fet fome one over their public affairs, it was fitter they fhould give that privilege to any one rather than to him," they made an affault upon him in the temple; for he went up thither to worthip in a pompous manner, and adorned with royal garments, and had his followers with him in their armour. But Eleazar and his party fell violently upon him, as did allo the reft of the people, and taking up ftones to attack him withal, they threw them at the fophifter, and thought, that if he were once ruined, the entire fedition would fall to the ground. Now Manahem and his party made refiftance for a while, but when they perceived that the whole multitude were falling upon them, they fled which way every one was able, thofe that were caught were flain, and thofe that hid themselves were fearched for. A few there were of them who privately efcaped to Mafada, among whom was Eleazar, the fon of Jairus, who was of kin to Manahem, and acted the part of a tyrant at Mafada afterward: As for Manahem himself, he ran away to the place called Ophla, and there lay fkulking in private; but they took him alive, and drew him out before them all; they then tortured him with many forts of torments, and after all flew him, as they did by thofe that were captains under him alfo, and particularly by the principal inftrument of his tyranny, whofe name was Apfalom.

10. And, as I faid, fo far truly the people affifted them, while they hoped this might afford fome amendment to the feditious practices; but the others were not in hafte to put an end to the war, but hoped to profecute it with lefs danger, now they had flain Manahem. It is true, that when the people earnestly defired that they would leave off befieging the foldiers, they were the more earnest in preffing it forward, and this till Metilius, who was the Roman general. fent to Eleazar, and defired that they would give them fecurity to fpare their lives only, but agreed to deliver up their arms, and what else they had with them. The others readily complied with their petition, fent to them Gorion, the fon of Nicodemus, and Ananias the fon of Sadduk, and Judas, the fon of Jonathan, that they might give them the fecurity of their right hands, and of their oaths; after which Metilius brought down his foldiers, which foldiers while they were in arms, were not meddled with by any of the feditious, nor was there any appearance of treachery; but as foon as, according to the articles of capitulation, they had all laid down their fhields, and their fwords, and were under no farther fufpicion of any harm, but were going away, Eleazar's men attacked them after a violent manner, and encompaffed them round, and flew them, while they neither defended themselves, nor entreated for mercy, but only cried out upon the breach of their articles of capitulation, and their oaths. And thus were all these men barbaroufly murdered, excepting Metilius; for when he entreated for mercy, and promifed that he would

turn Jew, and be circumcifed, they faved him alive, but none elfe. This lofs to the Romans was but light, there being no more than a few flain out of an immenfe army; but ftill it appeared to be a prelude to the Jews own deftruction, while men made public lamentation when they faw that fuch occafions were afforded for a war as were incurable; that the city was all over polluted with fuch abominations, from which it was but reasonable to expect fome vengeance, even though they fhould efcape reverence from the Romans; fo that the city was filled with fadnefs, and every one of the moderate men in it were under great difturbance, as likely themselves to undergo punishment for the wickednefs of the feditious; for indeed it fo happened, that this murder was perpetrated on the Sabbath day, on which day the Jews have a refpite from their works on account of divine worlhip.

CHAP. XVIII.

The Calamities and Slaughters that came upon the Jews.

§ 1. NOW the people of Cefarea had flain the Jews that

were among them on the very fame day and hour [when the foldiers were flain], which one would think must have come to pafs by the direction of Providence; infomuch, that in one hour's time above twenty thoufand Jews were killed, and all Cefarea was emptied of its Jewish inhabitants; for Florus caught fuch as ran away and fent them in bonds to the gallies. Upon which stroke that the Jews received at Cefarea, the whole nation was greatly enraged; fo they divided themselves into feveral parties, and laid wafte the villages of the Syrians, and their neighbouring cities, Philadelphia, and Sebonitis, and Gerafa, and Pella, and Scythopolis, and after them Gadara, and Hippos; and falling upon Gaulanitis, fome cities they deftroyed there, and fome they fet on fire, and then went to Kedafa, belonging to the Tyrians, and to Ptolemais, and to Gaba, and to Cefarea, nor was either Sebafte [Samaria], or Afkelon able to oppose the violence with which they were attacked; and when they had burnt thefe to the ground, they entirely demolished Anthedon and Gaza; many alfo of the villages that were about every one of thofe cities were plundered, and an immenfe flaughter was made of the men who were caught in them.

2. However the Syrians were even with the Jews in the mul. titude of the men whom they flew; for they killed those whom they caught in their cities, and that not only out of the hatred they bare them, as formerly, but to prevent the danger under which they were from them; fo that the foldiers in all Syria were terrible, and every city was divided into two armies en. camped one against another, and the prefervation of the one

party was in the deftruction of the other; fo the day time was fpent in fhedding of blood, and the night in fear, which was of the two the more terrible; for when the Syrians thought they had ruined the Jews, they had the Judaizers in fufpicion alfo ; and as each fide did not care to lay thofe whom they only fufpected on the other, fo did they greatly fear them when they were mingled with the other, as if they were certainly foreigners. Moreover, greedinefs of gain was a provocation to kill the oppofite party, even to fuch of old as had appeared very mild and gentle towards them; for they without fear plundered the effects of the flain, and carried off the fpoils of those whom they flew to their own houses, as if they had been gained in a fet battle; and he was efteemed a man of honour who got the greatest thare, as having prevailed over the greateft number of his enemies. It was then common to fee cities filled with dead bodies, ftill lying unburied, and those of old men, mixed with infants, and dead, and fcattered about together; women alfo lay among ft them, without any covering for their nakedness; you might then fee the whole province full of inexpreffible calamities, while the dread of ftill more barbarous practices which were threatened were every where greater than what had been already perpetrated.

3. And thus far the conflict had been between Jews and foreigners, but when they made excurfions to Scythopolis, they found Jews that acted as enemies; for as they ftood in battle. array with thofe of Scythopolis, and preferred their own fafety before their relation to us, they fought against their own country men; nay their alacrity was fo very great, that those of Scythopolis fufpected them. These were afraid, therefore, left they fhould make an affault upon the city in the night time, and, to their great misfortune, fhould thereby make an apology for themselves to their own people for their revolt from them. So they commanded them, that in cafe they would confirm their agreement and demonftrate their fidelity to them, who were of a different nation, they should go out of the city, with their families to a neighbouring grove: And when they had done as they were commanded, with out fufpecting any thing, the people of Scythopolis lay ftill for the interval of two days. to tempt them to be fecure; but on the third night they watched their opportunity, and cut all their throats, fome as they Jay unguarded, and fome as they lay afleep. The number that was flain was above thirteen thoufand, and then they plundered them of all that they had.

4. It will deferve our relation what befel Simon; he was the fon of one Saul, a man of reputation among the Jews. This man was diftinguifhed from the reft by the ftrength of his body, and the boldnefs of his conduct, although he abufed them both to the mifchieving of his country men; for he came every day and flew a great many of the Jews of Scythopolis, and he frequently put them to flight, and became himVOL. III.

X

felt alone the cause of his army's conquering. But a juft punishment overtook him for the murders he had committed upon thofe of the fame nation with him; for when the people of Scythopolis threw their darts at them in the grove, he drew his fword but did not attack any of the enemy; for he law that he could do nothing against fuch a multitude; but he cried out after a very moving manner, and, " O, you people of Scythopolis, I defervedly fuffer for what I have done with relation to you, when I gave you fuch fecurity of my fidelity to you, by flaying fo many of thofe that were related to me. Wherefore we very juftly experience the perfidiousness of foreigners, while we acted after a moft wicked manner againft our own nation. I will therefore die, polluted wretch as I am, by mine own hands; for it is not fit I fhould die by the hand of our enemies; and let the fame action be to me both a punishment for my great crimes, and a teftimony of my courage to my commendation, that fo no one of our enemies may have it to brag of, that he it was that flew me and no one may infult upon me as I fall." Now when he had faid this, he looked round about hin upon his family with eyes of commiferation, and of rage, (that family confifted of a wife, and children, and his aged parents :) fo, in the fift place, he caught his father by the grey hairs, and ran his fword through him, and after him he did the fame to his mother, who willingly received it; and after them he did the like to his wife and children, every one almoft offering themfelves to his word, as defirous to prevent being flain by their enemies; fo when he had gone over all his family, he flood upon their bodies to be feen by all, and ftretching out his right hand, that his action might be obferved by all, he fheathed his entire fword into his own bowels. This young man was to be pitied on account of the ftrength of his body and the courage of his foul; but fince he had affured foreigners of his fidelity [against his own countrymen, he fuffered defervedly.

5. Befides this murder at Scythopolis, the other cities rofe up against the Jews that were among them; thofe of Afkalon flew two thoufand five hundred, and thofe of Ptolemais two thouland, and put not a few into bonds; thofe of Tyre alfo put a great number to death, but kept a greater number in prifon; moreover, thofe of Hippos, and thofe of Gadara did the like, while they put to death the boldeft of the Jews, but kept thofe of whom they were afraid in cuftody; as did the reft of the cities of Syria, according as they every one either hated them, or were afraid of them; only the Antiochians the Sidonians, and Apamians, fpared thofe that dwelt with them, and would not endure either to kill any of the Jews, or to put them in bonds. And perhaps they fpared them, becaufe their own number was fo great that they defpifed their at tempts; but I think the greatest part of this favour was owing to their commiferation of thofe whom they faw to make no

innovations. As for the Gerafans, they did no harm to thofe that abode with them, and for thole who had a mind to go away, they conducted them as far as their borders reached.

6. There was alfo a plot laid against the Jews in Agrippa's kingdom; for he was himfelf gone to Ceftius Gallus, to Antioch, but had left one of his companions whofe name was Noarus, to take care of the public affairs; which Noarus was of kin to king Sohemus* Now there came certain men, feventy in number, out of Batanea, who were the moft.confiderable for their families and prudence of the reft of the people; thefe defired to have an army put into their hands, that if any tumult thould happen, they might have about them a guard fufficient to refrain luch as might rife up against them. This Noarus fent out fome of the king's armed men by night, and flew all thofe [feventy men; which bold action he ventured upon without the confent of Agrippa, and was fuch a lover of money, that he chofe to be fo wicked to his own countrymen, though he brought ruin upon the kingdom thereby; and thus cruelly did he treat that nation, and this contrary to the laws alfo until Agrippa was informed of it, who did not indeed dare to put him to death, out of regard to Sohemus but ftill he put an end to his procuratorship immediately. But as to the feditious, they took the citadel which was called Cypros, and was above Jericho, and cut the throats of the garrifon, and utterly demolished the fortifications; this was about the fame time that the multitude of the Jews that were at Macherus perfuaded the Romans who were in garrifon to leave the place, and deliver it up to them. Thele Romans being in great fear, left the place fhould be taken by force, made an agreement with them to depart upon certain conditions; and when they had obtained the fecurity they defired, they delivered up the citadel, into which the people of Macherus put a garrifon for their own fecurity, and held it in their own pow

er.

7. But for Alexandria the fedition of the people of the place againit the Jews was perpetual and this from that very time. when Alexander [the Great, upon finding the readiness of the Jews in affifting him against the Egyptians, and as a reward for fuch their affiftance, gave them equal privileges in this city with the Grecians themselves. Which honorary reward continued among them under his fucceffors, who also fet apart for them a particular place, that they might live without being polluted [by the Gentiles, and were thereby not fo much intermixed with foreigners as before: They alfo gave them this farther privilege, that they fhould be called Macedonians. Nay, when the Romans got poffeffion of Egypt,neither

* Of this Sohemus we have mention made by Tacitus We alfo learn from Dio, that his father was king of the Arabians of Iturea, [which Iturea is mentioned by St. Luke, iii. 1, both whole teftimonies are quoted here by Dr. Hudion. See Noldius, No. 371.