ple, appeared very angry at John's insolent attempts, which he made every day upon the people. For this man never left off murdering. But the truth was, that he could not bear to submit to a tyrant, who set up after him. So he being desirous of gaining the entire power and dominion to himself, revolted from John, and took to his assistance John the son of Chelcias, and Simon the son of Ezron, who were among the men of greatest power. There was also with him Hezekiah, the son of Chobar, a person of eminence. Each of these were followed by a great many of the zealots. These seized upon the *inner fcourt of the temple, and laid their arms upon the holy gates, and over the holy fronts of that court. And because they had plenty of provisions, they were of good courage. For there was great abundance of what was consecrated to sacred uses, and they scrupled not the making use of them. Yet were they afraid on account of their small number. And when they had laid up their arms there, they did not stir from the place they were in. Now as to John, what advantage he had above Eleazar in the multitude of his followers, the like disadvantage he had in the situation he was in: since he had bis enemies over his head. And as he could not make any assault upon them without some terror, so was his anger too great to let him be at rest. Nay, although he suffered more mischief from Eleazar and his party than he could inflict upon them, yet would he not leave off assaulting them. Insomuch that there were continual sallies made one against another; as well as darts thrownat one another, and the temple was defiled every where with murders. But the tyrant Simon, the son of Gioras, whom the people had invited in, out of the hopes they had of his assistance in the great distresses they were in; having in his power the upper city, and a great part of the lower, did now make more vehement assaults * This appears to be the first time that the zealots ventured to pollute this most sacred court of the temple, which was the court of the priests, wherein the temple itself and the altar stood. So that the conjecture of those that would interpret that Zacharias, who was slain between the temple and the altar, several months before, IV. 5, as if he were slain there by these zealots, is groundless: as I have noted on that place already. The court of the priests. upon John, and his party: because these were fought against from above also. Yet was he beneath their situation, when he attacked them as were they beneath the attacks of the others above them. Whereby it came to pass, that John did both receive and inflict great damage, and that easily: as he was fought against on both sides. And the same advantage that Eleazar and his party had over him, since he was beneath them; the same advantage had he, by his higher situation, over Simon. On which account he easily repelled the attacks that were made from beneath, by the weapons thrown with their hands only: but was obliged to repel those that threw their darts from the temple above him, by his engines of war. For he had such engines as threw darts, javelins, and stones; and that in no small number. By which he did not only defend himself from such as fought against him, but also slew many of the priests, as they were about their sacred ministrations. For notwithstanding these men were mad with all sorts of impiety, yet did they still admit those that desired to offer their sacrifices; although they took care to search the people of their own country beforehand; and both suspected and watched them. While they were not so much afraid of strangers: who, although they had gotten leave of them, how cruel soever they were, to come into that court, were yet often destroyed by this sedition. For those darts that were thrown by the engines came with such force, that they went over all the buildings, and reached as far as the altar, and the temple itself: and fell upon the priests, and *those that were about the sacred offices. Insomuch that many persons who came thither with great zeal from the ends of the earth, to offer sacrifices, at this celebrated place, which was esteemed holy by all mankind, fell down before their own sacrifices, and sprinkled that altar which was venerable among all men, both Greeks and barbarians, with their own blood, till the dead bodies of strangers were mingled together with those of their own country; and those of profane persons with those of priests: and the blood of all sorts of dead carcasses stood in lakes in the holy courts themselves. And now, O most wretched city! what misery so great as this didst thou suffer from the Romans, when they came to purify thee from thy intestine hatred? For thou couldst be no longer a place fit for God; nor couldst thou long continue in being, after thou hadst been a sepulchre for the bodies of thy own people; and hadst made the holy house itself a burial place in this civil war. Yet *mayest thou again grow better, if perchance thou wilt hereafter appease the anger of that God who is the author of thy destruction. But I must refrain myself from these passions by the rules of history: since this is not a proper time for domestic lamentations, but for historical narrations; I, therefore, return to the operations that follow in this sedition. Now there were three treacherous factions in the city, the one parted from the other. Eleazar and his party, that kept the sacred first-fruits, came against John in their cups. Those that were with John plundered the populace, and went out with zeal against Simon. This Simon had his supply of provisions from the city, in opposition to the seditious. When, therefore, John was assaulted on both sides, he made his men turn about, throwing darts upon those citizens that came up against him, from the cloisters he had in his possession; while he opposed those that attacked him from the temple, by his engines of war. And if at any time he was freed from those that were above him, which happened frequently, from their being tired or inebriated, he sallied out with a greater number upon Simon and his party. And this he did always in such parts of the city as he could come at, till he set on fire those houses that were full of †corn, and of all other provisions. The same thing was done by Simon, when, upon the others' retreat, he attacked the city also as if they had on purpose done it to serve the Romans, by destroying what the city *This is an excellent reflection of Josephus: including his hopes of the restoration of the Jews, upon their repentance. See Antiquities, IV. 8. Which is the grand Hope of Israel, as Manasseh ben Israel, the famous Jewish Rabbi, styles it, in his small but remarkable treatise on that subject; of which the Jewish prophets are every where full. + This destruction of such a vast quantity of corn and other provisions, as was sufficient for many years, was the direct occasion of that terrible famine, which consumed incredible numbers of Jews in Jerusalem during its siege. Nor probably could the Romans have taken this city, after all, had not these seditious Jews been so infatuated as thus madly to destroy what Josephus here justly styles, "The nerves of their power." had laid up against the siege; and by thus cutting off the nerves of their own power. Accordingly, it came to pass, that all the places that were about the temple were burnt down; and were become an intermediate desert space, ready for fighting on both sides of it and almost all that corn was burnt, which would have been sufficient for a siege of many years. So they were taken by means of the famine which it was impossible they should have been, unless they had thus prepared the way for it by this procedure. Now, as the city was engaged in a war on all sides, from these treacherous crowds of wicked men; the people of the city between them were, like a great body, torn in pieces. The aged men, and the women, were in such distress by their internal calamities, that they wished for the Romans; and earnestly hoped for an external war, in order to their delivery from their domestic miseries. The citizens themselves were under a terrible consternation and fear. Nor had they any opportunity of taking counsel, and of changing their conduct. Nor were there any hopes of coming to an agreement with their enemies: nor could such as had a mind flee away. For guards were set at all places; and the heads, of the robbers, although they were seditious one against another in other respects, yet did they agree in killing those that were for peace with the Romans; or were suspected of an inclination to desert to them, as their common enemies. They agreed in nothing but this, to kill those that were innocent. The noise also of those that were fighting was incessant both by day and by night but the lamentation of those that mourned exceeded the other. Nor was there ever any occasion for them to leave off their lamentations; because their calamities came perpetually one upon another: although the deep consternation they were in prevented their outward wailing. But being constrained by their fear to conceal their inward passions, they were inwardly tormented; without daring to open their lips in groans. Nor was any regard paid to those that were still alive by their relations: nor was there any care taken of burial for those that were dead. The occasion of both which was, that every one despaired of himself. For those that were not among the seditious had no great desires of any thing; as expecting for certain, that they should very soon be destroyed. But for the seditious themselves, they fought against each other while they trod upon the dead bodies, as they lay heaped one upon another: and taking up a mad rage from those dead bodies that were under their feet, became the fiercer thereupon. They, moreover, were still inventing somewhat or other that was pernicious against themselves. And when they had resolved upon any thing, they executed it without mercy; and omitted no method of torment, or of barbarity. Nay, John abused the sacred *materials; and employed them in the construction of his engines of war. For the people and the priests had formerly determined to support the temple, and raise the holy house twenty cubits higher. For king Agrippa had, at a very great expense, and with very great pains, brought thither such materials as were proper for that purpose; being pieces of timber very well worth seeing, both for their straightness, and their largeness. But the war coming on, and interrupting the work, John had them cut, and prepared for building him towers, he finding them long enough, to oppose from them, those his adversaries that fought him from the temple that was above him. He also had them brought, and erected behind the inner court, over against the west end of the cloisters; where falone he could erect them. Whereas the other sides of that court had so many steps, as would not let them come nigh enough to the cloisters. Thus did John hope to overcome his enemies by these engines ; constructed by his impiety. But God himself demonstrated that his pains would prove of no use to him, by bringing the Romans upon him before he had reared any of his towers. For Titus, when he had gotten together part of his forces about him, and had ordered the rest to meet him at Jerusalem, marched out of Cæsarea. He had with him those three legions, that had accompanied his father when he laid Judea waste: together with that * This timber we see was designed for the rebuilding those twenty additional cubits of the holy house above the hundred which had fallen down some years before. See the note on Antiq. XV. 11. + There being no gate on the west, and only on the west side of the court of the priests, and so no steps there; this was the only side that the seditious, under this John of Gischala, could bring their engines close to the cloisters of that court endways, though upon the floor of the court of Israel. |