The Jewish War By Flavius Josephus

We are turning the works of Flavius Josephus into what we call Modern American Voice (MAV) where his writings are easy to understand. We release a chapter a day, so check back and read the next chapter tomorrow.

PREFACE

1.

The war between the Jews and the Romans was the greatest conflict of its time, and in many ways one of the greatest wars ever recorded. This is true whether we compare wars between cities or wars between nations. Yet some writers who knew nothing about the events gathered rumors and wrote down stories that were false and contradictory. Others had witnessed the war but still gave dishonest accounts, either because they wanted to flatter the Romans or because they hated the Jews. Their writings contain accusations in some places and praise in others, but nowhere do they give a clear and accurate account of what happened.

For the sake of those who live under Roman rule, I have decided to translate these books into Greek. I first wrote them in the language of my own people and sent them to the peoples beyond the Roman Empire. I am Joseph, the son of Matthias, a Hebrew by birth and a priest. At the beginning of the war, I fought against the Romans myself, and later I was forced to witness what happened. I am the author of this work.

2.

When this great upheaval began, Rome itself was in serious disorder. The Jews who wanted rebellion also rose up during this troubled time. They had grown strong in wealth and military power, and the whole East was thrown into confusion. Some people saw the trouble as a chance to gain something, while others feared what they might lose.

The Jews hoped that their people living beyond the Euphrates would rise with them. The Gauls near Rome were also in revolt, and the Germans were not quiet. After Nero’s death, everything was unsettled. The opportunity led many men to seek royal power, while the soldiers supported change because they hoped to receive money.

I thought it was absurd to watch the truth being distorted in matters of such great importance and say nothing. Greeks and Romans who had not taken part in the war were left ignorant of what had happened, forced to read either flattering accounts or outright inventions. Meanwhile, the Parthians, Babylonians, Arabs living in the most distant regions, Jews beyond the Euphrates, and the people of Adiabene learned the truth through me. They learned where the war began, what suffering it brought upon us, and how it finally ended.

3.

These writers have the nerve to call their accounts histories, yet they fail even in the purpose they claim to serve. They want to show the greatness of the Romans, so they reduce the achievements of the Jews. They don’t understand that conquerors cannot appear truly great when the people they defeated are made to seem weak.

They aren’t ashamed to ignore how long the war lasted, how many Roman soldiers suffered in it, or how powerful the Roman commanders were. The great efforts required to capture Jerusalem will appear worthless if everything the Romans accomplished is treated as a small matter.

4.

Still, I won’t go to the opposite extreme simply because other writers praise the Romans. I also won’t exaggerate the deeds of my own people. I will describe the actions of both sides as accurately as I can.

At the same time, I ask to speak with the feelings that naturally come over me when I describe these events. I must be allowed to mourn the suffering of my own country. Our city was destroyed by our own spirit of rebellion. The tyrants among the Jews brought Roman power against us, even though the Romans had not wanted to attack us and had been forced into the war. They were also responsible for the burning of our holy temple.

Titus Caesar, who destroyed the temple, is himself a witness to this. Throughout the war, he felt pity for the people who were held under the control of the rebels. He often delayed capturing the city by choice, giving the leaders of the revolt time to repent and surrender.

If anyone accuses me of being unfair because I speak so strongly against the tyrants and bandits, or because I mourn the suffering of my country, let him excuse these feelings. They may go against the usual rules of history, but Jerusalem had once reached a level of prosperity greater than any other city under Roman rule. In the end, it fell into the worst disaster imaginable.

When the suffering of all people since the beginning of the world is compared with the suffering of the Jews, I believe no other calamity was greater. The people responsible for this disaster weren’t foreigners. They came from among us. For that reason, I can’t hold back my sorrow. If anyone still judges me harshly, let him treat the facts as history and the mourning as the personal feeling of the writer.

5.

I can also justly criticize the educated Greeks. Great events have taken place in their own time, events that make the old wars seem small by comparison, yet these men sit as judges over the past and harshly criticize the work of the best ancient historians.

Modern writers may be better than the ancient writers at using polished language, but they are not better at carrying out the work they set out to do. They write new histories about the Assyrians and Medes, as if the earlier historians had failed to describe those matters properly. In ability, these modern writers are far below the authors they criticize, and their opinions are just as different from those of the ancient writers.

In earlier times, people wrote about the events of their own age. Their direct knowledge of those events gave their promises weight. It would also have been shameful for them to write lies when their readers could recognize those lies.

To preserve the memory of events that have never been recorded, and to explain one’s own time to those who will live afterward, is worthy of praise. A person deserves credit not for changing the arrangement of someone else’s work, but for recording what has never been written down and creating a complete history of his own.

I have spent a great deal of money and worked very hard on this history, even though I am a foreigner. I dedicate it to both the Greeks and the peoples they call barbarians, so the great events of this war will be remembered.

Some of the leading men among my own people are quick to speak when money or lawsuits are involved, but their mouths are closed when they must write history, a task that requires them to tell the truth and gather facts with great effort. They leave this work to people who are less capable and who know little about the actions of kings and rulers.

Still, I will give priority to the truth of history, no matter how little the Greek historians care about it.

6.

I don’t think this is the right time to write about the ancient history of the Jews, including who our ancestors were, how they left Egypt, what lands they crossed, what countries they later conquered, and how they were eventually driven from those places. Such an account would also be unnecessary because many Jews before me have written accurate histories of our ancestors. Some Greek writers have done the same, translating our histories into their own language without seriously distorting the truth.

I will begin where those writers and our prophets ended. I will give a full account of the war that took place during my own lifetime, with as much care as I can. I will cover the events before my time only briefly.

7.

I will explain how Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, captured Jerusalem by force and held it for three years and three months before the sons of the Hasmoneans drove him from the country.

I will then describe how their descendants fought among themselves over the government and brought the Romans and Pompey into their affairs. I will explain how Herod, the son of Antipater, ended their rule and brought Sosius against them.

I will also describe the rebellion that broke out among our people after Herod’s death, while Augustus was emperor of Rome and Quintilius Varus governed the region. I will explain how the war began in the twelfth year of Nero’s reign, what happened to Cestius, and which places the Jews attacked during the first stages of the conflict.

8.

I will describe how the Jews built walls around the nearby cities. I will explain how Nero became afraid of what the war might bring after Cestius was defeated, and how he appointed Vespasian to command the Roman forces.

I will describe how Vespasian entered Judea with his older son, the size of the Roman army he used, and how many of his supporting troops were killed throughout Galilee. I will explain which cities he captured by force and which ones surrendered through treaties and agreed terms.

At that point, I will describe the Romans’ order in battle and the discipline of their legions. I will discuss the size and character of both Galilees, as well as the boundaries of Judea. I will also give a detailed account of the country’s features, including its lakes and springs, and the suffering that came upon each city as it was captured.

I will describe these events accurately because I saw what happened and personally experienced much of the suffering. I won’t hide any of the disasters I endured, since I will be reporting them to people who know whether my account is true.

9.

I will then explain how the situation of the Jews became desperate, how Nero died, and how Vespasian was called back while preparing to attack Jerusalem so that he could take control of the empire.

I will describe the signs that appeared to him concerning his rise to power, the changes that took place in Rome, and how his soldiers forced him to become emperor even though he didn’t want the position.

When Vespasian left for Egypt to take control of the empire, the Jewish cause became even more confused. The tyrants rose against the people, then turned against one another and fell into internal disputes. I will describe these events as well.

10.

I will explain how Titus marched from Egypt into Judea for the second time, where he gathered his army, how many soldiers he brought together, and the condition in which he found Jerusalem. The rebels had thrown the city into disorder before his arrival.

I will describe the attacks Titus made, the earthworks he raised, and the three walls surrounding the city. I will give their measurements and explain the city’s strength. I will also describe the design of the temple and the inner sanctuary, including the measurements of those buildings, the altar, and everything else with as much accuracy as possible.

I will discuss some of the Jewish festivals, the seven purification rites, and the sacred duties performed by the priests. I will describe the clothing of the priests and the high priest, as well as the nature of the temple’s most holy place. I won’t hide anything that is known, and I won’t add anything that isn’t true.

11.

After that, I will describe the cruelty of the tyrants toward their own people and the Romans’ willingness to spare foreigners. I will explain how often Titus tried to save the city and the temple by inviting the rebels to make peace.

I will separate the suffering caused by the rebellion from the suffering caused by the famine, and I will explain how the people were finally captured. I won’t leave out the disasters that struck those who fled or the punishments given to the prisoners.

I will describe how the temple was burned against Caesar’s wishes, how many sacred objects stored inside it were pulled from the flames, and how the entire city was destroyed. I will record the signs and wonders that came before the destruction, the capture of the tyrants, and the great number of people who were taken as slaves and sent into different kinds of suffering.

I will also explain what the Romans did with the remaining walls, how they destroyed the fortresses throughout the country, and how Titus traveled through the land and put its affairs in order. Finally, I will describe his return to Italy and his triumph.

12.

I have included all these events in seven books. Those who know the war have no reason to accuse me of leaving out anything important. I wrote this history for people who love the truth, not for those who enjoy made-up stories.

I will begin my account with what I call the First Chapter.

BOOK I

Covering 167 Years, Beginning with Antiochus Epiphanes’ Capture of Jerusalem and Ending with the Death of Herod the Great

CHAPTER 1

How Jerusalem Was Captured and the Temple Plundered by Antiochus Epiphanes; The Deeds of Matthias and Judas Maccabeus; And the Deaths of Judas and John

1. At the time when Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, was disputing with Ptolemy VI over his claim to all of Syria, a serious conflict broke out among the leading men of Judea. They were fighting over control of the government, since none of these powerful men could stand being ruled by someone of equal rank.

Onias, one of the high priests, gained the advantage and drove the sons of Tobias out of Jerusalem. They fled to Antiochus and asked him to take them as guides and lead an army into Judea. The king was already willing to do this, so he agreed. He invaded Judea with a large army, seized Jerusalem by force, and killed many of the people who supported Ptolemy. He then allowed his soldiers to plunder the city without mercy.

Antiochus also robbed the temple and stopped the daily sacrifices of atonement. They remained suspended for three years and six months. Onias, the high priest, escaped to Ptolemy, who gave him a place in the district of Heliopolis. There Onias built a city modeled after Jerusalem and a temple patterned after the one in Jerusalem. We will discuss this matter more fully in its proper place.

2. Antiochus wasn’t satisfied with capturing Jerusalem, plundering it, and killing so many of its people. His anger grew because of the trouble he had faced during the siege. He ordered the Jews to abandon the laws of their ancestors, leave their infant sons uncircumcised, and offer pork on the altar.

The Jews resisted these commands, and the most respected among them were put to death. Bacchides had also been sent to guard the fortresses. He received these cruel orders and added his own natural brutality to them. He committed every kind of wickedness, torturing the best people in the city one at a time. Every day he threatened to destroy Jerusalem openly.

At last, his cruelty drove the suffering people to defend themselves.

3. Matthias, the son of Asamoneus, was one of the priests who lived in a village called Modin. He armed himself and his five sons, then attacked and killed Bacchides with daggers. Fearing the many enemy garrisons, Matthias fled into the mountains.

Large numbers of people joined him there. Their support gave him courage to come down from the mountains and fight the generals of Antiochus. Matthias defeated them and drove them out of Judea. Because of these victories, he gained control of the government and became ruler of his people with their full consent.

When Matthias died, he left the government to Judas, his oldest son.

4. Judas expected Antiochus to launch another attack, so he gathered an army from among his own people. He was also the first of the Jews to make a treaty of friendship with the Romans. When Epiphanes invaded Judea again, Judas defeated him and drove his forces from the country.

After this victory, Judas attacked the garrison that still remained in Jerusalem. He drove the soldiers out of the upper city and forced them into the lower city, which was called the Citadel. He then took control of the temple and purified the entire area. He rebuilt the walls around it and made new vessels for the sacred services because the old ones had been defiled.

Judas built a new altar and began offering sacrifices again. Jerusalem had now recovered its sacred worship when Antiochus died. His son, Antiochus, took his place as king and inherited his hatred of the Jews.

5. This Antiochus gathered an army of 50,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and 80 elephants. He marched through Judea toward the hill country. He captured Bethsura, a small city, and then moved toward a narrow passage at a place called Bethzacharias.

Judas met him there with his army. Before the battle began, Judas’ brother Eleazar saw the largest elephant. It carried a high tower and was covered with golden armor. Eleazar assumed that the king himself was riding it.

He ran far ahead of the Jewish army, cut his way through the enemy soldiers, and reached the elephant. He couldn’t reach the man in the tower because it was so high, but he drove his weapon into the animal’s belly. The elephant fell on Eleazar and crushed him to death.

Eleazar accomplished nothing beyond making a brave attempt, since the man on the elephant wasn’t Antiochus. Still, his action showed that he would rather die while seeking glory than remain alive without it. His mistake also became a sign to his brother Judas of how the battle would end.

The Jews fought bravely for a long time, but the king’s army was larger, and fortune favored it. Antiochus’ forces won the battle. Many Jewish soldiers were killed, and Judas took the survivors with him as he fled to the district of Gophna.

Antiochus went to Jerusalem and stayed there only a few days because he needed supplies. He then left the city. He kept a garrison behind to hold it, while the rest of his army returned to Syria for the winter.

6. Judas didn’t remain inactive after the king’s departure. More of his countrymen joined him, along with those who had escaped from the battle. He gathered them into an army and fought Antiochus’ generals again at a village called Adasa.

Judas defeated the enemy and killed many of their soldiers, but he was eventually killed in the battle himself. Only a few days later, his brother John was also attacked and killed in a plot arranged by Antiochus’ supporters.