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so he was reserved for the triumph, and to be then slain; as was John condemned to perpetual imprisonment. And now the Romans set fire to the extreme parts of the city, and burnt them down, and entirely demolished its walls.

CHAPTER X.

THAT WHEREAS THE CITY OF JERUSALEM HAD BEEN FIVE TIMES TAKEN FORMERLY, THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME OF ITS DESOLATION. A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF ITS HISTORY.

§ 1. AND thus was Jerusalem taken, in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, on the eighth day of the month. Gorpieus [Elul.] It had been taken five times before, though this was the second time of its desolation; for Shishak, the king of Egypt, and after him Antiochus, and after him Pompey, and after them Sosias and Herod took the city, but still preserved it: but before all these the king of Babylon conquered it, and made it desolate, one thousand four hundred and sixty-eight years and six months after it was built. But he who first built2 it was a potent man among

1 Besides these five here enumerated who had taken Jerusalem of old, Josephus, upon farther recollection, reckons a sixth, Antiq. B. xii. ch. i. sect. 1, who should have been here inserted in the second place, I mean Ptolemy, the son of Lagus.

2 Why the great Bochart should say, De Phoenic. Colon. B. ii. ch. iv., that "there are in this clause of Josephus as many mistakes as words," I do by no means understand. Josephus thought Melchisedek first built or rebuilt and adorned this city, and that it was then called Salem, as Psal. lxxvi. 2, that it afterward came to be called Jerusalem; and that Melchisedek, being a priest as well as a king, built to the true God therein a temple or place for public divine worship and sacrifice; all which things may be very true, for aught we know to the contrary. And for the word por or Temple, as if it must needs belong to the Great Temple built by Solomon long afterward, Josephus himself uses vaos for the small tabernacle of Moses, Antiq. B. iii. ch. vi. sect. 4. See also Antiq. B. iii. ch. vi. sect. 1, as he here presently uses pov for a large and splendid synagogue of the Jews at Antioch only, B. vii. ch. iii. sect. 3.

N. B. This is the proper place for such as have closely attended to these atter Books of the War, to peruse, and that with equal attention, those distinct and plain predictions of Jesus of Nazareth, in the gospels thereto

the Canaanites, and is in our tongue called [Melchisedek,] The righteous king, for such he really was; on which account he was [there] the first priest of God, and first built a temple [there,] and called the city Jerusalem, which was formerly called Salem. However, David, the king of the Jews, ejected the Canaanites, and settled his own people therein. It was demolished entirely by the Babylonians four hundred and seventy-seven years and six months after him. And from king David, who was the first of the Jews who reigned therein, to this destruction under Titus, were one thousand one hundred and seventy-nine years; but from its first building till this last destruction were two thousand one hundred seventyseven years: yet hath not its great antiquity, nor its vast riches, nor the diffusion of its nation over all the habitable earth, nor the greatness of the veneration paid to it on a religious account, been sufficient to preserve it from being destroyed. And thus ended the siege of Jerusalem.

relating, as compared with their exact completions in Josephus's history; upon which completions, as Dr. Whitby well observes, Annot. on Matt. xxiv. 2, no small part of the evidence for the truth of the Christian religion does depend; and as I have, step by step, compared them together in my Literal Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies. The reader is to observe farther, that the true reason why I have so seldom taken notice of those completions in the course of these notes, notwithstanding their being so very remarkable, and frequently so very obvious, is this, that I had entirely prevented myself in that treatise beforehand; to which, therefore, I must here ence for all, seriously refer every inquisitive reader.

BOOK VII.

CONTAINING

THE INTERVAL OF ABOUT THREE YEARS.

FROM THE TAKING OF JERUSALEM BY TITUS TO THE SEDITION OF THE JEWS AT CYRENE.

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CHAPTER I.

HOW THE ENTIRE CITY OF JERUSALEM WAS DEMOLISHED, EXCEPTING THE THREE TOWERS: AND HOW TITUS COMMENDED HIS SOLDIERS IN A SPEECH MADE TO THEM, AND DISTRIBUTED REWARDS TO THEM, AND THEN DISMISSED MANY OF THEM.

§ 1. Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other such work to be done,) Cæsar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminency, that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne, and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison, as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of a city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. This

was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind.

2. But Cæsar resolved to leave there as a guard the tenth legion, with certain troops of horsemen and companies of footmen. So having entirely completed this war, he was desirous to commend his whole army on account of the great exploits they had performed, and to bestow proper rewards. on such as had signalized themselves therein. He had, therefore, a great tribunal made for him in the midst of the place where he had formerly encamped, and stood upon it with his principal commanders about him, and spake so as to be heard by the whole army in the manner following: "That he returned them abundance of thanks for their goodwill which they had showed to him: he commended them for that ready obedience they had exhibited in this whole war; which obedience had appeared in the many and great dangers which they had courageously undergone; as also for that courage they had showed, and had thereby augmented of themselves their country's power, and had made it evident to all men, that neither the multitude of their enemies, strength of their places, nor the largeness of their cities, nor the rash boldness and brutish rage of their antagonists, were sufficient at any time to get clear of the Roman valor, although some of them may have fortune in many respects on their side. He said farther, that it was but reasonable for them to put an end to this war, now it had lasted so long; for they had nothing better to wish for when they entered into it; and that this happened more favorably for them, and more for their glory, that all the Romans had willingly accepted of those for their governors, and the curators of their dominions, whom they had chosen for them, and had sent into their own country for that purpose, which still continued under the management of those whom they had pitched on, and were thankful to them for pitching upon them: that, accordingly, although he did both admire and tenderly regard them all, because he knew that every one of them had gone as cheerfully about their work as their abilities and opportunities would give them leave; yet,

he said, that he would immediately bestow rewards and dignities on those that had fought the most bravely, and with greater force, and had signalized their conduct in the most. glorious manner, and had made his army more famous by their noble exploits; and that no one who had been willing to take more pains than another should miss of a just retribution for the same for that he had been exceeding careful about this matter, and that the more, because he had much rather reward the virtues of his fellow-soldiers than punish such as had offended."

3. Hereupon Titus ordered those whose business it was to read the list of all that had performed great exploits in this war, whom he called to him by their names, and commended them before the company, and rejoiced in them in the same manner as a man would have rejoiced in his own exploits. He also put on their heads crowns of gold, and golden ornaments about their necks, and gave them long spears of gold, and ensigns that were made of silver, and removed every one of them to a higher rank; and, besides this, he plentifully distributed among them out of the spoils, and the other prey they had taken, silver, and gold, and garments. So when they had all these honors bestowed on them, according to his own appointment made to every one, and he had wished all sorts of happiness to the whole army, he came down, among the great acclamations which were made to him, and then betook himself to offer thank-offerings [to the gods,] and at once sacrificed a vast number of oxen, that stood ready at the altars, and distributed them among the army to feast on. And when he had staid three days among the principal commanders, and so long feasted with them, he sent away the rest of his army to the several places where they would be every one best situated; but permitted the tenth legion to stay as a guard at Jerusalem, and did not send them away beyond Euphrates, where they had been before, And as he remembered that the twelfth legion had given way to the Jews under Cestius their general, he expelled them out of all Syria; for they had lain formerly at Raphanea, and sent them away to a place called Meletine, near Euphrates, which is in the limits

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