CONCERNING THE ENMITY BETWEEN HEROD AND PHERORAS; HOW HEROD SENT ANTIPATER TO CAESAR; AND OF THE DEATH OF PHERORAS. FJAJ 17.13
1. WHEN Herod had punished those Pharisees who had been convicted of
the foregoing crimes, he gathered an assembly together of his friends,
and accused Pheroras's wife; and ascribing the abuses of the virgins to
the impudence of that woman, brought an accusation against her for the
dishonor she had brought upon them: that she had studiously introduced
a quarrel between him and his brother, and, by her ill temper, had brought
them into a state of war, both by her words and actions; that the fines
which he had laid had not been paid, and the offenders had escaped punishment
by her means; and that nothing which had of late been done had been done
without her; "for which reason Pheroras would do well, if he would
of his own accord, and by his own command, and not at my entreaty, or as
following my opinion, put this his wife away, as one that will still be
the occasion of war between thee and me
And now, Pheroras, if thou valuest
thy relation to me, put this wife of thine away; for by this means thou
wilt continue to be a brother to me, and wilt abide in thy love to me."
Then said Pheroras, (although he was pressed hard by the former words,)
that as he would not do so unjust a thing as to renounce his brotherly
relation to him, so would he not leave off his affection for his wife;
that he would rather choose to die than to live, and be deprived of a wife
that was so dear unto him
Hereupon Herod put off his anger against Pheroras
on these accounts, although he himself thereby underwent a very uneasy
punishment
However, he forbade Antipater and his mother to have any conversation
with Pheroras, and bid them to take care to avoid the assemblies of the
women; which they promised to do, but still got together when occasion
served, and both Ptieroras and Antipater had their own merry meetings.
The report went also, that Antipater had criminal conversation with Pheroras's
wife, and that they were brought together by Antipater's mother. FJAJ 17.14
2. But Antipater had now a suspicion of his father, and was afraid that
the effects of his hatred to him might increase; so he wrote to his friends
at Rome, and bid them to send to Herod, that he would immediately send
Antipater to Caesar; which when it was done, Herod sent Antipater thither,
and sent most noble presents along with him; as also his testament, wherein
Antipater was appointed to be his successor; and that if Antipater should
die first, his son [Herod Philip] by the high priest's daughter should
succeed
And, together with Antipater, there went to Rome Sylleus the Arabian,
although he had done nothing of all that Caesar had enjoined him
Antipater
also accused him of the same crimes of which he had been formerly accused
by Herod
Sylleus was also accused by Aretas, that without his consent
he had slain many of the chief of the Arabians at Petra; and particularly
Soemus, a man that deserved to be honored by all men; and that he had slain
Fabatus, a servant of Caesar
These were the things of which Sylleus was
accused, and that on the occasion following: There was one Corinthus, belonging
to Herod, of the guards of the king's body, and one who was greatly trusted
by him
Sylleus had persuaded this man with the offer of a great sum of
money to kill Herod; and he had promised to do it
When Fabatus had been
made acquainted with this, for Sylleus had himself told him of it, he informed
the king of it; who caught Corinthus, and put him to the torture, and thereby
got out of him the whole conspiracy
He also caught two other Arabians,
who were discovered by Corinthus; the one the head of a tribe, and the
other a friend to Sylleus, who both were by the king brought to the torture,
and confessed that they were come to encourage Corinthus not to fail of
doing what he had undertaken to do; and to assist him with their own hands
in the murder, if need should require their assistance
So Saturninns,
upon Herod's discovering the whole to him, sent them to Rome. FJAJ 17.15
3. At this time Herod commanded Pheroras, that since he was so obstinate
in his affection for his wife, he should retire into his own tetrarchy;
which he did very willingly, and sware many oaths that he would not come
again till he heard that Herod was dead
And indeed when, upon a sickness
of the king, he was desired to come to him before he died, that he might
intrust him with some of his injunctions, he had such a regard to his oath,
that he would not come to him; yet did not Herod so retain his hatred to
Pheroras, but remitted of his purpose [not to see him], which he before
had, and that for such great causes as have been already mentioned: but
as soon as he began to be ill, he came to him, and this without being sent
for; and when he was dead, he took care of his funeral, and had his body
brought to Jerusalem, and buried there, and appointed a solemn mourning
for him
This [death of Pheroras] became the origin of Antipater's misfortunes,
although he were already sailed for Rome, God now being about to punish
him for the murder of his brethren, I will explain the history of this
matter very distinctly, that it may be for a warning to mankind, that they
take care of conducting their whole lives by the rules of virtue. FJAJ 17.16