pened in Judea, in which queen Helena bought || take their entire armour, and come to the fortress corn in Egypt, at a great expense, and distributed it to those that were in want: *as I have related already. And besides this, the sons of Judas of Galilee were now slain: I mean of that Judas, who caused the people to revolt, when Cyrenius came to take an account of the estates of the Jews; as we have shown in a preceding book. The names of those sons were James and Simon; whom Alexander commanded to be crucified. But now, Herod king of Chalcis removed Joseph the son of Camydus, from the high-priesthood; and made Ananias, the son of Nebedeus, his successor. And now it was that Cumanus came as successor to Tiberius Alexander: as also that Herod, brother of Agrippa, the great king, departed this life, in the eighth year of the reign of Claudius Cæsar. He left behind him three sons: Aristobulus, whom he had by his first wife, with Bernicianus, and Hyrcanus, both of whom he had by Bernice, his brother's daughter. But Claudius Cæsar bestowed his dominions on Agrippa, junior. Now while the Jewish affairs were under the administration of Cumanus, there happened a great tumult at the city Jerusalem, and many of the Jews perished therein. But I shall first explain the occasion whence it was derived. When that feast, which is called the Passover, was at hand, at which time a great multitude was gathered together from all parts to that feast; Cumanus was afraid lest some attempt of innovation should then be made by them. So he ordered that one regiment of the army should take their arms, and stand in the temple cloisters, to repress any attempts of innovation, if perchance any such should begin. And this was no more than what the former procurators of Judea did at such festivals. But on the fourth day of the feast, a certain soldier exposed his nudities to the multitude. This put those that saw him into a furious rage; and made them cry out, that this impious action was not done to reproach them, but God himself. Nay, some of them reproached Cumanus, and pretended that the soldier was set on by him. Which, when Cumanus heard, he was also himself not a little provoked at such reproaches laid upon him: yet did he exhort them to leave off such seditious attempts, and not to raise a tumult at the festival. But when he could not induce them to be quiet, for they still went on in their reproaches against him, he gave order that the whole army should of Antonia. But when the multitude saw the sol- CHAP. VI. A QUARREL BREAKS OUT BETWEEN THE JEWS AND THE SAMARITANS ; BUT IS TERMINATED BY CLAUDIUS CÆSAR. Now a quarrel arose between the Samaritans and the Jews, on the following occasion. It was the custom of the Galileans, when they came to the holy city at the festivals, to take their journeys Let us not take Jesus on the feast day; lest there be an uproar setting their villages on fire, and plundering them; | and said withal, that they were not so much displeased at what they had suffered, as they were at the contempt thereby shown to the Romans: while if they had received any injury, they ought to have made them the judges of what had been done; and not presently to make such devastations as if they had not the Romans for their governors. On which account they came to him in order to *through the country of the Samaritans. And at this time there lay in the road a village that was called Ginea, situate in the limits of Samaria, and the great plain; where certain persons thereto belonging fought with the Galileans, and killed a great many of them. But when the principal of the Galileans were informed of what had been done, they came to Cumanus, and desired him to avenge the murder of those that were killed. But he was induced by the Samaritans, with money, obtain that vengeance they wanted. This was to do nothing in the matter. Upon which the Galileans were much displeased; and persuaded the multitude of the Jews to take up arms, and to regain their liberty; saying, that slavery was in itself a bitter thing; but that when it was joined with direct injuries, it was perfectly intolerable. And when their principal men attempted to pacify them, and promised to endeavour to persuade Cumanus to avenge those that were killed; they would not hearken to them; but took their weapons, and entreated the assistance of Eleazar, the son of Dineus, a robber, who had many years resided among the mountains; and with his assistance they plundered many villages of the Samaritans. When Cumanus heard of this action, he took the band of Sebaste, with four regiments of footmen, and armed the Samaritans, and marched out against the Jews, and caught them, and slew many of them, and took a greater number alive. Whereupon those that were the most eminent persons at Jerusalem; both in regard of the respect that was paid them, and the families they were of, as soon as they saw to what a height things were gone, put on sack-cloth, and heaped ashes upon their heads and by all possible means besought the seditious, and persuaded them that they would set before their eyes,† the utter subversion of their country, the conflagration of their temple, and the slavery of themselves, their wives, and children, which would be the consequences of what they were doing; unless they would cast away their weapons, and for the future be quiet. These persuasions prevailed upon them. So the people dispersed themselves, and the robbers went again to their places of strength. And after this time all Judea was overrun with robberies. But the principal of the Samaritans went to Ummidius Quadratus, president of Syria, who at that time was at Tyre; and accused the Jews of the accusation which the Samaritans brought against the Jews. But the Jews affirmed that the Samaritans were the authors of this tumult, and that, in the first place, Cumanus had been corrupted by their gifts; and passed over the murder of those that were slain in silence. Which allegations when 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 matter. So these men went away, without success. Yet was it not long before Quadratus came to Samaria; when, upon hearing the cause, he supposed that the Samaritans were the authors of that disturbance. But when he was informed that certain of the Jews were making innovations, he ordered those to be crucified whom Cumanus had taken captives. He then went to a certain village called Lydda, which was not less than a city in largeness: and there heard the Samaritan cause a second time, before his tribunal; and learned from a certain Samaritan, that one of the chief of the Jews, whose name was Dortus, and four other innovators with him, persuaded the multitude to revolt from the Romans. Quadratus, therefore, ordered them to be put to death: but still he sent away Ananias the high-priest, and Ananus the commander of the temple, in bonds to Rome, to give an account of what they had done to Claudius Cæsar. He also ordered the principal men, both of the Samaritans, and of the Jews; as also Cumanus, the procurator, and Celer, the tribune, to go to Italy, to the emperor; that he might hear their cause, and determine their differences one with another. He then returned to the city of Jerusalem, out of his fear that the multitude of the Jews should attempt some innovations. But he found the city in a peaceable state, and celebrating one of the usual festivals of their coun * This constant passage of the Galileans through the country Gospel would bring upon them, among other miseries, these of Samaria, as they went to Judea and Jerusalem, illustrates three; which they themselves here show they expected would several passages in the Gospels to the same purpose, as Dr. Hud-be the consequence of their present tumults and seditions. The son rightly observes. See Luke xvii. 11. John iv. 4. See also utter subversion of their country; the conflagration of their Josephus in his own Life, sect. 52, where that journey is de- temple; and the slavery of themselves, their wives, and children, termined to three days. See Luke xxi. 6, 24. The Passover. † Our Saviour had foretold, that the Jews' rejection of his try to God. So he believed that they would not attempt any innovations; and left them at the celebration of the festival, and returned to Antioch. Now Cumanus, and the principal of the Samaritans, who were sent to Rome, had a day appointed them by the emperor, whereon they were to have pleaded their cause about the quarrels they had one with another. But Cæsar's freedmen, and his friends, were very zealous on the behalf of Cumanus and the Samaritans. And they had prevailed over the Jews, unless Agrippa junior, who was then at Rome, had seen the principal of the Jews hard set, and had earnestly entreated Agrippina, the emperor's wife, to persuade her husband to hear the cause so, as was agreeable to his justice; and to condemn those to be punished who were really the authors of this revolt from the Roman government. Whereupon Claudius was so well disposed beforehand, that when he had heard the cause, and found that the Samaritans had been the ringleaders in these mischievous doings, he gave orders that those who came up to him should be slain; and that Cumanus should be banished. He also gave order that Celer, the tribune, should be carried back to Jerusalem; and should be drawn through the city* in the sight of all the people, and then should be slain. CHAP. VII. OF THE APPOINTMENT OF FELIX TO BE PROCURATOR OF JUDEA: AS CLAUDIUS now† sent Felix, the brother of Pallans, to take care of the affairs of Judea. And when he had already completed the twelfth year of his reign, he bestowed upon Agrippa the tetrarchy of Philip, and Batanea: and added *Not only with a view to mortify the individual, and give publicity to the action, but to render it monitory to others. This is certainly an important part of judicial punishment. B. †A. D. 53. thereto Trachonitis, with Abila: which last had been the tetrarchy of Lysanias. But he took from him Chalcis; when he had been governor thereof four years. And when Agrippa had received these countries, as the gift of Cæsar, he gave his sister Drusilla in marriage to Azizus, king of Emesa : upon his consent to be circumcised. For Epiphanes, the son of king Antiochus, had refused to marry her; because after he had formerly promised her father to embrace the Jewish religion, he would not now perform that promise. He also gave Mariamne in marriage to Archelaus the son of Helcias; to whom she had been betrothed formerly by Agrippa her father: and from this marriage was derived a daughter, whose name was Bernice. But the marriage of Drusilla with Azizus was in no long time afterward dissolved, upon the following occasion. While Felix was procurator of Judea, he saw this Drusilla, and fell in love with her: for she exceeded all other women in beauty: and he sent to her a person whose name was Simon, one of his friends, a Jew he was, and by birth a Cypriot: and one who pretended to be a magician, and endeavoured to persuade her to forsake her present husband, and marry him: and promised that if she would not refuse him, he would make her a happy woman. Accordingly she acted ill; and because she was desirous to avoid her sister Bernice's envy; for she was very ill treated by her on account of her beauty; she was prevailed upon to transgress the laws of her forefathers, and to marry Felix: and when he had had a son by her, he named him Agrippa. But that young man, with his wife, perished at the conflagration of the mountain Vesuvius, in the days of Titus Cæsar. a Jewess, as St. Luke informs us, Acts xxiv. 24, whom this Simon, mentioned by Josephus, persuaded to leave her former husband, Azizus, king of Emesa, a proselyte of Justice; and to marry Felix, the Heathen procurator of Judea; Tacitus, Hist. V. 9, supposes her to be a heathen; and the granddaughter of Antonius and Cleopatra: contrary both to St. Luke and Josephus. Now Tacitus lived somewhat too remote, both as to time and place, to be compared with either of those Jewish writers, This Simon, a friend of Felix's, à Jew, born in Cyprus; though he pretended to be a magician, and seems to have been wicked enough, could hardly be that famous Simon, the magician, in the Acts of the Apostles, viii. 9, &c. as some are ready to suppose. This Simon, mentioned in the Acts, was not prop-in a matter concerning a sister of Agrippa junior's, with which erly a Jew, but a Samaritan; of the town of Gittæ, in the coun. try of Samaria; as the Apostolical Constitutions, VI. 7, the Recognitions of Clement, II. 6, and Justin Martyr, himself born in the country of Samaria, Apology I. 34, inform us. He was also the author, not of any ancient Jewish, but of the first Gentile heresies: as the aforementioned authors assure us. So I suppose him a different person from the other. I mean this only upon the hypothesis, that Josephus was not misinformed, as to his being a Cypriot Jew. For otherwise the time, the name, the profession, and the wickedness of them both, would strongly incline one to believe them the very same. As to that Drusilla, the sister of Agrippa junior, as Josephus informs us here; and Agrippa, Josephus was himself so well acquainted. It is probable that Tacitus may say true, when he informs us, that this Felix, (who had in all three wives, or queens, as Suetonius in Claudius, § 28, assures us,) did once marry such a grandchild of Antonius and Cleopatra. And finding the name of one of them to have been Drusilla, he mistook her for that other wife, whose name he did not know. in any history. See Bianchi's curious and important observa§ This eruption of Vesuvius was one of the greatest we have tions on this volcano, and its seven great eruptions, with their remains vitrified, and still existing, in so many different strata under ground; till the diggers came to the antediluvian waters, Bernice lived as a widow a long while after the death of *Herod : who was both her husband, and her uncle: but when the report went that she had criminal conversation with her tbrother, she persuaded Polemo, king of Cilicia, to be circumcised, and to marry her: as supposing that by this means she should disprove those calumnies. And Polemo was prevailed upon; and that chiefly on account of her riches. Yet did not this matrimony endure long. But Bernice left Polemo; and, as was said, with impure intentions. So he forsook at once this matrimony, and the Jewish religion. And at the same time Mariamne put away Archelaus; and was married to Demetrius, the principal man among the Alexandrian Jews, both for his family, and his wealth. And, indeed, he was then their alabarch. So she named her son, which she had by him, Agrippinus. Now Claudius Cæsar died when he had reigned Sthirteen years, eight months, and twenty days: and a report went about that he was poisoned by his wife Agrippina. Her father was Germanicus, the brother of Cæsar; and her husband was Domitius Enobarbus, one of the most illustrious persons that was in the city of Rome. After whose death, and her own long continuance in widowhood, Claudius took her to wife. She brought along with her a son, of the same name with his father Demetrius. He had before this slain his wife Messalina, out of jealousy; by whom he had had his children, Britannicus and Octavia. Their eldest sister was Antonia, whom he had by Pelina, his first wife. He also married Octavia to Nero; for that was the name that Cæsar gave him afterward, upon his adopting him for his son. Now Agrippina was afraid, lest when Britannicus should come to man's estate, he should succeed his father in the government: and desired to seize upon the principality beforehand for her own son, upon which it was reported that she caused the death of Claudius. Accordingly she sent Burrhus, the general of the army, and with him the tribunes; and such also of the freedmen as were of the greatest authority, to bring Nero into the camp; and to salute him emperor. And when Nero had thus obtained the government, he caused Britannicus to be so poisoned, that the multitude should not perceive it; although he publicly put his own mother to death, not long afterward. Making her this requital, not only for being born of her, but for bringing it so about by her contrivances, that he obtained the Roman empire. He also slew Octavia, his wife, and many other illustrious persons, under the pretence, that they plotted against him. But I omit any farther discourse about these affairs. For there have been a great many who have composed the history of Nero. Some of whom have departed from the truth of facts, out of favour; as having received benefits from him; while others out of hatred and the great ill-will which they bare him, have so impudently raved against him, that they justly deserve to be condemned. Nor do I wonder at such as have asserted falsehoods of Nero; since they have not, in their writings, preserved the truth of history as to those facts that were earlier than his time, even when the actors could have noway incurred their hatred: since those writers lived a long time after them. But as to those that have no regard to truth, they may write as they please: for in that they take delight. But as to ourselves, who have made truth our direct aim, we shall briefly touch upon what only belongs remotely to this undertaking: but shall relate what hath happened to us Jews with great accuracy: and shall not grudge our pains in giving an account both of the calamities we have suffered, and of the crimes we have been guilty of. I will now, therefore, return to the relation of our own affairs. In the first year of the reign of Nero, upon the death of Azizus king of Emesa, TSoemus his brother succeeded in his kingdom: and Aristobulus the son of Herod, king of Chalcis, was intrusted by Nero with the government of the lesser Armenia. Cæsar also bestowed upon Agrippa a certain part of Galilee, **Tiberias, and Tariche: and or with their proportionable interstices: implying the deluge to dius had adopted him, was Nero Claudius Cæsar Drusus Gerhave been 2500 years before the Christian era; according to our exactest chronology. * King of Chalcis. † Agrippa junior. A. D. 54. 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 at first L. Domitius Ænobarbus, after Clau manicus. Nero. This Soemus is elsewhere mentioned, by Josephus, in his own life, as also by Dio Cassius, and Tacitus. ** This agrees with Josephus's frequent account elsewhere in his own life, that Tiberias, Tarichæ, and Gamala, were under this Agrippa junior, till Justus, the son of Pistus, seized upon them for the Jews, upon the breaking out of the war. dered them to submit to his jurisdiction. He gave || sal; and contrived matters so, that the robbers him also Julias, a city of Perea, with fourteen might murder him after the following manner. villages that lay about it. Certain of those robbers went up to the city, as if they were going to worship God; while they had daggers under their garments: and by thus mingling among the multitude, they †slew Jonathan. And as this murder was never avenged, the robbers went up with the greatest security at the festivals after this time: and having weapons concealed in like manner as before, and mingling themselves among the multitude, they slew certain of their own enemies, and were subservient to other men for money; and slew others not only in remote parts of the city, but even in the temple itself. For they had the boldness to murder men there, without thinking of the impiety of which they were guilty. And this seems to have been the reason why God, out of his hatred of these men's wickedness, rejected our city; and as for the temple, he no longer esteemed it sufficiently pure for him to inhabit: but brought the Romans upon us, and threw a fire upon the city to purge it; and brought upon us our wives' and children's slavery: as desirous to make us wiser by our calamities. Now the affairs of the Jews grew worse continually, for the country was again filled with robbers, and impostors who deluded the multitude. Yet did Felix catch and put to death many of those impostors every day; together with the robbers. He also caught Eleazar, the son of Dineus, who had gotten together a company of robbers; and this he did by treachery. For he gave him assurance that he should suffer no harm, and thereby persuaded him to come 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 he *frequently gave him admonitions about governing the Jewish affairs better than he did; lest he should himself have complaints made of him by the multitude; since he it was who had desired Cæsar to send him as procurator of Judea. So Felix contrived a method whereby he might get rid of him, now he was become so continually troublesome: for such continual admonitions are grievous to those who are disposed to act unjustly. Felix, therefore, persuaded one of Jonathan's most faithful friends, a citizen of Jerusalem, whose name was Doras, to bring the robbers upon Jonathan, in order to kill him. And this he did by promising him a great deal of money. Doras complied with the propo-ing that they would exhibit manifest wonders and * See Acts xxiv. 25. Whose †This treacherous and barbarous murder of the good highpriest, Jonathan, by the contrivances of this procurator, Felix, was the immediate occasion of the ensuing murders by the Sicarii or ruffians: and one great cause of the subsequent miseries of the Jewish nation: as Josephus here supposes. excellent reflection on the gross wickedness of that nation, as the direct cause of their terrible destruction, is worthy the attention of every Jewish and every Christian reader. And since we are soon coming to the catalogue of the Jewish high-priests, it may not be amiss, with Reland, to insert this Jonathan among them, and to transcribe his particular catalogue of the last 28 high-priests, taken out of Josephus, and begin with Ananelus, who was made by Herod the Great. See XV. 2. 1. Ananelus. 2. Aristobulus. 3. Jesus, the son of Fabus. 4. Simon, the son of Boethus. 5. Matthias, the son of Theophilus. 6. Joazar, the son of Boethus. 7. Eleazar, the son of Boethus. 8. Jesus, the son of Sie. 9. Annas, or Ananus, the son of Seth. 10. Ismael, the son of Fabus. 11. Eleazar, the son of Ananus. 12. Simon, the son of Camithus. 13. Josephus Caiaphas, son-in-law to Ananus. 14. Jonathan, the son of Ananus. 15. Theophilus, his brother, and son of Ananus. 16. Simon, the son of Boethus. These works that were done by the robbers, filled the city with all sorts of impiety. And now‡ these §impostors and deceivers persuaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, pretend 17. Matthias, the brother of Jonathan, and son of Ananus. 19. Josephus, the son of Camydus. 22. Ismael, the son of Fabi. But here and elsewhere the reader must observe, that where Josephus does not set down the duration of any high-priest's office, or government, neither have I presumed to set it down: as not pretending to know more than he did in such matters. And when Dean Prideaux ventures to set those years down, as he does all along, from such a comparatively late and weak authority as that of the Chronicon Alexandrinum, I rather wonder at his boldness, than venture to follow his example. As for Ananus, and Joseph Caiaphas, here mentioned about the middle of this catalogue, they are no other than those Annas and Caiaphas, so often mentioned in the four Gospels: and Ananias, the son of Nebedeus, was that high-priest before whom St. Paul pleaded his own cause, Acts xxiv. A. D. 55. Of these Jewish impostors and false prophets, with many other circumstances and miseries of the Jews, till their utter destruction, foretold by our Saviour, see Lit. Accompl. of Proph. page 58-75. |