HOW ANTIOCHUS MADE A LEAGUE WITH PTOLEMY AND HOW ONIAS PROVOKED PTOLEMY EUERGETES TO ANGER; AND HOW JOSEPH BROUGHT ALL THINGS RIGHT AGAIN, AND ENTERED INTO FRIENDSHIP WITH HIM; AND WHAT OTHER THINGS WERE DONE BY JOSEPH, AND HIS SON HYRCANUS. FJAJ 12.31
1. AFTER this Antiochus made a friendship and league with Ptolemy, and
gave him his daughter Cleopatra to wife, and yielded up to him Celesyria,
and Samaria, and Judea, and Phoenicia, by way of dowry
And upon the division
of the taxes between the two kings, all the principal men framed the taxes
of their several countries, and collecting the sum that was settled for
them, paid the same to the [two] kings
Now at this time the Samaritans
were in a flourishing condition, and much distressed the Jews, cutting
off parts of their land, and carrying off slaves
This happened when Onias
was high priest; for after Eleazar's death, his uncle Manasseh took the
priesthood, and after he had ended his life, Onias received that dignity.
He was the son of Simon, who was called The Just: which Simon was
the brother of Eleazar, as I said before
This Onias was one of a little
soul, and a great lover of money; and for that reason, because he did not
pay that tax of twenty talents of silver, which his forefathers paid to
these things out of their own estates, he provoked king Ptolemy Euergetes
to anger, who was the father of Philopater
Euergetes sent an ambassador
to Jerusalem, and complained that Onias did not pay his taxes, and threatened,
that if he did not receive them, he would seize upon their land, and send
soldiers to live upon it
When the Jews heard this message of the king,
they were confounded; but so sordidly covetous was Onias, that nothing
of things nature made him ashamed. FJAJ 12.32
2. There was now one Joseph, young in age, but of great reputation among
the people of Jerusalem, for gravity, prudence, and justice
His father's
name was Tobias; and his mother was the sister of Onias the high priest,
who informed him of the coming of the ambassador; for he was then sojourning
at a village named Phicol, (13)
The name of this place, Phicol, is the very same with that of the chief
captain of Abimelech's host, in the days of Abraham, Genesis 21:22, and
might possibly be the place of that Phicol's nativity or abode, for it
seems to have been in the south part of Palestine, as that was.
where he was born
Hereupon he came to the city [Jerusalem], and reproved
Onias for not taking care of the preservation of his countrymen, but bringing
the nation into dangers, by not paying this money
For which preservation
of them, he told him he had received the authority over them, and had been
made high priest; but that, in case he was so great a lover of money, as
to endure to see his country in danger on that account, and his countrymen
suffer the greatest damages, he advised him to go to the king, and petition
him to remit either the whole or a part of the sum demanded
Onias's answer
was this: That he did not care for his authority, and that he was ready,
if the thing were practicable, to lay down his high priesthood; and that
he would not go to the king, because he troubled not himself at all about
such matters
Joseph then asked him if he would not give him leave to go
ambassador on behalf of the nation
He replied, that he would give him
leave
Upon which Joseph went up into the temple, and called the multitude
together to a congregation, and exhorted them not to be disturbed nor aftrighted,
because of his uncle Onias's carelessness, but desired them to be at rest,
and not terrify themselves with fear about it; for he promised them that
he would be their ambassador to the king, and persuade him that they had
done him no wrong
And when the multitude heard this, they returned thanks
to Joseph
So he went down from the temple, and treated Ptolemy's ambassador
in a hospitable manner
He also presented him with rich gifts, and feasted
him magnificently for many days, and then sent him to the king before him,
and told him that he would soon follow him; for he was now more willing
to go to the king, by the encouragement of the ambassador, who earnestly
persuaded him to come into Egypt, and promised him that he would take care
that he should obtain every thing that he desired of Ptolemy; for he was
highly pleased with his frank and liberal temper, and with the gravity
of his deportment. FJAJ 12.33
3. When Ptolemy's ambassador was come into Egypt, he told the king of
the thoughtless temper of Onias; and informed him of the goodness of the
disposition of Joseph; and that he was coming to him to excuse the multitude,
as not having done him any harm, for that he was their patron
In short,
he was so very large in his encomiums upon the young man, that he disposed
both the king and his wife Cleopatra to have a kindness for him before
he came
So Joseph sent to his friends at Samaria, and borrowed money of
them, and got ready what was necessary for his journey, garments and cups,
and beasts for burden, which amounted to about twenty thousand drachmae,
and went to Alexandria
Now it happened that at this time all the principal
men and rulers went up out of the cities of Syria and Phoenicia, to bid
for their taxes; for every year the king sold them to the men of the greatest
power in every city
So these men saw Joseph journeying on the way, and
laughed at him for his poverty and meanness
But when he came to Alexandria,
and heard that king Ptolemy was at Memphis, be went up thither to meet
with him; which happened as the king was sitting in his chariot, with his
wife, and with his friend Athenion, who was the very person who had been
ambassador at Jerusalem, and had been entertained by Joseph
As soon therefore
as Athenion saw him, he presently made him known to the king, how good
and generous a young man he was
So Ptolemy saluted him first, and desired
him to come up into his chariot; and as Joseph sat there, he began to complain
of the management of Onias: to which he answered, "Forgive him, on
account of his age; for thou canst not certainly be unacquainted with this,
that old men and infants have their minds exactly alike; but thou shalt
have from us, who are young men, every thing thou desirest, and shalt have
no cause to complain." With this good humor and pleasantry of the
young man, the king was so delighted, that he began already, as though
he had had long experience of him, to have a still greater affection for
him, insomuch that he bade him take his diet in the king's palace, and
be a guest at his own table every day
But when the king was come to Alexandria,
the principal men of Syria saw him sitting with the king, and were much
offended at it. FJAJ 12.34
4. And when the day came on which the king was to let the taxes of the
cities to farm, and those that were the principal men of dignity in their
several countries were to bid for them, the sum of the taxes together,
of Celesyria, and Phoenicia, and Judea, with Samaria, [as they were bidden
for,] came to eight thousand talents
Hereupon Joseph accused the bidders,
as having agreed together to estimate the value of the taxes at too low
a rate; and he promised that he would himself give twice as much for them:
but for those who did not pay, he would send the king home their whole
substance; for this privilege was sold together with the taxes themselves.
The king was pleased to hear that offer; and because it augmented his revenues,
he said he would confirm the sale of the taxes to him
But when he asked
him this question, Whether he had any sureties that would be bound for
the payment of the money? he answered very pleasantly, "I will give
such security, and those of persons good and responsible, and which you
shall have no reason to distrust." And when he bid him name them who
they were, he replied, "I give thee no other persons, O king, for
my sureties, than thyself, and this thy wife; and you shall be security
for both parties." So Ptolemy laughed at the proposal, and granted
him the farming of the taxes without any sureties
This procedure was a
sore grief to those that came from the cities into Egypt, who were utterly
disappointed; and they returned every one to their own country with shame. FJAJ 12.35
5. But Joseph took with him two thousand foot soldiers from the king,
for he desired he might have some assistance, in order to force such as
were refractory in the cities to pay
And borrowing of the king's friends
at Alexandria five hundred talents, he made haste back into Syria
And
when he was at Askelon, and demanded the taxes of the people of Askelon,
they refused to pay any thing, and affronted him also; upon which he seized
upon about twenty of the principal men, and slew them, and gathered what
they had together, and sent it all to the king, and informed him what he
had done
Ptolemy admired the prudent conduct of the man, and commended
him for what he had done, and gave him leave to do as he pleased
When
the Syrians heard of this, they were astonished; and having before them
a sad example in the men of Askelon that were slain, they opened their
gates, and willingly admitted Joseph, and paid their taxes
And when the
inhabitants of Scythopolis attempted to affront him, and would not pay
him those taxes which they formerly used to pay, without disputing about
them, he slew also the principal men of that city, and sent their effects
to the king
By this means he gathered great wealth together, and made
vast gains by this farming of the taxes; and he made use of what estate
he had thus gotten, in order to support his authority, as thinking it a
piece of prudence to keep what had been the occasion and foundation of
his present good fortune; and this he did by the assistance of what he
was already possessed of, for he privately sent many presents to the king,
and to Cleopatra, and to their friends, and to all that were powerful about
the court, and thereby purchased their good-will to himself. FJAJ 12.36
6. This good fortune he enjoyed for twenty-two years, and was become
the father of seven sons by one wife; he had also another son, whose name
was Hyrcanus, by his brother Solymius's daughter, whom he married on the
following occasion
He once came to Alexandria with his brother, who had
along with him a daughter already marriageable, in order to give her in
wedlock to some of the Jews of chief dignity there
He then supped with
the king, and falling in love with an actress that was of great beauty,
and came into the room where they feasted, he told his brother of it, and
entreated him, because a Jew is forbidden by their law to come near to
a foreigner, to conceal his offense; and to be kind and subservient to
him, and to give him an opportunity of fulfilling his desires
Upon which
his brother willingly entertained the proposal of serving him, and adorned
his own daughter, and brought her to him by night, and put her into his
bed
And Joseph, being disordered with drink, knew not who she was, and
so lay with his brother's daughter; and this did he many times, and loved
her exceedingly; and said to his brother, that he loved this actress so
well, that he should run the hazard of his life [if he must part with her],
and yet probably the king would not give him leave [to take her with him].
But his brother bid him be in no concern about that matter, and told him
he might enjoy her whom he loved without any danger, and might have her
for his wife; and opened the truth of the matter to him, and assured him
that he chose rather to have his own daughter abused, than to overlook
him, and se him come to [public] disgrace
So Joseph commended him for
this his brotherly love, and married his daughter; and by her begat a son,
whose name was Hyrcanus, as we said before
And when this his youngest
son showed, at thirteen years old, a mind that was both courageous and
wise, and was greatly envied by his brethren, as being of a genius much
above them, and such a one as they might well envy, Joseph had once a mind
to know which of his sons had the best disposition to virtue; and when
he sent them severally to those that had then the best reputation for instructing
youth, the rest of his children, by reason of their sloth and unwillingness
to take pains, returned to him foolish and unlearned
After them he sent
out the youngest, Hyrcanus, and gave him three hundred yoke of oxen, and
bid him go two days' journey into the wilderness, and sow the land there,
and yet kept back privately the yokes of the oxen that coupled them together.
When Hyrcanus came to the place, and found he had no yokes with him, he
contenmed the drivers of the oxen, who advised him to send some to his
father, to bring them some yokes; but he thinking that he ought not to
lose his time while they should be sent to bring him the yokes, he invented
a kind of stratagem, and what suited an age older than his own; for he
slew ten yoke of the oxen, and distributed their flesh among the laborers,
and cut their hides into several pieces, and made him yokes, and yoked
the oxen together with them; by which means he sowed as much land as his
father had appointed him to sow, and returned to him
And when he was come
back, his father was mightily pleased with his sagacity, and commended
the sharpness of his understanding, and his boldness in what he did
And
he still loved him the more, as if he were his only genuine son, while
his brethren were much troubled at it. FJAJ 12.37
7. But when one told him that Ptolemy had a son just born, and that
all the principal men of Syria, and the other countries subject to him,
were to keep a festival, on account of the child's birthday, and went away
in haste with great retinues to Alexandria, he was himself indeed hindered
from going by old age; but he made trial of his sons, whether any of them
would be willing to go to the king
And when the elder sons excused themselves
from going, and said they were not courtiers good enough for such conversation,
and advised him to send their brother Hyrcanus, he gladly hearkened to
that advice, and called Hyrcanus, and asked him whether he would go to
the king, and whether it was agreeable to him to go or not
And upon his
promise that he would go, and his saying that he should not want much money
for his journey, because he would live moderately, and that ten thousand
drachmas would be sufficient, he was pleased with his son's prudence
After
a little while, the son advised his father not to send his presents to
the king from thence, but to give him a letter to his steward at Alexandria,
that he might furnish him with money, for purchasing what should be most
excellent and most precious
So he thinking that the expense of ten talents
would be enough for presents to be made the king, and commending his son,
as giving him good advice, wrote to Arion his steward, that managed all
his money matters at Alexandria; which money was not less than three thousand
talents on his account, for Joseph sent the money he received in Syria
to Alexandria
And when the day appointed for the payment of the taxes
to the king came, he wrote to Arion to pay them
So when the son had asked
his father for a letter to the steward, and had received it, he made haste
to Alexandria
And when he was gone, his brethren wrote to all the king's
friends, that they should destroy him. FJAJ 12.38
8. But when he was come to Alexaudria, he delivered his letter to Arion,
who asked him how many talents he would have (hoping he would ask for no
more than ten, or a little more); he said he wanted a thousand talents.
At which the steward was angry, and rebuked him, as one that intended to
live extravagantly; and he let him know how his father had gathered together
his estate by painstaking, and resisting his inclinations, and wished him
to imitate the example of his father: he assured him withal, that he would
give him but ten talents, and that for a present to the king also
The
son was irritated at this, and threw Arion into prison
But when Arion's
wife had informed Cleopatra of this, with her entreaty, that she would
rebuke the child for what he had done, (for Arion was in great esteem with
her,) Cleopatra informed the king of it
And Ptolemy sent for Hyrcanus,
and told him that he wondered, when he was sent to him by his father, that
he had not yet come into his presence, but had laid the steward in prison.
And he gave order, therefore, that he should come to him, and give an account
of the reason of what he had done
And they report that the answer he made
to the king's messenger was this: That "there was a law of his that
forbade a child that was born to taste of the sacrifice, before he had
been at the temple and sacrificed to God
According to which way of reasoning
he did not himself come to him in expectation of the present he was to
make to him, as to one who had been his father's benefactor; and that he
had punished the slave for disobeying his commands, for that it mattered
not Whether a master was little or great: so that unless we punish such
as these, thou thyself mayst also expect to be despised by thy subjects."
Upon hearing this his answer he fell a laughing, and wondered at the great
soul of the child. FJAJ 12.39
9. When Arion was apprized that this was the king's disposition, and
that he had no way to help himself, he gave the child a thousand talents,
and was let out of prison
So after three days were over, Hyrcanus came
and saluted the king and queen
They saw him with pleasure, and feasted
him in an obliging manner, out of the respect they bare to his father.
So he came to the merchants privately, and bought a hundred boys, that
had learning, and were in the flower of their ages, each at a talent apiece;
as also he bought a hundred maidens, each at the same price as the other.
And when he was invited to feast with the king among the principal men
in the country, he sat down the lowest of them all, because he was little
regarded, as a child in age still; and this by those who placed every one
according to their dignity
Now when all those that sat with him had laid
the bones Of the several parts on a heap before Hyrcanus, (for they had
themselves taken away the flesh belonging to them,) till the table where
he sat was filled full with them, Trypho, who was the king's jester, and
was appointed for jokes and laughter at festivals, was now asked by the
guests that sat at the table [to expose him to laughter]
So he stood by
the king, and said, "Dost thou not see, my lord, the bones that lie
by Hyrcanus? by this similitude thou mayst conjecture that his father made
all Syria as bare as he hath made these bones." And the king laughing
at what Trypho said, and asking of Hyrcanus, How he came to have so many
bones before him? he replied," Very rightfully, my lord; for they
are dogs that eat the flesh and the bones together, as these thy guests
have done, (looking in the mean time at those guests,) for there is nothing
before them; but they are men that eat the flesh, and cast away the hones,
as I, who am also a man, have now done." Upon which the king admired
at his answer, which was so wisely made; and bid them all make an acclamation,
as a mark of their approbation of his jest, which was truly a facetious
one
On the next day Hyrcanus went to every one of the king's friends,
and of the men powerful at court, and saluted them; but still inquired
of the servants what present they would make the king on his son's birthday;
and when some said that they would give twelve talents, and that others
of greater dignity would every one give according to the quantity of their
riches, he pretended to every one of them to be grieved that he was not
able to bring so large a present; for that he had no more than five talents.
And when the servants heard what he said, they told their masters; and
they rejoiced in the prospect that Joseph would be disapproved, and would
make the king angry, by the smallness of his present
When the day came,
the others, even those that brought the most, offered the king not above
twenty talents; but Hyrcanus gave to every one of the hundred boys and
hundred maidens that he had bought a talent apiece, for them to carry,
and introduced them, the boys to the king, and the maidens to Cleopatra;
every body wondering at the unexpected richness of the presents, even the
king and queen themselves
He also presented those that attended about
the king with gifts to the value of a great number of talents, that he
might escape the danger he was in from them; for to these it was that Hyrcanus's
brethren had written to destroy him
Now Ptolemy admired at the young man's
magnanimity, and commanded him to ask what gift he pleased
But he desired
nothing else to be done for him by the king than to write to his father
and brethren about him
So when the king had paid him very great respects,
and had given him very large gifts, and had written to his father and his
brethren, and all his commanders and officers, about him, he sent him away.
But when his brethren heard that Hyrcanus had received such favors from
the king, and was returning home with great honor, they went out to meet
him, and to destroy him, and that with the privity of their father; for
he was angry at him for the [large] sum of money that he bestowed for presents,
and so had no concern for his preservation
However, Joseph concealed the
anger he had at his son, out of fear of the king
And when Hyrcanus's brethren
came to fight him, he slew many others of those that were with them, as
also two of his brethren themselves; but the rest of them escaped to Jerusalem
to their father
But when Hyrcanus came to the city, where nobody would
receive him, he was afraid for himself, and retired beyond the river Jordan,
and there abode, but obliging the barbarians to pay their taxes. FJAJ 12.40
10. At this time Seleucus, who was called Soter, reigned over Asia,
being the son of Antiochus the Great
And [now] Hyrcanus's father, Joseph,
died
He was a good man, and of great magnanimity; and brought the Jews
out of a state of poverty and meanness, to one that was more splendid.
He retained the farm of the taxes of Syria, and Phoenicia, and Samaria
twenty-two years
His uncle also, Onias, died [about this time], and left
the high priesthood to his son Simeon
And when he was dead, Onias his
son succeeded him in that dignity
To him it was that Areus, king of the
Lacedemonians, sent an embassage, with an epistle; the copy whereof here
follows: FJAJ 12.41
"AREUS, KING OF THE LACEDEMONIANS, TO ONIAS, SENDETH GREETING. FJAJ 12.42
"We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered
that both the Jews and the Lacedemonians are of one stock, and are derived
from the kindred of Abraham (14)
Whence it comes that these Lacedemonians declare themselves here to be
of kin to the Jews, as derived from the same ancestor, Abraham, I cannot
tell, unless, as Grotius supposes, they were derived from Dores, that came
of the Pelasgi. These are by Herodotus called Barbarians, and perhaps were
derived from the Syrians and Arabians, the posterity of Abraham by Keturah.
See Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 10. sect. 22; and Of the War, B. I. ch. 26. sect.
l; and Grot. on 1 Macc. 12:7. We may further observe from the Recognitions
of Clement, that Eliezer, of Damascus, the servant of Abraham, Genesis
15:2; 24., was of old by some taken for his son. So that if the Lacedemonians
were sprung from him, they might think themselves to be of the posterity
of Abraham, as well as the Jews, who were sprung from Isaac. And perhaps
this Eliezer of Damascus is that very Damascus whom Trogus Pompeius, as
abridged by Justin, makes the founder of the Jewish nation itself, though
he afterwards blunders, and makes Azelus, Adores, Abraham, and Israel kings
of Judea, and successors to this Damascus. It may not be improper to observe
further, that Moses Chorenensis, in his history of the Armenians, informs
us, that the nation of the Parthians was also derived from Abraham by Keturah
and her children.
It is but just therefore that you, who are our brethren, should send to
us about any of your concerns as you please
We will also do the same thing,
and esteem your concerns as our own, and will look upon our concerns as
in common with yours
Demoteles, who brings you this letter, will bring
your answer back to us
This letter is four-square; and the seal is an
eagle, with a dragon in his claws." FJAJ 12.43
11. And these were the contents of the epistle which was sent
from the king of the Lacedemonians
But, upon the death of Joseph, the
people grew seditious, on account of his sons
For whereas the elders made
war against Hyrcanus, who was the youngest of Joseph's sons, the multitude
was divided, but the greater part joined with the elders in this war; as
did Simon the high priest, by reason he was of kin to them
However, Hyrcanus
determined not to return to Jerusalem any more, but seated himself beyond
Jordan, and was at perpetual war with the Arabians, and slew many of them,
and took many of them captives
He also erected a strong castle, and built
it entirely of white stone to the very roof, and had animals of a prodigious
magnitude engraven upon it
He also drew round it a great and deep canal
of water
He also made caves of many furlongs in length, by hollowing a
rock that was over against him; and then he made large rooms in it, some
for feasting, and some for sleeping and living in
He introduced also a
vast quantity of waters which ran along it, and which were very delightful
and ornamental in the court
But still he made the entrances at the mouth
of the caves so narrow, that no more than one person could enter by them
at once
And the reason why he built them after that manner was a good
one; it was for his own preservation, lest he should be besieged by his
brethren, and run the hazard of being caught by them
Moreover, he built
courts of greater magnitude than ordinary, which he adorned with vastly
large gardens
And when he had brought the place to this state, he named
it Tyre
This place is between Arabia and Judea, beyond Jordan, not far
from the country of Heshbon
And he ruled over those parts for seven years,
even all the time that Seleucus was king of Syria
But when he was dead,
his brother Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, took the kingdom
Ptolemy
also, the king of Egypt, died, who was besides called Epiphanes
He left
two sons, and both young in age; the elder of which was called Philometer,
and the youngest Physcon
As for Hyrcanus, when he saw that Antiochus had
a great army, and feared lest he should be caught by him, and brought to
punishment for what he had done to the Arabians, he ended his life, and
slew himself with his own hand; while Antiochus seized upon all his substance. FJAJ 12.44