Flavius Josephus
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS
From The Captivity Of The Ten Tribes To The First Year Of Cyrus.
Containing The Interval Of One Hundred And Eighty-Two Years And A Half.
CHAPTER 1.
How Sennacherib Made An Expedition Against Hezekiah; What Threatenings Rabshakeh
Made To Hezekiah When Sennacherib Was Gone Against The Egyptians; How Isaiah The
Prophet Encouraged Him; How Sennacherib Having Failed Of Success In Egypt, Returned
Thence To Jerusalem; And How Upon His Finding His Army Destroyed, He Returned Home;
And What Befell Him A Little Afterward.
1. It was now the fourteenth year of the government of Hezekiah, king of the
two tribes, when the king of Assyria, whose name was Sennacherib, made an expedition
against him with a great army, and took all the cities of the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin by force; and when he was ready to bring his army against Jerusalem, Hezekiah
sent ambassadors to him beforehand, and promised to submit, and pay what tribute
he should appoint. Hereupon Sennacherib, when he heard of what offers the ambassadors
made, resolved not to proceed in the war, but to accept of the proposals that were
made him; and if he might receive three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents
of gold, he promised that he would depart in a friendly manner; and he gave security
upon oath to the ambassadors that he would then do him no harm, but go away as he
came. So Hezekiah submitted, and emptied his treasures, and sent the money, as supposing
he should be freed from his enemy, and from any further distress about his kingdom.
Accordingly, the Assyrian king took it, and yet had no regard to what he had promised;
but while he himself went to the war against the Egyptians and Ethiopians, he left
his general Rabshakeh, and two other of his principal commanders, with great forces,
to destroy Jerusalem. The names of the two other commanders were Tartan and Rabsaris.
2. Now as soon as they were come before the walls, they pitched their camp, and
sent messengers to Hezekiah, and desired that they might speak with him; but he
did not himself come out to them for fear, but he sent three of his most intimate
friends; the name of one was Eliakim, who was over the kingdom, and Shebna, and
Joah the recorder. So these men came out, and stood over against the commanders
of the Assyrian army; and when Rabshakeh saw them, he bid them go and speak to Hezekiah
in the manner following: That Sennacherib, the great king, desires to know of him,
on whom it is that he relies and depends, in flying from his lord, and will not
hear him, nor admit his army into the city? Is it on account of the Egyptians, and
in hopes that his army would be beaten by them? Whereupon he lets him know, that
if this be what he expects, he is a foolish man, and like one who leans on a broken
reed; while such a one will not only fall down, but will have his hand pierced and
hurt by it. That he ought to know he makes this expedition against him by the will
of God, who hath granted this favor to him, that he shall overthrow the kingdom
of Israel, and that in the very same manner he shall destroy those that are his
subjects also. When Rabshakeh had made this speech in the Hebrew tongue, for he
was skillful in that language, Eliakim was afraid lest the multitude that heard
him should be disturbed; so he desired him to speak in the Syrian tongue. But the
general, understanding what he meant, and perceiving the fear that he was in, he
made his answer with a greater and a louder voice, but in the Hebrew tongue; and
said, that “since they all heard what were the king’s commands, they would consult
their own advantage in delivering up themselves to us; for it is plain the both
you and your king dissuade the people from submitting by vain hopes, and so induce
them to resist; but if you be courageous, and think to drive our forces away, I
am ready to deliver to you two thousand of these horses that are with me for your
use, if you can set as many horsemen on their backs, and show your strength; but
what you have not you cannot produce. Why therefore do you delay to deliver up yourselves
to a superior force, who can take you without your consent? although it will be
safer for you to deliver yourselves up voluntarily, while a forcible capture, when
you are beaten, must appear more dangerous, and will bring further calamities upon
you.”
3. When the people, as well as the ambassadors, heard what the Assyrian commander
said, they related it to Hezekiah, who thereupon put off his royal apparel, and
clothed himself with sackcloth, and took the habit of a mourner, and, after the
manner of his country, he fell upon his face, and besought God, and entreated him
to assist them, now they had no other hope of relief. He also sent some of his friends,
and some of the priests, to the prophet Isaiah, and desired that he would pray to
God, and offer sacrifices for their common deliverance, and so put up supplications
to him, that he would have indignation at the expectations of their enemies, and
have mercy upon his people. And when the prophet had done accordingly, an oracle
came from God to him, and encouraged the king and his friends that were about him;
and foretold that their enemies should be beaten without fighting, and should go
away in an ignominious manner, and not with that insolence which they now show,
for that God would take care that they should be destroyed. He also foretold that
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, should fail of his purpose against Egypt, and
that when he came home he should perish by the sword.
4. About the same time also the king of Assyria wrote an epistle to Hezekiah,
in which he said he was a foolish man, in supposing that he should escape from being
his servant, since he had already brought under many and great nations; and he threatened,
that when he took him, he would utterly destroy him, unless he now opened the gates,
and willingly received his army into Jerusalem. When he read this epistle, he despised
it, on account of the trust that be had in God; but he rolled up the epistle, and
laid it up within the temple. And as he made his further prayers to God for the
city, and for the preservation of all the people, the prophet Isaiah said that God
had heard his prayer, and that he should not be besieged at this time by the king
of Assyria that for the future he might be secure of not being at all disturbed
by him; and that the people might go on peaceably, and without fear, with their
husbandry and other affairs. But after a little while the king of Assyria, when
he had failed of his treacherous designs against the Egyptians, returned home without
success, on the following occasion: He spent a long time in the siege of Pelusium;
and when the banks that he had raised over against the walls were of a great height,
and when he was ready to make an immediate assault upon them, but heard that Tirhaka,
king of the Ethiopians, was coming and bringing great forces to aid the Egyptians,
and was resolved to march through the desert, and so to fall directly upon the Assyrians,
this king Sennacherib was disturbed at the news, and, as I said before, left Pelusium,
and returned back without success. Now concerning this Sennacherib, Herodotus also
says, in the second book of his histories, how “this king came against the Egyptian
king, who was the priest of Vulcan; and that as he was besieging Pelusium, he broke
up the siege on the following occasion: This Egyptian priest prayed to God, and
God heard his prayer, and sent a judgment upon the Arabian king.” But in this Herodotus
was mistaken, when he called this king not king of the Assyrians, but of the Arabians;
for he saith that “a multitude of mice gnawed to pieces in one night both the bows
and the rest of the armor of the Assyrians, and that it was on that account that
the king, when he had no bows left, drew off his army from Pelusium.” And Herodotus
does indeed give us this history; nay, and Berosus, who wrote of the affairs of
Chaldea, makes mention of this king Sennacherib, and that he ruled over the Assyrians,
and that he made an expedition against all Asia and Egypt; and says thus:
5. “Now when Sennacherib was returning from his Egyptian war to Jerusalem, he
found his army under Rabshakeh his general in danger [by a plague], for God had
sent a pestilential distemper upon his army; and on the very first night of the
siege, a hundred fourscore and five thousand, with their captains and generals,
were destroyed. So the king was in a great dread and in a terrible agony at this
calamity; and being in great fear for his whole army, he fled with the rest of his
forces to his own kingdom, and to his city Nineveh; and when he had abode there
a little while, he was treacherously assaulted, and died by the hands of his elder
sons, Adrammelech and Seraser, and was slain in his own temple, which was called
Araske. Now these sons of his were driven away on account of the murder of their
father by the citizens, and went into Armenia, while Assarachoddas took the kingdom
of Sennacherib.” And this proved to be the conclusion of this Assyrian expedition
against the people of Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 2.
How Hezekiah Was Sick, And Ready To Die; And How God Bestowed Upon Him Fifteen
Years Longer Life, [And Secured That Promise] By The Going Back Of The Shadow Ten
Degrees.
1. Now king Hezekiah being thus delivered, after a surprising manner, from the
dread he was in, offered thank-offerings to God, with all his people, because nothing
else had destroyed some of their enemies, and made the rest so fearful of undergoing
the same fate that they departed from Jerusalem, but that Divine assistance. Yet,
while he was very zealous and diligent about the worship of God, did he soon afterwards
fall into a severe distemper, insomuch that the physicians despaired of him, and
expected no good issue of his sickness, as neither did his friends: and besides
the distemper itself, there was a very melancholy circumstance that disordered the
king, which was the consideration that he was childless, and was going to die, and
leave his house and his government without a successor of his own body; so he was
troubled at the thoughts of this his condition, and lamented himself, and entreated
of God that he would prolong his life for a little while till he had some children,
and not suffer him to depart this life before he was become a father. Hereupon God
had mercy upon him, and accepted of his supplication, because the trouble he was
under at his supposed death was not because he was soon to leave the advantages
he enjoyed in the kingdom, nor did he on that account pray that he might have a
longer life afforded him, but in order to have sons, that might receive the government
after him. And God sent Isaiah the prophet, and commanded him to inform Hezekiah,
that within three days’ time he should get clear of his distemper, and should survive
it fifteen years, and that he should have children also. Now, upon the prophet’s
saying this, as God had commanded him, he could hardly believe it, both on account
of the distemper he was under, which was very sore, and by reason of the surprising
nature of what was told him; so he desired that Isaiah would give him some sign
or wonder, that he might believe him in what he had said, and be sensible that he
came from God; for things that are beyond expectation, and greater than our hopes,
are made credible by actions of the like nature. And when Isaiah had asked him what
sign he desired to be exhibited, he desired that he would make the shadow of the
sun, which he had already made to go down ten steps [or degrees] in his house, to
return again to the same place, and to make it as it was before. And when the prophet
prayed to God to exhibit this sign to the king, he saw what he desired to see, and
was freed from his distemper, and went up to the temple, where he worshipped God,
and made vows to him.
2. At this time it was that the dominion of the Assyrians was overthrown by the
Medes; but of these things I shall treat elsewhere. But the king of Babylon, whose
name was Baladan, sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, with presents, and desired he would
be his ally and his friend. So he received the ambassadors gladly, and made them
a feast, and showed them his treasures, and his armory, and the other wealth he
was possessed of, in precious stones and in gold, and gave them presents to be carried
to Baladan, and sent them back to him. Upon which the prophet Isaiah came to him,
and inquired of him whence those ambassadors came; to which he replied, that they
came from Babylon, from the king; and that he had showed them all he had, that by
the sight of his riches and forces he might thereby guess at [the plenty he was
in], and be able to inform the king of it. But the prophet rejoined, and said, “Know
thou, that, after a little while, these riches of thine shall be carried away to
Babylon, and thy posterity shall be made eunuchs there, and lose their manhood,
and be servants to the king of Babylon; for that God foretold such things would
come to pass.” Upon which words Hezekiah was troubled, and said that he was himself
unwilling that his nation should fall into such calamities; yet since it is not
possible to alter what God had determined, he prayed that there might be peace while
he lived. Berosus also makes mention of this Baladan, king of Babylon. Now as to
this prophet [Isaiah], he was by the confession of all, a divine and wonderful man
in speaking truth; and out of the assurance that he had never written what was false,
he wrote down all his prophecies, and left them behind him in books, that their
accomplishment might be judged of from the events by posterity: nor did this prophet
do so alone, but the others, which were twelve in number, did the same. And whatsoever
is done among us, Whether it be good, or whether it be bad, comes to pass according
to their prophecies; but of every one of these we shall speak hereafter.
CHAPTER 3.
How Manasseh Reigned After Hezekiah; And How When He Was In Captivity He Returned
To God And Was Restored To His Kingdom And Left It To [His Son] Amon.
1. When king Hezekiah had survived the interval of time already mentioned, and
had dwelt all that time in peace, he died, having completed fifty-four years of
his life, and reigned twenty-nine. But when his son Manasseh, whose mother’s name
was Hephzibah, of Jerusalem, had taken the kingdom, he departed from the conduct
of his father, and fell into a course of life quite contrary thereto, and showed
himself in his manners most wicked in all respects, and omitted no sort of impiety,
but imitated those transgressions of the Israelites, by the commission of which
against God they had been destroyed; for he was so hardy as to defile the temple
of God, and the city, and the whole country; for, by setting out from a contempt
of God, he barbarously slew all the righteous men that were among the Hebrews; nor
would he spare the prophets, for he every day slew some of them, till Jerusalem
was overflown with blood. So God was angry at these proceedings, and sent prophets
to the king, and to the multitude, by whom he threatened the very same calamities
to them which their brethren the Israelites, upon the like affronts offered to God,
were now under. But these men would not believe their words, by which belief they
might have reaped the advantage of escaping all those miseries; yet did they in
earnest learn that what the prophets had told them was true.
2. And when they persevered in the same course of life, God raised up war against
them from the king of Babylon and Chaldea, who sent an army against Judea, and laid
waste the country; and caught king Manasseh by treachery, and ordered him to be
brought to him, and had him under his power to inflict what punishment he pleased
upon him. But then it was that Manasseh perceived what a miserable condition he
was in, and esteeming himself the cause of all, he besought God to render his enemy
humane and merciful to him. Accordingly, God heard his prayer, and granted him what
he prayed for. So Manasseh was released by the king of Babylon, and escaped the
danger he was in; and when he was come to Jerusalem, he endeavored, if it were possible,
to cast out of his memory those his former sins against God, of which he now repented,
and to apply himself to a very religious life. He sanctified the temple, and purged
the city, and for the remainder of his days he was intent on nothing but to return
his thanks to God for his deliverance, and to preserve him propitious to him all
his life long. He also instructed the multitude to do the same, as having very nearly
experienced what a calamity he was fallen into by a contrary conduct. He also rebuilt
the altar, and offered the legal sacrifices, as Moses commanded. And when he had
re-established what concerned the Divine worship, as it ought to be, he took care
of the security of Jerusalem: he did not only repair the old walls with great diligence,
but added another wall to the former. He also built very lofty towers, and the garrisoned
places before the city he strengthened, not only in other respects, but with provisions
of all sorts that they wanted. And indeed, when he had changed his former course,
he so led his life for the time to come, that from the time of his return to piety
towards God he was deemed a happy man, and a pattern for imitation. When therefore
he had lived sixty-seven years, he departed this life, having reigned fifty-five
years, and was buried in his own garden; and the kingdom came to his son Amon, whose
mother’s name was Meshulemeth, of the city of Jotbath.
CHAPTER 4.
How Amon Reigned Instead Of Manasseh; And After Amon Reigned Josiah; He Was Both
Righteous And Religious. As Also Concerning Huldah The Prophetess.
1. This Amon imitated those works of his father which he insolently did when
he was young: so he had a conspiracy made against him by his own servants, and was
slain in his own house, when he had lived twenty-four years, and of them had reigned
two. But the multitude punished those that slew Amon, and buried him with his father,
and gave the kingdom to his son Josiah, who was eight years old. His mother was
of the city of Boscath, and her name was Jedidah. He was of a most excellent disposition,
and naturally virtuous, and followed the actions of king David, as a pattern and
a rule to him in the whole conduct of his life. And when he was twelve years old,
he gave demonstrations of his religious and righteous behavior; for he brought the
people to a sober way of living, and exhorted them to leave off the opinion they
had of their idols, because they were not gods, but to worship their own God. And
by repeating on the actions of his progenitors, he prudently corrected what they
did wrong, like a very elderly man, and like one abundantly able to understand what
was fit to be done; and what he found they had well done, he observed all the country
over, and imitated the same. And thus he acted in following the wisdom and sagacity
of his own nature, and in compliance with the advice and instruction of the elders;
for by following the laws it was that he succeeded so well in the order of his government,
and in piety with regard to the Divine worship. And this happened because the transgressions
of the former kings were seen no more, but quite vanished away; for the king went
about the city, and the whole country, and cut down the groves which were devoted
to strange gods, and overthrew their altars; and if there were any gifts dedicated
to them by his forefathers, he made them ignominious, and plucked them down; and
by this means he brought the people back from their opinion about them to the worship
of God. He also offered his accustomed sacrifices and burnt-offerings upon the altar.
Moreover, he ordained certain judges and overseers, that they might order the matters
to them severally belonging, and have regard to justice above all things, and distribute
it with the same concern they would have about their own soul. He also sent over
all the country, and desired such as pleased to bring gold and silver for the repairs
of the temple, according to every one’s inclinations and abilities. And when the
money was brought in, he made one Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Shaphan
the scribe, and Joab the recorder, and Eliakim the high priest, curators of the
temple, and of the charges contributed thereto; who made no delay, nor put the work
off at all, but prepared architects, and whatsoever was proper for those repairs,
and set closely about the work. So the temple was repaired by this means, and became
a public demonstration of the king’s piety.
2. But when he was now in the eighteenth year of his reign, he sent to Eliakim
the high priest, and gave order, that out of what money was overplus, he should
cast cups, and dishes, and vials, for ministration [in the temple]; and besides,
that they should bring all the gold or silver which was among the treasures, and
expend that also in making cups and the like vessels. But as the high priest was
bringing out the gold, he lighted upon the holy books of Moses that were laid up
in the temple; and when he had brought them out, he gave them to Shaphan the scribe,
who, when he had read them, came to the king, and informed him that all was finished
which he had ordered to be done. He also read over the books to him, who, when he
had heard them read, rent his garment, and called for Eliakim the high priest, and
for [Shaphan] the scribe, and for certain [other] of his most particular friends,
and sent them to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, (which Shallum was
a man of dignity, and of an eminent family,) and bid them go to her, and say that
[he desired] she would appease God, and endeavor to render him propitious to them,
for that there was cause to fear, lest, upon the transgression of the laws of Moses
by their forefathers, they should be in peril of going into captivity, and of being
cast out of their own country; lest they should be in want of all things, and so
end their days miserably. When the prophetess had heard this from the messengers
that were sent to her by the king, she bid them go back to the king, and say that
“God had already given sentence against them, to destroy the people, and cast them
out of their country, and deprive them of all the happiness they enjoyed; which
sentence none could set aside by any prayers of theirs, since it was passed on account
of their transgressions of the laws, and of their not having repented in so long
a time, while the prophets had exhorted them to amend, and had foretold the punishment
that would ensue on their impious practices; which threatening God would certainly
execute upon them, that they might be persuaded that he is God, and had not deceived
them in any respect as to what he had denounced by his prophets; that yet, because
Josiah was a righteous man, he would at present delay those calamities, but that
after his death he would send on the multitude what miseries he had determined for
them.
3. So these messengers, upon this prophecy of the woman, came and told it to
the king; whereupon he sent to the people every where, and ordered that the priests
and the Levites should come together to Jerusalem; and commanded that those of every
age should be present also. And when they had gathered together, he first read to
them the holy books; after which he stood upon a pulpit, in the midst of the multitude,
and obliged them to make a covenant, with an oath, that they would worship God,
and keep the laws of Moses. Accordingly, they gave their assent willingly, and undertook
to do what the king had recommended to them. So they immediately offered sacrifices,
and that after an acceptable manner, and besought God to be gracious and merciful
to them. He also enjoined the high priest, that if there remained in the temple
any vessel that was dedicated to idols, or to foreign gods, they should cast it
out. So when a great number of such vessels were got together, he burnt them, and
scattered their ashes abroad, and slew the priests of the idols that were not of
the family of Aaron.
4. And when he had done thus in Jerusalem, he came into the country, and utterly
destroyed what buildings had been made therein by king Jeroboam, in honor of strange
gods; and he burnt the bones of the false prophets upon that altar which Jeroboam
first built; and, as the prophet [Jadon], who came to Jeroboam when he was offering
sacrifice, and when all the people heard him, foretold what would come to pass,
viz. that a certain man of the house of David, Josiah by name, should do what is
here mentioned. And it happened that those predictions took effect after three hundred
and sixty-one years.
5. After these things, Josiah went also to such other Israelites as had escaped
captivity and slavery under the Assyrians, and persuaded them to desist from their
impious practices, and to leave off the honors they paid to strange gods, but to
worship rightly their own Almighty God, and adhere to him. He also searched the
houses, and the villages, and the cities, out of a suspicion that somebody might
have one idol or other in private; nay, indeed, he took away the chariots [of the
sun] that were set up in his royal palace, which his predecessors had framed, and
what thing soever there was besides which they worshipped as a god. And when he
had thus purged all the country, he called the people to Jerusalem, and there celebrated
the feast of unleavened bread, and that called the passover. He also gave the people
for paschal sacrifices, young kids of the goats, and lambs, thirty thousand, and
three thousand oxen for burnt-offerings. The principal of the priests also gave
to the priests against the passover two thousand and six hundred lambs; the principal
of the Levites also gave to the Levites five thousand lambs, and five hundred oxen,
by which means there was great plenty of sacrifices; and they offered those sacrifices
according to the laws of Moses, while every priest explained the matter, and ministered
to the multitude. And indeed there had been no other festival thus celebrated by
the Hebrews from the times of Samuel the prophet; and the plenty of sacrifices now
was the occasion that all things were performed according to the laws, and according
to the custom of their forefathers. So when Josiah had after this lived in peace,
nay, in riches and reputation also, among all men, he ended his life in the manner
following.
CHAPTER 5.
How Josiah Fought With Neco [King Of Egypt.] And Was Wounded And Died In A Little
Time Afterward; As Also How Neco Carried Jehoahaz, Who Had Been Made King Into Egypt
And Delivered The Kingdom To Jehoiakim; And [Lastly] Concerning Jeremiah And Ezekiel.
1. Now Neco, king of Egypt, raised an army, and marched to the river Euphrates,
in order to fight with the Medes and Babylonians, who had overthrown the dominion
of the Assyrians, for he had a desire to reign over Asia. Now when he was come to
the city Mendes, which belonged to the kingdom of Josiah, he brought an army to
hinder him from passing through his own country, in his expedition against the Medes.
Now Neco sent a herald to Josiah, and told him that he did not make this expedition
against him, but was making haste to Euphrates; and desired that he would not provoke
him to fight against him, because he obstructed his march to the place whither he
had resolved to go. But Josiah did not admit of this advice of Neco, but put himself
into a posture to hinder him from his intended march. I suppose it was fate that
pushed him on this conduct, that it might take an occasion against him; for as he
was setting his army in array, and rode about in his chariot, from one wing of his
army to another, one of the Egyptians shot an arrow at him, and put an end to his
eagerness of fighting; for being sorely wounded, he command a retreat to be sounded
for his army, and returned to Jerusalem, and died of that wound; and was magnificently
buried in the sepulcher of his fathers, when he had lived thirty-nine years, and
of them had reigned thirty-one. But all the people mourned greatly for him, lamenting
and grieving on his account many days; and Jeremiah the prophet composed an elegy
to lament him, which is extant till tills time also. Moreover, this prophet denounced
beforehand the sad calamities that were coming upon the city. He also left behind
him in writing a description of that destruction of our nation which has lately
happened in our days, and the taking of Babylon; nor was he the only prophet who
delivered such predictions beforehand to the multitude, but so did Ezekiel also,
who was the first person that wrote, and left behind him in writing two books concerning
these events. Now these two prophets were priests by birth, but of them Jeremiah
dwelt in Jerusalem, from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, until the city
and temple were utterly destroyed. However, as to what befell this prophet, we will
relate it in its proper place.
2. Upon the death of Josiah, which we have already mentioned, his son, Jehoahaz
by name, took the kingdom, being about twenty-three years old. He reigned in Jerusalem;
and his mother was Hamutal, of the city Libhah. He was an impious man, and impure
in his course of life; but as the king of Egypt returned from the battle, he sent
for Jehoahaz to come to him, to the city called Hamath which belongs to Syria; and
when he was come, he put him in bands, and delivered the kingdom to a brother of
his, by the father’s side, whose name was Eliakim, and changed his name to Jehoiakim
and laid a tribute upon the land of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of
gold; and this sum of money Jehoiakim paid by way of tribute; but Neco carried away
Jehoahaz into Egypt, where he died when he had reigned three months and ten days.
Now Jehoiakim’s mother was called Zebudah, of the city Rumah. He was of a wicked
disposition, and ready to do mischief; nor was he either religions towards God,
or good-natured towards men.
CHAPTER 6.
How Nebuchadnezzar, When He Had Conquered The King Of Egypt Made An Expedition
Against The Jews, And Slew Jehoiakim, And Made Jeholachin His Son King.
1. Now in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, one whose name was Nebuchadnezzar
took the government over the Babylonians, who at the same time went up with a great
army to the city Carchemish, which was at Euphrates, upon a resolution he had taken
to fight with Neco king of Egypt, under whom all Syria then was. And when Neco understood
the intention of the king of Babylon, and that this expedition was made against
him, he did not despise his attempt, but made haste with a great band of men to
Euphrates to defend himself from Nebuchadnezzar; and when they had joined battle,
he was beaten, and lost many ten thousands [of his soldiers] in the battle. So the
king of Babylon passed over Euphrates, and took all Syria, as far as Pelusium, excepting
Judea. But when Nebuchadnezzar had already reigned four years, which was the eighth
of Jehoiakim’s government over the Hebrews, the king of Babylon made an expedition
with mighty forces against the Jews, and required tribute of Jehoiakim, and threatened
upon his refusal to make war against him. He was aftrighted at his threatening,
and bought his peace with money, and brought the tribute he was ordered to bring
for three years.
2. But on the third year, upon hearing that the king of the Babylonians made
an expedition against the Egyptians, he did not pay his tribute; yet was he disappointed
of his hope, for the Egyptians durst not fight at this time. And indeed the prophet
Jeremiah foretold every day, how vainly they relied on their hopes from Egypt, and
how the city would be overthrown by the king of Babylon, and Jehoiakim the king
would be subdued by him. But what he thus spake proved to be of no advantage to
them, because there were none that should escape; for both the multitude and the
rulers, when they heard him, had no concern about what they heard; but being displeased
at what was said, as if the prophet were a diviner against the king, they accused
Jeremiah, and bringing him before the court, they required that a sentence and a
punishment might be given against him. Now all the rest gave their votes for his
condemnation, but the elders refused, who prudently sent away the prophet from the
court of [the prison], and persuaded the rest to do Jeremiah no harm; for they said
that he was not the only person who foretold what would come to the city, but that
Micah signified the same before him, as well as many others, none of which suffered
any thing of the kings that then reigned, but were honored as the prophets of God.
So they mollified the multitude with these words, and delivered Jeremiah from the
punishment to which he was condemned. Now when this prophet had written all his
prophecies, and the people were fasting, and assembled at the temple, on the ninth
month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim, he read the book he had composed of his predictions
of what was to befall the city, and the temple, and the multitude. And when the
rulers heard of it, they took the book from him, and bid him and Baruch the scribe
to go their ways, lest they should be discovered by one or other; but they carried
the book, and gave it to the king; so he gave order, in the presence of his friends,
that his scribe should take it, and read it. When the king heard what it contained,
he was angry, and tore it, and cast it into the fire, where it was consumed. He
also commanded that they should seek for Jeremiah, and Baruch the scribe, and bring
them to him, that they might be punished. However, they escaped his anger.
3. Now, a little time afterwards, the king of Babylon made an expedition against
Jehoiakim, whom he received [into the city], and this out of fear of the foregoing
predictions of this prophet, as supposing he should suffer nothing that was terrible,
because he neither shut the gates, nor fought against him; yet when he was come
into the city, he did not observe the covenants he had made, but he slew such as
were in the flower of their age, and such as were of the greatest dignity, together
with their king Jehoiakim, whom he commanded to be thrown before the walls, without
any burial; and made his son Jehoiachin king of the country, and of the city: he
also took the principal persons in dignity for captives, three thousand in number,
and led them away to Babylon; among which was the prophet Ezekiel, who was then
but young. And this was the end of king Jehoiakim, when he had lived thirty-six
years, and of them reigned eleven. But Jehoiachin succeeded him in the kingdom,
whose mother’s name was Nehushta; she was a citizen of Jerusalem. He reigned three
months and ten days.
CHAPTER 7.
That The King Of Babylon Repented Of Making Jehoiachin King, And Took Him Away
To Babylon And Delivered The Kingdom To Zedekiah. This King Would Not Relieve What
Was Predicted By Jeremiah And Ezekiel But Joined Himself To The Egyptians; Who When
They Came Into Judea, Were Vanquished By The King Of Babylon; As Also What Befell
Jeremiah.
1. But a terror seized on the king of Babylon, who had given the kingdom to Jehoiachin,
and that immediately; he was afraid that he should bear him a grudge, because of
his killing his father, and thereupon should make the country revolt from him; wherefore
he sent an army, and besieged Jehoiachin in Jerusalem; but because he was of a gentle
and just disposition, he did not desire to see the city endangered on his account,
but he took his mother and kindred, and delivered them to the commanders sent by
the king of Babylon, and accepted of their oaths, that neither should they suffer
any harm, nor the city; which agreement they did not observe for a single year,
for the king of Babylon did not keep it, but gave orders to his generals to take
all that were in the city captives, both the youth and the handicraftsmen, and bring
them bound to him; their number was ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-two; as
also Jehoiachin, and his mother and friends. And when these were brought to him,
he kept them in custody, and appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, to be king;
and made him take an oath, that he would certainly keep the kingdom for him, and
make no innovation, nor have any league of friendship with the Egyptians.
2. Now Zedekiah was twenty and one year’s old when he took the government; and
had the same mother with his brother Jehoiakim, but was a despiser of justice and
of his duty, for truly those of the same age with him were wicked about him, and
the whole multitude did what unjust and insolent things they pleased; for which
reason the prophet Jeremiah came often to him, and protested to him, and insisted,
that he must leave off his impieties and transgressions, and take care of what was
right, and neither give ear to the rulers, (among whom were wicked men,) nor give
credit to their false prophets, who deluded them, as if the king of Babylon would
make no more war against them, and as if the Egyptians would make war against him,
and conquer him, since what they said was not true, and the events would not prove
such [as they expected]. Now as to Zedekiah himself, while he heard the prophet
speak, he believed him, and agreed to every thing as true, and supposed it was for
his advantage; but then his friends perverted him, and dissuaded him from what the
prophet advised, and obliged him to do what they pleased. Ezekiel also foretold
in Babylon what calamities were coming upon the people, which when he heard, he
sent accounts of them unto Jerusalem. But Zedekiah did not believe their prophecies,
for the reason following: It happened that the two prophets agreed with one another
in what they said as in all other things, that the city should be taken, and Zedekiah
himself should be taken captive; but Ezekiel disagreed with him, and said that Zedekiah
should not see Babylon, while Jeremiah said to him, that the king of Babylon should
carry him away thither in bonds. And be-
3. Now when Zedekiah had preserved the league of mutual assistance he had made
with the Babylonians for eight years, he brake it, and revolted to the Egyptians,
in hopes, by their assistance, of overcoming the Babylonians. When the king of Babylon
knew this, he made war against him: he laid his country waste, and took his fortified
towns, and came to the city Jerusalem itself to besiege it. But when the king of
Egypt heard what circumstances Zedekiah his ally was in, he took a great army with
him, and came into Judea, as if he would raise the siege; upon which the king of
Babylon departed from Jerusalem, and met the Egyptians, and joined battle with them,
and beat them; and when he had put them to flight, he pursued them, and drove them
out of all Syria. Now as soon as the king of Babylon was departed from Jerusalem,
the false prophets deceived Zedekiah, and said that the king of Babylon would not
any more make war against him or his people, nor remove them out of their own country
into Babylon; and that those then in captivity would return, with all those vessels
of the temple of which the king of Babylon had despoiled that temple. But Jeremiah
came among them, and prophesied what contradicted those predictions, and what proved
to be true, that they did ill, and deluded the king; that the Egyptians would be
of no advantage to them, but that the king of Babylon would renew the war against
Jerusalem, and besiege it again, and would destroy the people by famine, and carry
away those that remained into captivity, and would take away what they had as spoils,
and would carry off those riches that were in the temple; nay, that, besides this,
he would burn it, and utterly overthrow the city, and that they should serve him
and his posterity seventy years; that then the Persians and the Medes should put
an end to their servitude, and overthrow the Babylonians; “and that we shall be
dismissed, and return to this land, and rebuild the temple, and restore Jerusalem.”
When Jeremiah said this, the greater part believed him; but the rulers, and those
that were wicked, despised him, as one disordered in his senses. Now he had resolved
to go elsewhere, to his own country, which was called Anathoth, and was twenty furlongs
distant from Jerusalem; and as he was going, one of the rulers met him, and seized
upon him, and accused him falsely, as though he were going as a deserter to the
Babylonians; but Jeremiah said that he accused him falsely, and added, that he was
only going to his own country; but the other would not believe him, but seized upon
him, and led him away to the rulers, and laid an accusation against him, under whom
he endured all sorts of torments and tortures, and was reserved to be punished;
and this was the condition he was in for some time, while he suffered what I have
already described unjustly.
4. Now in the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, on the tenth day of the tenth
month, the king of Babylon made a second expedition against Jerusalem, and lay before
it eighteen months, and besieged it with the utmost application. There came upon
them also two of the greatest calamities at the same time that Jerusalem was besieged,
a famine and a pestilential distemper, and made great havoc of them. And though
the prophet Jeremiah was in prison, he did not rest, but cried out, and proclaimed
aloud, and exhorted the multitude to open their gates, and admit the king of Babylon,
for that if they did so, they should be preserved, and their whole families; but
if they did not so, they should be destroyed; and he foretold, that if any one staid
in the city, he should certainly perish by one of these ways, – either be consumed
by the famine, or slain by the enemy’s sword; but that if he would flee to the enemy,
he should escape death. Yet did not these rulers who heard believe him, even when
they were in the midst of their sore calamities; but they came to the king, and
in their anger informed him what Jeremiah had said, and accused him, and complained
of the prophet as of a madman, and one that disheartened their minds, and by the
denunciation of miseries weakened the alacrity of the multitude, who were otherwise
ready to expose themselves to dangers for him, and for their country, while he,
in a way of threatening, warned them to flee to the enemy, and told them that the
city should certainly be taken, and be utterly destroyed.
5. But for the king himself, he was not at all irritated against Jeremiah, such
was his gentle and righteous disposition; yet, that he might not be engaged in a
quarrel with those rulers at such a time, by opposing what they intended, he let
them do with the prophet whatsoever they would; whereupon, when the king had granted
them such a permission, they presently came into the prison, and took him, and let
him down with a cord into a pit full of mire, that he might be suffocated, and die
of himself. So he stood up to the neck in the mire which was all about him, and
so continued; but there was one of the king’s servants, who was in esteem with him,
an Ethiopian by descent, who told the king what a state the prophet was in, and
said that his friends and his rulers had done evil in putting the prophet into the
mire, and by that means contriving against him that he should suffer a death more
bitter than that by his bonds only. When the king heard this, he repented of his
having delivered up the prophet to the rulers, and bid the Ethiopian take thirty
men of the king’s guards, and cords with them, and whatsoever else they understood
to be necessary for the prophet’s preservation, and to draw him up immediately.
So the Ethiopian took the men he was ordered to take, and drew up the prophet out
of the mire, and left him at liberty [in the prison].
6. But when the king had sent to call him privately, and inquired what he could
say to him from God, which might be suitable to his present circumstances, and desired
him to inform him of it, Jeremiah replied, that he had somewhat to say; but he said
withal, he should not be believed, nor, if he admonished them, should be hearkened
to; “for,” said he, “thy friends have determined to destroy me, as though I had
been guilty of some wickedness; and where are now those men who deceived us, and
said that the king of Babylon would not come and fight against us any more? but
I am afraid now to speak the truth, lest thou shouldst condemn me to die.” And when
the king had assured him upon oath, that he would neither himself put him to death,
nor deliver him up to the rulers, he became bold upon that assurance that was given
him, and gave him this advice: That he should deliver the city up to the Babylonians;
and he said that it was God who prophesied this by him, that [he must do so] if
he would be preserved, and escape out of the danger he was in, and that then neither
should the city fall to the ground, nor should the temple be burned; but that [if
he disobeyed] he would be the cause of these miseries coming upon the citizens,
and of the calamity that would befall his whole house. When the king heard this,
he said that he would willingly do what he persuaded him to, and what he declared
would be to his advantage, but that he was afraid of those of his own country that
had fallen away to the Babylonians, lest he should be accused by them to the king
of Babylon, and be punished. But the prophet encouraged him, and said he had no
cause to fear such punishment, for that he should not have the experience of any
misfortune, if he would deliver all up to the Babylonians, neither himself, nor
his children, nor his wives, and that the temple should then continue unhurt. So
when Jeremiah had said this, the king let him go, and charged him to betray what
they had resolved on to none of the citizens, nor to tell any of these matters to
any of the rulers, if they should have learned that he had been sent for, and should
inquire of him what it was that he was sent for, and what he had said to him; but
to pretend to them that he besought him that he might not be kept in bonds and in
prison. And indeed he said so to them; for they came to the, prophet, and asked
him what advice it was that he came to give the king relating to them. And thus
I have finished what concerns this matter.
CHAPTER 8.
How The King Of Babylon Took Jerusalem And Burnt The Temple And Removed The People
Of Jerusalem And Zedekiah To Babylon. As Also, Who They Were That Had Succeeded
In The High Priesthood Under The Kings.
1. Now the king of Babylon was very intent and earnest upon the siege of Jerusalem;
and he erected towers upon great banks of earth, and from them repelled those that
stood upon the walls; he also made a great number of such banks round about the
whole city, whose height was equal to those walls. However, those that were within
bore the siege with courage and alacrity, for they were not discouraged, either
by the famine, or by the pestilential distemper, but were of cheerful minds in the
prosecution of the war, although those miseries within oppressed them also, and
they did not suffer themselves to be terrified, either by the contrivances of the
enemy, or by their engines of war, but contrived still different engines to oppose
all the other withal, till indeed there seemed to be an entire struggle between
the Babylonians and the people of Jerusalem, which had the greater sagacity and
skill; the former party supposing they should be thereby too hard for the other,
for the destruction of the city; the latter placing their hopes of deliverance in
nothing else but in persevering in such inventions in opposition to the other, as
might demonstrate the enemy’s engines were useless to them. And this siege they
endured for eighteen months, until they were destroyed by the famine, and by the
darts which the enemy threw at them from the towers.
2. Now the city was taken on the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh
year of the reign of Zedekiah. They were indeed only generals of the king of Babylon,
to whom Nebuchadnezzar committed the care of the siege, for he abode himself in
the city of Riblah. The names of these generals who ravaged and subdued Jerusalem,
if any one desire to know them, were these: Nergal Sharezer, Samgar Nebo, Rabsaris,
Sorsechim, and Rabmag. And when the city was taken about midnight, and the enemy’s
generals were entered into the temple, and when Zedekiah was sensible of it, he
took his wives, and his children, and his captains, and his friends, and with them
fled out of the city, through the fortified ditch, and through the desert; and when
certain of the deserters had informed the Babylonians of this, at break of day,
they made haste to pursue after Zedekiah, and overtook him not far from Jericho,
and encompassed him about. But for those friends and captains of Zedekiah who had
fled out of the city with him, when they saw their enemies near them, they left
him, and dispersed themselves, some one way, and some another, and every one resolved
to save himself; so the enemy took Zedekiah alive, when he was deserted by all but
a few, with his children and his wives, and brought him to the king. When he was
come, Nebuchadnezzar began to call him a wicked wretch, and a covenant-breaker,
and one that had forgotten his former words, when he promised to keep the country
for him. He also reproached him for his ingratitude, that when he had received the
kingdom from him, who had taken it from Jehoiachin, and given it to him, he had
made use of the power he gave him against him that gave it; “but,” said he, “God
is great, who hated that conduct of thine, and hath brought thee under us.” And
when he had used these words to Zedekiah, he commanded his sons and his friends
to be slain, while Zedekiah and the rest of the captains looked on; after which
he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him, and carried him to Babylon. And
these things happened to him, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel had foretold to him, that
he should be caught, and brought before the king of Babylon, and should speak to
him face to face, and should see his eyes with his own eyes; and thus far did Jeremiah
prophesy. But he was also made blind, and brought to Babylon, but did not see it,
according to the prediction of Ezekiel.
3. We have said thus much, because it was sufficient to show the nature of God
to such as are ignorant of it, that it is various, and acts many different ways,
and that all events happen after a regular manner, in their proper season, and that
it foretells what must come to pass. It is also sufficient to show the ignorance
and incredulity of men, whereby they are not permitted to foresee any thing that
is future, and are, without any guard, exposed to calamities, so that it is impossible
for them to avoid the experience of those calamities.
4. And after this manner have the kings of David’s race ended their lives, being
in number twenty-one, until the last king, who all together reigned five hundred
and fourteen years, and six months, and ten days; of whom Saul, who was their first
king, retained the government twenty years, though he was not of the same tribe
with the rest.
5. And now it was that the king of Babylon sent Nebuzaradan, the general of his
army, to Jerusalem, to pillage the temple, who had it also in command to burn it
and the royal palace, and to lay the city even with the ground, and to transplant
the people into Babylon. Accordingly, he came to Jerusalem in the eleventh year
of king Zedekiah, and pillaged the temple, and carried out the vessels of God, both
gold and silver, and particularly that large laver which Solomon dedicated, as also
the pillars of brass, and their chapiters, with the golden tables and the candlesticks;
and when he had carried these off, he set fire to the temple in the fifth month,
the first day of the month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, and in
the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar: he also burnt the palace, and overthrew the
city. Now the temple was burnt four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten
days after it was built. It was then one thousand and sixty-two years, six months,
and ten days from the departure out of Egypt; and from the deluge to the destruction
of the temple, the whole interval was one thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven
years, six months, and ten days; but from the generation of Adam, until this befell
the temple, there were three thousand five hundred and thirteen years, six months,
and ten days; so great was the number of years hereto belonging. And what actions
were done during these years we have particularly related. But the general of the
Babylonian king now overthrew the city to the very foundations, and removed all
the people, and took for prisoners the high priest Seraiah, and Zephaniah the priest
that was next to him, and the rulers that guarded the temple, who were three in
number, and the eunuch who was over the armed men, and seven friends of Zedekiah,
and his scribe, and sixty other rulers; all which, together with the vessels which
they had pillaged, he carried to the king of Babylon to Riblah, a city of Syria.
So the king commanded the heads of the high priest and of the rulers to be cut off
there; but he himself led all the captives and Zedekiah to Babylon. He also led
Josedek the high priest away bound. He was the son of Seraiah the high priest, whom
the king of Babylon had slain in Riblah, a city of Syria, as we just now related.
6. And now, because we have enumerated the succession of the kings, and who they
were, and how long they reigned, I think it necessary to set down the names of the
high priests, and who they were that succeeded one another in the high priesthood
under the Kings. The first high priest then at the temple which Solomon built was
Zadok; after him his son Achimas received that dignity; after Achimas was Azarias;
his son was Joram, and Joram’s son was Isus; after him was Axioramus; his son was
Phidens, and Phideas’s son was Sudeas, and Sudeas’s son was Juelus, and Juelus’s
son was Jotham, and Jotham’s son was Urias, and Urias’s son was Nerias, and Nerias’s
son was Odeas, and his son was Sallumus, and Sallumus’s son was Elcias, and his
son [was Azarias, and his son] was Sareas, (14) and his son was Josedec, who was
carried captive to Babylon. All these received the high priesthood by succession,
the sons from their father.
7. When the king was come to Babylon, he kept Zedekiah in prison until he died,
and buried him magnificently, and dedicated the vessels he had pillaged out of the
temple of Jerusalem to his own gods, and planted the people in the country of Babylon,
but freed the high priest from his bonds.
CHAPTER 9.
How Nebuzaradan Set Gedaliah Over The Jews That Were Left In Judea Which Gedaliah
Was A Little Afterward Slain By Ishmael; And How Johanan After Ishmael Was Driven
Away Went Down Into Egypt With The People Which People Nebuchadnezzar When He Made
An Expedition Against The Egyptians Took Captive And Brought Them Away To Babylon.
1. Now the general of the army, Nebuzaradan, when he had carried the people of
the Jews into captivity, left the poor, and those that had deserted, in the country,
and made one, whose name was Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, a person of a noble family,
their governor; which Gedaliah was of a gentle and righteous disposition. He also
commanded them that they should cultivate the ground, and pay an appointed tribute
to the king. He also took Jeremiah the prophet out of prison, and would have persuaded
him to go along with him to Babylon, for that he had been enjoined by the king to
supply him with whatsoever he wanted; and if he did not like to do so, he desired
him to inform him where he resolved to dwell, that he might signify the same to
the king. But the prophet had no mind to follow him, nor to dwell any where else,
but would gladly live in the ruins of his country, and in the miserable remains
of it. When the general understood what his purpose was, he enjoined Gedaliah, whom
he left behind, to take all possible care of him, and to supply him with whatsoever
he wanted. So when he had given him rich presents, he dismissed him. Accordingly,
Jeremiah abode in a city of that country, which was called Mispah; and desired of
Nebuzaradan that he would set at liberty his disciple Baruch, the son of Neriah,
one of a very eminent family, and exceeding skillful in the language of his country.
2. When Nebuzaradan had done thus, he made haste to Babylon. But as to those
that fled away during the siege of Jerusalem, and had been scattered over the country,
when they heard that the Babylonians were gone away, and had left a remnant in the
land of Jerusalem, and those such as were to cultivate the same, they came together
from all parts to Gedaliah to Mispah. Now the rulers that were over them were Johanan,
the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, and Seraiah, and others beside them. Now there
was of the royal family one Ishmael, a wicked man, and very crafty, who, during
the siege of Jerusalem, fled to Baalis, the king of the Ammonites, and abode with
him during that time; and Gedaliah persuaded them, now they were there, to stay
with him, and to have no fear of the Babylonians, for that if they would cultivate
the country, they should suffer no harm. This he assured them of by oath; and said
that they should have him for their patron, and that if any disturbance should arise,
they should find him ready to defend them. He also advised them to dwell in any
city, as every one of them pleased; and that they would send men along with his
own servants, and rebuild their houses upon the old foundations, and dwell there;
and he admonished them beforehand, that they should make preparation, while the
season lasted, of corn, and wine, and oil, that they might have whereon to feed
during the winter. When he had thus discoursed to them, he dismissed them, that
every one might dwell in what place of the country he pleased.
3. Now when this report was spread abroad as far as the nations that bordered
on Judea, that Gedaliah kindly entertained those that came to him, after they had
fled away, upon this [only] condition, that they should pay tribute to the king
of Babylon, they also came readily to Gedaliah, and inhabited the country. And when
Johanan, and the rulers that were with him, observed the country, and the humanity
of Gedaliah, they were exceedingly in love with him, and told him that Baalis, the
king of the Ammonites, had sent Ishmael to kill him by treachery, and secretly,
that he might have the dominion over the Israelites, as being of the royal family;
and they said that he might deliver himself from this treacherous design, if he
would give them leave to slay Ishmael, and nobody should know it, for they told
him they were afraid that, when he was killed by the other, the entire ruin of the
remaining strength of the Israelites would ensue. But he professed that he did not
believe what they said, when they told him of such a treacherous design, in a man
that had been well treated by him; because it was not probable that one who, under
such a want of all things, had failed of nothing that was necessary for him, should
be found so wicked and ungrateful towards his benefactor, that when it would be
an instance of wickedness in him not to save him, had he been treacherously assaulted
by others, to endeavor, and that earnestly, to kill him with his own hands: that,
however, if he ought to suppose this information to be true, it was better for himself
to be slain by the other, than to destroy a man who fled to him for refuge, and
intrusted his own safety to him, and committed himself to his disposal.
4. So Johanan, and the rulers that were with him, not being able to persuade
Gedaliah, went away. But after the interval of thirty days was over, Ishmael came
again to Gedaliah, to the city Mispah, and ten men with him; and when he had feasted
Ishmael, and those that were with him, in a splendid manner at his table, and had
given them presents, he became disordered in drink, while he endeavored to be very
merry with them; and when Ishmael saw him in that case, and that he was drowned
in his cups to the degree of insensibility, and fallen asleep, he rose up on a sudden,
with his ten friends, and slew Gedaliah, and those that were with him at the feast;
and when he had slain them, he went out by night, and slew all the Jews that were
in the city, and those soldiers also which were left therein by the Babylonians.
But the next day fourscore men came out of the country with presents to Gedaliah,
none of them knowing what had befallen him; when Ishmael saw them, he invited them
in to Gedaliah, and when they were come in, he shut up the court, and slew them,
and cast their dead bodies down into a certain deep pit, that they might not be
seen; but of these fourscore men Ishmael spared those that entreated him not to
kill them, till they had delivered up to him what riches they had concealed in the
fields, consisting of their furniture, and garments, and corn: but he took captive
the people that were in Mispah, with their wives and children; among whom were the
daughters of king Zedekiah, whom Nebuzaradan, the general of the army of Babylon,
had left with Gedaliah. And when he had done this, he came to the king of the Ammonites.
5. But when Johanan and the rulers with him heard of what was done at Mispah
by Ishmael, and of the death of Gedaliah, they had indignation at it, and every
one of them took his own armed men, and came suddenly to fight with Ishmael, and
overtook him at the fountain in Hebron. And when those that were carried away captives
by Ishmael saw Johanan and the rulers, they were very glad, and looked upon them
as coming to their assistance; so they left him that had carried them captives,
and came over to Johanan: then Ishmael, with eight men, fled to the king of the
Ammonites; but Johanan took those whom he had rescued out of the hands of Ishmael,
and the eunuchs, and their wives and children, and came to a certain place called
Mandra, and there they abode that day, for they had determined to remove from thence
and go into Egypt, out of fear, lest the Babylonians should slay them, in case they
continued in the country, and that out of anger at the slaughter of Gedaliah, who
had been by them set over it for governor.
6. Now while they were under this deliberation, Johanan, the son of Kareah, and
the rulers. that were with him, came to Jeremiah the prophet, and desired that he
would pray to God, that because they were at an utter loss about what they ought
to do, he would discover it to them, and they sware that they would do whatsoever
Jeremiah should say to them. And when the prophet said he would be their intercessor
with God, it came to pass, that after ten days God appeared to him, and said that
he should inform Johanan, and the other rulers, and all the people, that he would
be with them while they continued in that country, and take care of them, and keep
them from being hurt by the Babylonians, of whom they were afraid; but that he would
desert them if they went into Egypt, and, out of this wrath against them, would
inflict the same punishments upon them which they knew their brethren had already
endured. So when the prophet had informed Johanan and the people that God had foretold
these things, he was not believed, when he said that God commanded them to continue
in the country; but they imagined that he said so to gratify Baruch, his own disciple,
and belied God, and that he persuaded them to stay there, that they might be destroyed
by the Babylonians. Accordingly, both the people and Johanan disobeyed the counsel
of God, which he gave them by the prophet, and removed into Egypt, and carried Jeremiah
and Barnch along with him.
7. And when they were there, God signified to the prophet that the king of Babylon
was about making an expedition against the Egyptians, and commanded him to foretell
to the people that Egypt should be taken, and the king of Babylon should slay some
of them and, should take others captive, and bring them to Babylon; which things
came to pass accordingly; for on the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem,
which was the twenty-third of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he made an expedition
against Celesyria; and when he had possessed himself of it, he made war against
the Ammonites and Moabites; and when he had brought all these nations under subjection,
he fell upon Egypt, in order to overthrow it; and he slew the king that then reigned
and set up another; and he took those Jews that were there captives, and led them
away to Babylon. And such was the end of the nation of the Hebrews, as it hath been
delivered down to us, it having twice gone beyond Euphrates; for the people of the
ten tribes were carried out of Samaria by the Assyrians, in the days of king Hoshea;
after which the people of the two tribes that remained after Jerusalem was taken
[were carried away] by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon and Chaldea. Now as to
Shalmanezer, he removed the Israelites out of their country, and placed therein
the nation of the Cutheans, who had formerly belonged to the inner parts of Persia
and Media, but were then called Samaritans, by taking the name of the country to
which they were removed; but the king of Babylon, who brought out the two tribes,
placed no other nation in their country, by which means all Judea and Jerusalem,
and the temple, continued to be a desert for seventy years; but the entire interval
of time which passed from the captivity of the Israelites, to the carrying away
of the two tribes, proved to be a hundred and thirty years, six months, and ten
days.
CHAPTER 10.
Concerning Daniel And What Befell Him At Babylon,
1. But now Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took some of the most noble of the
Jews that were children, and the kinsmen of Zedekiah their king, such as were remarkable
for the beauty of their bodies, and the comeliness of their countenances, and delivered
them into the hands of tutors, and to the improvement to be made by them. He also
made some of them to be eunuchs; which course he took also with those of other nations
whom he had taken in the flower of their age, and afforded them their diet from
his own table, and had them instructed in the institutes of the country, and taught
the learning of the Chaldeans; and they had now exercised themselves sufficiently
in that wisdom which he had ordered they should apply themselves to. Now among these
there were four of the family of Zedekiah, of most excellent dispositions, one of
whom was called Daniel, another was called Ananias, another Misael, and the fourth
Azarias; and the king of Babylon changed their names, and commanded that they should
make use of other names. Daniel he called Baltasar; Ananias, Shadrach; Misael, Meshach;
and Azarias, Abednego. These the king had in esteem, and continued to love, because
of the very excellent temper they were of, and because of their application to learning,
and the profess they had made in wisdom.
2. Now Daniel and his kinsmen had resolved to use a severe diet, and to abstain
from those kinds of food which came from the king’s table, and entirely to forbear
to eat of all living creatures. So he came to Ashpenaz, who was that eunuch to whom
the care of them was committed, and desired him to take and spend what was brought
for them from the king, but to give them pulse and dates for their food, and any
thing else, besides the flesh of living creatures, that he pleased, for that their
inclinations were to that sort of food, and that they despised the other. He replied,
that he was ready to serve them in what they desired, but he suspected that they
would be discovered by the king, from their meagre bodies, and the alteration of
their countenances, because it could not be avoided but their bodies and colors
must be changed with their diet, especially while they would be clearly discovered
by the finer appearance of the other children, who would fare better, and thus they
should bring him into danger, and occasion him to be punished; yet did they persuade
Arioch, who was thus fearful, to give them what food they desired for ten days,
by way of trial; and in case the habit of their bodies were not altered, to go on
in the same way, as expecting that they should not be hurt thereby afterwards; but
if he saw them look meagre, and worse than the rest, he should reduce them to their
former diet. Now when it appeared that they were so far from becoming worse by the
use of this food, that they grew plumper and fuller in body than the rest, insomuch
that he thought those who fed on what came from the king’s table seemed less plump
and full, while those that were with Daniel looked as if they had lived in plenty,
and in all sorts of luxury. Arioch, from that time, securely took himself what the
king sent every day from his supper, according to custom, to the children, but gave
them the forementioned diet, while they had their souls in some measure more pure,
and less burdened, and so fitter for learning, and had their bodies in better tune
for hard labor; for they neither had the former oppressed and heavy with variety
of meats, nor were the other effeminate on the same account; so they readily understood
all the learning that was among the Hebrews, and among the Chaldeans, as especially
did Daniel, who being already sufficiently skillful in wisdom, was very busy about
the interpretation of dreams; and God manifested himself to him.
3. Now two years after the destruction of Egypt, king Nebuchadnezzar saw a wonderful
dream, the accomplishment of which God showed him in his sleep; but when he arose
out of his bed, he forgot the accomplishment. So he sent for the Chaldeans and magicians,
and the prophets, and told them that he had seen a dream, and informed them that
he had forgotten the accomplishment of what he had seen, and he enjoined them to
tell him both what the dream was, and what was its signification; and they said
that this was a thing impossible to be discovered by men; but they promised him,
that if he would explain to them what dream he had seen, they would tell him its
signification. Hereupon he threatened to put them to death, unless they told him
his dream; and he gave command to have them all put to death, since they confessed
they could not do what they were commanded to do. Now when Daniel heard that the
king had given a command, that all the wise men should be put to death, and that
among them himself and his three kinsmen were in danger, he went to Arioch, who
was captain of the king’s guards, and desired to know of him what was the reason
why the king had given command that all the wise men, and Chaldeans, and magicians
should be slain. So when he had learned that the king had had a dream, and had forgotten
it, and that when they were enjoined to inform the king of it, they had said they
could not do it, and had thereby provoked him to anger, he desired of Arioch that
he would go in to the king, and desire respite for the magicians for one night,
and to put off their slaughter so long, for that he hoped within that time to obtain,
by prayer to God, the knowledge of the dream. Accordingly, Arioch informed the king
of what Daniel desired. So the king bid them delay the slaughter of the magicians
till he knew what Daniel’s promise would come to; but the young man retired to his
own house, with his kinsmen, and besought God that whole night to discover the dream,
and thereby deliver the magicians and Chaldeans, with whom they were themselves
to perish, from the king’s anger, by enabling him to declare his vision, and to
make manifest what the king had seen the night before in his sleep, but had forgotten
it. Accordingly, God, out of pity to those that were in danger, and out of regard
to the wisdom of Daniel, made known to him the dream and its interpretation, that
so the king might understand by him its signification also. When Daniel had obtained
this knowledge from God, he arose very joyful, and told it his brethren, and made
them glad, and to hope well that they should now preserve their lives, of which
they despaired before, and had their minds full of nothing but the thoughts of dying.
So when he had with them returned thanks to God, who had commiserated their youth,
when it was day he came to Arioch, and desired him to bring him to the king, because
he would discover to him that dream which he had seen the night before.
4. When Daniel was come in to the king, he excused himself first, that he did
not pretend to be wiser than the other Chaldeans and magicians, when, upon their
entire inability to discover his dream, he was undertaking to inform him of it;
for this was not by his own skill, or on account of his having better cultivated
his understanding than the rest; but he said, God hath had pity upon us, when we
were in danger of death, and when I prayed for the life of myself, and of those
of my own nation, hath made manifest to me both the dream, and the interpretation
thereof; for I was not less concerned for thy glory than for the sorrow that we
were by thee condemned to die, while thou didst so unjustly command men, both good
and excellent in themselves, to be put to death, when thou enjoinedst them to do
what was entirely above the reach of human wisdom, and requiredst of them what was
only the work of God. Wherefore, as thou in thy sleep wast solicitous concerning
those that should succeed thee in the government of the whole world, God was desirous
to show thee all those that should reign after thee, and to that end exhibited to
thee the following dream: Thou seemedst to see a great image standing before thee,
the head of which proved to be of gold, the shoulders and arms of silver, and the
belly and the thighs of brass, but the legs and the feet of iron; after which thou
sawest a stone broken off from a mountain, which fell upon the image, and threw
it down, and brake it to pieces, and did not permit any part of it to remain whole;
but the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron, became smaller than meal, which,
upon the blast of a violent wind, was by force carried away, and scattered abroad,
but the stone did increase to such a degree, that the whole earth beneath it seemed
to be filled therewith. This is the dream which thou sawest, and its interpretation
is as follows: The head of gold denotes thee, and the kings of Babylon that have
been before thee; but the two hands and arms signify this, that your government
shall be dissolved by two kings; but another king that shall come from the west,
armed with brass, shall destroy that government; and another government, that shall
be like unto iron, shall put an end to the power of the former, and shall have dominion
over all the earth, on account of the nature of iron, which is stronger than that
of gold, of silver, and of brass.” Daniel did also declare the meaning of the stone
to the king but I do not think proper to relate it, since I have only undertaken
to describe things past or things present, but not things that are future; yet if
any one be so very desirous of knowing truth, as not to wave such points of curiosity,
and cannot curb his inclination for understanding the uncertainties of futurity,
and whether they will happen or not, let him be diligent in reading the book of
Daniel, which he will find among the sacred writings.
5. When Nebuchadnezzar heard this, and recollected his dream, he was astonished
at the nature of Daniel, and fell upon his knee; and saluted Daniel in the manner
that men worship God, and gave command that he should be sacrificed to as a god.
And this was not all, for he also imposed the name, of his own god upon him, [Baltasar,]
and made him and his kinsmen rulers of his whole kingdom; which kinsmen of his happened
to fall into great danger by the envy and malice [of their enemies]; for they offended
the king upon the occasion following: he made an image of gold, whose height was
sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits, and set it in the great plain of Babylon;
and when he was going to dedicate the image, he invited the principal men out of
all the earth that was under his dominions, and commanded them, in the first place,
that when they should hear the sound of the trumpet, they should then fall down
and worship the image; and he threatened, that those who did not so, should be cast
into a fiery furnace. When therefore all the rest, upon the hearing of the sound
of the trumpet, worshipped the image, they relate that Daniel’s kinsmen did not
do it, because they would not transgress the laws of their country. So these men
were convicted, and cast immediately into the fire, but were saved by Divine Providence,
and after a surprising manner escaped death, for the fire did not touch them; and
I suppose that it touched them not, as if it reasoned with itself, that they were
cast into it without any fault of theirs, and that therefore it was too weak to
burn the young men when they were in it. This was done by the power of God, who
made their bodies so far superior to the fire, that it could not consume them. This
it was which recommended them to the king as righteous men, and men beloved of God,
on which account they continued in great esteem with him.
6. A little after this the king saw in his sleep again another vision; how he
should fall from his dominion, and feed among the wild beasts, and that when he
halt lived in this manner in the desert for seven years, he should recover his dominion
again. When he had seen this dream, he called the magicians together again, and
inquired of them about it, and desired them to tell him what it signified; but when
none of them could find out the meaning of the dream, nor discover it to the king,
Daniel was the only person that explained it; and as he foretold, so it came to
pass; for after he had continued in the wilderness the forementioned interval of
time, while no one durst attempt to seize his kingdom during those seven years,
he prayed to God that he might recover his kingdom, and he returned to it. But let
no one blame me for writing down every thing of this nature, as I find it in our
ancient books; for as to that matter, I have plainly assured those that think me
defective in any such point, or complain of my management, and have told them in
the beginning of this history, that I intended to do no more than translate the
Hebrew books into the Greek language, and promised them to explain those facts,
without adding any thing to them of my own, or taking any thing away from there.
CHAPTER 11.
Concerning Nebuchadnezzar And His Successors And How Their Government Was Dissolved
By The Persians; And What Things Befell DanieL In Media; And What PropHecies He
Delivered There.
1. Now when king Nebuchadnezzar had reigned forty-three years, he ended his life.
He was an active man, and more fortunate than the kings that were before him. Now
Berosus makes mention of his actions in the third book of his Chaldaic History,
where he says thus: “When his father Nebuchodonosor [Nabopollassar] heard that the
governor whom he had set over Egypt, and the places about Coelesyria and Phoenicia,
had revolted from him, while he was not himself able any longer to undergo the hardships
[of war], he committed to his son Nebuchadnezzar, who was still but a youth, some
parts of his army, and sent them against him. So when Nebuchadnezzar had given battle,
and fought with the rebel, he beat him, and reduced the country from under his subjection,
and made it a branch of his own kingdom; but about that time it happened that his
father Nebuchodonosor [Nabopollassar] fell ill, and ended his life in the city Babylon,
when he had reigned twenty-one years; and when he was made sensible, as he was in
a little time, that his father Nebuchodonosor [Nabopollassar] was dead, and having
settled the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries, as also those that concerned
the captive Jews, and Phoenicians, and Syrians, and those of the Egyptian nations;
and having committed the conveyance of them to Babylon to certain of his friends,
together with the gross of his army, and the rest of their ammunition and provisions,
he went himself hastily, accompanied with a few others, over the desert, and came
to Babylon. So he took upon him the management of public affairs, and of the kingdom
which had been kept for him by one that was the principal of the Chaldeans, and
he received the entire dominions of his father, and appointed, that when the captives
came, they should be placed as colonies, in the most proper places of Babylonia;
but then he adorned the temple of Belus, and the rest of the temples, in a magnificent
manner, with the spoils he had taken in the war. He also added another city to that
which was there of old, and rebuilt it, that such as would besiege it hereafter
might no more turn the course of the river, and thereby attack the city itself.
He therefore built three walls round about the inner city, and three others about
that which was the outer, and this he did with burnt brick. And after he had, after
a becoming manner, walled the city, and adorned its gates gloriously, he built another
palace before his father’s palace, but so that they joined to it; to describe whose
vast height and immense riches it would perhaps be too much for me to attempt; yet
as large and lofty as they were, they were completed in fifteen days. He also erected
elevated places for walking, of stone, and made it resemble mountains, and built
it so that it might be planted with all sorts of trees. He also erected what was
called a pensile paradise, because his wife was desirous to have things like her
own country, she having been bred up in the palaces of Media.” Megasthenes also,
in his fourth book of his Accounts of India, makes mention. of these things, and
thereby endeavors to show that this king [Nebuchadnezzar] exceeded Hercules in fortitude,
and in the greatness of his actions; for he saith that he conquered a great part
of Libya and Iberia. Diocles also, in the second book of his Accounts of Persia,
mentions this king; as does Philostrates in his Accounts both of India and of Phoenicia,
say, that this king besieged Tyre thirteen years, while at the same time Ethbaal
reigned at Tyre. These are all the histories that I have met with concerning this
king.
2. But now, after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach his son succeeded
in the kingdom, who immediately set Jeconiah at liberty, and esteemed him among
his most intimate friends. He also gave him many presents, and made him honorable
above the rest of the kings that were in Babylon; for his father had not kept his
faith with Jeconiah, when he voluntarily delivered up himself to him, with his wives
and children, and his whole kindred, for the sake of his country, that it might
not be taken by siege, and utterly destroyed, as we said before. When Evil-Mcrodach
was dead, after a reign of eighteen years, Niglissar his son took the government,
and retained it forty years, and then ended his life; and after him the succession
in the kingdom came to his son Labosordacus, who continued in it in all but nine
months; and when he was dead, it came to Baltasar, who by the Babylonians was called
Naboandelus; against him did Cyrus, the king of Persia, and Darius, the king of
Media, make war; and when he was besieged in Babylon, there happened a wonderful
and prodigious vision. He was sat down at supper in a large room, and there were
a great many vessels of silver, such as were made for royal entertainments, and
he had with him his concubines and his friends; whereupon he came to a resolution,
and commanded that those vessels of God which Nebuchadnezzar had plundered out of
Jerusalem, and had not made use of, but had put them into his own temple, should
be brought out of that temple. He also grew so haughty as to proceed to use them
in the midst of his cups, drinking out of them, and blaspheming against God. In
the mean time, he saw a hand proceed out of the wall, and writing upon the wall
certain syllables; at which sight, being disturbed, he called the magicians and
Chaldeans together, and all that sort of men that are among these barbarians, and
were able to interpret signs and dreams, that they might explain the writing to
him. But when the magicians said they could discover nothing, nor did understand
it, the king was in great disorder of mind, and under great trouble at this surprising
accident; so he caused it to be proclaimed through all the country, and promised,
that to him who could explain the writing, and give the signification couched therein,
he would give him a golden chain for his neck, and leave to wear a purple garment,
as did the kings of Chaldea, and would bestow on him the third part of his own dominions.
When this proclamation was made, the magicians ran together more earnestly, and
were very ambitious to find out the importance of the writing, but still hesitated
about it as much as before. Now when the king’s grandmother saw him cast down at
this accident, (24) she began to encourage him, and to say, that there was a certain
captive who came from Judea, a Jew by birth, but brought away thence by Nebuchadnezzar
when he had destroyed Jerusalem, whose name was Daniel, a wise man, and one of great
sagacity in finding out what was impossible for others to discover, and what was
known to God alone, who brought to light and answered such questions to Nebuchadnezzar
as no one else was able to answer when they were consulted. She therefore desired
that he would send for him, and inquire of him concerning the writing, and to condemn
the unskilfulness of those that could not find their meaning, and this, although
what God signified thereby should be of a melancholy nature.
3. When Baltasar heard this, he called for Daniel; and when he had discoursed
to him what he had learned concerning him and his wisdom, and how a Divine Spirit
was with him, and that he alone was fully capable of finding out what others would
never have thought of, he desired him to declare to him what this writing meant;
that if he did so, he would give him leave to wear purple, and to put a chain of
gold about his neck, and would bestow on him the third part of his dominion, as
an honorary reward for his wisdom, that thereby he might become illustrious to those
who saw him, and who inquired upon what occasion he obtained such honors. But Daniel
desired that he would keep his gifts to himself; for what is the effect of wisdom
and of Divine revelation admits of no gifts, and bestows its advantages on petitioners
freely; but that still he would explain the writing to him; which denoted that he
should soon die, and this because he had not learnt to honor God, and not to admit
things above human nature, by what punishments his progenitor had undergone for
the injuries he had offered to God; and because he had quite forgotten how Nebuchadnezzar
was removed to feed among wild beasts for his impieties, and did not recover his
former life among men and his kingdom, but upon God’s mercy to him, after many supplications
and prayers; who did thereupon praise God all the days of his life, as one of almighty
power, and who takes care of mankind. [He also put him in mind] how he had greatly
blasphemed against God, and had made use of his vessels amongst his concubines;
that therefore God saw this, and was angry with him, and declared by this writing
beforehand what a sad conclusion of his life he should come to. And he explained
the writing thus:” MANEH. This, if it be expounded in the Greek language, may signify
a Number, because God hath numbered so long a time for thy life, and for thy government,
and that there remains but a small portion. THEKEL This signifies a weight, and
means that God hath weighed thy kingdom in a balance, and finds it going down already.–PHARES.
This also, in the Greek tongue, denotes a fragment,. God will therefore break thy
kingdom in pieces, and divide it among the Medes and Persians.”
4. When Daniel had told the king that the writing upon the wall signified these
events, Baltasar was in great sorrow and affliction, as was to be expected, when
the interpretation was so heavy upon him. However, he did not refuse what he had
promised Daniel, although he were become a foreteller of misfortunes to him, but
bestowed it all upon him; as reasoning thus, that what he was to reward was peculiar
to himself, and to fate, and did not belong to the prophet, but that it was the
part of a good and a just man to give what he had promised, although the events
were of a melancholy nature. Accordingly, the king determined so to do. Now, after
a little while, both himself and the city were taken by Cyrus, the king of Persia,
who fought against him; for it was Baltasar, under whom Babylon was taken, when
he had reigned seventeen years. And this is the end of the posterity of king Nebuchadnezzar,
as history informs us; but when Babylon was taken by Darius, and when he, with his
kinsman Cyrus, had put an end to the dominion of the Babylonians, he was sixty-two
years old. He was the son of Astyages, and had another name among the Greeks. Moreover,
he took Daniel the prophet, and carried him with him into Media, and honored him
very greatly, and kept him with him; for he was one of the three presidents whom
he set over his three hundred and sixty provinces, for into so many did Darius part
them.
5. However, while Daniel was in so great dignity, and in so great favor with
Darius, and was alone intrusted with every thing by him, a having somewhat divine
in him, he was envied by the rest; for those that see others in greater honor than
themselves with kings envy them; and when those that were grieved at the great favor
Daniel was in with Darius sought for an occasion against him, he afforded them no
occasion at all, for he was above all the temptations of money, and despised bribery,
and esteemed it a very base thing to take any thing by way of reward, even when
it might be justly given him; he afforded those that envied him not the least handle
for an accusation. So when they could find nothing for which they might calumniate
him to the king, nothing that was shameful or reproachful, and thereby deprive him
of the honor he was in with him, they sought for some other method whereby they
might destroy him. When therefore they saw that Daniel prayed to God three times
a day, they thought they had gotten an occasion by which they might ruin him; so
they came to Darius and told him that the princes and governors had thought proper
to allow the multitude a relaxation for thirty days, that no one might offer a petition
or prayer either to himself or to the gods, but that he who shall transgress this
decree shall be east into the den of lions, and there perish.”
6. Whereupon the king, not being acquainted with their wicked design, nor suspecting
that it was a contrivance of theirs against Daniel, said he was pleased with this
decree of theirs, and he promised to confirm what they desired; he also published
an edict to promulgate to the people that decree which the princes had made. Accordingly,
all the rest took care not to transgress those injunctions, and rested in quiet;
but Daniel had no regard to them, but, as he was wont, he stood and prayed to God
in the sight of them all; but the princes having met with the occasion they so earnestly
sought to find against Daniel, came presently to the king, and accused him, that
Daniel was the only person that transgressed the decree, while not one of the rest
durst pray to their gods. This discovery they made, not because of his impiety,
but because they had watched him, and observed him out of envy; for supposing that
Darius did thus out of a greater kindness to him than they expected, and that he
was ready to grant him pardon for this contempt of his injunctions, and envying
this very pardon to Daniel, they did not become more honorable to him, but desired
he might be cast into the den of lions according to the law. So Darius, hoping that
God would deliver him, and that he would undergo nothing that was terrible by the
wild beasts, bid him bear this accident cheerfully. And when he was cast into the
den, he put his seal to the stone that lay upon the mouth of the den, and went his
way, but he passed all the night without food and without sleep, being in great
distress for Daniel; but when it was day, he got up, and came to the den, and found
the seal entire, which he had left the stone sealed withal; he also opened the seal,
and. cried out, and called to Daniel, and asked him if he were alive. And as soon
as he heard the king’s voice, and said that he had suffered no harm, the king gave
order that he should be drawn up out of the den. Now when his enemies saw that Daniel
had suffered nothing which was terrible, they would not own that he was preserved
by God, and by his providence; but they said that the lions had been filled full
with food, and on that account it was, as they supposed, that the lions would not
touch Daniel, nor come to him; and this they alleged to the king. But the king,
out of an abhorrence of their wickedness, gave order that they should throw in a
great deal of flesh to the lions; and when they had filled themselves, he gave further
order that Daniel’s enemies should be cast into the den, that he might learn whether
the lions, now they were full, would touch them or not. And it appeared plain to
Darius, after the princes had been cast to the wild beasts, that it was God who
preserved Daniel for the lions spared none of them, but tore them all to pieces,
as if they had been very hungry, and wanted food. I suppose therefore it was not
their hunger, which had been a little before satisfied with abundance of flesh,
but the wickedness of these men, that provoked them [to destroy the princes]; for
if it so please God, that wickedness might, by even those irrational creatures,
be esteemed a plain foundation for their punishment.
7. When therefore those that had intended thus to destroy Daniel by treachery
were themselves destroyed, king Darius sent [letters] over all the country, and
praised that God whom Daniel worshipped, and said that he was the only true God,
and had all power. He had also Daniel in very great esteem, and made him the principal
of his friends. Now when Daniel was become so illustrious and famous, on account
of the opinion men had that he was beloved of God, he built a tower at Ecbatana,
in Media: it was a most elegant building, and wonderfully made, and it is still
remaining, and preserved to this day; and to such as see it, it appears to have
been lately built, and to have been no older than that very day when any one looks
upon it, it is so fresh flourishing, and beautiful, and no way grown old in so long
time; for buildings suffer the same as men do, they grow old as well as they, and
by numbers of years their strength is dissolved, and their beauty withered. Now
they bury the kings of Media, of Persia, and Parthia in this tower to this day,
and he who was entrusted with the care of it was a Jewish priest; which thing is
also observed to this day. But it is fit to give an account of what this man did,
which is most admirable to hear, for he was so happy as to have strange revelations
made to him, and those as to one of the greatest of the prophets, insomuch, that
while he was alive he had the esteem and applause both of the kings and of the multitude;
and now he is dead, he retains a remembrance that will never fail, for the several
books that he wrote and left behind him are still read by us till this time; and
from them we believe that Daniel conversed with God; for he did not only prophesy
of future events, as did the other prophets, but he also determined the time of
their accomplishment. And while prophets used to foretell misfortunes, and on that
account were disagreeable both to the kings and to the multitude, Daniel was to
them a prophet of good things, and this to such a degree, that by the agreeable
nature of his predictions, he procured the goodwill of all men; and by the accomplishment
of them, he procured the belief of their truth, and the opinion of [a sort of] divinity
for himself, among the multitude. He also wrote and left behind him what made manifest
the accuracy and undeniable veracity of his predictions; for he saith, that when
he was in Susa, the metropolis of Persia, and went out into the field with his companions,
there was, on the sudden, a motion and concussion of the earth, and that he was
left alone by himself, his friends fleeing away from him, and that he was disturbed,
and fell on his face, and on his two hands, and that a certain person touched him,
and, at the same time, bid him rise, and see what would befall his countrymen after
many generations. He also related, that when he stood up, he was shown a great rain,
with many horns growing out of his head, and that the last was higher than the rest:
that after this he looked to the west, and saw a he-goat carried through the air
from that quarter; that he rushed upon the ram with violence, and smote him twice
with his horns, and overthrew him to the ground, and trampled upon him: that afterward
he saw a very great horn growing out of the head of the he-goat, and that when it
was broken off, four horns grew up that were exposed to each of the four winds,
and he wrote that out of them arose another lesser horn, which, as he said, waxed
great; and that God showed to him that it should fight against his nation, and take
their city by force, and bring the temple worship to confusion, and forbid the sacrifices
to be offered for one thousand two hundred and ninety-six days. Daniel wrote that
he saw these visions in the Plain of Susa; and he hath informed us that God interpreted
the appearance of this vision after the following manner: He said that the ram signified
the kingdoms of the Medes and Persians, and the horns those kings that were to reign
in them; and that the last horn signified the last king, and that he should exceed
all the kings in riches and glory: that the he-goat signified that one should come
and reign from the Greeks, who should twice fight with the Persian, and overcome
him in battle, and should receive his entire dominion: that by the great horn which
sprang out of the forehead of the he-goat was meant the first king; and that the
springing up of four horns upon its falling off, and the conversion of every one
of them to the four quarters of the earth, signified the successors that should
arise after the death of the first king, and the partition of the kingdom among
them, and that they should be neither his children, nor of his kindred, that should
reign over the habitable earth for many years; and that from among them there should
arise a certain king that should overcome our nation and their laws, and should
take away their political government, and should spoil the temple, and forbid the
sacrifices to be offered for three years’ time. And indeed it so came to pass, that
our nation suffered these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel’s
vision, and what he wrote many years before they came to pass. In the very same
manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should
be made desolate by them. All these things did this man leave in writing, as God
had showed them to him, insomuch that such as read his prophecies, and see how they
have been fulfilled, would wonder at the honor wherewith God honored Daniel; and
may thence discover how the Epicureans are in an error, who cast Providence out
of human life, and do not believe that God takes care of the affairs of the world,
nor that the universe is governed and continued in being by that blessed and immortal
nature, but say that the world is carried along of its own accord, without a ruler
and a curator; which, were it destitute of a guide to conduct it, as they imagine,
it would be like ships without pilots, which we see drowned by the winds, or like
chariots without drivers, which are overturned; so would the world be dashed to
pieces by its being carried without a Providence, and so perish, and come to nought.
So that, by the forementioned predictions of Daniel, those men seem to me very much
to err from the truth, who determine that God exercises no providence over human
affairs; for if that were the case, that the world went on by mechanical necessity,
we should not see that all things would come to pass according to his prophecy.
Now as to myself, I have so described these matters as I have found them and read
them; but if any one is inclined to another opinion about them, let him enjoy his
different sentiments without any blame from me.
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