CONCERNING ZAMARIS, THE BABYLONIAN JEW; CONCERNING THE PLOTS LAID BY ANTIPATER AGAINST HIS FATHER; AND SOMEWHAT ABOUT THE PHARISEES. FJAJ 17.7
1. AND now it was that Herod, being desirous of securing himself on
the side of the Trachonites, resolved to build a village as large as a
city for the Jews, in the middle of that country, which might make his
own country difficult to be assaulted, and whence he might be at hand to
make sallies upon them, and do them a mischief
Accordingly, when he understood
that there was a man that was a Jew come out of Babylon, with five hundred
horsemen, all of whom could shoot their arrows as they rode on horde-back,
and, with a hundred of his relations, had passed over Euphrates, and now
abode at Antioch by Daphne of Syria, where Saturninus, who was then president,
had given them a place for habitation, called Valatha, he sent for this
man, with the multitude that followed him, and promised to give him land
in the toparchy called Batanea, which country is bounded with Trachonitis,
as desirous to make that his habitation a guard to himself
He also engaged
to let him hold the country free from tribute, and that they should dwell
entirely without paying such customs as used to be paid, and gave it him
tax-free. FJAJ 17.8
2. The Babylonian was reduced by these offers to come hither; so he
took possession of the land, and built in it fortresses and a village,
and named it Bathyra
Whereby this man became a safeguard to the inhabitants
against the Trachonites, and preserved those Jews who came out of Babylon,
to offer their sacrifices at Jerusalem, from being hurt by the Trachonite
robbers; so that a great number came to him from all those parts where
the ancient Jewish laws were observed, and the country became full of people,
by reason of their universal freedom from taxes
This continued during
the life of Herod; but when Philip, who was [tetrarch] after him, took
the government, he made them pay some small taxes, and that for a little
while only; and Agrippa the Great, and his son of the same name, although
they harassed them greatly, yet would they not take their liberty away.
From whom, when the Romans have now taken the government into their own
hands, they still gave them the privilege of their freedom, but oppress
them entirely with the imposition of taxes
Of which matter I shall treat
more accurately in the progress of this history. FJAJ 17.9
(2) This is now wanting. FJAJ 17.10
3. At length Zamaris the Babylonian, to whom Herod had given that country
for a possession, died, having lived virtuously, and left children of a
good character behind him; one of whom was Jacim, who was famous for his
valor, and taught his Babylonians how to ride their horses; and a troop
of them were guards to the forementioned kings
And when Jacim was dead
in his old age, he left a son, whose name was Philip, one of great strength
in his hands, and in other respects also more eminent for his valor than
any of his contemporaries; on which account there was a confidence and
firm friendship between him and king Agrippa
He had also an army which
he maintained as great as that of a king, which he exercised and led wheresoever
lie had occasion to march. FJAJ 17.11
4. When the affairs of Herod were in the condition I have described,
all the public affairs depended upon Antipater; and his power was such,
that he could do good turns to as many as he pleased, and this by his father's
concession, in hopes of his good-will and fidelity to him; and this till
he ventured to use his power still further, because his wicked designs
were concealed from his father, and he made him believe every thing he
said
He was also formidable to all, not so much on account of the power
and authority he had, as for the shrewdness of his vile attempts beforehand;
but he who principally cultivated a friendship with him was Pheroras, who
received the like marks of his friendship; while Antipater had cunningly
encompassed him about by a company of women, whom he placed as guards about
him; for Pheroras was greatly enslaved to his wife, and to her mother,
and to her sister; and this notwithstanding the hatred he bare them for
the indignities they had offered to his virgin daughters
Yet did he bear
them, and nothing was to he done without the women, who had got this man
into their circle, and continued still to assist each other in all things,
insomuch that Antipater was entirely addicted to them, both by himself
and by his mother; for these four women, (3)
Pheroras's wife, and her mother and sister, and Doris, Antipater's mother.
said all one and the same thing; but the opinions of Pheroras and Antipater
were different in some points of no consequence
But the king's sister
[Salome] was their antagonist, who for a good while had looked about all
their affairs, and was apprized that this their friendship was made in
order to do Herod some mischief, and was disposed to inform the king of
it
And since these people knew that their friendship was very disagreeable
to Herod, as tending to do him a mischief, they contrived that their meetings
should not be discovered; so they pretended to hate one another, and to
abuse one another when time served, and especially when Herod was present,
or when any one was there that would tell him: but still their intimacy
was firmer than ever, when they were private
And this was the course they
took
But they could not conceal from Salome neither their first contrivance,
when they set about these their intentions, nor when they had made some
progress in them; but she searched out every thing; and, aggravating the
relations to her brother, declared to him, as well their secret assemblies
and compotations, as their counsels taken in a clandestine manner, which
if they were not in order to destroy him, they might well enough have been
open and public
But to appearance they are at variance, and speak about
one another as if they intended one another a mischief, but agree so well
together when they are out of the sight of the multitude; for when they
are alone by themselves, they act in concert, and profess that they will
never leave off their friendship, but will fight against those from whom
they conceal their designs
And thus did she search out these things, and
get a perfect knowledge of them, and then told her brother of them, who
understood also of himself a great deal of what she said, but still durst
not depend upon it, because of the suspicions he had of his sister's calumnies.
For there was a certain sect of men that were Jews, who valued themselves
highly upon the exact skill they had in the law of their fathers, and made
men believe they were highly favored by God, by whom this set of women
were inveigled
These are those that are called the sect of the Pharisees,
who were in a capacity of greatly opposing kings
A cunning sect they were,
and soon elevated to a pitch of open fighting and doing mischief
Accordingly,
when all the people of the Jews gave assurance of their good-will to Caesar,
and to the king's government, these very men did not swear, being above
six thousand; and when the king imposed a fine upon them, Pheroras's wife
paid their fine for them
In order to requite which kindness of hers, since
they were believed to have the foreknowledge of things to come by Divine
inspiration, they foretold how God had decreed that Herod's government
should cease, and his posterity should be deprived of it; but that the
kingdom should come to her and Pheroras, and to their children
These predictions
were not concealed from Salome, but were told the king; as also how they
had perverted some persons about the palace itself; so the king slew such
of the Pharisees as were principally accused, and Bagoas the eunuch, and
one Carus, who exceeded all men of that time in comeliness, and one that
was his catamite
He slew also all those of his own family who had consented
to what the Pharisees foretold; and for Bagoas, he had been puffed up by
them, as though he should be named the father and the benefactor of him
who, by the prediction, was foretold to be their appointed king; for that
this king would have all things in his power, and would enable Bagoas to
marry, and to have children of his own body begotten. FJAJ 17.12