HOW HEROD SAILED OUT OF ITALY TO JUDEA, AND FOUGHT WITH ANTIGONUS AND WHAT OTHER THINGS HAPPENED IN JUDEA ABOUT THAT TIME. FJAJ 14.117
1. BY this time Herod had sailed out of Italy to Ptolemais, and had
gotten together no small army, both of strangers and of his own countrymen,
and marched through Galilee against Antignus
Silo also, and Ventidius,
came and assisted him, being persuaded by Dellius, who was sent by Antony
to assist in bringing back Herod
Now for Ventidius, he was employed in
composing the disturbances that had been made in the cities by the means
of the Parthians; and for Silo, he was in Judea indeed, but corrupted by
Antigonus
However, as Herod went along his army increased every day, and
all Galilee, with some small exception, joined him; but as he was to those
that were in Masada, (for he was obliged to endeavor to save those that
were in that fortress now they were besieged, because they were his relations,)
Joppa was a hinderance to him, for it was necessary for him to take that
place first, it being a city at variance with him, that no strong hold
might be left in his enemies' hands behind him when he should go to Jerusalem.
And when Silo made this a pretense for rising up from Jerusalem, and was
thereupon pursued by the Jews, Herod fell upon them with a small body of
men, and both put the Jews to flight and saved Silo, when he was very poorly
able to defend himself; but when Herod had taken Joppa, he made haste to
set free those of his family that were in Masada
Now of the people of
the country, some joined him because of the friendship they had had with
his father, and some because of the splendid appearance he made, and others
by way of requital for the benefits they had received from both of them;
but the greatest number came to him in hopes of getting somewhat from him
afterward, if he were once firmly settled in the kingdom. FJAJ 14.118
2. Herod had now a strong army; and as he marched on, Antigonus laid
snares and ambushes in the passes and places most proper for them; but
in truth he thereby did little or no damage to the enemy
So Herod received
those of his family out of Masada, and the fortress Ressa, and then went
on for Jerusalem
The soldiery also that was with Silo accompanied him
all along, as did many of the citizens, being afraid of his power; and
as soon as he had pitched his camp on the west side of the city, the soldiers
that were set to guard that part shot their arrows and threw their darts
at him; and when some sallied out in a crowd, and came to fight hand to
hand with the first ranks of Herod's army, he gave orders that they should,
in the first place, make proclamation about the wall, that he came for
the good of the people, and for the preservation of the city, and not to
bear any old grudge at even his most open enemies, but ready to forget
the offenses which his greatest adversaries had done him
But Antigonus,
by way of reply to what Herod had caused to be proclaimed, and this before
the Romans, and before Silo also, said that they would not do justly, if
they gave the kingdom to Herod, who was no more than a private man, and
an Idumean, i.e
a half Jew, (28)
This affirmation of Antigonus, spoken in the days of Herod, and in a manner
to his face, that he was an Idumean, i.e. a half Jew, seems to me of much
greater authority than that pretense of his favorite and flatterer Nicolaus
of Damascus, that he derived his pedigree from Jews as far backward as
the Babylonish captivity, ch. 1. sect. 3. Accordingly Josephus always esteems
him an Idumean, though he says his father Antipater was of the same people
with the Jews, ch. viii. sect. 1. and by birth a Jew, Antiq. B. XX. ch.
8. sect. 7; as indeed all such proselytes of justice, as the Idumeans,
were in time esteemed the very same people with the Jews.
whereas they ought to bestow it on one of the royal family, as their custom
was; for that in case they at present bear an ill-will to him, and had
resolved to deprive him of the kingdom, as having received it from the
Parthians, yet were there many others of his family that might by their
law take it, and these such as had no way offended the Romans; and being
of the sacerdotal family, it would be an unworthy thing to put them by.
Now while they said thus one to another, and fell to reproaching one another
on both sides, Antigonus permitted his own men that were upon the wall
to defend themselves, who using their bows, and showing great alacrity
against their enemies, easily drove them away from the towers. FJAJ 14.119
3. And now it was that Silo discovered that he had taken bribes; for
he set a good number of his soldiers to complain aloud of the want of provisions
they were in, and to require money to buy them food; and that it was fit
to let them go into places proper for winter quarters, since the places
near the city were a desert, by reason that Antigonus's soldiers had carried
all away; so he set the army upon removing, and endeavored to march away;
but Herod pressed Silo not to depart, and exhorted Silo's captains and
soldiers not to desert him, when Caesar, and Antony, and the senate had
sent him thither, for that he would provide them plenty of all the things
they wanted, and easily procure them a great abundance of what they required;
after which entreaty, he immediately went out into the country, and left
not the least pretense to Silo for his departure; for he brought an unexpected
quantity of provisions, and sent to those friends of his who inhabited
about Samaria to bring down corn, and wine, and oil, and cattle, and all
other provisions, to Jericho, that those might be no want of a supply for
the soldiers for the time to come
Antigonus was sensible of this, and
sent presently over the country such as might restrain and lie in ambush
for those that went out for provisions
So these men obeyed the orders
of Antigonus, and got together a great number of armed men about Jericho,
and sat upon the mountains, and watched those that brought the provisions.
However, Herod was not idle in the mean time, for he took ten bands of
soldiers, of whom five were of the Romans, and five of the Jews, with some
mercenaries among them, and with some few horsemen, and came to Jericho;
and as they found the city deserted, but that five hundred of them had
settled themselves on the tops of the hills, with their wives and children,
those he took and sent away; but the Romans fell upon the city, and plundered
it, and found the houses full of all sorts of good things
So the king
left a garrison at Jericho, and came back again, and sent the Roman army
to take their winter quarters in the countries that were come over to him,
Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria
And so much did Antigonus gain of Silo
for the bribes he gave him, that part of the army should be quartered at
Lydda, in order to please Antony
So the Romans laid their weapons aside,
and lived in plenty of all things. FJAJ 14.120
4. But Herod was not pleased with lying still, but sent out his brother
Joseph against Idumea with two thousand armed footmen, and four hundred
horsemen, while he himself came to Samaria, and left his mother and his
other relations there, for they were already gone out of Masada, and went
into Galilee, to take certain places which were held by the garrisons of
Antigonus; and he passed on to Sepphoris, as God sent a snow, while Antigonus's
garrisons withdrew themselves, and had great plenty of provisions
He also
went thence, and resolved to destroy those robbers that dwelt in the caves,
and did much mischief in the country; so he sent a troop of horsemen, and
three companies of armed footmen, against them
They were very near to
a village called Arbela; and on the fortieth day after, he came himself
with his whole army: and as the enemy sallied out boldly upon him, the
left wing of his army gave way; but he appearing with a body of men, put
those to flight who were already conquerors, and recalled his men that
ran away
He also pressed upon his enemies, and pursued them as far as
the river Jordan, though they ran away by different roads
So he brought
over to him all Galilee, excepting those that dwelt in the caves, and distributed
money to every one of his soldiers, giving them a hundred and fifty drachmae
apiece, and much more to their captains, and sent them into winter quarters;
at which time Silo came to him, and his commanders with him, because Antigonus
would not give them provisions any longer, for he supplied them for no
more than one month; nay, he had sent to all the country about, and ordered
them to carry off the provisions that were there, and retire to the mountains,
that the Romans might have no provisions to live upon, and so might perish
by famine
But Herod committed the care of that matter to Pheroras, his
youngest brother, and ordered him to repair Alexandrium also
Accordingly,
he quickly made the soldiers abound with great plenty of provisions, and
rebuilt Alexandrium, which had been before desolate. FJAJ 14.121
5. About this time it was that Antony continued some time at Athens,
and that Ventidius, who was now in Syria, sent for Silo, and commanded
him to assist Herod, in the first place, to finish the present war, and
then to send for their confederates for the war they were themselves engaged
in; but as for Herod, he went in haste against the robbers that were in
the caves, and sent Silo away to Ventidius, while he marched against them.
These caves were in mountains that were exceeding abrupt, and in their
middle were no other than precipices, with certain entrances into the caves,
and those caves were encompassed with sharp rocks, and in these did the
robbers lie concealed, with all their families about them; but the king
caused certain chests to be made, in order to destroy them, and to be hung
down, bound about with iron chains, by an engine, from the top of the mountain,
it being not possible to get up to them, by reason of the sharp ascent
of the mountains, nor to creep down to them from above
Now these chests
were filled with armed men, who had long hooks in their hands, by which
they might pull out such as resisted them, and then tumble them down, and
kill them by so doing; but the letting the chests down proved to be a matter
of great danger, because of the vast depth they were to be let down, although
they had their provisions in the chests themselves
But when the chests
were let down, and not one of those in the mouths of the caves durst come
near them, but lay still out of fear, some of the armed men girt on their
armor, and by both their hands took hold of the chain by which the chests
were let down, and went into the mouths of the caves, because they fretted
that such delay was made by the robbers not daring to come out of the caves;
and when they were at any of those mouths, they first killed many of those
that were in the mouths with their darts, and afterwards pulled those to
them that resisted them with their hooks, and tumbled them down the precipices,
and afterwards went into the caves, and killed many more, and then went
into their chests again, and lay still there; but, upon this, terror seized
the rest, when they heard the lamentations that were made, and they despaired
of escaping
However, when the night came on, that put an end to the whole
work; and as the king proclaimed pardon by a herald to such as delivered
themselves up to him, many accepted of the offer
The same method of assault
was made use of the next day; and they went further, and got out in baskets
to fight them, and fought them at their doors, and sent fire among them,
and set their caves on fire, for there was a great deal of combustible
matter within them
Now there was one old man who was caught within one
of these caves, with seven children and a wife; these prayed him to give
them leave to go out, and yield themselves up to the enemy; but he stood
at the cave's mouth, and always slew that child of his who went out, till
he had destroyed them every one, and after that he slew his wife, and cast
their dead bodies down the precipice, and himself after them, and so underwent
death rather than slavery: but before he did this, he greatly reproached
Herod with the meanness of his family, although he was then king
Herod
also saw what he was doing, and stretched out his hand, and offered him
all manner of security for his life; by which means all these caves were
at length subdued entirely. FJAJ 14.122
6. And when the king had set Ptolemy over these parts of the country
as his general, he went to Samaria, with six hundred horsemen, and three
thousand armed footmen, as intending to fight Antigonus
But still this
command of the army did not succeed well with Ptolemy, but those that had
been troublesome to Galilee before attacked him, and slew him; and when
they had done this, they fled among the lakes and places almost inaccessible
laying waste and plundering whatsoever they could come at in those places.
But Herod soon returned, and punished them for what they had done; for
some of these rebels he slew, and others of them, who had fled to the strong
holds he besieged, and both slew them, and demolished their strong holds.
And when he had thus put an end to their rebellion, he laid a fine upon
the cities of a hundred talents. FJAJ 14.123
7. In the mean time, Pacorus was fallen in a battle, and the Parthians
were defeated, when Ventidius sent Macheras to the assistance of Herod,
with two legions, and a thousand horsemen, while Antony encouraged him
to make haste
But Macheras, at the instigation of Antigonus, without the
approbation of Herod, as being corrupted by money, went about to take a
view of his affairs; but Antigonus suspecting this intention of his coming,
did not admit him into the city, but kept him at a distance, with throwing
stones at him, and plainly showed what he himself meant
But when Macheras
was sensible that Herod had given him good advice, and that he had made
a mistake himself in not hearkening to that advice, he retired to the city
Emmaus; and what Jews he met with he slew them, whether they were enemies
or friends, out of the rage he was in at what hardships he had undergone.
The king was provoked at this conduct of his, and went to Samaria, and
resolved to go to Antony about these affairs, and to inform him that he
stood in no need of such helpers, who did him more mischief than they did
his enemies; and that he was able of himself to beat Antigonus
But Macheras
followed him, and desired that he would not go to Antony; or if he was
resolved to go, that he would join his brother Joseph with them, and let
them fight against Antigonus
So he was reconciled to Macheras, upon his
earnest entreaties
Accordingly, he left Joseph there with his army, but
charged him to run no hazards, nor to quarrel with Macheras. FJAJ 14.124
8. But for his own part, he made haste to Antony (who was then at the
siege of Samosata, a place upon Euphrates) with his troops, both horsemen
and footmen, to be auxiliaries to him
And when he came to Antioch, and
met there a great number of men gotten together that were very desirous
to go to Antony, but durst not venture to go, out of fear, because the
barbarians fell upon men on the road, and slew many, so he encouraged them,
and became their conductor upon the road
Now when they were within two
days' march of Samosata, the barbarians had laid an ambush there to disturb
those that came to Antony, and where the woods made the passes narrow,
as they led to the plains, there they laid not a few of their horsemen,
who were to lie still until those passengers were gone by into the wide
place
Now as soon as the first ranks were gone by, (for Herod brought
on the rear,) those that lay in ambush, who were about five hundred, fell
upon them on the sudden, and when they had put the foremost to flight,
the king came riding hard, with the forces that were about him, and immediately
drove back the enemy; by which means he made the minds of his own men courageous,
and imboldened them to go on, insomuch that those who ran away before now
returned back, and the barbarians were slain on all sides
The king also
went on killing them, and recovered all the baggage, among which were a
great number of beasts for burden, and of slaves, and proceeded on in his
march; and whereas there were a great number of those in the woods that
attacked them, and were near the passage that led into the plain, he made
a sally upon these also with a strong body of men, and put them to flight,
and slew many of them, and thereby rendered the way safe for those that
came after; and these called Herod their savior and protector. FJAJ 14.125
9. And when he was near to Samosata, Antony sent out his army in all
their proper habiliments to meet him, in order to pay Herod this respect,
and because of the assistance he had given him; for he had heard what attacks
the barbarians had made upon him [in Judea]
He also was very glad to see
him there, as having been made acquainted with the great actions he had
performed upon the road
So he entertained him very kindly, and could not
but admire his courage
Antony also embraced him as soon as he saw him,
and saluted him after a most affectionate manner, and gave him the upper
hand, as having himself lately made him a king; and in a little time Antiochus
delivered up the fortress, and on that account this war was at an end;
then Antony committed the rest to Sosius, and gave him orders to assist
Herod, and went himself to Egypt
Accordingly, Sosius sent two legions
before into Judea to the assistance of Herod, and he followed himself with
the body of the army. FJAJ 14.126
10. Now Joseph was already slain in Judea, in the manner following:
He forgot what charge his brother Herod had given him when he went to Antony;
and when he had pitched his camp among the mountains, for Macheras had
lent him five regiments, with these he went hastily to Jericho, in :order
to reap the corn thereto belonging; and as the Roman regiments were but
newly raised, and were unskillful in war, for they were in great part collected
out of Syria, he was attacked by the enemy, and caught in those places
of difficulty, and was himself slain, as he was fighting bravely, and the
whole army was lost, for there were six regiments slain
So when Antigonus
had got possession of the dead bodies, he cut off Joseph's head, although
Pheroras his brother would have redeemed it at the price of fifty talents.
After which defeat, the Galileans revolted from their commanders, and took
those of Herod's party, and drowned them in the lake, and a great part
of Judea was become seditious; but Macheras fortified the place Gitta [in
Samaria]. FJAJ 14.127
11. At this time messengers came to Herod, and informed him of what
had been done; and when he was come to Daphne by Antioch, they told him
of the ill fortune that had befallen his brother; which yet he expected,
from certain visions that appeared to him in his dreams, which clearly
foreshowed his brother's death
So he hastened his march; and when he came
to Mount Libanus, he received about eight hundred of the men of that place,
having already with him also one Roman legion, and with these he came to
Ptolemais
He also marched thence by night with his army, and proceeded
along Galilee
Here it was that the enemy met him, and fought him, and
were beaten, and shut up in the same place of strength whence they had
sallied out the day before
So he attacked the place in the morning; but
by reason of a great storm that was then very violent, he was able to do
nothing, but drew off his army into the neighboring villages; yet as soon
as the other legion that Antony sent him was come to his assistance, those
that were in garrison in the place were afraid, and deserted it in the
night time
Then did the king march hastily to Jericho, intending to avenge
himself on the enemy for the slaughter of his brother; and when he had
pitched his tents, he made a feast for the principal commanders; and after
this collation was over, and he had dismissed his guests, he retired to
his own chamber; and here may one see what kindness God had for the king,
for the upper part of the house fell down when nobody was in it, and so
killed none, insomuch that all the people believed that Herod was beloved
of God, since he had escaped such a great and surprising danger. FJAJ 14.128
12. But the next day six thousand of the enemy came down from the tops
of the mountains to fight the Romans, which greatly terrified them; and
the soldiers that were in light armor came near, and pelted the king's
guards that were come out with darts and stones, and one of them hit him
on the side with a dart
Antigonus also sent a commander against Samaria,
whose name was Pappus, with some forces, being desirous to show the enemy
how potent he was, and that he had men to spare in his war with them
He
sat down to oppose Macheras; but Herod, when he had taken five cities,
took such as were left in them, being about two thousand, and slew them,
and burnt the cities themselves, and then returned to go against Pappus,
who was encamped at a village called Isanas; and there ran in to him many
out of Jericho and Judea, near to which places he was, and the enemy fell
upon his men, so stout were they at this time, and joined battle with them,
but he beat them in the fight; and in order to be revenged on them for
the slaughter of his brother, he pursued them sharply, and killed them
as they ran away; and as the houses were full of armed men, (29)
It may be worth our observation here, that these soldiers of Herod could
not have gotten upon the tops of these houses which were full of enemies,
in order to pull up the upper floors, and destroy them beneath, but by
ladders from the out side; which illustrates some texts in the New Testament,
by which it appears that men used to ascend thither by ladders on the outsides.
See Matthew 24:17; Mark 13:15; Luke 5:19; 17:31.
and many of them ran as far as the tops of the houses, he got them under
his power, and pulled down the roofs of the houses, and saw the lower rooms
full of soldiers that were caught, and lay all on a heap; so they threw
stones down upon them as they lay piled one upon another, and thereby killed
them; nor was there a more frightful spectacle in all the war than this,
where beyond the walls an immense multitude of dead men lay heaped one
upon another
This action it was which chiefly brake the spirits of the
enemy, who expected now what would come; for there appeared a mighty number
of people that came from places far distant, that were now about the village,
but then ran away; and had it not been for the depth of winter, which then
restrained them, the king's army had presently gone to Jerusalem, as being
very courageous at this good success, and the whole work had been done
immediately; for Antigonus was already looking about how he might fly away
and leave the city. FJAJ 14.129
13. At this time the king gave order that the soldiers should go to
supper, for it was late at night, while he went into a chamber to use the
bath, for he was very weary; and here it was that he was in the greatest
danger, which yet, by God's providence, he escaped; for as he was naked,
and had but one servant that followed him, to be with him while he was
bathing in an inner room, certain of the enemy, who were in their armor,
and had fled thither, out of fear, were then in the place; and as he was
bathing, the first of them came out with his naked sword drawn, and went
out at the doors, and after him a second, and a third, armed in like manner,
and were under such a consternation, that they did no hurt to the king,
and thought themselves to have come off very well ill suffering no harm
themselves in their getting out of the house
However, on the next day,
he cut off the head of Pappus, for he was already slain, and sent it to
Pheroras, as a punishment of what their brother had suffered by his means,
for he was the man that slew him with his own hand. FJAJ 14.130
14. When the rigor of winter was over, Herod removed his army, and came
near to Jerusalem, and pitched his camp hard by the city
Now this was
the third year since he had been made king at Rome; and as he removed his
camp, and came near that part of the wall where it could be most easily
assaulted, he pitched that camp before the temple, intending to make his
attacks in the same manner as did Pompey
So he encompassed the place with
three bulwarks, and erected towers, and employed a great many hands about
the work, and cut down the trees that were round about the city; and when
he had appointed proper persons to oversee the works, even while the army
lay before the city, he himself went to Samaria, to complete his marriage,
and to take to wife the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus;
for he had betrothed her already, as I have before related. FJAJ 14.131