CHAP. VIII. OF THE DEATH OF CLAUDIUS CESAR; AND THE ACCESSION AND CRUELTIES OF NERO Also concerning the roBBERS, MURDERERS, AND IMPOSTORS, THAT AROSE, WHILE FELIX AND FESTUS WERE PROCURATORS OF JUDEA. NOW *Claudius Cæsar died when he had reigned +thirteen 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 Ænobarbus, 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 town 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 * 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 Enobarbus, after Claudius had adopted him, was Nero Claudius Cæsar Drusus Germanicus. + Nero. 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 no way 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, †Soemus his brother succeeded in his kingdom and Aristobulus the son of Herod, king of Chalcis, was intrusted by Nero with the government of the lesser Armenia. Cæsar also bestowed upon Agrippa a certain part of Galilee, Tiberias, and Tarichæ : and ordered them to submit to his jurisdiction. He gave him also Julias, a city of Perea, with fourteen villages that lay about it. *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. 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 proposal; and contrived matters so, that the robbers might murder him after the following manner. 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 fslew Jonathan. And as this murder was never avenged, the robbers went up with the greatest : *See Acts xxiv. 25. + This treacherous and barbarous murder of the good high-priest, 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. Whose 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 of every Christian reader. And since we are soon coming to the catalogue of the Jewish highpriests, 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. 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 1. Ananelus. 2. Aristobulus. 3. Jesus, the son of Fabus. 4. Simon, 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. 17. Matthias, the brother 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 Ananus. 25. Jesus, the son of Damneus. 26. Jesus, the son of Gamaliel. 28. Phannias, the son of Samuel. 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 comparative late and weak authority as that of the Chronicon Alexandrinam, 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. 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, These works that were done by the robbers, filled the city with all sorts of impiety. And now* these fimpostors and deceivers persuaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, pretending that they would exhibit manifest wonders and signs, that should be performed by the providence of God. And many that were prevailed on by them suffered the punishments of their folly: for Felix brought them back, and then punished them. There also came out of Egypt, about this time, to Jerusalem, one that said he was a prophet; and advised the multitude to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, which lay over against the city, at the distance of five furlongs. He said farther, that he would show them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down: and he promised that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls, when they were fallen down. Now when Felix was informed of these things, he sent a great number of horse and foot soldiers, from Jerusalem, and attacked the Egyptian, and the people that were with him. He also slew four hundred of them, and took two hundred alive. But the Egyptian himself escaped out of the fight, and did not appear any more. The robbers, however, again stirred up the people to make war with the Romans; and said, they ought not to obey them at all: and when any persons would not comply with them, they set fire to their villages, and plundered them. Now a great sedition arose ‡between the Jews that inhabited Cæsarea, and the Syrians who dwelt there also, concerning * 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. ‡ A. D. 56. |