*

he who first built it was a potent man among 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 seventyseven 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 the first building, till this last destruction, were two thousand one hundred seventy-seven 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.

*Why the great Bochart should say, De Phonic. 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 Ps. 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 ought we know to the contrary. And for the word spev, or Temple, as if it must needs belong to the Great Temple built by Solomon long afterward, Josephus himself uses raord's, for the small tabernacle of Moses, Antiq. b. iii. ch. vi. § 4. vol. i. See also Antiq. b. iii. ch. vi. § 1. as he here presently uses pov for a large and splendid synagogue of the Jews at Antioch only, b. vii. ch. iii. § 3. N. B. This is the proper place for such as have closely attended to these latter Books of the War, to peruse, and that with equal attention, those distinct and plain predictions of Jesus of Nazareth, in the gospels thereto relating, as compared with their exact completions in Josephus' history; upon which completions, as Dr. Whitby well observes, Annot. on Matth. 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, once 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.]

CHAP. I.

How the entire city of Jerusalem was demolished, excepting 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 spared in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valour had subdued; but, for all the rest of the wall, it was se 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 that 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, nor the strength of their places, nor the largeness of their cities, nor the rash boldness and brutish rage of your antagonists, were sufficient at any time to get clear of the Roman valour, 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 favourably 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 virtue 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 honours bestowed on them, according to his own appointment made to every one, and he had wished all sort 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 stayed 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 of Armenia and Cappadocia he also thought fit that two of the legions should stay with him, till he should go into Egypt. He then went down with his army to that Cæsarea which lay by the sea-side, and there laid up the rest of his spoils in great quantities, and gave order that the captives should be kept there; for the winter season hindered them then from sailing into Italy.

CHAP. II.

How Titus exhibited all sorts of shows at Cæsarea Philippi. Concerning Simon the tyrant, how he was taken and reserved for the triumph.

§ 1. Now, at the same time that Titus Cæsar lay at the siege of Jerusalem, did Vespasian go on board a merchant ship, and sailed from Alexandria to Rhodes; whence he sailed away in ships with three rows of oars, and as, he touched at several cities that lay in his road, he was joyfully recei ved of them all, and so passed over from lonia into Greece; whence he set sail from Corcyra to the promontory of lapyx, whence he took his journey by land. But, as for Titus, he marched from that Cæsarea which lay by the sea-side, and came to that which is named Cæsarea Philippi, and staid there

a considerable time, and exhibited all sorts of shows there. And here a great number of the captives were destroyed, some being thrown to wild beasts, and others in multitudes forced to kill one another, as if they were their enemies. And here it was that Titus was informed of the seizure of Simon the son of Gioras, which was made after the manner following: This Simon, during the siege of Jerusalem, was in the upper city, but when the Roman army was gotten within the walls, and were laying the city waste, he then took the most faithful of his friends with him, and among them some that were stone-cutters, with those iron tools which belonged to their occupation, and as great a quantity of provisions as would suffice them for a long time, and let himself and all them down into a certain subterraneous cavern that was not visible above ground. Now, so far as had been digged of old, they went onward along it without disturbance; but where they met with solid earth, they dug a mine under ground, and this in hopes that they should be able to proceed so far as to rise from under ground in a safe place, and by that means escape. But when they came to make the experiment, they were disappointed of their hope; for the miners could make but small progress, and that with difficulty also; insomuch that their provisions, though they distributed them by measure, began to fail them. And now Simon thinking he might be able to astonish and delude the Romans, put on a white frock, and buttoned upon him a purple cloak, and appeared out of the ground in the place where the temple had formerly been. At the first, indeed, those that saw him were greatly astonished, and stood still where they were; but afterward they came nearer to him, and asked him who he was? Now Simon would not tell them, and bid them call for their captain; and when they ran to call him, Terentius Rufus, *who was left to command the army there, came to Simon, and learned of him the whole truth, and kept him in bonds, and let Cæsar know that he was taken. Thus did God bring this man to be punished, for what bitter and savage tyranny he had exercised against his countrymen, by those who were his worst enemies; and this while he was not subdued by violence, but voluntarily delivered himself up to them to be punished, and that on the very same account that

*This Terentius Rufus, as Reland in part observes here, is the same person whom the Talmudists call Turnus Rufus, of whom they relate, that he ploughed up Sion as a field, and made Jerusalem become as heaps, and the mountains of the house as the high places of a forest; which was long before foretold by the prophet Micah, iii. 12. and quated from him in the prophecies of Jeremiah, xxvi. 18.