Page images
PDF
EPUB

66

derate, do not you wonder that the gates are shut against "you, while you bear your arms about you."

4. Thus spake Jesus; yet did not the multitude of the Idumeans give any attention to what he said, but were in a rage, because they did not meet with a ready entrance into the city. The generals also had indignation at the offer of laying down their arms, and looked upon it as equal to captivity, to throw them away at any man's injunction whomsoever. But Simon the son of Cathlas, one of their com manders, with much ado quieted the tumult of his own men, and stood so that the high-priests might bear him, and said as follows: "I can no longer wonder that the patrons of li"berty are under custody in the temple, since there are "those that shut the gates of our common city * to their “own nation, and at the same time are prepared to ad"mit the Romans into it; nay, perhaps, are disposed to "crown the gates with garlands at their coming, while they "speak to the Idumeans from their towers, and enjoin them "to throw down their arms which they have taken up for "the preservation of its liberty. And while they will not "intrust the guard of our metropolis to their kindred, pro"fess to make them judges of the differences that are among "them; nay, while they accuse some men of having slaiu others without a legal trial, they do themselves condemn a whole nation after an ignominious manner; and have now "walled up that city from their own nation, which used to be open even to all foreigners that came to worship there. "We have indeed come in great haste to you, and to a war "against our own countrymen: and the reason why we have "made such haste is this, that we may preserve that free"dom which you are so unhappy as to betray. You have "probably been guilty of the like crimes against those whom you keep in custody, and have I suppose, collected toge"ther the like plausible pretences against them also, that you "make use of against us; after which you have gotten the 66 mastery of those within the temple, and keep them in cus

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

This appellation of Jerusalem given it here by Simon, the general of the Idumeans, The common city of the Idumeans, who were proselytes of justice, as well as of the original native Jews, greatly confirms that maxim of the rabbins, here set down by Reland, that Jerusalem was not assigned, or appropriated to the tribe of Benjamin or Judah, but every tribe had equal right to it, [at their coming to worship there at the several festivals.] See a little be fore, ch. iii. § 3.

*

66

"tody, while they are only taking care of the public affairs. "You have also shut the gates of the city in general against "nations that are the most nearly related to you: and while you give such injurious commands to others, you complain "that you have been tyrannized over by them; and fix the name of unjust governors upon such as are tyrannized over by yourselves. Who can bear this your abuse of words, "while they have a regard to the contrariety of your ac"tions?. Unless you mean this, that those Idumeans do now "exclude you out of your metropolis, whom you exclude "from the sacred offices of your own country. One may "indeed justly complain of those that are bessieged in the "temple, that when they had courage enough to punish those tyrants, which you call eminent men, and free from any "accusations, because of their being your companions in "wickedness, they did not begin with you, and thereby cut "off beforehand the most dangerous parts of this treason. "But if these men have been more merciful than the public "necessity required, we that are Idumeans will preserve "this house of God, and will fight for our common country, "and will oppose by war as well those that attack them from

[ocr errors]

abroad, as those that betray them from within. Here will 66 we abide before the walls in our armour, until either the "Romans grow weary in waiting for you, or you become "friends to liberty, and repent of what you have done a"gainst it."

5. And now did the Idumeans make an acclamation to what Simon had said; but Jesus went away sorrowful, as seeing that the Idumeans were against all moderate counsels, and that the city was besieged on both sides. Nor indeed were the minds of the Idumeans at rest; for they were in a rage at the injury that had been offered them, by their exclusion out of the city; and when they thought the zealots had been strong and saw nothing of theirs to support them, they were in doubt about the matter, and many of them repented that they had come thither. But the shame that would attend them in case they returned without doing any thing at all, so far overcame that their repentance, that they lay all night before the wall, though in a very bad encamp. ment; for there broke out a prodigious storm in the night,, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continued lightnings, terrible thunderings, and amazing concussions and bellowings of the

earth that was in an earthquake. These things were a manifest indication that some destruction was coming upon men, when the system of the world was put into this disorder, and any one would guess that these wonders foreshewed some grand calamities that were coming.

6. Now the opinion of the Idumeans and of the citizens was one and the same. The Idumeans thought that Godwas angry at their taking arms, and that they would not escape punishment for their making war upon their metropolis. Ananus and his party thought that they had conquered without fighting, and that God acted as a general for them but truly they proved both ill conjecturers at what was to come, and made those events to be ominous to their enemies, while they were themselves to undergo the ill effects of them; for the Idumeans fenced one another by uniting their bodies into one band, and thereby kept themselves warm, and connecting their shields over their heads, were not so much hurt by the rain. But the zealots were more deeply concerned for the danger these men were in, than they were for themselves, and got together, and looked about them to see whether they could devise any means of assisting them. The hotter sort of them thought it best to force their guards with their arms, and after that to fall into the midst of the city, and publicly open the gates to those that came to their assistance; as supposing the guards would be in disorder, and give way at such an unexpected attempt of theirs, especially as the greater part of them were unarmed, and unskilled in affairs of war; and that besides the multitude of the citizens would not be easily gathered together, but confined to their houses by the storm; and that if there were any hazard in their undertaking, it became them to suffer any thing whatsoever themselves, rather than to overlook so great a multitude as were miserably perishing on their ac count. But the more prudent part of them disapproved of this forcible method, because they saw not only the guards about them very numerous, but the walls of the city itself carefully watched by reason of the Idumeans. They also supposed that Ananus would be every where, and visit the guards every hour: which indeed was done upon other nights, but was omitted that night, not by reason of any slothfulness of Ananus, but by the overbearing appointment of fate, that so both he might himself perish, and the multitude of the guards might perish with him; for truly as the

night was far gone, and the storm very terrible, Ananus gave the guards in the cloisters leave to go to sleep; while it came into the heads of the zealots to make use of the saws belonging to the temple, and to cut the bars of the gates to pieces. The noise of the wind, and that not inferior sound of the thunder, did here also conspire with their designs, that the noise of the saws was not heard by the others.

.

7. So they secretly went out of the temple to the wall of the city, and made use of their saws and opened that gate which was over against the Idumeans. Now at first there came a fear upon the Idumeans themselves, which disturbed them, as imagining that Ananus and his party were coming to attack them, so that every one of them had his right hand upon his sword, in order to defend himself; but they soon came to know who they were that came to them, and were entered the city. And bad the Idumeans then fallen upon the city, nothing could have hindered them from destroying the people every mau of them, such was the rage they were in at that time but as they first of all made haste to get the zealots out of custody, which those that brought them in earnestly desired them to do, and not to overlook those for whose sake they were come, in the midst of their distresses, nor to bring them into still greater danger; for that when they had once seized on the guards, it would be easy for them to fall upon the city; but that if the city were once alarmed, they would not then be able to overcome those guards, because as soon as they should perceive they were there, they would put themselves in order to fight them, and would hinder their coming into the temple.

:

CHAP. V.

The cruelty of the Idumeans, when they were gotten into the temple, during the storm: and of the zealots. Concerning the slaughter of Ananus, and Jesus, and Zacharias. And how the Idumeans retired home.

§ 1. THIS advice pleased the Idumeans, and they ascended through the city to the temple. The zealots were also in great expectation of their coming, and earnestly waited for them. When therefore these were entering, they also came boldly out of the inner temple, and mixing themselves among the Idumeans, they attacked the guards; and some of those that were upon the watch, but were fallen asleep, they killed as they were asleep: but as those wiro

were now awakened made a cry, the whole multitude arose and in the amazement they were in, caught hold of their arms, immediately, and betook themselves to their own defence; and so long as they thought they were only the zealots who attacked them, they went on boldly, as hoping to overpower them by their number; but when they saw others pressing in upon them also, they perceived the Idumeans were got in; and the greatest part of them laid aside their arms, together with their courage, and betook themselves to lamentations But some few of the younger sort covered themselves with their armour, and valiantly received the Idumeans, and for a great while protected the multitude of old.men. Others indeed gave a signal to those that were in the city of the calamities they were in; but when these were also made sensible that the Idumeans were come in, none of them dnrst come to their assistance, only they returned the terrible echo of wailing, and lamented their misfortunes. A great howling of the women was excited also, and every one of the guards were in danger of being killed. The zealots also: joined in the shouts raised by the Idumeans; and the storm itself rendered the cry more terrible: nor did the Idumeans spare any body, for as they are naturally a most barbarous and bloody nation, and had been distressed by the tempest, they made use of their weapons against those that had shut their gates against them, and acted in the same manner as to those that supplicated for their lives, and those that sought them, insomuch that they ran through those with their swords, who desired them to remember the relation there was between them, and begged of them to have regard to their common temple. Now there was at present neither any place for flight nor any hope of preservation, but as they were driven one upon another in heaps so were they slain. Thus the greater part were driven together by force, as there was now no place of retirement, and the murderers: were upon them, and, having no other way, threw themselvesdown headlong into the city; whereby, in my opinion, they underwent a more miserable destruction than that which they avoided, because that was a voluntary one. And now the outer temple was all of it overflowed with blood; and that day, as it came on saw eight thousand five hundred dead. bodies there.

2. But the rage of the Idumeans was not satiated by these slaughters; but they now betook themselves to the

« PreviousContinue »