CONCERNING THE EMBASSAGE OF THE JEWS TO CAIUS; (28(28) Regarding instances of the interpositions of Providence, as have been always very rare among the other idolatrous nations, but of old very many among the posterity of Abraham, the worshippers of the true God; nor do these seem much inferior to those in the Old Testament, which are the more remarkable, because, among all their other follies and vices, the Jews were not at this time idolaters; and the deliverances here mentioned were done in order to prevent their relapse into that idolatry.) AND HOW CAIUS SENT PETRONIUS INTO SYRIA TO MAKE WAR AGAINST THE JEWS, UNLESS THEY WOULD RECEIVE HIS STATUE. FJAJ 18.53
1. THERE was now a tumult arisen at Alexandria, between the Jewish inhabitants
and the Greeks; and three ambassadors were chosen out of each party that
were at variance, who came to Caius
Now one of these ambassadors from
the people of Alexandria was Apion, (29)(29) Josephus here assures us that
the ambassadors from Alexandria to Caius were on each part no more than
three in number, for the Jews, and for the Gentiles, which are but six
in all; whereas Philo, who was the principal ambassador from the Jews,
as Josephus here confesses, (as was Apion for the Gentiles,) says, the
Jews' ambassadors were themselves no fewer than live, towards the end of
his legation to Caius; which, if there be no mistake in the copies, must
be supposed the truth; nor, in that case, would Josephus have contradicted
so authentic a witness, had he seen that account of Philo's; which that
he ever did does not appear.
who uttered many blasphemies against the Jews; and, among other things
that he said, he charged them with neglecting the honors that belonged
to Caesar; for that while all who were subject to the Roman empire built
altars and temples to Caius, and in other regards universally received
him as they received the gods, these Jews alone thought it a dishonorable
thing for them to erect statues in honor of him, as well as to swear by
his name
Many of these severe things were said by Apion, by which he hoped
to provoke Caius to anger at the Jews, as he was likely to be
But Philo,
the principal of the Jewish embassage, a man eminent on all accounts, brother
to Alexander the alabarch, (30)(30) This Alexander, the alabarch,
or governor of the Jews, at Alexandria, and brother to Philo, is supposed
by Bishop Pearson, in Act. Apost. p. 41,42, to be the same with that Alexander
who is mentioned by St. Luke, as of the kindred of the high priests, Acts
4:6.
and one not unskillful in philosophy, was ready to betake himself to make
his defense against those accusations; but Caius prohibited him, and bid
him begone; he was also in such a rage, that it openly appeared he was
about to do them some very great mischief
So Philo being thus affronted,
went out, and said to those Jews who were about him, that they should be
of good courage, since Caius's words indeed showed anger at them, but in
reality had already set God against himself. FJAJ 18.54
2. Hereupon Caius, taking it very heinously that he should be thus despised
by the Jews alone, sent Petronius to be president of Syria, and successor
in the government to Vitellius, and gave him order to make an invasion
into Judea, with a great body of troops; and if they would admit of his
statue willingly, to erect it in the temple of God; but if they were obstinate,
to conquer them by war, and then to do it
Accordingly, Petronius took
the government of Syria, and made haste to obey Caesar's epistle
He got
together as great a number of auxiliaries as he possibly could, and took
with him two legions of the Roman army, and came to Ptolemais, and there
wintered, as intending to set about the war in the spring
He also wrote
word to Caius what he had resolved to do, who commended him for his alacrity,
and ordered him to go on, and to make war with them, in case they would
not obey his commands
But there came many ten thousands of the Jews to
Petronius, to Ptolemais, to offer their petitions to him, that he would
not compel them to transgress and violate the law of their forefathers;
"but if," said they, "thou art entirely resolved to bring
this statue, and erect it, do thou first kill us, and then do what thou
hast resolved on; for while we are alive we cannot permit such things as
are forbidden us to be done by the authority of our legislator, and by
our forefathers' determination that such prohibitions are instances of
virtue." But Petronius was angry at them, and said, "If indeed
I were myself emperor, and were at liberty to follow my own inclination,
and then had designed to act thus, these your words would be justly spoken
to me; but now Caesar hath sent to me, I am under the necessity of being
subservient to his decrees, because a disobedience to them will bring upon
me inevitable destruction." Then the Jews replied, "Since, therefore,
thou art so disposed, O Petronius! that thou wilt not disobey Caius's epistles,
neither will we transgress the commands of our law; and as we depend upon
the excellency of our laws, and, by the labors of our ancestors, have continued
hitherto without suffering them to be transgressed, we dare not by any
means suffer ourselves to be so timorous as to transgress those laws out
of the fear of death, which God hath determined are for our advantage;
and if we fall into misfortunes, we will bear them, in order to preserve
our laws, as knowing that those who expose themselves to dangers have good
hope of escaping them, because God will stand on our side, when, out of
regard to him, we undergo afflictions, and sustain the uncertain turns
of fortune
But if we should submit to thee, we should be greatly reproached
for our cowardice, as thereby showing ourselves ready to transgress our
law; and we should incur the great anger of God also, who, even thyself
being judge, is superior to Caius." FJAJ 18.55
3. When Petronius saw by their words that their determination was hard
to be removed, and that, without a war, he should not be able to be subservient
to Caius in the dedication of his statue, and that there must be a great
deal of bloodshed, he took his friends, and the servants that were about
him, and hasted to Tiberias, as wanting to know in what posture the affairs
of the Jews were; and many ten thousands of the Jews met Petronius again,
when he was come to Tiberias
These thought they must run a mighty hazard
if they should have a war with the Romans, but judged that the transgression
of the law was of much greater consequence, and made supplication to him,
that he would by no means reduce them to such distresses, nor defile their
city with the dedication of the statue
Then Petronius said to them, "Will
you then make war with Caesar, without considering his great preparations
for war, and your own weakness?" They replied, "We will not by
any means make war with him, but still we will die before we see our laws
transgressed." So they threw themselves down upon their faces, and
stretched out their throats, and said they were ready to be slain; and
this they did for forty days together, and in the mean time left off the
tilling of their ground, and that while the season of the year required
them to sow it. FJAJ 18.56
(31)(31) What Josephus here, and sect. 6, relates as done by the Jews seed time, is in Philo, "not far off the time when the corn was ripe," who, as Le Clerc notes, differ here one from the other. This is another indication that Josephus, when he wrote this account, had not seen Philo's Legat. ad Caiurn, otherwise he would hardly trove herein differed from him. Thus they continued firm in their resolution, and proposed to themselves to die willingly, rather than to see the dedication of the statue. FJAJ 18.57
4. When matters were in this state, Aristobulus, king Agrippa's brother,
and Heleias the Great, and the other principal men of that family with
them, went in unto Petronius, and besought him, that since he saw the resolution
of the multitude, he would not make any alteration, and thereby drive them
to despair; but would write to Caius, that the Jews had an insuperable
aversion to the reception of the statue, and how they continued with him,
and left of the tillage off their ground: that they were not willing to
go to war with him, because they were not able to do it, but were ready
to die with pleasure, rather than suffer their laws to be transgressed:
and how, upon the land's continuing unsown, robberies would grow up, on
the inability they would be under of paying their tributes; and that Caius
might be thereby moved to pity, and not order any barbarous action to be
done to them, nor think of destroying the nation: that if he continues
inflexible in his former opinion to bring a war upon them, he may then
set about it himself
And thus did Aristobulus, and the rest with him,
supplicate Petronius
So Petronius, (32)(32) This. Publius Petronius was after
this still president of Syria, under Cladius, and, at the desire of Agrippa,
published a severe decree against the inhabitants of Dora, who, in a sort
of intitation of Caius, had set op a statue of Claudius in a Jewish synagogue
there. This decree is extant, B. XIX. ch. 6. sect. 3, and greatly confirms
the present accounts of Josephus, as do the other decrees of Claudius,
relating to the like Jewish affairs, B. XIX. ch. 5. sect. 2, 3, to which
I refer the inquisitive reader.
partly on account of the pressing instances which Aristobulus and the rest
with him made, and because of the great consequence of what they desired,
and the earnestness wherewith they made their supplication, � partly on
account of the firmness of the opposition made by the Jews, which he saw,
while he thought it a terrible thing for him to be such a slave to the
madness of Caius, as to slay so many ten thousand men, only because of
their religious disposition towards God, and after that to pass his life
in expectation of punishment; Petronius, I say, thought it much better
to send to Caius, and to let him know how intolerable it was to him to
bear the anger he might have against him for not serving him sooner, in
obedience to his epistle, for that perhaps he might persuade him; and that
if this mad resolution continued, he might then begin the war against them;
nay, that in case he should turn his hatred against himself, it was fit
for virtuous persons even to die for the sake of such vast multitudes of
men
Accordingly, he determined to hearken to the petitioners in this matter. FJAJ 18.58
5. He then called the Jews together to Tiberias, who came many ten thousands
in number; he also placed that army he now had with him opposite to them;
but did not discover his own meaning, but the commands of the emperor,
and told them that his wrath would, without delay, be executed on such
as had the courage to disobey what he had commanded, and this immediately;
and that it was fit for him, who had obtained so great a dignity by his
grant, not to contradict him in any thing: � �yet," said he, "I
do not think it just to have such a regard to my own safety and honor,
as to refuse to sacrifice them for your preservation, who are so many in
number, and endeavor to preserve the regard that is due to your law; which
as it hath come down to you from your forefathers, so do you esteem it
worthy of your utmost contention to preserve it: nor, with the supreme
assistance and power of God, will I be so hardy as to suffer your temple
to fall into contempt by the means of the imperial authority
I will, therefore,
send to Caius, and let him know what your resolutions are, and will assist
your suit as far as I am able, that you may not be exposed to suffer on
account of the honest designs you have proposed to yourselves; and may
God be your assistant, for his authority is beyond all the contrivance
and power of men; and may he procure you the preservation of your ancient
laws, and may not he be deprived, though without your consent, of his accustomed
honors
But if Caius be irritated, and turn the violence of his rage upon
me, I will rather undergo all that danger and that affliction that may
come either on my body or my soul, than see so many of you to perish, while
you are acting in so excellent a manner
Do you, therefore, every one of
you, go your way about your own occupations, and fall to the cultivation
of your ground; I will myself send to Rome, and will not refuse to serve
you in all things, both by myself and by my friends." FJAJ 18.59
6. When Petronius had said this, and had dismissed rite assembly of
the Jews, he desired the principal of them to take care of their husbandry,
and to speak kindly to the people, and encourage them to have good hope
of their affairs
Thus did he readily bring the multitude to be cheerful
again
And now did God show his presence to Petronius, and signify to him
that he would afford him his assistance in his whole design; for he had
no sooner finished the speech that he made to the Jews, but God sent down
great showers of rain, contrary to human expectation; (33)(33) Josephus here uses the solemn
New Testament words, the presence and appearance of God, for the extraordinary
manifestation of his power and providence to Petronius, by sending rain
in a time of distress, immediately upon the resolution he had taken to
preserve the temple unpolluted, at the hazard of his own life, without
any other miraculous appearance at all in that case; which well deserves
to be taken notice of here, and greatly illustrates several texts, both
in the Old and New Testament.
for that day was a clear day, and gave no sign, by the appearance of the
sky, of any rain; nay, the whole year had been subject to a great drought,
and made men despair of any water from above, even when at any time they
saw the heavens overcast with clouds; insomuch that when such a great quantity
of rain came, and that in an unusual manner, and without any other expectation
of it, the Jews hoped that Petronius would by no means fail in his petition
for them
But as to Petronius, he was mightily surprised when he perceived
that God evidently took care of the Jews, and gave very plain signs of
his appearance, and this to such a degree, that those that were in earnest
much inclined to the contrary had no power left to contradict it
This
was also among those other particulars which he wrote to Caius, which all
tended to dissuade him, and by all means to entreat him not to make so
many ten thousands of these men go distracted; whom, if he should slay,
(for without war they would by no means suffer the laws of their worship
to be set aside,) he would lose the revenue they paid him, and would be
publicly cursed by them for all future ages
Moreover, that God, who was
their Governor, had shown his power most evidently on their account, and
that such a power of his as left no room for doubt about it
And this was
the business that Petronius was now engaged in. FJAJ 18.60
7. But king Agrippa, who now lived at Rome, was more and more in the
favor of Caius; and when he had once made him a supper, and was careful
to exceed all others, both in expenses and in such preparations as might
contribute most to his pleasure; nay, it was so far from the ability of
others, that Caius himself could never equal, much less exceed it (such
care had he taken beforehand to exceed all men, and particularly
to make
all agreeable to Caesar); hereupon Caius admired his understanding and
magnificence, that he should force himself to do all to please him, even
beyond such expenses as he could bear, and was desirous not to be behind
Agrippa in that generosity which he exerted in order to please him
So
Caius, when he had drank wine plentifully, and was merrier than ordinary,
said thus during the feast, when Agrippa had drunk to him: "I knew
before now how great a respect thou hast had for me, and how great kindness
thou hast shown me, though with those hazards to thyself, which thou underwentest
under Tiberius on that account; nor hast thou omitted any thing to show
thy good-will towards us, even beyond thy ability; whence it would be a
base thing for me to be conquered by thy affection
I am therefore desirous
to make thee amends for every thing in which I have been formerly deficient;
for all that I have bestowed on thee, that may be called my gifts, is but
little
Everything that may contribute to thy happiness shall be at thy
service, and that cheerfully, and so far as my ability will reach."
(34)(34) This behavior of Caius to Agrippa
is very like that of Herod Antipas, his uncle, to Herodias, Agrippa's sister,
about it John the Baptist, Matthew 14:6--11.
And this was what Caius said to Agrippa, thinking be would ask for some
large country, or the revenues of certain cities
But although he had prepared
beforehand what he would ask, yet had he not discovered his intentions,
but made this answer to Caius immediately: That it was not out of any expectation
of gain that he formerly paid his respects to him, contrary to the commands
of Tiberius, nor did he now do any thing relating to him out of regard
to his own advantage, and in order to receive any thing from him; that
the gifts he had already bestowed upon him were great, and beyond the hopes
of even a craving man; for although they may be beneath thy power, [who
art the donor,] yet are they greater than my inclination and dignity, who
am the receiver
And as Caius was astonished at Agrippa's inclinations,
and still the more pressed him to make his request for somewhat which he
might gratify him with, Agrippa replied, "Since thou, O my lord! declarest
such is thy readiness to grant, that I am worthy of thy gifts, I will ask
nothing relating to my own felicity; for what thou hast already bestowed
on me has made me excel therein; but I desire somewhat which may make thee
glorious for piety, and render the Divinity assistant to thy designs, and
may be for an honor to me among those that inquire about it, as showing
that I never once fail of obtaining what I desire of thee; for my petition
is this, that thou wilt no longer think of the dedication of that statue
which thou hast ordered to be set up in the Jewish temple by Petronius." FJAJ 18.61
8. And thus did Agrippa venture to cast the die upon this occasion,
so great was the affair in his opinion, and in reality, though he knew
how dangerous a thing it was so to speak; for had not Caius approved of
it, it had tended to no less than the loss of his life
So Caius, who was
mightily taken with Agrippa's obliging behavior, and on other accounts
thinking it a dishonorable thing to be guilty of falsehood before so many
witnesses, in points wherein he had with such alacrity forced Agrippa to
become a petitioner, and that it would look as if he had already repented
of what he had said, and because he greatly admired Agrippa's virtue, in
not desiring him at all to augment his own dominions, either with larger
revenues, or other authority, but took care of the public tranquillity,
of the laws, and of the Divinity itself, he granted him what he had requested.
He also wrote thus to Petronius, commending him for his assembling his
army, and then consulting him about these affairs. FJAJ 18.62
"If therefore,"
said' he," thou hast already erected my statue, let it stand; but
if thou hast not yet dedicated it, do not trouble thyself further about
it, but dismiss thy army, go back, and take care of those affairs which
I sent thee about at first, for I have now no occasion for the erection
of that statue
This I have granted as a favor to Agrippa, a man whom I
honor so very greatly, that I am not able to contradict what he would have,
or what he desired me to do for him." And this was what Caius wrote
to Petronius, which was before he received his letter, informing him that
the Jews were very ready to revolt about the statue, and that they seemed
resolved to threaten war against the Romans, and nothing else
When therefore
Caius was much displeased that any attempt should be made against his government
as he was a slave to base and vicious actions on all occasions, and had
no regard to What was virtuous and honorable, and against whomsoever he
resolved to show his anger, and that for any cause whatsoever, he suffered
not himself to be restrained by any admonition, but thought the indulging
his anger to be a real pleasure, he wrote thus to Petronius: "Seeing
thou esteemest the presents made thee by the Jews to be of greater value
than my commands, and art grown insolent enough to be subservient to their
pleasure, I charge thee to become thy own judge, and to consider what thou
art to do, now thou art under my displeasure; for I will make thee an example
to the present and to all future ages, that they
may not dare to contradict
the commands of their emperor." FJAJ 18.63
9. This was the epistle which Caius wrote to
Petronius; but Petronius
did not receive it while Caius was alive, that ship which carried it sailing
so slow, that other letters came to Petronius before this, by which he
understood that Caius was dead; for God would not forget the dangers Petronius
had undertaken on account of the Jews, and of his own honor
But when he
had taken Caius away, out of his indignation of what he had so insolently
attempted in assuming to himself divine worship, both Rome and all that
dominion conspired with Petronius, especially those that were of the senatorian
order, to give Caius his due reward, because he had been unmercifully severe
to them; for he died not long after he had written to Petronius that epistle
which threatened him with death
But as for the occasion of his death,
and the nature of the plot against him, I shall relate them in the progress
of this narration
Now that epistle which informed Petronius of Caius's
death came first, and a little afterward came that which commanded him
to kill himself with his own hands
Whereupon he rejoiced at this coincidence
as to the death of Caius, and admired God's providence, who, without the
least delay, and immediately, gave him a reward for the regard he had to
the temple, and the assistance he afforded the Jews for avoiding the dangers
they were in
And by this means Petronius escaped that danger of death,
which he could not foresee. FJAJ 18.64