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fied at proper places the strong holds all about Idumea; and when he had seized upon two villages, which were in the very midst of Idumea, Betaris and Capartobas, he slew above ten thousand of the people, and carried into captivity above a thousand, and drove away the rest of the multitude, and placed no small part of his own forces in them, who over-ran and laid waste the whole mountainous country; while he, with the rest of his forces, returned to Emmaus, whence he came down, through the country of Samaria, and hard by the city, by others called Neapolis (or Shichem), but by the people of this country Mabortha, to Corea, where he pitched his camp on the second day of the month Desius, [Sivan;] and on the day following he came to Jericho, on which day Trajan, one of his commanders, joined him with the forces he brought out of Perea, all the places about Jordan being subdued already.

2. Hereupon a great multitude prevented their approach, and came out of Jericho, and fled to those mountainous parts that lay over against Jerusalem, while that part which was left behind was in a great measure destroyed; they also found the city desolate. It is situated in a plain; but a naked and barren mountain, of a very great length, hangs over it, which extends itself to the land about Scythopolis northward, but as far as the country of Sodom, and the utmost limits of the lake Asphaltitis southward. This mountain is all of it very uneven and uninhabited by reason of its barrenness; there is an opposite mountain that is situated over against it on the other side of Jordan; this last begins at Julias, and the northern quarters, and extends itself southward as far as * Somorrhon, which is the bounds of Petra, in Arabia. In this ridge of mountains there is one called the Iron Mountain, that runs in length as far as Moab. Now the region that lies in the middle between these ridges of mountains, is called the Great Plain; it reaches from the village Gionabries, as far as the lake Asphaltitis; its length is two hundred and thirty furlongs, and its breadth an hundred and twenty, and it is divided in the midst by Jordan. It bath

Whether this Somorrhon or Somorrha, ought not to be here written Gomorrha, as some MSS. in a manner have it, (for the place meant by Josephus seems to be near Segor or Zoar, at the very south of the Dead Sea, hard by which stood Sodom and Gomorrha,) cannot now be certainly determined, but seems by uo means improbable.

two lakes in it, that of Asphaltitis, and that of Tiberias, whose natures are opposite to each other: for the former is salt and unfruitful, but that of Tiberias is sweet and fruitful. This plain is much burnt up in summer time, and, by reason of the extraordinary heat, contains a very unwholesome air; it is all destitute of water excepting the river Jordan, which water of Jordan is the occasion why those plantations of palm trees that are near its banks, are more flourishing, and much more fruitful, as are those that are remote from it not so flourishing, or fruitful.

3. Notwithstanding which, there is a fountain by Jericho, that runs plentifully, and is very fit for watering the ground; it arises near the old city, which Joshua the son of Nun, the general of the Hebrews, took the first of all the cities of the land of Canaan, by right of war. The report is, that this fountain, at the beginning, caused not only the blasting of the earth and the trees, but of the children born of women, and that it was entirely of a sickly and corruptive nature, to all things whatsoever, but that it was made gentle, and very wholesome and fruitful by the prophet Elisha. This prophet was familiar with Elijah, and was his successor, who, when he once was the guest of the people of Jericho, and the men of the place had treated him very kindly, he both made them amends as well as the country, by a lasting favour; for he went out of the city to this fountain, and threw into the current an earthen vessel full of salt; after which he stretched out his righteous hand unto heaven, and, pouring out a mild drink-offering, he made this* supplica. tion, that "the current might be mollified, and that the veins "of fresh water might be opened. That God also would "bring into the place a more temperate and fertile air, for "the current, and would bestow upon the people of that country plenty of the fruits of the earth, and a succession of "children; and that this prolific water might never fail them, "while they continued to be righteous." To these prayers Elisha joined proper operations of his hands, after a skilful manner, and changed the fountain; and that water, which had been the occasion of barrenness and famine before, from that time did supply a numerous posterity, and afford great

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*This excellent prayer of Elisha, is wanting in our copies, 2 Kings ii. 21, 22. though it be referred to also in the Apostolical Constitutions, B. vii. ch. xxxvii, and the success of it is mention ed in them all.

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abundance to the country. Accordingly the power of it is so great in watering the ground, that if it do but once touch a country, it affords a sweeter nourishment than other wa ters do, when they lie so long upon them, till they are satiated with them. For which reason the advantage gained from other waters when they flow in great plenty, is but small, while that of this water is great when it flows even in little quantities. Accordingly it waters a larger space of ground than any other waters do, and passes along a plain of seventy furlongs long, and twenty broad; wherein it affords nourishment to those most excellent gardens that are thick set with trees. There are in it many sorts of palmtrees, that are watered by it, different from each other in taste and name; the better sort of them, when they are pres sed, yield an excellent kind of honey, not much inferior in sweetness to other honey. This country withal produces honey from bees, it also bears that balsam, which is the most precious of all the fruits in that place, cyprus trees also, and those that bear myrobalanum; so that he who should pronounce this place to be divine, would not be mistaken, wherein is such plenty of trees produced, as are very rare, and of the most excellent sort. And indeed, if we speak of those other fruits, it will not be easy to light on any climate in the habitable earth, that can well be compared to it, what is here sowed comes up in such clusters: the cause of which seems to me to be the warmth of the air, and the fertility of the waters; the warmth calling forth the sprouts, and making them spread, and the moisture making every one of them take a root firmly, and supplying that virtue which it stands in need of in summer time. Now this country is then so sadly burnt up that nobody cares to come at it, and if the waters be drawn up before sun rising, and after that exposed to the air, it becomes exceedingly cold, and becomes of a nature quite contrary to the ambient air; as in winter again it becomes warm; and if you go into it, it appears very gentle. The ambient air is here also of so good a temperature that the people of the country are clothed in linen only, ever when snow covers the rest of Judea. This place is one hun dred and fifty furlongs from Jerusalem, and sixty from Jordan. The country, as far as Jerusalem, is desert and stony; but that as far as Jordan, and the lake Asphaltitis, lies lower indeed, though it be equally desert and barren. But so

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much shall suffice to have said about Jericho, and of the great happiness of its situation.

4. The nature of the lake Asphaltitis is also worth describing. It is, as I have said already, bitter and unfruitful. It is so light [or thick] that it bears up the heaviest things that are thrown into it; nor is it easy for any one to make things sink therein to the bottom, if he had a mind so to do. Accordingly, when Vespasian went to see it, he commanded that some who could not swim, should have their hands tied behind them, and be thrown into the deep, when it so hap pened, that they all swam, as if a wind had forced themupwards. Moreover, the change of the colour of this lake is wonderful, for it changes its appearance thrice every day; and as the rays of the sun fall differently upon it, the light is variously reflected. However, it casts up black clods of bitumen, in many parts of it; these swim at the top of the water, and resemble both in shape and bigness headless bulls; and when the labourers that belong to the lake come to it, and catch hold of it, as it hangs together, they draw it into their ships; but when the ship is full it is not easy to cut off the rest, for it is so tenacious as to make the ship hang apon its clods, till they set it loose with the menstrual blood of women, and with urine, to which alone it yields. bitumen is not only useful for the caulking of ships, but for the cure of men's bodies: accordingly it is mixed in a great many medicines. The length of this lake is five hundred and eighty furlongs, where it is extended as far as Zoar in Arabia, and its breadth is an hundred and fifty. The country of Sodom * borders upon it. It was of old a most bappy land, both for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all burnt up. It is related how, for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the remainders of that divine fire, and the traces [or shadows] of the five cities are still to be seen, as well as the ashes growing in their fruits, which fruits have a colour as if they were fit to be eaten, but if you pluck them with your hands they dissolve into smoke and ashes. And thus what is related of this land of Sodom hath these marks of credibility, which our very sight affords us.

* See the note on B. v. ch. xiii. § 6. vol. vi

This

CHAP IX.

That Vespasian after he had taken Gadara, made preparation for the siege of Jerusalem. But that upon his hearing of the death of Nero, he changed his intentions. As also concerning Simon of Gerasa.

J. AND now Vespasian had fortified all the places round about Jerusalem, and erected citadels at Jericho and Adida, and placed garrisons in them both, partly out of his own Romans, and partly out of the body of his auxiliaries. He also sent Lucius Annius to Gerasa, and delivered to him a body of horsemen, and a considerable number of footmen. So when he had taken the city, which he did at the first onset, he slew a thousand of those young men who had not prevented him by flying away; but he took their families captive, and permitted his soldiers to plunder them of their effects; after which he set fire to their houses, and went away to the adjoining villages, while the men of power fled away, and the weaker part were destroyed, and what was remaining was all burnt down. And now the war having gone through all the mountainous country, and all the plain country also, those that were at Jerusalem were deprived of the liberty of going out of the city for as to such as had a mind to desert, they were watched by the zealots; and to such as were not yet on the side of the Romans, their army kept them in, by encompassing the city round about on all sides.

2. Now as Vespasian was returned to Cæsarea, and was getting ready with all his army to march directly to Jerusa lem, he was informed that Nero was dead, after he had reigned thirteen years and eight days; but as to any narra tion after what manner he abused his power in the govern ment, and committed the management of affairs to those vile wretches Nymphidius and Tigellinus, his unworthy freedmen; and how he had a plot laid against him by them, and was deserted by all his guards, and ran away with four of his most trusty freed men, and slew himself in the suburbs of Rome; and how those that occasioned his death, in no long time, brought themselves to punishment; how also the war in Gall ended; and how Galba was made emperor, and returned out of Spain to Rome; and how he was accu

*

• Of these Roman affairs and tumults under Galba, Oho, and Vitellius, here only touched upon by Josephus, see Tacitus, Sue,

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