Extra notes for the Flavian work closed off in 1998. All of which have been collected at random and saved for future use. There may be some duplication. It must be noted again that these notes are in no order either chronologically or by subject. My work during this period was speculative and much didn’t get beyond the self-editing stage.
© Cliff Carrington
When the Biblical Jesus ‘cleansed’ the temple of merchants he quoted the following from Jeremiah 7:11:
Do you take this temple that bears my name for a robber’s [lhsthV] den?
Was one of Josephus’ Jesuses thinking of the same quote when he saw that the Zealots had taken over the sanctuary?
War, 4.4.3, p. 531
Accordingly, Jesus, the eldest of the high priests next to Ananus, stood upon the tower that was against them, and said thus;... They are robbers [lhstai], who by their prodigious wickedness have profaned this most sacred floor, and who are to be now seen drinking themselves drunk in the sanctuary, and expending the spoils of those whom they have slaughtered upon their unsatiable bellies.
The Synoptics have another Jesus using the same quotation, in the temple:
Matt. 21:10-17, Mark 11:11, Luke 19:45-46
It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers [lhstwn].
All, from Jeremiah, through Josephus, to the Synoptics, use the Greek word lhstai for ‘robbers’ which applies particularly to ‘insurrectionists’ rather than thieves of the common sort.
Origen, Contra Celsus, bk. 1, ch. 47 (xlvii), p. 416
For in the 18th book of his Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus bears witness to John having been a Baptist, and promising purification to those who underwent the rite. Now this writer, although not believing in Jesus as the Christ, in seeking after the cause of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, whereas he ought to have said that the conspiracy against Jesus was the cause of these calamities befalling the people, since they put to death Christ, who was a prophet, says nevertheless - that these disasters happened to the Jews as a punishment for the death of James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, the Jews having put him to death, although he was a man most distinguished for his justice.
War, 6.5.3, pp. 582-583
But, what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the son of Ananus, a plebeian, and a husbandman, who, four years before the war began and at a time when the city was in very great peace and prosperity, came to that feast wherein it is our custom to make tabernacles to God in the temple, began on a sudden to cry aloud, “A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against the whole people!” This was his cry as he went about by day and night in all the lanes of the city. However, certain of the most eminent among the populace had great indignation at this dire cry of his, and took up the man, and gave a great number of severe stripes; yet did not he either say anything for himself, or anything peculiar to those that chastised him, but still went on with the same words he cried before. Hereupon our rulers supposing, as the case proved to be, that this was a sort of divine fury in the man, brought him to the Roman procurator, where he was whipped till his bones were laid bare; yet did he not make any supplication for himself, nor shed any tears, but turning his voice to the most lamentable tone possible, at every stroke of the whip his answer was, “Woe to Jerusalem!” And when Albinus asked him, Who he was? and whence he came? and why he uttered such words? he made no manner of reply to what he said, but still did not leave off his melancholy ditty, til Albinus took him to be a madman and dismissed him... but he every day uttered these lamentable words, as if that were his premeditated vow, “Woe, woe to Jerusalem!”... This cry of his was the loudest at the festivals; and he continued this ditty for seven years and five months, without growing hoarse, or being tired therewith, until the very time he saw his presage in earnest fulfilled in our siege, when it ceased; for as he was going round upon the wall, he cried out with the utmost force, “Woe, woe to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!” And just as he added the last, “Woe, woe to myself also!” There came a stone out of one of the engines, and smote him and killed him immediately; and as he was uttering the very same passages, he gave up the ghost.
Woe to Jerusalem
|
(Matthew 24:1-28) |
(Mark 13:1-23) |
(Luke 13:34-35) |
|
As Jesus
came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to
him the buildings of the temple. {2} Then he asked them, "You see all
these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon
another; all will be thrown down." {3} When he was sitting on the Mount
of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when
will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the
age?" {4} Jesus answered them, "Beware that no one leads you
astray. {5} For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah!' and
they will lead many astray. {6} And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars;
see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not
yet. {7} For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,
and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: {8} all this is
but the beginning of the birth pangs. {9} "Then they will hand you over
to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all
nations because of my name. {10} Then many will fall away, and they will
betray one another and hate one another. {11} And many false prophets will
arise and lead many astray. {12} And because of the increase of lawlessness,
the love of many will grow cold. {13} But the one who endures to the end will
be saved. {14} And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed
throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end
will come. {15} "So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in
the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader
understand), {16} then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; {17} the one
on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; {18} the one
in the field must not turn back to get a coat. {19} Woe to those who are
pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! {20} Pray that
your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. {21} For at that time there
will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world
until now, no, and never will be. {22} And if those days had not been cut
short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will
be cut short. {23} Then if anyone says to you, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!'
or 'There he is!'--do not believe it. {24} For false messiahs and false
prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if
possible, even the elect. {25} Take note, I have told you beforehand. {26}
So, if they say to you, 'Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If
they say, 'Look! He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. {27} For as
the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be
the coming of the Son of Man. {28} Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures
will gather. |
As he
came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look,
Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" {2} Then Jesus
asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left
here upon another; all will be thrown down." {3} When he was sitting on
the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked
him privately, {4} "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the
sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" {5} Then Jesus
began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. {6} Many
will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. {7}
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take
place, but the end is still to come. {8} For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places;
there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. {9}
"As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and
you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and
kings because of me, as a testimony to them. {10} And the good news must
first be proclaimed to all nations. {11} When they bring you to trial and
hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say
whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy
Spirit. {12} Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child,
and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; {13} and
you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the
end will be saved. {14} "But when you see the desolating sacrilege set
up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea
must flee to the mountains; {15} the one on the housetop must not go down or
enter the house to take anything away; {16} the one in the field must not
turn back to get a coat. {17} Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who
are nursing infants in those days! {18} Pray that it may not be in winter.
{19} For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the
beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be.
{20} And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but
for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days. {21}
And if anyone says to you at that time, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!' or
'Look! There he is!'--do not believe it. {22} False messiahs and false
prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if
possible, the elect. {23} But be alert; I have already told you everything. |
Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to
it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen
gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! {35} See, your
house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time
comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the
Lord.'" (Luke
19:41-44) As he came near and saw the
city, he wept over it, {42} saying, "If you, even you, had only
recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are
hidden from your eyes. {43} Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your
enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on
every side. {44} They will crush you to the ground, you and your children
within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another;
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God." (Luke
21:5-6) When some were speaking about
the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to
God, he said, {6} "As for these things that you see, the days will come
when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." |
Woes to Galilee.
|
(Matthew 11:21-24) |
(Luke 10:13-15) |
|
"Woe
to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in
you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in
sackcloth and ashes. {22} But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. {23} And you, Capernaum, will
you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the
deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day. {24} But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you." |
"Woe
to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in
you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes. {14} But at the judgment it will be more
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. {15} And you, Capernaum, will you
be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. |
|
(Matthew 12:30) |
(Mark 9:38-40) |
(Luke 9:49-50) |
|
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters |
John said
to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we
tried to stop him, because he was not following us." {39} But Jesus
said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name
will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. {40} Whoever is not against
us is for us.” |
John
answered, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and
we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us." {50} But
Jesus said to him, "Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is
for you." (Luke 11:23) Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. |
There is a precedent for this ambiguity which is found in Suetonius:
“Whereas Pompey declared that all who were not actively with him were against him and would be treated as public enemies, Caesar announced that all who were not actively against him were with him.” [Julius Caesar 75.]
|
Suetonius |
Matthew |
Mark |
Luke |
|
Pompey declared that all who were not with him were against him. Caesar declared that all who were not against him were with him. |
Whoever is not with me is against me. |
Whoever is not against us is for us. |
Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever is not against you is for you." |
“Just at this time some Pharisees
came up [to Jesus], ‘Go away’,
they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod
means to kill you!’”
This
passage from Luke, 13:31-32, is the clue which allows one to understand the
movements of Jesus around Palestine. On reading the synoptic gospels,
especially Mark, one finds a strange pattern in Jesus’ travels. In the
beginning of his mission he concentrated his activities entirely in Galilee,
yet, later consistently avoided the
region. Why?
Jesus would
have grown up in a much troubled Galilee. From 4 B.C. to 39 A.D. Galilee was
governed by the Roman appointee Herod Antipas. Roman occupation was not as
benign as many today might think. There were several serious uprisings of the
Galilean Palestinians. Some have been described by Josephus, in his History of the Jewish War. These
revolutionaries were naturally called ‘Bandits’ or ‘would-be Kings’ by the
Romans. The Roman troops slaughtered many thousands of the followers of these
revolutionaries in the years of Jesus’ childhood. These Galilean rebels were an
ever-present thorn in the side of the orderly Roman rule. Indeed this
revolutionary activity later grew into a full scale rebellion with the
subsequent disastrous destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Legions!
It was in
the midst of all of this revolutionary activity that Jesus travelled about,
drawing large crowds everywhere he went. John the Baptist, before him, had been
doing the same. Ultimately John was arrested and beheaded, probably for
suspected revolutionary activity.
Meanwhile King Herod [Antipas] had heard about
him, [Jesus], since by now his name was well known... But when Herod heard this
he said, “It is John whose head I cut off: he has risen from the dead!” [Mark
6:14-16]
When Herod
Antipas had executed John, some Pharisees warned Jesus that, being thought of
as John’s successor, he was next! Jesus chose the prudent path and left the
territory under Herod’s control. According to Mark, and Luke, Jesus immediately
went into the neighbouring territory of Herod Philip, to the city of Bethsaida
on the north-eastern shore of the sea of Galilee. This was the closest safe
place near the city of Capernaum, where Jesus had centred his activities while
in Galilee.
Jesus then
travelled extensively. First to Tyre and Sidon in the Lebanon. From there to
the Greek self-ruled area of the Decapolis, or ‘Ten Cities’, which borders on
the south-east shore of the Sea of Galilee. Then back to Bethsaida and north to
the Roman city of Caesarea Philippi, near Old Testament Dan. Caesarea was at
the foot of the holy Mount Hermon.
Then Jesus went on his final journey. A brief visit to his old home base,
Capernaum, at some risk perhaps. He travelled South, by the Transjordan road,
to Jericho, then Bethany, and finally, Jerusalem.
Jesus never
returned North, to his beloved Galilee, in a mortal frame. Roman Crucifixion,
with two other ‘Bandits’, as a ‘would-be King’, forestalled further missionary
activity. It was up to his followers to carry on with the message. Many of them
were also subsequently executed, as persons working against Roman Law &
Order.
The following synoptic chart may be
of assistance to the reader.
* Places outside of Herod Antipas’ jurisdiction.
# Places under direct Roman control.
Matthew Mark. Luke
2:23 Nazareth 1:9 Nazareth 2:51 Nazareth
3:8 Galilee to Jordan 1:10 Jordan, with John B. 3:22 Jordan, [Salim?]
John
B. (Salim?) Perhaps Salim/Aenon? 4:14 Galilee
4:12 Nazareth to Capernaum 1:4 Galilee 4:16 Nazareth
1:21
Capernaum 4:31Capernaum
4:24 Galilee 1:39 Galilee 4:44 Judea ?
8:5 Capernaum 2:1 Capernaum 5:1 Sea of Galilee
2:13
Tiberias 7:1
Capernaum
3:20
Nazareth 7:11
Nain/Capernaum
8:28- Gadarenes 5:1 Gerasene/Gadrenes 8:19 Gerasenes
5:21
Tiberias 8:40
Capernaum
13:54 Nazareth 6:1-Nazareth
6:14
Galilee,
14:1 Herod inquires! Herod
Antipas & John B. 9:7
Herod!
6:45
Bethsaida* 9:10
Bethsaida*
14:34 Gennesaret 6:53 Gennesaret
15:22 Tyre/Sidon* 7:24 Tyre/Sidon*
15:29 Sea of Galilee* 7:31 Sidon to Decapolis*
8:10
Dalmanutha/Magadalan?
8:22
Bethsaida*
16:13 Caesarea Philippi* 8:27 Caesarea Philippi* 9:28
Caesarea Philippi*
17:1 Mt. Hermon ?* 9:2 Mt. Hermon ?* Mt. Hermon ?*
17:22 Capernaum 9:33
Capernaum 9:51
Samaria ?
20:17 To Jerusalem* 10:1 Transjordan road* 13:31 Herod the Fox*
20:24 Jericho # 10:46 Jericho # 19:1 Jericho #
21:1 Bethany/Jerusalem # 11:1 Jerusalem via Bethany # 19:28 Jerusalem #
Crucified! Crucified! Crucified!
Luke gives three differing versions of Paul’s supposed ‘vision’ while Paul, himself, in his Epistles, does not mention such a ‘road to Damascus’ experience. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, gives an allusive story about either himself or another taken up into the third heaven. He also makes a few mentions of his ‘call through grace’, even before he was born. A wild claim, but not as wild as Luke’s accounts.
To try and convince us of the reality of Paul’s vision Luke gives no less than three versions. In the first the companions “heard the voice” of the Spiritual Jesus, in the second version they “did not hear the voice.” While in the third version it is not mentioned whether the companions heard the voice or not. Which are we to believe?
Again Luke’s Paul differs from the Paul of the Epistles. The vision on the road to Damascus is a fictional literary device and nothing more. Luke wishes to base Paul’s Christianity on his vision of Jesus. However, Paul, himself, never mentions such a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. Yet there are many people who base their belief in Christianity on Paul’s vision.
If the synoptic writers never saw Jesus we have no eyewitness accounts of him or his life. The fall-back line has always been that Paul’s vision is an eyewitness testimony to the existence of Jesus. The problem, as we see, is that these people are using Luke’s fictional account as their eyewitness. Besides that, the Jews needed two independent witnesses for a valid testimony, yet as to Jesus we have none!
Luke’s account of Saul’s vision of the Christ
|
Acts 9:3-9 Luke’s
Story |
Acts 22:6-11, 17-18 To
the Jews’ Sanhedrin |
Acts 26:12-20 To
Herod Agrippa |
|
Now as he was going along and approaching
Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. {4} He fell to the
ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?" {5} He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply
came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. {6} But get up and enter
the city, and you will be told what you are to do." {7} The men who were
traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. {8} Saul got up from the
ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him
by the hand and brought him into Damascus. {9} For three days he was without
sight, and neither ate nor drank. |
"While I was on my way and approaching
Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. {7} I
fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me?' {8} I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' Then he said to me, 'I
am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.' {9} Now those who were with
me saw the light but did not hear the
voice of the one who was speaking to me. {10} I asked, 'What am I to do,
Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be
told everything that has been assigned to you to do.' {11} Since I could not
see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my
hand and led me to Damascus. Acts 22:17-18. Once, after I had
got back to Jerusalem, when I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance
and then I saw him. “Hurry,” he said “leave Jerusalem at once; they will not
accept the testimony you are giving about me.” |
"With this in mind, I was traveling to
Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, {13} when at
midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter
than the sun, shining around me and my companions. {14} When we had all
fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,
'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the
goads.' {15} I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, 'I am Jesus
whom you are persecuting. {16} But get up and stand on your feet; for I have
appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the
things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.
{17} I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am
sending you {18} to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to
light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' {19}
"After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
{20} but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and
throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they
should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. |
Paul’s account of his Vision of Christ
|
1 Corinthians 15:1-14 |
2
Corinthians 12:1-5 |
Galatians
1:15-19 |
|
Now
I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed
to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, {2} through
which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I
proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain. {3} For I handed
on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, {4} and that he was
buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the
scriptures, {5} and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. {6} Then
he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most
of whom are still alive, though some have died. {7} Then he appeared to
James, then to all the apostles. {8} Last of all, as to one untimely born, he
appeared also to me. {9} For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be
called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. |
It is necessary to boast; nothing is to be
gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. {2} I
know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third
heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. {3}
And I know that such a person--whether in the body or out of the body I do
not know; God knows-- {4} was caught up into Paradise and heard things that
are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. {5} On behalf of
such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my
weaknesses. |
But when God, who had set me apart before I
was born and called me through his grace, was pleased {16} to reveal his Son
to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with
any human being, {17} nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already
apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I
returned to Damascus. {18} Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to
visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; {19} but I did not see any
other apostle except James the Lord's brother. Galatians 2:2. I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them
(though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel
that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not
running, or had not run, in vain. |
As any good despot in the ancient world Herod knew that his life and the country’s well-being depended on an extensive intelligence service. By a combination of tax relief and strict control over public gatherings the carrot and stick approach was used. In other words; do your work, do not complain and you will prosper in peace. The policies adopted by Herod did indeed bring almost unprecedented prosperity to Judea for thirty years.
Ant. 15. 10. 4. p. 333
At which time Herod released to his subjects the third part of their taxes, under pretence indeed of relieving them after the dearth they had had; but the main reason was, to recover their good-will, which he now wanted; for they were uneasy with him, because of the innovations he had introduced in their practices of the dissolution of their religion, and the disuse of their own customs, and that people everywhere talked against him, like those that were still more provoked and disturbed at his procedure; against which discontents he carefully guarded himself, and took away the opportunities they might have to disturb him, and he enjoined them to be always at work; nor did he permit the citizens either to meet together, or to walk, or to eat together, but watched everything they did, and when any were caught, they were severely punished; and many there who were brought to the citadel Hyrcania, both openly and secretly, and were there put to death; and there were spies set everywhere, both in the city and in the roads, who watched those who met together;...
There were certain religious Zealots who vowed to kill Herod because of his bringing innovations into the religion. On one occasion Herod’s life was narrowly saved by his intelligence net-work when he was to be assassinated in the theatre.
Ant. 15. 8. 4. p. 329
These conspirators therefore, standing prepared beforehand, went about their design with great alacrity; but there was one of those spies of Herod that were appointed for such purposes, to fish out and inform him of any conspiracies against him, who found out the whole affair, and told the king of it, just as he was about to go into the theatre...
But when they were seized, they showed their daggers, and professed that the conspiracy they had sworn to was a holy and a pious action... So they were led away to execution by the king’s guards...
Nor was it long before that the spy who had discovered them, was seized on by some of the people, out of the hatred they bore to him; and was not only slain by them, but pulled to pieces, limb from limb, and given to the dogs. This execution was seen by many of the citizens, yet not one of them would discover the doers of it, till upon Herod making a strict scrutiny after them, by bitter and severe tortures, certain women that were tortured confess what they had see done; the authors of which fact were so terribly punished by the king, that their entire families were destroyed.
And so perished the enemies of the king. This is the practical reason for a tyrant’s spies to be everywhere, all the time - his survival.
Herod could be extremely generous to his people in times of need.
Ant. 9. 9. 1-2. pp. 329-330
Now on this very year, which was the thirteenth year of the reign of Herod, very great calamities came upon the country;.. for in the first place, there were perpetual droughts, and for that reason the ground was barren... and after this barrenness of the soil, that change of food which the want of corn occasioned, produced distempers in the bodies of men, and a pestilential disease prevailed, one misery following on the back of another...
In these circumstances he considered with himself how to procure some seasonable help;... so he cut off the rich furniture that was in his palace, both of silver and gold, insomuch that he did not spare the finest vessels he had,... but sent the money to Petronius who had been made prefect of Egypt by Caesar;.. and as he was particularly a friend to Herod, and desirous to have his subjects preserved, he gave them leave to them, in the first place, to export corn, and assisted them in every way, both in purchasing and exporting the same...
And Herod, taking care that the people should understand that this help came from himself... he distributed to them their portion of corn in the exactest manner; but for those who were not able, either by reason of their old age, or any infirmity, to provide food for themselves, he made this provision for them that the bakers should make their bread ready for them. He also took care that they might not be hurt by the danger of winter, since they were in great need of clothing also, by reason of the utter destruction and consumption of their sheep and goats, they had no wool to make use of, nor anything else to cover themselves.
...for the greatness of his liberality in these distresses, which he now demonstrated beyond all expectation, did so change the disposition of the multitude towards him...
Horace, 65-8 BCE, Satires
Martial, 40-104 CE, Epigrams, VII. 30, 35, 55. & XI. 94.
Juvenal, 55-140 CE, Satires
III. 12-14. Penguin p. 87
By the ancient dripping arches of the Capuan Gate,
where once King Numa had nightly meetings with his mistress.
But today Egeria’s grove and shrine and sacred spring
are rented to Jewish squatters,
their sole possession a Sabbath haybox.[1]
VI. 160. p. 132-133
...in the land where kings observe the Sabbath barefoot,
where - by long established tradition -
pigs are suffered to attain a ripe old age.
XIV. 160. pp. 266-267.
Some, whose lot it was to have Sabbath fearing fathers,
worship nothing but clouds and the numen of the heavens,
and think it as great a crime to eat pork,
from which their parents abstained, as human flesh.
They get themselves circumcised,
and look down on Roman Law,
preferring instead to learn
and honour and fear the Jewish commandments,
whatever was handed down by Moses in that arcane tome of his.
Never to show the way to any but fellow-believers.
But their fathers were the culprits;
they made every seventh day taboo for all life’s business,
dedicated to idleness...
Stevenson, A New Eusebius, p.287, p.384]
edited & by C.N.C. 6-87
In the eighth and seventh consulships of Diocletian and Maximian, 19th May, from the records of Munatius Felix, high priest of the province for life, mayor of the colony of Cirta arrived at the house where the Christians used to meet, the mayor said to Paul the Bishop:
“Bring out the writings of the law and anything else you have here, according to the order, so that you may obey the command.”
The Bishop: “The readers have the Scriptures, but we will give what we have here.”
The mayor went on to visit the six remaining readers. Four produced their books without demur. One declared he had none, and the mayor was content with entering his statement on the record. The last was out, but his wife produced his books; the mayor had the house searched by the public slave to make sure that none had been overlooked. This task over, he addressed the sub deacons; “If there has been any omission, the responsibility is yours.”
When the
Christians came to power they responded to Higher Criticism thus: ‘Letter of Constantine to the Bishops and
People.’ Stevenson, A New Eusebius,
p.384
“Since Arius has imitated wicked and impious persons, it is just that he should undergo like ignominy. Wherefore as Porphyry, that enemy of piety, for having composed licentious treatises against Religion, found a suitable recompose, and such as thenceforth branded him with infamy, overwhelming him with deserved reproach, his impious writings also having been destroyed; so now it seems fit both that Arius and such as hold his sentiments should be denominated Porphyrians... And in addition to this, if any treatise composed by Arius should be discovered, let it be consigned to the flames, in order that not only his depraved doctrine may be suppressed, but also that no memorial of him be by any means left. This therefore I decree, that if any one shall be detected in concealing a book composed by Arius, and shall not instantly bring it forward and burn it, the penalty for this offence shall be death; for immediately after conviction the criminal shall suffer capital punishment. May God preserve you!”
This
proscription of books is the first to be made in the interests of the
Christians, there followed proscriptions under Theodosius II and Valentinian
III in 448. And of course this was only the start, all pagan books were to be
destroyed by the church. They nearly succeeded, but, thanks to a few
enlightened monks and others we have the works of the ancients such as have
survived. Thanks to their courage and intelligence, even in the face of a
torturous death at the stake, we have the works of our civilized past. We have
a responsibility, today, to ensure their sacrifice was not in vain. We Must
preserve and promote the ancient writers, the true evidence of our humanity.
There were book-burnings in the U.S.A. in the 1950s, where libraries were
purged by religious and right-wing fanatics, houses were searched and private
books burned, though the owners usually got off with a beating. That was less
than forty years ago, do not say; “it could not happen again,” it Could.
Nero blamed the Christians for the fire in Rome, according to Tacitus alone. Annals, XV. This passage is not referred to in any Christian writings until 400 CE.
Josephus, who was in Rome at the time, 64 CE, does not mention the Christian blame, and as they were still nominally Jews he would have certainly done so.
Neither Clement of Rome, c. 70, nor Tertullian, c. 210, mention the passage; nor indeed any of the other 2nd and 3rd century Church Fathers. Lactantius, 4th c., has a section on Nero, however, he does not mention Tacitus’ passage or the Christian persecution under Nero.
Indeed there is only one mention (Severus Sulpicius, 400 CE) of the passage in the first 1,100 years of Christianity. Our only reference to the Annals comes from a single 12th century manuscript.
This, combined with the Flavian Testimony, is supposed to be the earliest evidence for the figure of Jesus. They are both interpolations by pious Christian copyists.
The other early source, Suetonius, writing in about 115, contains one, confusing, word about a Chrestus.
Because the Jews at Rome caused a continuous disturbance at the instigation of Chrestus, he (Claudius) expelled them from the city. Claudius, 25.
The sense of the passage is that there was one ‘Chrestus’ at Rome stirring up the Jews. That can hardly fit Christ, the Anointed One. Also ‘Chrestus’ normally meant - a handy man, a slave.
There is only one more early source to the Christians, or the Anointed Ones, and it is found in the Letters of Pliny the Younger, X. 96, 97. He corresponds with the emperor Trajan, in 115, asking what to do with the Christians in his province of Bithynia, near the Pontus. He describes their worship in detail. This passage is so theologically highly developed that it seems to come from a time when the church was well organized. The tenth book of Pliny’s letters, to Trajan, were not published by him. An anonymous person published them after Pliny’s death.
However, by 115 Pliny had to deal with some people called Christians; or did he? This letter, 96, is so out of character with his other letters that I have my suspicions that this too is an interpolation. It is by far the fullest and longest of his letters to the emperor. The rest are short requests for favours or privileges for individuals or cities. The first line is not characteristic of Pliny, nor his attitude towards the emperor; it is too fawning:
It is my custom to refer all difficulties to you, Sir, for no one is better able to resolve my doubts and to inform my ignorance.
And the emperor’s reply, 97, does not spell out for what the Christians were to be punished, nor why. It is a thinly disguised plea for tolerance, put into Trajan’s mouth, by a Christian apologist.
The Christians were not persecuted for religion, but prosecuted for tax-dodging. At the time there was a special Jewish tax which the early Christians wanted to evade by claiming their difference from the Jews. This put them into a dilemma, they needed the Jewish Old Testament for their ancient history; they had no books of their own at that stage. The need for a Book of their own was necessary. It is not long after this that we find the first mention of a gospel. Justin Martyr, c. 135, quoted from Matthew.
Jewish War
Preface, 1. 1, 2. Whereas the war which the Jews made with the Romans hath been the greatest of all those, not only that have been in our times, but, in a manner, of those that ever were heard of; both of those wherein cities have fought against cities, or nations against nations; while some men who were not concerned in the affairs themselves have gotten together vain and contradictory stories by hearsay, and have written them down after a sophistical manner; and while those that were there present have given false accounts of things, and this either out of a humor of flattery to the Romans, or of hatred towards the Jews; and while their writings contain sometimes accusations, and sometimes encomiums, but no where the accurate truth of the facts; I have proposed to myself, for the sake of such as live under the government of the Romans, to translate those books into the Greek tongue, which I formerly composed in the language of our country, and sent to the Upper Barbarians; Joseph, the son of Matthias, by birth a Hebrew, a priest also, and one who at first fought against the Romans myself, and was forced to be present at what was done afterwards, [am the author of this work].
Preface, 1. 4. However, I will not go to the other extreme, out of opposition to those men who extol the Romans nor will I determine to raise the actions of my countrymen too high; but I will prosecute the actions of both parties with accuracy. Yet shall I suit my language to the passions I am under, as to the affairs I describe, and must be allowed to indulge some lamentations upon the miseries undergone by my own country. For that it was a seditious temper of our own that destroyed it, and that they were the tyrants among the Jews who brought the Roman power upon us, who unwillingly attacked us, and occasioned the burning of our holy temple, Titus Caesar, who destroyed it, is himself a witness, who, during the entire war, pitied the people who were kept under by the seditious, and did often voluntarily delay the taking of the city, and allowed time to the siege, in order to let the authors have opportunity for repentance. But if any one makes an unjust accusation against us, when we speak so passionately about the tyrants, or the robbers, or sorely bewail the misfortunes of our country, let him indulge my affections herein, though it be contrary to the rules for writing history; because it had so come to pass, that our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher degree of felicity than any other city under the Roman government, and yet at last fell into the sorest of calamities again. Accordingly, it appears to me that the misfortunes of all men, from the beginning of the world, if they be compared to these of the Jews are not so considerable as they were; while the authors of them were not foreigners neither. This makes it impossible for me to contain my lamentations. But if any one be inflexible in his censures of me, let him attribute the facts themselves to the historical part, and the lamentations to the writer himself only.
5. 1. 3. But I must restrain myself from these passions by the rules of history, since this is not a proper time for domestical lamentations, but for historical narrations; I therefore return to the operations that follow in this sedition.
5. 9. 18. And if you cannot look at these things with discerning eyes, yet, however, have pity upon your families, and set before every one of your eyes your children, and wives, and parents, who will be gradually consumed either by famine or by war. I am sensible that this danger will extend to my mother, and wife, and to that family of mine who have been by no means ignoble, and indeed to one that hath been very eminent in old time; and perhaps you may imagine that it is on their account only that I give you this advice; if that be all, kill them; nay, take my own blood as a reward, if it may but procure your preservation; for I am ready to die, in case you will but return to a sound mind after my death."
5. 13. 3. In the mean time, Josephus, as he was going round the city, had his head wounded by a stone that was thrown at him; upon which he fell down as giddy. Upon which fall of his the Jews made a sally, and he had been hurried away into the city, if Caesar had not sent men to protect him immediately; and as these men were fighting, Josephus was taken up, though he heard little of what was done. So the seditious supposed they had now slain that man whom they were the most desirous of killing, and made thereupon a great noise, in way of rejoicing. This accident was told in the city, and the multitude that remained became very disconsolate at the news, as being persuaded that he was really dead, on whose account alone they could venture to desert to the Romans. But when Josephus's mother heard in prison that her son was dead, she said to those that watched about her, That she had always been of opinion, since the siege of Jotapata, [that he would be slain,] and she should never enjoy him alive any more. She also made great lamentation privately to the maid-servants that were about her, and said, That this was all the advantage she had of bringing so extraordinary a person as this son into the world; that she should not be able even to bury that son of hers, by whom she expected to have been buried herself. However, this false report did not put his mother to pain, nor afford merriment to the robbers, long; for Josephus soon recovered of his wound,...
(Gospel of Nicodemus, chapters 9 & 10, A-N. F., vol X, p. 452)
And all the saints followed Michael the archangel, and he led them all into the glorious grace of paradise. And there met them two men, ancient of days. The saints asked them: Who are you, that have not been dead along with us in the regions below, and have been placed in paradise in the body? One of them answered, and said; I am Enoch, who by the word of the lord have been translated hither; and he who is with me is Elijah the Thesbite, who was taken up by a fiery chariot. Here also even until now we have not tasted death...
Ane while the saints Enoch and Elijah were thus speaking, behold there came up another man, most wretched, carrying on his shoulders the sign of the cross. And seeing him, all the saints said to him; Who art thou? because thy appearance is that of a robber. In answer to them, he said: Truly you have said that I was a robber, doing all sorts of evil upon the earth. And the Jews crucified me along with Jesus; and I saw the miracles in created things which were done through the cross of Jesus crucified, and I believed Him to be the creator of all things, and the King omnipotent; and I entreated Him, saying be mindful of me, Lord, when thou shalt have come into Thy kingdom. Immediately He accepted my entreaty, and said to me: Amen; I say to thee, to-day thou shalt be with me in paradise. And he gave me this sign of the cross, saying: Walk into paradise carrying this; and if the guardian angel of paradise will not let thee go in, show him the sign of the cross... Having done so, I said all of this to the guardian angel of paradise. And when he heard this, he immediately opened, and let me in.
Capharnaum
The people of the country call it
Capharnaum. Some have thought it to be a vein of the Nile, because it produces
the Coracin fish as well as that lake does which is near to Alexandria. The
length of this country extends itself along the banks of this lake that bears
the same name for thirty furlongs, and is in breadth twenty, And this is the
nature of that place.
9. But now, when the vessels were
gotten ready, Vespasian put upon ship-board as many of his forces as he thought
sufficient to be too hard for those that were upon the lake, and set sail after
them. Now these which were driven into the lake could neither fly to the land,
where all was in their enemies' hand, and in war against them; nor could they
fight upon the level by sea, for their ships were small and fitted only for
piracy; they were too weak to fight with Vespasian's vessels, and the mariners
that were in them were so few, that they were afraid to come near the Romans,
who attacked them in great numbers.
However, as they sailed round
about the vessels, and sometimes as they came near them, they threw stones at
the Romans when they were a good way off, or came closer and fought them; yet
did they receive the greatest harm themselves in both cases. As for the stones
they threw at the Romans, they only made a sound one after another, for they
threw them against such as were in their armor, while the Roman darts could
reach the Jews themselves; and when they ventured to come near the Romans, they
became sufferers themselves before they could do any harm to the ether, and
were drowned, they and their ships together.
As for those that endeavored to
come to an actual fight, the Romans ran many of them through with their long
poles. Sometimes the Romans leaped into their ships, with swords in their
hands, and slew them; but when some of them met the vessels, the Romans caught
them by the middle, and destroyed at once their ships and themselves who were
taken in them. And for such as were drowning in the sea, if they lifted their
heads up above the water, they were either killed by darts, or caught by the
vessels; but if, in the desperate case they were in, they attempted to swim to
their enemies, the Romans cut off either their heads or their hands; and indeed
they were destroyed after various manners every where, till the rest being put
to flight, were forced to get upon the land, while the vessels encompassed them
about [on the sea]: but as many of these were repulsed when they were getting
ashore, they were killed by the darts upon the lake; and the Romans leaped out
of their vessels, and destroyed a great many more upon the land: one might then
see the lake all bloody, and full of dead bodies, for not one of them escaped.
And a terrible stink, and a very sad sight there was on the following days over that country; for as for the shores, they were full of shipwrecks, and of dead bodies all swelled; and as the dead bodies were inflamed by the sun, and putrefied, they corrupted the air, insomuch that the misery was not only the object of commiseration to the Jews, but to those that hated them, and had been the authors of that misery. This was the upshot of the sea-fight. The number of the slain, including those that were killed in the city before, was six thousand and five hundred.
Gadara
4. 7. 4. And now Vespasian sent
Placidus against those that had fled from Gadara, with five hundred horsemen,
and three thousand footmen, while he returned himself to Cesarea, with the rest
of the army. But as soon as these fugitives saw the horsemen that pursued them
just upon their backs, and before they came to a close fight, they ran together
to a certain village, which was called Bethennabris, where finding a great
multitude of young men, and arming them, partly by their own consent, partly by
force, they rashly and suddenly assaulted Placidus and the troops that were with
him. These horsemen at the first onset gave way a little, as contriving to
entice them further off the wall; and when they had drawn them into a place fit
for their purpose, they made their horse encompass them round, and threw their
darts at them. So the horsemen cut off the flight of the fugitives, while the
foot terribly destroyed those that fought against them; for those Jews did no
more than show their courage, and then were destroyed; for as they fell upon
the Romans when they were joined close together, and, as it were, walled about
with their entire armor, they were not able to find any place where the darts
could enter, nor were they any way able to break their ranks, while they were
themselves run through by the Roman darts, and, like the wildest of wild
beasts, rushed upon the point of others' swords; so some of them were
destroyed, as cut with their enemies' swords upon their faces, and others were
dispersed by the horsemen.
5. Now Placidus's concern was to
exclude them in their flight from getting into the village; and causing his
horse to march continually on that side of them, he then turned short upon
them, and at the same time his men made use of their darts, and easily took
their aim at those that were the nearest to them, as they made those that were
further off turn back by the terror they were in, till at last the most
courageous of them brake through those horsemen and fled to the wall of the
village. And now those that guarded the wall were in great doubt what to do;
for they could not bear the thoughts of excluding those that came from Gadara,
because of their own people that were among them; and yet, if they should admit
them, they expected to perish with them, which came to pass accordingly; for as
they were crowding together at the wall, the Roman horsemen were just ready to
fall in with them.
However, the guards prevented
them, and shut the gates, when Placidus made an assault upon them, and fighting
courageously till it was dark, he got possession of the wall, and of the people
that were in the city, when the useless multitude were destroyed; but those
that were more potent ran away, and the soldiers plundered the houses, and set
the village on fire. As for those that ran out of the village, they stirred up
such as were in the country, and exaggerating their own calamities, and telling
them that the whole army of the Romans were upon them, they put them into great
fear on every side; so they got in great numbers together, and fled to Jericho,
for they knew no other place that could afford them any hope of escaping, it
being a city that had a strong wall, and a great multitude of inhabitants.
But Placidus, relying much upon
his horsemen, and his former good success, followed them, and slew all that he
overtook, as far as Jordan; and when he had driven the whole multitude to the
river-side, where they were stopped by the current, (for it had been augmented
lately by rains, and was not fordable,) he put his soldiers in array over
against them; so the necessity the others were in provoked them to hazard a
battle, because there was no place whither they could flee. They then extended
themselves a very great way along the banks of the river, and sustained the
darts that were thrown at them, as well as the attacks of the horsemen, who beat
many of them, and pushed them into the current. At which fight, hand to hand,
fifteen thousand of them were slain, while the number of those that were
unwillingly forced to leap into Jordan was prodigious. There were besides two
thousand and two hundred taken prisoners. A mighty prey was taken also,
consisting of asses, and sheep, and camels, and oxen.
6. Now this destruction that fell
upon the Jews, as it was not inferior to any of the rest in itself, so did it
still appear greater than it really was; and this, because not only the whole
country through which they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could not
be passed over, by reason of the dead bodies that were in it, but because the
lake Asphaltiris was also full of dead bodies, that were carried down into it
by the river. And now Placidus, after this good success that he had, fell
violently upon the neighboring smaller cities and villages; when he took Abila,
and Julias, and Bezemoth, and all those that lay as far as the lake
Asphaltitis, and put such of the deserters into each of them as he thought
proper. He then put his soldiers on board the ships, and slew such as had fled
to the lake, insomuch that all Perea had either surrendered themselves, or were
taken by the Romans, as far as Macherus.
Gerasa
4. 9. 1. He also sent Lucius Annius to Gerasa, and delivered to him a body of horsemen, and a considerable number of footmen. So when he had taken the city, which he did at the first onset, he slew a thousand of those young men who had not prevented him by flying away; but he took their women and children captive, and permitted his soldiers to plunder them of their effects; after which he set fire to their houses, and went away to the adjoining villages, while the men of power fled away, and the weaker part were destroyed, and what was remaining was all burnt down. And now the war having gone through all the mountainous country, and all the plain country also, those that were at Jerusalem were deprived of the liberty of going out of the city;
“Some also there were who,
watching a proper opportunity when they might quietly get away, fled to the
Romans, of whom were the high priests Joseph and Jesus, and of the sons of high
priests three, whose father was Ishmael, who was beheaded in Cyrene, and four
sons of Matthias, as also one son of the other Matthias, who ran away after his
father's death, and whose father was slain by Simon the son of Gioras, with
three of his sons, as I have already related; many also of the other nobility went
over to the Romans, together with the high priests.
Now Caesar [Titus] not only
received these men very kindly in other respects, but, knowing they would not
willingly live after the customs of other nations, he sent them to Gophna, and
desired them to remain there for the present, and told them, that when he was
gotten clear of this war, he would restore each of them to their possessions
again; so they cheerfully retired to that small city which was allotted them,
without fear of any danger.’ [Josephus, Jewish
War, 6. 2. 2.]
[Perhaps these are the priests who later go to Jamnia to found the surviving Jewish school? Rabbi ben Zakkai and his story from the Talmud parallels this incident.]
“Tradition says that the Pharisaic rabbi, Johanan ben Zakkai, the deputy head of the Sanhedrin, was smuggled out of besieged Jerusalem in a coffin. He had opposed the revolt... He obtained permission from the Roman authorities to set up a centre for the regulation of the Jewish religion at Jabneh (Jamnia), near the coast west of Jerusalem. There the Sanhedrin and the state were buried, and in their place a synod of rabbis met..
The academy at Jabneh made the annual calculations of the Jewish calendar. It completed the canonization of the Bible. It ruled that, despite the fall of the Temple, certain ceremonies, such as the solemn eating of the Passover meal, were to be regularly enacted...
At Jabneh, the sword was forgotten, the pen ruled. The system was a self-perpetuating oligarchy, the academy selecting or ‘ordaining’ new rabbis on the basis of learning and merit. But authority tended to be vested in families distinguished for their scholarship. In due course the progeny of Rabbi Jonathan were ousted by Rabbi Gamaliel II, son of the man who had taught St. Paul (Sic). He was recognized by the Romans as Nasi or patriarch.
These scholars, as a body, declined to join the Bar Kokhba revolt. But, of course, it affected them. Scholars often had to meet secretly, Jabneh itself became untenable, and after the revolt was crushed the rabbinical authorities transferred to the town of Usha in western Galilee [then to Bet Shearim, near Nazareth, then to Tiberius and Capernaum]... At times they worked in harmony with the Rome. Their leaders received grants of imperial lands and were permitted to exercise wide judicial powers... The Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi, or Judah the prince, who lived in the second half of the second century and the beginning of the third, was a rich man attended by guards, who ruled the Jewish community both of Galilee and of the south almost like a secular potentate.
Their descendants and followers, and other scholars who joined the elite, are known as the tannaim. Hillel’s grandson, Gamaliel the Elder, was the first of six generations, Judah Ha-Nasi the last. The next generation, beginning with Rabbi Hiya Rabbah about 220AD, inaugurated the age of the amoraim, which lasted five generations in Judea, up to the end of the fourth century.
But the chief memorials to this age of collective and individual scholarship are the Jewish holy writings themselves... canonization of which was completed, as we have seen, under Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, between 70 and 132AD.” [From Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews. pp. 149-153]
Grail?
But now at this time it was that one of the priests, the son of Thebuthus, whose name was Jesus, upon his having security given him, by the oath of Caesar, that he should be preserved, upon condition that he should deliver to him certain of the precious things that had been reposited in the temple came out of it, and delivered him from the wall of the holy house two candlesticks, like to those that lay in the holy house, with tables, and bowls [krathraV = craters], and vials, all made of solid gold, and very heavy. He also delivered to him the veils and the garments, with the precious stones, and a great number of other precious vessels that belonged to their sacred worship. [War 6. 8. 3.]