Longinus, (which last was come to Jerusalem, and had brought a great army with him, out of a fear that the [rigid] injunctions of Fadus should force the Jews to rebel,) that they might, in the first place, have leave to send ambassadors to Cæsar to petition him, that they may have the holy vestments under their own power, and that, in the next place, they would tarry till they knew what answer Claudius would give to that their request. So they replied, that they would give them leave to send their ambassadors, provided they would give them their sons as pledges [for their peaceable behaviour.] And when they had agreed so to do, and had given them the pledges they desired, the ambassadors were sent accordingly. But when, upon their coming to Rome, Agrippa junior, the son of the deceased, understood the reason why they came, (for he dwelt with Claudius Cæsar as we said before,) he besought Cæsar to grant the Jews their request about the holy vestments, and to send a message to Fadus accordingly.

2. Hereupon Claudius called for the ambassadors, and told them, That he granted their request;" and bade them to return their thanks to Agrippa for this favour, which had been bestowed on them upon his intreaty. And, besides these answers of his, he sent the following letter by them: "Claudius Cæsar Germanicus, tribune of the people the "fifth time, and designed consul the fourth time, and impe"rator the tenth time, the father of his country, to the magistrates, senate, and people, and the whole nation of the "Jews, sendeth greeting: Upon the representation of your "ambassadors to me by Agrippa, my friend, whom I have brought up, and have now with me, and who is a person of very great piety, who are come to give me thanks for the "care I have taken of your nation, and to entreat me, in an "earnest and obliging manner, that they may have the holy "vestments, with the crown belonging to them, under their 66 power; I grant their request, as that excellent person Vitellius, who is very dear to me, had done before me.

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And

"I have complied with your desire, in the first place, out of "regard to that piety which I profess, and because I would "have every one worship God according to the laws of their "own country; and this I do also because I shall hereby highly gratify king Herod, and Agrippa junior, whose sa"cred regards to me, and earnest good-will to you, I am "well acquainted with, and with whom I have the greatest "friendship, and whom I highly esteem, and look on as

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persons of the best character. Now I have written about "these affairs to Cuspius Fadus, my procurator. The names "of those that brought me your letter are, Cornelius, the son

"of Cero, Trypho, the son of Theudio, Dorotheus, the son "of Nathaniel, and John, the son of John. This letter is "dated before the fourth of the calends of July, when Ru"fus and Pompeius Sylvanus are consuls."

3. Herod also, the brother of the deceased Agrippa, who was then possessed of the royal authority over Chalcis, petitioned Claudius Cæsar for the authority over the temple, and the money of the sacred treasure, and the choice of the highpriests, and obtained all that he petitioned for. So that af ter that time this authority continued among all his descendants till the end of the war. Accordingly Herod removed the last high-priest, called Cantheras, and bestowed that dignity on his successor Joseph the son of Camus.

CHAP. II.

*

How Helena, the Queen of Adiabene, and her son Izates embraced the Jewish religion; and how Helena supplied the poor with corn, when there was a great famine at Jerusalem.

1. ABOUT this time it was that Helena, queen of Adiabene, and her son Izates changed their course of life, and embraced the Jewish customs, and this on the occasion following: Monobazus, the king of Adiabene, who had also the name of Bazeus, fell in love with his sister Helena, and took her to be his wife, and begat her with child. But as he was in bed with her one night, he laid his hand upon his wife's belly, and fell asleep and seemed to hear a voice, which bid him take his hand off his wife's belly, and not hurt the infant that was therein, which, by God's providence, would be safely born, and have an happy end, This voice put him into disorder; so he awaked immediately, and told the story to his wife; and when his son was born, he called him Izates. He had indeed Monobazus, his elder brother, by Helena also, as he had other sons by other wives besides. Yet did he openly place all his affections on this his only begotten † son Izates, which was the origin of that envy which his other brethren, by the same father, bore to him; while on this account they hated him more and more, and were all under great af

*Here is some error in the copies, or mistake in Josephus; for the power of appointing high-priests, after Herod king of Chalcis was dead, and Agrippa junior was made king of Chalcis in his room, belonged to him, and he exercises the same all along till Jerusalem was destroyed, as Josephus elsewhere informs us. ch. viii. sect. 8, 11. ch. ix. § 1, 4, 6, 7.

↑ Josephus here uses the word μovoyɛvn, an only begotten son, for no other than one best beloved, as does both the Old and New Testament, I mean where there were one or more sons besides, Gen. xxii. 2. Heb. xi. 17. See the note on B. I. ch. xiii. sect. 1. Vol. I.

fliction that their father should prefer Izates before them. Now although their father was very sensible of these their passions, yet did he forgive them, as not indulging those passions out of an ill disposition, but out of a desire each of them had to be beloved by their father. However, he sent Izates with many presents, to Abennerig, the king of Charax-Spasini, and that out of the great dread he was in about him, lest he should come to some misfortune, by the hatred 'his brethren bore him; and he committed his son's preservation to him. Upon which Abennerig gladly received the young man, and had a great affection for him; and married him to his own daughter, whose name was Samacha: he also bestowed a country upon him, from which he received large re

venues.

2. But when Monobazus was grown old, and saw that he had but a little time to live, he had a mind to come to the sight of his son before he died. So he sent for him, and embraced him after the most affectionate manner, and bestowed on him the country called Carra; it was a soil that bare amomum in great plenty there are also in it the remains of that ark, wherein it is related that Noah escaped the deluge, and where they are still shewn to such as are desirous to see them.* Accordingly Izates abode in that country until his father's death. But the very day that Monobazus died, queen Helena sent for all the grandees, and governors of the kingdom, and for those that had the armies committed to their command; and when they were come she made the following speech to them: "I believe you are not unac"quainted that my husband was desirous Izates should suc"ceed him in the government, and thought him worthy so "to do. However, I wait your determination; for happy is "he who receives a kingdom not from a single person only, "but from the willing suffrages of a great many." This she said in order to try those that were invited, and to discover their sentiments. Upon the hearing of which, they first of all paid their homage to the queen, as their custom was, and then they said, That "they confirmed the king's determina❝tion, and would submit to it; and they rejoiced that Izates's "father had preferred him before the rest of his brethren, "as being agreeable to all their wishes: but that they were "desirous first of all to slay his brethren and kinsmen, that "so the government might come securely to Izates; because "if they were once destroyed, all that fear would be over "which might arise from their hatred and envy to him."

* It is here very remarkable, that the remains of Noah's ark were believed to be still in being in the days of Josephus. See the note on B. I. ch, iii, sect. 5. Vol. I.

Helena replied to this, That" she returned them her thanks "for their kindness to herself, and to Izates; but desired "that they would however defer the execution of this slaugh"ter of Izates's brethren till he should be there himself, and "give his approbation to it." So since these men had not

prevailed with her, when they advised her to slay them, they exhorted her at least to keep them in bonds till he should come, and that for their own security; they also gave her counsel to set up some one whom she could put the greatest trust in, as a governor of the kingdom in the inean time. So queen Helena complied with this counsel of theirs, and set up Monobazus, the eldest son, to be king, and put the diadem upon his head, and gave him his father's ring, with its signet; as also the ornament which they call Sampser, and exhorted him to administer the affairs of the kingdom till his brother should come; who came suddenly upon his hearing that his father was dead, and succeeded his brother Monobazus, who resigned up the government to him.

3. Now during the time Izates abode at Charax-Spasini, a certain Jewish merchant, whose name was Ananias, got among the women that belonged to the king, and taught them to worship God according to the Jewish religion. He, moreover, by their means, became known to Izates, and persuaded him in like manner to embrace that religion; he also, at the earnest entreaty of Izates, accompanied him when he was sent for by his father to come to Adiabene: it also happened, that Helena, about the same time, was instructed by a certain other Jew, and went over to them. But when Izates had taken the kingdom, and was come to Adiabene, and there saw his brethren, and other kinsmen in bonds, he was displeased at it: and as he thought it an instance of impiety either to slay or to imprison them, but still thought it an ha⚫zardous thing for to let them have their liberty, with the remembrance of the injuries that had been offered them, he sent some of them and their children for hostages to Rome, to Claudius Cæsar, and sent the others to Artabanus, the king of Parthia, with the like intentions.

4. And when he perceived that his mother was highly pleased with the Jewish customs, he made haste to change, and to embrace them entirely; and as he supposed that he could not be thoroughly a Jew unless he were circumcised, he was ready to have it done. But when his mother understood what he was about, she endeavoured to hinder him from doing it, and said to him, that "this thing would bring him into danger; and that, as he was a king, he would thereby bring "himself into great odium among his subjects, when they "should understand that he was so fond of rites that were to VOL. III.

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"them strange and foreign; and that they would never bear "to be ruled over by a Jew." This it was that she said to him, and for the present persuaded him to forbear. And when he had related what she had said to Ananias, he confirmed what his mother had said, and when he had also threatened to leave him, unless he complied with him, he went away from him, and said, that " he was afraid lest such an "action being once become public to all, he should himself "be in danger of punishment, for having been the occasion "of it, and having been the king's instructor in actions that "were of ill reputation; and he said, that he might worship "God without being circumcised, even though he did re"solve to follow the Jewish law entirely, which worship of "God was of a superior nature to circumcision. He added, "that God would forgive him, though he did not perform "the operation, while it was omitted out of necessity, and "for fear of his subjects." So the king at that time complied with these persuasions of Ananias. But afterwards, as he had not quite left off his desire of doing this thing, a certain other Jew that came out of Galilee, whose name was Eleazar, and who was esteemed very skilful in the learning of his country, persuaded him to do the thing; for as he entered into his palace to salute him, and found him reading the law of Moses, he said to him, "Thou dost not consider, O king, "that thou unjustly breakest the principal of those laws, and "art injurious to God himself, [by omitting to be circumcis"ed]; for thou oughtest not only to read them, but chiefly "to practise what they enjoin thee. How long wilt thou "continue uncircumcised? But if thou hast not yet read the "law about circumcision, and dost not know how great im"piety thou art guilty of by neglecting it, read it now." When the king had heard what he said, he delayed the thing no longer, but retired to another room, and sent for a surgeon, and did what he was commanded to do. He then sent for his mother, and Ananias his tutor, and informed them that he had done the thing; upon which they were presently struck with astonishment and fear, and that to a great degree, lest the thing should be openly discovered and censured, and the king should hazard the loss of his kingdom, while his subjects would not bear to be governed by a man who was so zealous in another religion; and lest they should themselves run some hazard, because they would be supposed the occasion of his so doing. But it was God * himself who hindered

*Josephus is very full and express in these three chapters, iii. iv. and v. in observing how carefully Divine Providence preserved this Izates, king of Adiabene, and his sons, while he did what he thought was his bounden duty, notwithstanding the strongest political motives to the contrary.