The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of JerusalemJosephus, Flavius
Religion
The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem
Josephus, Flavius
Jews -- History
31 (return) [ From this name of Joseph the son of Gorion, or Gorion
the son of Joseph, as B. IV. ch. 3. sect. 9, one of the governors of
Jerusalem, who was slain at the beginning of the tumults by the zealots,
B. IV. ch. 6. sect. 1, the much later Jewish author of a history of that
nation takes his title, and yet personates our true Josephus, the son of
Matthias; but the cheat is too gross to be put upon the learned world.]
32 (return) [ We may observe here, that the Idumeans, as having been
proselytes of justice since the days of John Hyrcanus, during about one
hundred and ninety-five years, were now esteemed as part of the Jewish
nation, and these provided of a Jewish commander accordingly. See the
note upon Antiq. B. XIII.. ch. 9. sect. 1.]
33 (return) [ We see here, and in Josephus's account of his own life,
sect. 14, how exactly he imitated his legislator Moses, or perhaps only
obeyed what he took to be his perpetual law, in appointing seven lesser
judges, for smaller causes, in particular cities, and perhaps for
the first hearing of greater causes, with the liberty of an appeal to
seventy-one supreme judges, especially in those causes where life and
death were concerned; as Antiq. B. IV. ch. 8. sect. 14; and of his Life,
sect. 14. See also Of the War, B. IV. ch. 5. sect. 4. Moreover, we find,
sect. 7, that he imitated Moses, as well as the Romans, in the number
and distribution of the subaltern officers of his army, as Exodus 18:25;
Deuteronomy 1:15; and in his charge against the offenses common among
soldiers, as Denteronomy 13:9; in all which he showed his great wisdom
and piety, and skillful conduct in martial affairs. Yet may we discern
in his very high character of Artanus the high priest, B. IV. ch. 5.
sect. 2, who seems to have been the same who condemned St. James, bishop
of Jerusalem, to be stoned, under Albinus the procurator, that when
he wrote these books of the War, he was not so much as an Ebionite
Christian; otherwise he would not have failed, according to his usual
custom, to have reckoned this his barbarous murder as a just punishment
upon him for that his cruelty to the chief, or rather only Christian
bishop of the circumcision. Nor, had he been then a Christian, could he
immediately have spoken so movingly of the causes of the destruction
of Jerusalem, without one word of either the condemnation of James,
or crucifixion of Christ, as he did when he was become a Christian
afterward.]
34 (return) [ I should think that an army of sixty thousand footmen
should require many more than two hundred and fifty horsemen; and we
find Josephus had more horsemen under his command than two hundred and
fifty in his future history. I suppose the number of the thousands is
dropped in our present copies.]
35 (return) [ I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus, which is
related both here and in his Life, sect. 32, 33, to be one of the finest
that ever was invented and executed by any warrior whatsoever.]
BOOK III.
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