed, we have never been able to avoid th of such transgressing.

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7. And now it was that the temple was when the people saw that the workmen were who were above eighteen thousand, and that ing no wages, were in want because they had bread by their labours about the temple; ar were unwilling to keep them by the treasu there deposited, out of fear of [their being by] the Romans and while they had a regar ing provision for the workmen, they had a m those treasures upon them; for if any one o labour for a single hour, he received his pay so they persuaded him to rebuild the eas These cloisters belonged to the outer court, ated in a deep valley, and had walls that read dred cubits in [length,] and were built of sq white stones, the length of each of which ston cubits, and their height six cubits. This was king Solomon, who first of all built the entir king Agrippa, who had the care of the temp to him by Claudius Caesar, considering that demolish any building, but hard to build it up a it was particularly hard to do it to these el would require a considerable time, and great ney, he denied the petitioners their reques matter; but he did not obstruct them when the city might be paved with white stone. prived Jesus, the son of Gamaliel, of the hig and gave it to Matthias, the son of Theophilus the Jews' war with the Romans took its begi

* Of this finishing, not of the Naos, or holy house, I or courts about it, called in general the temple, see xvii.ch. x. 1.

+ Of these cloisters of Solomon, see the description chap. xii. They seem, by Josephus's words, to h

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