Chapter 13.
HOW ANTONY MADE HEROD AND PHASAELUS TETRARCHS, AFTER THEY
HAD BEEN ACCUSED TO NO PURPOSE; AND HOW THE PARTHIANS WHEN THEY BROUGHT
ANTIGONUS INTO JUDEA TOOK HYRCANUS AND PHASAELUS CAPTIVES. HEROD'S FLIGHT;
AND WHAT AFFLICTIONS HYRCANUS AND PHASAELUS ENDURED.FJAJ 14.99
1. WHEN after this Antony came into Syria, Cleopatra met him in Cilicia,
and brought him to fall in love with her
And there came now also a hundred
of the most potent of the Jews to accuse Herod and those about him, and
set the men of the greatest eloquence among them to speak
But Messala
contradicted them, on behalf of the young men, and all this in the presence
of Hyrcanus, who was Herod's father-in-law (24)
We may here take notice that espousals alone were of old esteemed a sufficient
foundation for affinity, Hyrcanus being here called father-in-law to Herod
because his granddaughter Mariarune was betrothed to him, although the
marriage was not completed till four years afterwards. See Matthew 1:16.
already
When Antony had heard both sides at Daphne, he asked Hyrcanus
who they were that governed the nation best
He replied, Herod and his
friends
Hereupon Antony, by reason of the old hospitable friendship he
had made with his father [Antipater], at that time when he was with Gabinius,
he made both Herod and Phasaelus tetrarchs, and committed the public affairs
of the Jews to them, and wrote letters to that purpose
He also bound fifteen
of their adversaries, and was going to kill them, but that Herod obtained
their pardon.FJAJ 14.100
2. Yet did not these men continue quiet when they were come back, but
a thousand of the Jews came to Tyre to meet him there, whither the report
was that he would come
But Antony was corrupted by the money which Herod
and his brother had given him; and so he gave order to the governor of
the place to punish the Jewish ambassadors, who were for making innovations,
and to settle the government upon Herod; but Herod went out hastily to
them, and Hyrcanus was with him, (for they stood upon the shore before
the city,) and he charged them to go their ways, because great mischief
would befall them if they went on with their accusation
But they did not
acquiesce; whereupon the Romans ran upon them with their daggers, and slew
some, and wounded more of them, and the rest fled away and went home, and
lay still in great consternation
And when the people made a clamor against
Herod, Antony was so provoked at it, that he slew the prisoners.FJAJ 14.101
3. Now, in the second year, Pacorus, the king of Parthia's son, and
Barzapharnes, a commander of the Parthians, possessed themselves of Syria.
Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, also was now dead, and Lysanias his son took
his government, and made a league of friendship with Antigonus, the son
of Aristobulus; and in order to obtain it, made use of that commander,
who had great interest in him
Now Antigonus had promised to give the Parthians
a thousand talents, and five hundred women, upon condition they would take
the government away from Hyrcanus, and bestow it upon him, and withal kill
Herod
And although he did not give them what he had promised, yet did
the Parthians make an expedition into Judea on that account, and carried
Antigonus with them
Pacorus went along the maritime parts, but the commander
Barzapharnes through the midland
Now the Tyrians excluded Pacorus, but
the Sidontans and those of Ptolemais received him
However, Pacorus sent
a troop of horsemen into Judea, to take a view of the state of the country,
and to assist Antigonus; and sent also the king's butler, of the same name
with himself
So when the Jews that dwelt about Mount Carmel came to Antigonus,
and were ready to march with him into Judea, Antigonus hoped to get some
part of the country by their assistance
The place is called Drymi; and
when some others came and met them, the men privately fell upon Jerusalem;
and when some more were come to them, they got together in great numbers,
and came against the king's palace, and besieged it
But as Phasaelus's
and Herod's party came to the other's assistance, and a battle happened
between them in the market-place, the young men beat their enemies, and
pursued them into the temple, and sent some armed men into the adjoining
houses to keep them in, who yet being destitute of such as should support
them, were burnt, and the houses with them, by the people who rose up against
them
But Herod was revenged on these seditious adversaries of his a little
afterward for this injury they had offered him, when he fought with them,
and slew a great number of them.FJAJ 14.102
4. But while there were daily skirmishes, the enemy waited for the coming
of the multitude out of the country to Pentecost, a feast of ours so called;
and when that day was come, many ten thousands of the people were gathered
together about the temple, some in armor, and some without
Now those that
came guarded both the temple and the city, excepting what belonged to the
palace, which Herod guarded with a few of his soldiers; and Phasaelus had
the charge of the wall, while Herod, with a body of his men, sallied out
upon the enemy, who lay in the suburbs, and fought courageously, and put
many ten thousands to flight, some flying into the city, and some into
the temple, and some into the outer fortifications, for some such fortifications
there were in that place
Phasaelus came also to his assistance; yet was
Pacorus, the general of the Parthians, at the desire of Antigonus, admitted
into the city, with a few of his horsemen, under pretence indeed as if
he would still the sedition, but in reality to assist Antigonus in obtaining
the government
And when Phasaelus met him, and received him kindly, Pacorus
persuaded him to go himself as ambassador to Barzapharnes, which was done
fraudulently
Accordingly, Phasaelus, suspecting no harm, complied with
his proposal, while Herod did not give his consent to what was done, because
of the perfidiousness of these barbarians, but desired Phasaelus rather
to fight those that were come into the city.FJAJ 14.103
5. So both Hyrcanus and Phasaelus went on the embassage; but Pacorus
left with Herod two hundred horsemen, and ten men, who were called the
freemen, and conducted the others on their journey; and when they
were in Galilee, the governors of the cities there met them in their arms.
Barzaphanles also received them at the first with cheerfulness, and made
them presents, though he afterward conspired against them; and Phasaelus,
with his horsemen, were conducted to the sea-side
But when they heard
that Antigonus had promised to give the Parthians a thousand talents, and
five hundred women, to assist him against them, they soon had a suspicion
of the barbarians
Moreover, there was one who informed them that snares
were laid for them by night, while a guard came about them secretly; and
they had then been seized upon, had not they waited for the seizure of
Herod by the Parthians that were about Jerusalem, lest, upon the slaughter
of Hyrcanus and Phasaelus, he should have an intimation of it, and escape
out of their hands
And these were the circumstances they were now in;
and they saw who they were that guarded them
Some persons indeed would
have persuaded Phasaelus to fly away immediately on horseback, and not
stay any longer; and there was one Ophellius, who, above all the rest,
was earnest with him to do so; for he had heard of this treachery from
Saramalla, the richest of all the Syrians at that time, who also promised
to provide him ships to carry him off; for the sea was just by them
But
he had no mind to desert Hyrcanus, nor bring his brother into danger; but
he went to Barzapharnes, and told him he did not act justly when he made
such a contrivance against them; for that if he wanted money, he would
give him more than Antigonus; and besides, that it was a horrible thing
to slay those that came to him upon the security of their oaths, and that
when they had done them no injury
But the barbarian swore to him that
there was no truth in any of his suspicions, but that he was troubled with
nothing but false proposals, and then went away to Pacorus.FJAJ 14.104
6. But as soon as he was gone away, some men came and bound Hyrcanus
and Phasaelus, while Phasaelus greatly reproached the Parthians for their
perjury; However, that butler who was sent against Herod had it in command
to get him without the walls of the city, and seize upon him; but messengers
had been sent by Phasaelus to inform Herod of the perfidiousness of the
Parthians
And when he knew that the enemy had seized upon them, he went
to Pacorus, and to the most potent of the Parthians, as to the lord of
the rest, who, although they knew the whole matter, dissembled with him
in a deceitful way; and said that he ought to go out with them before the
walls, and meet those which were bringing him his letters, for that they
were not taken by his adversaries, but were coming to give him an account
of the good success Phasaelus had had
Herod did not give credit to what
they said; for he had heard that his brother was seized upon by others
also; and the daughter of Hyrcanus, whose daughter he had espoused, was
his monitor also [not to credit them], which made him still more suspicious
of the Parthians; for although other people did not give heed to her, yet
did he believe her as a woman of very great wisdom.FJAJ 14.105
7. Now while the Parthians were in consultation what was fit to be done;
for they did not think it proper to make an open attempt upon a person
of his character; and while they put off the determination to the next
day, Herod was under great disturbance of mind, and rather inclining to
believe the reports he heard about his brother and the Parthians, than
to give heed to what was said on the other side, he determined, that when
the evening came on, he would make use of it for his flight, and not make
any longer delay, as if the dangers from the enemy were not yet certain.
He therefore removed with the armed men whom he had with him; and set his
wives upon the beasts, as also his mother, and sister, and her whom he
was about to marry, [Mariamne,] the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus,
with her mother, the daughter of Hyrcanus, and his youngest brother, and
all their servants, and the rest of the multitude that was with him, and
without the enemy's privity pursued his way to Idumea
Nor could any enemy
of his who then saw him in this case be so hardhearted, but would have
commiserated his fortune, while the women drew along their infant children
and left their own country, and their friends in prison, with tears in
their eyes, and sad lamentations, and in expectation of nothing but what
was of a melancholy nature.FJAJ 14.106
8. But for Herod himself, he raised his mind above the miserable state
he was in, and was of good courage in the midst of his misfortunes; and
as he passed along, he bid them every one to be of good cheer, and not
to give themselves up to sorrow, because that would hinder them in their
flight, which was now the only hope of safety that they had
Accordingly,
they tried to bear with patience the calamity they were under, as he exhorted
them to do; yet was he once almost going to kill himself, upon the overthrow
of a waggon, and the danger his mother was then in of being killed; and
this on two accounts, because of his great concern for her, and because
he was afraid lest, by this delay, the enemy should overtake him in the
pursuit: but as he was drawing his sword, and going to kill himself therewith,
those that were present restrained him, and being so many in number, were
too hard for him; and told him that he ought not to desert them, and leave
them a prey to their enemies, for that it was not the part of a brave man
to free himself from the distresses he was in, and to overlook his friends
that were in the same distresses also
So he was compelled to let that
horrid attempt alone, partly out of shame at what they said to him, and
partly out of regard to the great number of those that would not permit
him to do what he intended
So he encouraged his mother, and took all the
care of her the time would allow, and proceeded on the way he proposed
to go with the utmost haste, and that was to the fortress of Masada
And
as he had many skirmishes with such of the Parthians as attacked him and
pursued him, he was conqueror in them all.FJAJ 14.107
9. Nor indeed was he free from the Jews all along as he was in his flight;
for by that time he was gotten sixty furlongs out of the city, and was
upon the road, they fell upon him, and fought hand to hand with him, whom
he also put to flight, and overcame, not like one that was in distress
and in necessity, but like one that was excellently prepared for war, and
had what he wanted in great plenty
And in this very place where he overcame
the Jews it was that he some time afterward build a most excellent palace,
and a city round about it, and called it Herodium
And when he was come
to Idumea, at a place called Thressa, his brother Joseph met him, and he
then held a council to take advice about all his affairs, and what was
fit to be done in his circumstances, since he had a great multitude that
followed him, besides his mercenary soldiers, and the place Masada, whither
he proposed to fly, was too small to contain so great a multitude; so he
sent away the greater part of his company, being above nine thousand, and
bid them go, some one way, and some another, and so save themselves in
Idumea, and gave them what would buy them provisions in their journey.
But he took with him those that were the least encumbered, and were most
intimate with him, and came to the fortress, and placed there his wives
and his followers, being eight hundred in number, there being in the place
a sufficient quantity of corn and water, and other necessaries, and went
directly for Petra, in Arabia
But when it was day, the Parthians plundered
all Jerusalem, and the palace, and abstained from nothing but Hyrcanus's
money, which was three hundred talents
A great deal of Herod's money escaped,
and principally all that the man had been so provident as to send into
Idumea beforehand; nor indeed did what was in the city suffice the Parthians,
but they went out into the country, and plundered it, and demolished the
city Marissa.FJAJ 14.108
10. And thus was Antigonus brought back into Judea by the king of the
Parthians, and received Hyrcanus and Phasaelus for his prisoners; but he
was greatly cast down because the women had escaped, whom he intended to
have given the enemy, as having promised they should have them, with the
money, for their reward: but being afraid that Hyrcanus, who was under
the guard of the Parthians, might have his kingdom restored to him by the
multitude, he cut off his ears, and thereby took care that the high priesthood
should never come to him any more, because he was maimed, while the law
required that this dignity should belong to none but such as had all their
members entire (25)
This law of Moses, that the priests were to be "without blemish,"
as to all the parts of their bodies, is in Leviticus 21:17-24
But now one cannot but here admire the fortitude of Phasaelus, who, perceiving
that he was to be put to death, did not think death any terrible thing
at all; but to die thus by the means of his enemy, this he thought a most
pitiable and dishonorable thing; and therefore, since he had not his hands
at liberty, but the bonds he was in prevented him from killing himself
thereby, he dashed his head against a great stone, and thereby took away
his own life, which he thought to be the best thing he could do in such
a distress as he was in, and thereby put it out of the power of the enemy
to bring him to any death he pleased
It is also reported, that when he
had made a great wound in his head, Antigonus sent physicians to cure it,
and, by ordering them to infuse poison into the wound, killed him
However,
Phasaelus hearing, before he was quite dead, by a certain woman, that his
brother Herod had escaped the enemy, underwent his death cheerfully, since
he now left behind him one who would revenge his death, and who was able
to inflict punishment on his enemies.FJAJ 14.109