CONCERNING THE FAMINE THAT HAPPENED IN JUDEA AND SYRIA; AND HOW HEROD, AFTER HE HAD MARRIED ANOTHER WIFE, REBUILT CESAREA, AND OTHER GRECIAN CITIES. FJAJ 15.63
1. NOW on this very year, which was the thirteenth year of the reign
of Herod, very great calamities came upon the country; whether they were
derived from the anger of God, or whether this misery returns again naturally
in certain periods of time (14)
Here we have an eminent example of the language of Josephus in his writing
to Gentiles, different from that when he wrote to Jews; in his writing
to whom he still derives all such judgments from the anger of God; but
because he knew many of the Gentiles thought they might naturally come
in certain periods, he complies with them in the following sentence. See
the note on the War. B. I. ch. 33. sect. 2.
for, in the first place, there were perpetual droughts, and for that reason
the ground was barren, and did not bring forth the same quantity of fruits
that it used to produce; and after this barrenness of the soil, that change
of food which the want of corn occasioned produced distempers in the bodies
of men, and a pestilential disease prevailed, one misery following upon
the back of another; and these circumstances, that they were destitute
both of methods of cure and of food, made the pestilential distemper, which
began after a violent manner, the more lasting
The destruction of men
also after such a manner deprived those that surived of all their courage,
because they had no way to provide remedies sufficient for the distresses
they were in
When therefore the fruits of that year were spoiled, and
whatsoever they had laid up beforehand was spent, there was no foundation
of hope for relief remaining, but the misery, contrary to what they expected
still increased upon them; and this not only on that year, while they had
nothing for themselves left [at the end of it], but what seed they had
sown perished also, by reason of the ground not yielding its fruits on
the second year. FJAJ 15.64
(15) This famine for two years that affected Judea and Syria, the thirteenth mid fourteenth years of Herod, which are the twenty-third and twenty-fourth years before the Christian era, seems to have been more terrible during this time than was that in the days of Jacob, Genesis 41., 42. And what makes the comparison the more remarkable is this, that now, as well as then, the relief they had was from Egypt also; then from Joseph the governor of Egypt, under Pharaoh king of Egypt; and now from Petronius the prefect of Egypt, under Augustus the Roman emperor. See almost the like case, Antiq. B. XX. ch. 2. sect. 6. It is also well worth our observation here, that these two years were a Sabbatic year, and a year of jubilee, for which Providence, during the theocracy, used to provide a triple crop beforehand; but became now, when the Jews had forfeited that blessing, the greatest years of famine to them ever since the days of Ahab, 1 Kings 17., 18. This distress they were in made them also, out of necessity, to eat many things that did not use to be eaten; nor was the king himself free from this distress any more than other men, as being deprived of that tribute he used to have from the fruits of the ground, and having already expended what money he had, in his liberality to those whose cities he had built; nor had he any people that were worthy of his assistance, since this miserable state of things had procured him the hatred of his subjects: for it is a constant rule, that misfortunes are still laid to the account of those that govern. FJAJ 15.65
2. In these circumstances he considered with himself how to procure
some seasonable help; but this was a hard thing to be done, while their
neighbors had no food to sell them; and their money also was gone, had
it been possible to purchase a little food at a great price
However, he
thought it his best way, by all means, not to leave off his endeavors to
assist his people; so he cut off the rich furniture that was in his palace,
both of silver and gold, insomuch that he did not spare the finest vessels
he had, or those that were made with the most elaborate skill of the artificers,
but sent the money to Petronius, who had been made prefect of Egypt by
Caesar; and as not a few had already fled to him under their necessities,
and as he was particularly a friend to Herod, and desirous to have his
subjects preserved, he gave leave to them in the first place to export
corn, and assisted them every way, both in purchasing and exporting the
same; so that he was the principal, if not the only person, who afforded
them what help they had
And Herod taking care the people should understand
that this help came from himself, did thereby not only remove the ill opinion
of those that formerly hated him, but gave them the greatest demonstration
possible of his good-will to them, and care of them; for, in the first
place, as for those who were able to provide their own food, he distributed
to them their proportion of corn in the exactest manner; but for those
many that were not able, either by reason of their old age, or any other
infirmity, to provide food for themselves, he made this provision for them,
the bakers should make their bread ready for them
He also took care that
they might not be hurt by the dangers of winter, since they were in great
want of clothing also, by reason of the utter destruction and consumption
of their sheep and goats, till they had no wool to make use of, nor any
thing else to cover themselves withal
And when he had procured these things
for his own subjects, he went further, in order to provide necessaries
for their neighbors, and gave seed to the Syrians, which thing turned greatly
to his own advantage also, this charitable assistance being afforded most
seasonably to their fruitful soil, so that every one had now a plentiful
provision of food
Upon the whole, when the harvest of the land was approaching,
he sent no fewer than fifty thousand men, whom he had sustained, into the
country; by which means he both repaired the afflicted condition of his
own kingdom with great generosity and diligence, and lightened the afflictions
of his neighbors, who were under the same calamities; for there was nobody
who had been in want that was left destitute of a suitable assistance by
him; nay, further, there were neither any people, nor any cities, nor any
private men, who were to make provision for the multitudes, and on that
account were in want of support, and had recourse to him, but received
what they stood in need of, insomuch that it appeared, upon a computation,
that the number of cori of wheat, of ten attic medimni apiece, that were
given to foreigners, amounted to ten thousand, and the number that was
given in his own kingdom was about fourscore thousand
Now it happened
that this care of his, and this seasonable benefaction, had such influence
on the Jews, and was so cried up among other nations, as to wipe off that
old hatred which his violation of some of their customs, during his reign,
had procured him among all the nation, and that this liberality of his
assistance in this their greatest necessity was full satisfaction for all
that he had done of that nature, as it also procured him great fame among
foreigners; and it looked as if these calamities that afflicted his land,
to a degree plainly incredible, came in order to raise his glory, and to
be to his great advantage; for the greatness of his liberality in these
distresses, which he now demonstrated beyond all expectation, did so change
the disposition of the multitude towards him, that they were ready to suppose
he had been from the beginning not such a one as they had found him to
be by experience, but such a one as the care he had taken of them in supplying
their necessities proved him now to be. FJAJ 15.66
3. About this time it was that he sent five hundred chosen men out of
the guards of his body as auxiliaries to Caesar, whom Aelius Gallus (16)
This Aelius Gallus seems to be no other than that Aelius Lagus whom Dio
speaks of as conducting an expedition that was about this time made into
Arabia Felix, according to Betarius, who is here cited by Spanheim. See
a full account of this expedition in Prideaux, at the years 23 and 24.
led to the Red Sea, and who were of great service to him there
When therefore
his affairs were thus improved, and were again in a flourishing condition,
he built himself a palace in the upper city, raising the rooms to a very
great height, and adorning them with the most costly furniture of gold,
and marble scats, and beds; and these were so large that they could contain
very many companies of men
These apartments were also of distinct magnitudes,
and had particular names given them; for one apartment was called Caesar's,
another Agrippa's
He also fell in love again, and married another wife,
not suffering his reason to hinder him from living as he pleased
The occasion
of this his marriage was as follows: There was one Simon, a citizen of
Jerusalem, the son of one Boethus, a citizen of Alexandria, and a priest
of great note there; this man had a daughter, who was esteemed the most
beautiful woman of that time; and when the people of Jerusalem began to
speak much in her commendation, it happened that Herod was much affected
with what was said of her; and when he saw the damsel, he was smitten with
her beauty, yet did he entirely reject the thoughts of using his authority
to abuse her, as believing, what was the truth, that by so doing he should
be stigmatized for violence and tyranny; so he thought it best to take
the damsel to wife
And while Simon was of a dignity too inferior to be
allied to him, but still too considerable to be despised, he governed his
inclinations after the most prudent manner, by augmenting the dignity of
the family, and making them more honorable; so he immediately deprived
Jesus, the son of Phabet, of the high priesthood, and conferred that dignity
on Simon, and so joined in affinity with him [by marrying his daughter]. FJAJ 15.67
4. When this wedding was over, he built another citadel in that place
where he had conquered file Jews when he was driven out of his government,
and Antigonus enjoyed it
This citadel is distant from Jerusalem about
threescore furlongs
It was strong by nature, and fit for such a building.
It is a sort of a moderate hill, raised to a further height by the hand
of man, till it was of the shape of a woman's breast
It is encompassed
with circular towers, and hath a strait ascent up to it, which ascent is
composed of steps of polished stones, in number two hundred
Within it
are royal and very rich apartments, of a structure that provided both for
security and for beauty
About the bottom there are habitations of such
a structure as are well worth seeing, both on other accounts, and also
on account of the water which is brought thither from a great way off,
and at vast expenses, for the place itself is destitute of water
The plain
that is about this citadel is full of edifices, not inferior to any city
in largeness, and having the hill above it in the nature of a castle. FJAJ 15.68
5. And now, when all Herod's designs had succeeded according to his
hopes, he had not the least suspicion that any troubles could arise in
his kingdom, because he kept his people obedient, as well by the fear they
stood in of him, for he was implacable in the infliction of his punishments,
as by the provident care he had showed towards them, after the most magnanimous
manner, when they were under their distresses
But still he took care to
have external security for his government as a fortress against his subjects;
for the orations he made to the cities were very fine, and full of kindness;
and he cultivated a seasonable good understanding with their governors,
and bestowed presents on every one of them, inducing them thereby to be
more friendly to him, and using his magnificent disposition so as his kingdom
might be the better secured to him, and this till all his affairs were
every way more and more augmented
But then this magnificent temper of
his, and that submissive behavior and liberality which he exercised towards
Caesar, and the most powerful men of Rome, obliged him to transgress the
customs of his nation, and to set aside many of their laws, and by building
cities after an extravagant manner, and erecting temples, - not in Judea
indeed, for that would not have been borne, it being forbidden for us to
pay any honor to images, or representations of animals, after the manner
of the Greeks; but still he did thus in the country [properly] out of our
bounds, and in the cities thereof (17)
One may here take notice, that how tyrannical and extravagant soever Herod
were in himself, and in his Grecian cities, as to those plays, and shows,
and temples for idolatry, mentioned above, ch. 8. sect. 1, and here also;
yet durst even he introduce very few of them into the cities of the Jews,
who, as Josephus here notes, would not even then have borne them, so zealous
were they still for many of the laws of Moses, even under so tyrannical
a government as this was of Herod the Great; which tyrannical government
puts me naturally in mind of Dean Prideaux's honest reflection upon the
like ambition after such tyrannical power in Pompey and Caesar: "One
of these (says he, at the year 60) could not bear an equal, nor the other
a superior; and through this ambitions humor and thirst after more power
in these two men, the whole Roman empire being divided into two opposite
factions, there was produced hereby the most destructive war that ever
afflicted it; and the like folly too much reigns in all other places. Could
about thirty men be persuaded to live at home in peace, without enterprising
upon the rights of each other, for the vain glory of conquest, and the
enlargement of power, the whole world might be at quiet; but their ambition,
their follies, and their humor, leading them constantly to encroach upon
and quarrel with each other, they involve all that are under them in the
mischiefs thereof; and many thousands are they which yearly perish by it;
so that it may almost raise a doubt, whether the benefit which the world
receives from government be sufficient to make amends for the calamities
which it suffers from the follies, mistakes, and real-administrations of
those that manage it."
The apology which he made to the Jews for these things was this: That all
was done, not out of his own inclinations, but by the commands and injunctions
of others, in order to please Caesar and the Romans, as though he had not
the Jewish customs so much in his eye as he had the honor of those Romans,
while yet he had himself entirely in view all the while, and indeed was
very ambitious to leave great monuments of his government to posterity;
whence it was that he was so zealous in building such fine cities, and
spent such vast sums of money upon them. FJAJ 15.69
6. Now upon his observation of a place near the sea, which was very
proper for containing a city, and was before called Strato's Tower, he
set about getting a plan for a magnificent city there, and erected many
edifices with great diligence all over it, and this of white stone
He
also adorned it with most sumptuous palaces and large edifices for containing
the people; and what was the greatest and most laborious work of all, he
adorned it with a haven, that was always free from the waves of the sea.
Its largeness was not less than the Pyrmum [at Athens], and had towards
the city a double station for the ships
It was of excellent workmanship;
and this was the more remarkable for its being built in a place that of
itself was not suitable to such noble structures, but was to be brought
to perfection by materials from other places, and at very great expenses.
This city is situate in Phoenicia, in the passage by sea to Egypt, between
Joppa and Dora, which are lesser maritime cities, and not fit for havens,
on account of the impetuous south winds that beat upon them, which rolling
the sands that come from the sea against the shores, do not admit of ships
lying in their station; but the merchants are generally there forced to
ride at their anchors in the sea itself
So Herod endeavored to rectify
this inconvenience, and laid out such a compass towards the land as might
be sufficient for a haven, wherein the great ships might lie in safety;
and this he effected by letting down vast stones of above fifty feet in
length, not less than eighteen in breadth, and nine in depth, into twenty
fathom deep; and as some were lesser, so were others bigger than those
dimensions
This mole which he built by the sea-side was two hundred feet
wide, the half of which was opposed to the current of the waves, so as
to keep off those waves which were to break upon them, and so was called
Procymatia, or the first breaker of the waves; but the other half had upon
it a wall, with several towers, the largest of which was named Drusus,
and was a work of very great excellence, and had its name from Drusus,
the son-in-law of Caesar, who died young
There were also a great number
of arches where the mariners dwelt
There was also before them a quay,
[or landing place,] which ran round the entire haven, and was a most agreeable
walk to such as had a mind to that exercise; but the entrance or mouth
of the port was made on the north quarter, on which side was the stillest
of the winds of all in this place: and the basis of the whole circuit on
the left hand, as you enter the port, supported a round turret, which was
made very strong, in order to resist the greatest waves; while on the right
hand, as you enter, stood two vast stones, and those each of them larger
than the turret, which were over against them; these stood upright, and
were joined together
Now there were edifices all along the circular haven,
made of the politest stone, with a certain elevation, whereon was erected
a temple, that was seen a great way off by those that were sailing for
that haven, and had in it two statues, the one of Rome, the other of Caesar.
The city itself was called Cesarea, which was also itself built of fine
materials, and was of a fine structure; nay, the very subterranean vaults
and cellars had no less of architecture bestowed on them than had the buildings
above ground
Some of these vaults carried things at even distances to
the haven and to the sea; but one of them ran obliquely, and bound all
the rest together, that both the rain and the filth of the citizens were
together carried off with ease, and the sea itself, upon the flux of the
tide from without, came into the city, and washed it all clean
Herod also
built therein a theater of stone; and on the south quarter, behind the
port, an amphitheater also, capable of holding a vast number of men, and
conveniently situated for a prospect to the sea
So this city was thus
finished in twelve years; (18)
Cesarea being here said to be rebuilt and adorned in twelve years, and
soon afterwards in ten years, Antiq. B. XVI. ch. 5. sect. 1, there must
be a mistake in one of the places as to the true number, but in which of
them it is hard positively to determine.
during which time the king did not fail to go on both with the work, and
to pay the charges that were necessary. FJAJ 15.70