The Jewish War

[John Reece]

I request that neither Geert van den Bos nor any other cabalist post in this thread, the purpose of which is to share excerpts from G. A. Williamson's translation of The Jewish War, by Josephus, revised edition published in 1970 in London with express exception to copyright limitation "in the Untied States of America".

Flavius Josephus (ca 37–100 AD) was born Joseph ben Matityahu in Jerusalem, the son of a rabbi. He initially fought against the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War as head of Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in 67 AD to Vespasian after the six-week siege of Jotapata. Vespasian kept Josephus as a slave and interpreter and after he became Emperor in 69 AD, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the emperor's family name of Flavius.

Josephus's The Jewish War is in essence an eye-witness account of the fulfillment of the following prophesy uttered by Jesus as reported by Matthew:

Scripture Verse: Matthew 23:13-39

Matt. 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Matt. 23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.’ 19 How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; 21 and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; 22 and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.

Matt. 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

Matt. 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

Matt. 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. 28 So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matt. 23:29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. 33 You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.

© Copyright Original Source

[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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At the time when Antiochus Epiphanes was disputing the control of Palestine with Ptolemy VI, dissension broke out among the leading Jews, who competed for supremacy because no prominent person could bear to be subject to his equals. Onias, one of the chief priests, forced his way to the top and expelled the sons of Tobias from the City. They fled to Antiochus and implored him to use them as guides and invade Judea. This was just what the king wanted; so setting out in person with a very large force he stormed the City, killed a large number of Ptolemy's adherents, gave his men permission to loot as they liked, took the lead in plundering the Sanctuary, and stopped the continuous succession of daily sacrifices for three and a half years. The high priest Onias fled to Ptolemy, from whom he obtained a site in the district of Heliopolis. There he built a little town on the lines of Jerusalem and a Sanctuary like the one he had left. All this will be referred to again in due course.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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Antiochus was far from satisfied with his unexpected capture of the City, the loot, and the long death-roll. Unable to conceal his passions and remembering what the siege had cost him, he tried to force the Jews to break off their ancient Law by leaving their babies uncircumcised and sacrificing swine on the alter. Meeting with a blank refusal he executed the leading recusants; and Bacchides, who was sent by him to command the garrison, finding in these monstrous instructions scope for his savage instincts, plunged recklessly into every form of iniquity, torturing the most worthy citizens one by one, and publicly displaying day after day the appearance of a captive city, till by the enormity of his crimes he drove his victims to attempt reprisals.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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Mattias, son of Asamonaeus, a priest from the village of Modein, raised a tiny force consisting of his five sons and himself, and killed Bacchides with cleavers. Fearing the strength of the garrison he fled to the hills for the time being, but when many of the common people joined him he regained confidence, came down again, gave battle, defeated Antiochus' generals and chased them out of Judea. By that success he achieved supremacy, and in gratitude for his expulsion of the foreigner his countrymen gladly accepted his rule, which on his death he left to Judas, the eldest of his sons.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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As Judas did not expect Antiochus to take this lying down, he not only marshaled the available Jewish forces but took the bold step of allying himself with Rome. When Epiphanes again invaded the country he counter-attacked vigorously and drove him back; then striking while the iron was hot, he hurled himself against the garrison of the City, which had not yet been dislodged, threw the troops out of the Upper City, and shut them into the Lower ― the part of the town called the Citadel. Then taking possession of the Temple he cleansed the whole area and walled it round, ordered a new set of ceremonial vessels to be fashioned and brought into the Sanctuary as the old ones were defiled, built another altar, and resumed the sacrifices. No sooner was Jerusalem once more the Holy City than Antiochus died, leaving as heir ― both to his throne and to his hatred of the Jews ― his son Antiochus.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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The new king got together 50,000 foot, about 500 horse, and 80 elephants, and marched through Judea into the hill country. Bethsaron, a small town, fell into his hands, but at a place called Bethzachariah , where the road narrows, he was met by Judas and his army. Before the main bodies engaged, Eleazar, Judas' brother, noticed the tallest of the elephants fitted with a large howda and gilded battlements, and assuming that Antiochus was on its back, ran out a long way ahead of his lines, and hacking a way through the enemy's close array got near to the elephant. To reach the supposed king was impossible because of his height from the ground, so he struck the beast's under-belly, bringing it down on himself so that he was crushed to death. He had done no more than make a heroic attempt, putting glory before life itself. The rider of the elephant was in fact a commoner; even if he had happened to be Antiochus, Eleazar would have achieved nothing by his daring but the reputation of having gone to certain death in the mere hope of a brilliant success. To his brother the tragedy was a presage of the final issue. Determined and prolonged as was the Jews' resistance, superior numbers and fortune's favor gave the king's soldiers the victory; with most of his own men dead, Judas fled with the remnant to the toparchy of Gophna. Antiochus went on to Jerusalem, where he remained only a few days, till lack of supplies compelled him to withdraw, leaving a garrison that he thought adequate, and taking the rest of his forces to winter quarters in Syria.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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After the king's retreat Judas did not let the grass grow under his feet. Large numbers of Jews flocked to his standard, and he had already rallied the survivors of the battle; so near the village of Acedasa he challenged Antiochus generals. In the battle that followed he fought magnificently and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy, but lost his own life. Only a few days later his brother John fell victim to a plot of the pro-Syrian party.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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Judas was succeeded by another brother, Jonathan, who did everything possible to strengthen his authority in his own country, securing his position by his friendship with Rome and by making a truce with Antiochus' son. Unfortunately none of these precautions could guarantee him security. Trypho, guardian of the young Antiochus and virtually regent, had long been plotting against the boy and endeavoring to eliminate his friends; and when Jonathan came with a very small escort to Ptolemais to see Antiochus, he treacherously seized and imprisoned him, and launched a campaign against the Jews. Then repulsed by Simon, Jonathan's brother, he avenged his defeat by murdering Jonathan.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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Simon's conduct of affairs was most efficient. He reduced Gazara, Joppa, and Jamnia in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, and demolished the Citadel after overwhelming the garrison. Later he allied himself with Antiochus against Trypho, whom Antiochus was besieging in Dora before marching against the Parthians. But he did not cause the king to modify his ambitions by helping him to destroy Trypho: it was not long before Antiochus sent an army under his general Cendebaeus to ravage Judea and reduce Simon to subjection. Simon in spite of his years showed a young man's vigor in his conduct of the campaign; he sent his sons ahead of his stoutest men, while he himself at the head of a section of his army took the offensive in another direction. He also placed large numbers of men in ambush all over the hill country and was successful in every onset; so brilliant was his victory that he was appointed high priest, and after 170 years of Macedonian control gave the Jews their freedom.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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He too was the victim of a plot: he was assassinated at a banquet by Ptolemy, his son-in-law, who after locking up Simon's wife and two of his sons sent a party to murder the third son, John Hyrcanus. Warned of their approach the youngster made a dash for the City, having great confidence in the people, who remembered what his father had achieved and were disgusted with Ptolemy's iniquitous conduct. Ptolemy hurled himself against another gate but was thrown back by the citizens, who had already welcomed Hyrcanus with open arms. Ptolemy at once retired to one of the forts above Jericho, called Dagon; Hyrcanus, invested with the high priesthood like his father before him, offered sacrifice to God and then hurried after Ptolemy to rescue his mother and brothers.

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Those who are not familiar with Josephus' writings may wonder why ― thus far ― there has been no information presented in this thread (subsequent to the OP) with regard to THE Jewish War of which the title and OP speak. Perhaps that may be cleared up by this.

[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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His attack on the fort started promisingly enough, but was held up by his natural feelings. Every time Ptolemy was in a difficulty, he brought out John's mother and brothers on to the rampart where they could be seen by all, and began to torture them, threatening to throw them headlong unless John broke off the siege forthwith. This atrocity filled Hyrcanus with anger, and still more pity and fear; but neither torture nor the threat of death could make his mother flinch ― she stretched out her arms and implored her son on no account to let her cruel sufferings induce him to spare the vile creature; better death at Ptolemy's hands than live without end, so long as he paid for his wrongs to their house. Whenever John, thrilled by his mother's fortitude, listened to her entreaties, he launched a fresh attack; but when he saw her flesh torn with the lash, his resolution weakened and his feelings overcame him. This dragged out the siege till the Year of Rest came round, for like the seventh day, the seventh year is observed by the Jews as a time of rest. This freed Ptolemy from the siege, and after putting John's mother and brothers to death he fled to Zeno Cotulas, the autocrat of Philadelphia.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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Antiochus, eager to avenge his defeat at Simon's hands, marched into Judea and pitching his camp before Jerusalem besieged Hyrcanus. Hyrcanus opened the tomb of David, the wealthiest of kings, and removed more than 3,000 talents. With a tenth of this sum he bribed Antiochus to raise the siege. With the balance he did what no Jew had ever done before; he maintained a body of mercenaries.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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When later Antiochus marched against the Parthians, giving him a chance to retaliate, Hyrcanus at once launched a campaign against the towns of Northern Palestine, correctly assuming that he would find no first-class troops in them. Medabe and Gamaea with the towns nearby submitted, as did Shechem and Gerizim. He was successful also against the Cuthaeans, the people living round the copy of the Temple at Jerusalem. In Idumaea a number of towns submitted, including Adora and Marisa.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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Advancing to Samaria, where now stands Sebaste, the city built by King Herod, he constructed a wall right round and entrusted the siege to his sons Aristobulus and Antigonus. They pressed it relentlessly, bringing the inhabitants so near to starvation that they resorted to the most unwonted food. They appealed for aid to Antiochus and his men. Chased by the brothers all the way to Scythopolis he managed to escape; they, returning to Samaria, again shut the people inside the walls, then took the city, demolished it, and enslaved the inhabitants. As success followed success they lost none of their ardor, but marching their forces as far as Scythopolis overran that region and ravaged all the country inland from Mount Carmel.

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[John Reece]

The Jewish War

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Jealousy of the continued success of John and his sons aroused the bitter hostility of their fellow countrymen, who gathered in large numbers and engaged in active opposition, which at last flared up in open war and ended in defeat. The rest of his natural life John enjoyed prosperity, and after no less than thirty-years of admirable administration he died leaving five sons, blessed if ever a man was and with no cause to blame fortune as far as he was concerned. He alone enjoyed the three greatest privileges at once ― political power, the high priesthood, and the prophetic gift. So constant was his divine inspiration that no future event was hidden from him; for instance, he foresaw and foretold that his two eldest sons would not retain control of the state. Their overthrow is a story worth telling, so far did they fall below their predecessor's prosperity.

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