11 From The First Of Cyrus To The Death Of Alexander The Great

Flavius Josephus

ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS

From The First Of Cyrus To The Death Of Alexander The Great.

Containing The Interval Of Two Hundred And Fifty-Three Years And Five Months.

CHAPTER 1.

How Cyrus, King Of The Persians, Delivered The Jews Out Of Babylon And Suffered
Them To Return To Their Own Country And To Build Their Temple, For Which Work He
Gave Them Money.

1. In the first year of the reign of Cyrus which was the seventieth from the
day that our people were removed out of their own land into Babylon, God commiserated
the captivity and calamity of these poor people, according as he had foretold to
them by Jeremiah the prophet, before the destruction of the city, that after they
had served Nebuchadnezzar and his posterity, and after they had undergone that servitude
seventy years, he would restore them again to the land of their fathers, and they
should build their temple, and enjoy their ancient prosperity. And these things
God did afford them; for he stirred up the mind of Cyrus, and made him write this
throughout all Asia: “Thus saith Cyrus the king: Since God Almighty hath appointed
me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation
of the Israelites worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that
I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea.”

2. This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him
of his prophecies; for this prophet said that God had spoken thus to him in a secret
vision: “My will is, that Cyrus, whom I have appointed to be king over many and
great nations, send back my people to their own land, and build my temple.” This
was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished.
Accordingly, when Cyrus read this, and admired the Divine power, an earnest desire
and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written; so he called for the
most eminent Jews that were in Babylon, and said to them, that he gave them leave
to go back to their own country, and to rebuild their city Jerusalem, and the temple
of God, for that he would be their assistant, and that he would write to the rulers
and governors that were in the neighborhood of their country of Judea, that they
should contribute to them gold and silver for the building of the temple, and besides
that, beasts for their sacrifices.

3. When Cyrus had said this to the Israelites, the rulers of the two tribes of
Judah and Benjamin, with the Levites and priests, went in haste to Jerusalem; yet
did many of them stay at Babylon, as not willing to leave their possessions; and
when they were come thither, all the king’s friends assisted them, and brought in,
for the building of the temple, some gold, and some silver, and some a great many
cattle and horses. So they performed their vows to God, and offered the sacrifices
that had been accustomed of old time; I mean this upon the rebuilding of their city,
and the revival of the ancient practices relating to their worship. Cyrus also sent
back to them the vessels of God which king Nebuchadnezzar had pillaged out of the
temple, and had carried to Babylon. So he committed these things to Mithridates,
the treasurer, to be sent away, with an order to give them to Sanabassar, that he
might keep them till the temple was built; and when it was finished, he might deliver
them to the priests and rulers of the multitude, in order to their being restored
to the temple. Cyrus also sent an epistle to the governors that were in Syria, the
contents whereof here follow:

King Cyrus To Sisinnes And Sathrabuzanes Sendeth Greeting.

“I have given leave to as many of the Jews that dwell in my country as please
to return to their own country, and to rebuild their city, and to build the temple
of God at Jerusalem on the same place where it was before. I have also sent my treasurer
Mithridates, and Zorobabel, the governor of the Jews, that they may lay the foundations
of the temple, and may build it sixty cubits high, and of the same latitude, making
three edifices of polished stones, and one of the wood of the country, and the same
order extends to the altar whereon they offer sacrifices to God. I require also
that the expenses for these things may be given out of my revenues. Moreover, I
have also sent the vessels which king Nebuchadnezzar pillaged out of the temple,
and have given them to Mithridates the treasurer, and to Zorobabel the governor
of the Jews, that they may have them carried to Jerusalem, and may restore them
to the temple of God. Now their number is as follows: Fifty chargers of gold, and
five hundred of silver; forty Thericlean cups of gold, and five hundred of silver;
fifty basons of gold, and five hundred of silver; thirty vessels for pouring [the
drink-offerings], and three hundred of silver; thirty vials of gold, and two thousand
four hundred of silver; with a thousand other large vessels. I permit them to have
the same honor which they were used to have from their forefathers, as also for
their small cattle, and for wine and oil, two hundred and five thousand and five
hundred drachme; and for wheat flour, twenty thousand and five hundred artabae;
and I give order that these expenses shall be given them out of the tributes due
from Samaria. The priests shall also offer these sacrifices according to the laws
of Moses in Jerusalem; and when they offer them, they shall pray to God for the
preservation of the king and of his family, that the kingdom of Persia may continue.
But my will is, that those who disobey these injunctions, and make them void, shall
be hung upon a cross, and their substance brought into the king’s treasury.” And
such was the import of this epistle. Now the number of those that came out of captivity
to Jerusalem, were forty-two thousand four hundred and sixty-two.

CHAPTER 2.

How Upon The Death Of Cyrus The Jews Were Hindered In Building Of The Temple
By The Cutheans, And The Neighboring Governors; And How Cambyses Entirely Forbade
The Jews To Do Any Such Thing.

1. When the foundations of the temple were laying, and when the Jews were very
zealous about building it, the neighboring nations, and especially the Cutheans,
whom Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, had brought out of Persia and Media, and had
planted in Samaria, when he carried the people of Israel captives, besought the
governors, and those that had the care of such affairs, that they would interrupt
the Jews, both in the rebuilding of their city, and in the building of their temple.
Now as these men were corrupted by them with money, they sold the Cutheans their
interest for rendering this building a slow and a careless work, for Cyrus, who
was busy about other wars, knew nothing of all this; and it so happened, that when
he had led his army against the Massagetae, he ended his life. But when Cambyses,
the son of Cyrus, had taken the kingdom, the governors in Syria, and Phoenicia,
and in the countries of Amlnon, and Moab, and Samaria, wrote an epistle to Calnbyses;
whose contents were as follow: “To our lord Cambyses. We thy servants, Rathumus
the historiographer, and Semellius the scribe, and the rest that are thy judges
in Syria and Phoenicia, send greeting. It is fit, O king, that thou shouldst know
that those Jews which were carried to Babylon are come into our country, and are
building that rebellious and wicked city, and its market-places, and setting up
its walls, and raising up the temple; know therefore, that when these things are
finished, they will not be willing to pay tribute, nor will they submit to thy commands,
but will resist kings, and will choose rather to rule over others than be ruled
over themselves. We therefore thought it proper to write to thee, O king, while
the works about the temple are going on so fast, and not to overlook this matter,
that thou mayst search into the books of thy fathers, for thou wilt find in them
that the Jews have been rebels, and enemies to kings, as hath their city been also,
which, for that reason, hath been till now laid waste. We thought proper also to
inform thee of this matter, because thou mayst otherwise perhaps be ignorant of
it, that if this city be once inhabited and be entirely encompassed with walls,
thou wilt be excluded from thy passage to Celesyria and Phoenicia.”

2. When Cambyses had read the epistle, being naturally wicked, he was irritated
at what they told him, and wrote back to them as follows: Cambyses the king, to
Rathumus the historiographer, to Beeltethmus, to Semellius the scribe, and the rest
that are in commission, and dwelling in Samaria and Phoenicia, after this manner:
I have read the epistle that was sent from you; and I gave order that the books
of my forefathers should be searched into, and it is there found that this city
hath always been an enemy to kings, and its inhabitants have raised seditions and
wars. We also are sensible that their kings have been powerful and tyrannical, and
have exacted tribute of Celesyria and Phoenicia. Wherefore I gave order, that the
Jews shall not be permitted to build that city, lest such mischief as they used
to bring upon kings be greatly augmented.” When this epistle was read, Rathumus,
and Semellius the scribe, and their associates, got suddenly on horseback, and made
haste to Jerusalem; they also brought a great company with them, and forbade the
Jews to build the city and the temple. Accordingly, these works were hindered from
going on till the second year of the reign of Darius, for nine years more; for Cambyses
reigned six years, and within that time overthrew Egypt, and when he was come back,
he died at Damascus.

CHAPTER 3.

How After The Death Of Cambyses And The Slaughter Of The Magi But Under The Reign
Of Darius, Zorobabel Was Superior To The Rest 1n The Solution Of Problems And Thereby
Obtained This Favor Of The King, That The Temple Should Be Built.

1. After the slaughter of file Magi, who, upon the death of Cambyses, attained
the government of the Persians for a year, those families which were called the
seven families of the Persians appointed Darius, the son of Hystaspes, to be their
king. Now he, while he was a private man, had made a vow to God, that if he came
to be king, he would send all the vessels of God that were in Babylon to the temple
at Jerusalem. Now it so fell out, that about this time Zorobabel, who had been made
governor of the Jews that had been in captivity, came to Darius, from Jerusalem;
for there had been an old friendship between him and the king. He was also, with
two others, thought worthy to be guard of the king’s body; and obtained that honor
which he hoped for.

2. Now, in the first year of the king’s reign, Darius feasted those that were
about him, and those born in his house, with the rulers of the Medes, and princes
of the Persians, and the toparchs of India and Ethiopia, and the generals of the
armies of his hundred and twenty-seven provinces. But when they had eaten and drunk
to satiety, and abundantly, they every one departed to go to bed at their own houses,
and Darius the king went to bed; but after he had rested a little part of the night,
he awaked, and not being able to sleep any more, he fell into conversation with
the three guards of his body, and promised, that to him who should make an oration
about points that he should inquire of, such as should be most agreeable to truth,
and to the dictates of wisdom, he would grant it as a reward of his victory, to
put on a purple garment, and to drink in cups of gold, and to sleep upon gold, and
to have a chariot with bridles of gold, and a head tire of fine linen, and a chain
of gold about his neck, and to sit next to himself, on account of his wisdom; “and,”
says he, “he shall be called my cousin.” Now when he had promised to give them these
gifts, he asked the first of them, “Whether wine was not the strongest?”–the second,
“Whether kings were not such? – and the third, “Whether women were not such? or
whether truth was not the strongest of all?” When he had proposed that they should
make their inquiries about these problems, he went to rest; but in the morning he
sent for his great men, his princes, and toparchs of Persia and Media, and set himself
down in the place where he used to give audience, and bid each of the guards of
his body to declare what they thought proper concerning the proposed questions,
in the hearing of them all.

3. Accordingly, the first of them began to speak of the strength of wine, and
demonstrated it thus: “When,” said he,” I am to give my opinion of wine, O you men,
I find that it exceeds every thing, by the following indications: It deceives the
mind of those that drink it, and reduces that of the king to the same state with
that of the orphan, and he who stands in need of a tutor; and erects that of the
slave to the boldness of him that is free; and that of the needy becomes like that
of the rich man, for it changes and renews the souls of men when it gets into them;
and it quenches the sorrow of those that are under calamities, and makes men forget
the debts they owe to others, and makes them think themselves to be of all men the
richest; it makes them talk of no small things, but of talents, and such other names
as become wealthy men only; nay more, it makes them insensible of their commanders,
and of their kings, and takes away the remembrance of their friends and companions,
for it arms men even against those that are dearest to them, and makes them appear
the greatest strangers to them; and when they are become sober, and they have slept
out their wine in the night, they arise without knowing any thing they have done
in their cups. I take these for signs of power, and by them discover that wine is
the strongest and most insuperable of all things.”

4. As soon as the first had given the forementioned demonstrations of the strength
of wine, he left off; and the next to him began to speak about the strength of a
king, and demonstrated that it was the strongest of all, and more powerful than
any thing else that appears to have any force or wisdom. He began his demonstration
after the following manner; and said,” They are men who govern all things; they
force the earth and the sea to become profitable to them in what they desire, and
over these men do kings rule, and over them they have authority. Now those who rule
over that animal which is of all the strongest and most powerful, must needs deserve
to be esteemed insuperable in power and force. For example, when these kings command
their subjects to make wars, and undergo dangers, they are hearkened to; and when
they send them against their enemies, their power is so great that they are obeyed.
They command men to level mountains, and to pull down walls and towers; nay, when
they are commanded to be killed and to kill, they submit to it, that they may not
appear to transgress the king’s commands; and when they have conquered, they bring
what they have gained in the war to the king. Those also who are not soldiers, but
cultivate the ground, and plough it, and when, after they have endured the labor
and all the inconveniences of such works of husbandry, they have reaped and gathered
in their fruits, they bring tributes to the king; and whatsoever it is which the
king says or commands, it is done of necessity, and that without any delay, while
he in the mean time is satiated with all sorts of food and pleasures, and sleeps
in quiet. He is guarded by such as watch, and such as are, as it were, fixed down
to the place through fear; for no one dares leave him, even when he is asleep, nor
does any one go away and take care of his own affairs; but he esteems this one thing
the only work of necessity, to guard the king, and accordingly to this he wholly
addicts himself. How then can it be otherwise, but that it must appear that the
king exceeds all in strength, while so great a multitude obeys his injunctions?”

5. Now when this man had held his peace, the third of them, who was Zorobabel,
began to instruct them about women, and about truth, who said thus: “Wine is strong,
as is the king also, whom all men obey, but women are superior to them in power;
for it was a woman that brought the king into the world; and for those that plant
the vines and make the wine, they are women who bear them, and bring them up: nor
indeed is there any thing which we do not receive from them; for these women weave
garments for us, and our household affairs are by their means taken care of, and
preserved in safety; nor can we live separate from women. And when we have gotten
a great deal of gold and silver, and any other thing that is of great value, and
deserving regard, and see a beautiful woman, we leave all these things, and with
open mouth fix our eyes upon her countenance, and are willing to forsake what we
have, that we may enjoy her beauty, and procure it to ourselves. We also leave father,
and mother, and the earth that nourishes us, and frequently forget our dearest friends,
for the sake of women; nay, we are so hardy as to lay down our lives for them. But
what will chiefly make you take notice of the strength of women is this that follows:
Do not we take pains, and endure a great deal of trouble, and that both by land
and sea, and when we have procured somewhat as the fruit of our labors, do not we
bring them to the women, as to our mistresses, and bestow them upon them? Nay, I
once saw the king, who is lord of so many people, smitten on the face by Apame,
the daughter of Rabsases Themasius, his concubine, and his diadem taken away from
him, and put upon her own head, while he bore it patiently; and when she smiled
he smiled, and when she was angry he was sad; and according to the change of her
passions, he flattered his wife, and drew her to reconciliation by the great humiliation
of himself to her, if at my time he saw her displeased at him.”

6. And when the princes and rulers looked one upon another, he began to speak
about truth; and he said, “I have already demonstrated how powerful women are; but
both these women themselves, and the king himself, are weaker than truth; for although
the earth be large, and the heaven high, and the course of the sun swift, yet are
all these moved according to the will of God, who is true and righteous, for which
cause we also ought to esteem truth to be the strongest of all things, and that
what is unrighteous is of no force against it. Moreover, all things else that have
any strength are mortal and short-lived, but truth is a thing that is immortal and
eternal. It affords us not indeed such a beauty as will wither away by time, nor
such riches as may be taken away by fortune, but righteous rules and laws. It distinguishes
them from injustice, and puts what is unrighteous to rebuke.

7. So when Zorobabel had left off his discourse about truth, and the multitude
had cried out aloud that he had spoken the most wisely, and that it was truth alone
that had immutable strength, and such as never would wax old, the king commanded
that he should ask for somewhat over and above what he had promised, for that he
would give it him because of his wisdom, and that prudence wherein he exceeded the
rest; “and thou shalt sit with me,” said the king, “and shalt be called my cousin.”
When he had said this, Zorobabel put him in mind of the vow he had made in case
he should ever have the kingdom. Now this vow was, “to rebuild Jerusalem, and to
build therein the temple of God; as also to restore the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar
had pillaged, and carried to Babylon. And this,” said he, “is that request which
thou now permittest me to make, on account that I have been judged to be wise and
understanding.”

8. So the king was pleased with what he had said, and arose and kissed him; and
wrote to the toparchs and governors, and enjoined them to conduct Zorobabel and
those that were going with him to build the temple. He also sent letters to those
rulers that were in Syria and Phoenicia to cut down and carry cedar trees from Lebanon
to Jerusalem, and to assist him in building the city. He also wrote to them, that
all the captives who should go to Judea should be free; and he prohibited his deputies
and governors to lay any king’s taxes upon the Jews; he also permitted that they
should have all that land which they could possess themselves of without tributes.
He also enjoined the Idumeans and Samaritans, and the inhabitants of Celesyria,
to restore those villages which they had taken from the Jews; and that, besides
all this, fifty talents should be given them for the building of the temple. He
also permitted them to offer their appointed sacrifices, and that whatsoever the
high priest and the priests wanted, and those sacred garments wherein they used
to worship God, should be made at his own charges; .and that the musical instruments
which the Levites used in singing hymns to God should be given them. Moreover, he
charged them, that portions of land should be given to those that guarded the city
and the temple, as also a determinate sum of money every year for their maintenance;
and withal he sent the vessels. And all that Cyrus intended to do before him relating
to the restoration of Jerusalem, Darius also ordained should be done accordingly.

9. Now when Zorobabel had obtained these grants from the king, he went out of
the palace, and looking up to heaven, he began to return thanks to God for the wisdom
he had given him, and the victory he had gained thereby, even in the presence of
Darius himself; for, said he, “I had not been thought worthy of these advantages,
O Lord, unless thou hadst been favorable to me.” When therefore he had returned
these thanks to God for the present circumstances he was in, and had prayed to him
to afford him the like favor for the time to come, he came to Babylon, and brought
the good news to his countrymen of what grants he had procured for them from the
king; who, when they heard the same, gave thanks also to God that he restored the
land of their forefathers to them again. So they betook themselves to drinking and
eating, and for seven days they continued feasting, and kept a festival, for the
rebuilding and restoration of their country: after this they chose themselves rulers,
who should go up to Jerusalem, out of the tribes of their forefathers, with their
wives, and children, and cattle, who traveled to Jerusalem with joy and pleasure,
under the conduct of those whom Darius sent along with them, and making a noise
with songs, and pipes, and cymbals. The rest of the Jewish multitude also besides
accompanied them with rejoicing.

10. And thus did these men go, a certain and determinate number out of every
family, though I do not think it proper to recite particularly the names of those
families, that I may not take off the mind of my readers from the connexion of the
historical facts, and make it hard for them to follow the coherence of my narrations;
but the sum of those that went up, above the age of twelve years, of the tribes
of Judah and Benjamin, was four hundred and sixty-two myriads and eight thousand
the Levites were seventy-four; the number of the women and children mixed together
was forty thousand seven hundred and forty-two; and besides these, there were singers
of the Levites one hundred and twenty-eight, and porters one hundred and ten, and
of the sacred ministers three hundred and ninety-two; there were also others besides
these, who said they were of the Israelites, but were not able to show their genealogies,
six hundred and sixty-two: some there were also who were expelled out of the number
and honor of the priests, as having married wives whose genealogies they could not
produce, nor were they found in the genealogies of the Levites and priests; they
were about five hundred and twenty-five: the multitude also of servants that followed
those that went up to Jerusalem were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven;
the singing men and singing women were two hundred and forty-five; the camels were
four hundred and thirty-five; the beasts used to the yoke were five thousand five
hundred and twenty-five; and the governors of all this multitude thus numbered were
Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, of the posterity of David, and of the tribe of
Judah; and Jeshua, the son of Josedek the high priest; and besides these there were
Mordecai and Serebeus, who were distinguished from the multitude, and were rulers,
who also contributed a hundred pounds of gold, and five thousand of silver. By this
means therefore the priests and the Levites, and a certain part of the entire people
of the Jews that were in Babylon, came and dwelt in Jerusalem; but the rest of the
multitude returned every one to their own countries.

CHAPTER 4.

How The Temple Was Built While The Cutheans Endeavored In Vain To Obstruct The
Work.

1. Now in the seventh month after they were departed out of Babylon, both Jeshua
the high priest, and Zorobabel the governor, sent messengers every way round about,
and gathered those that were in the country together to Jerusalem universally, who
came very gladly thither. He then built the altar on the same place it had formerly
been built, that they might offer the appointed sacrifices upon it to God, according
to the laws of Moses. But while they did this, they did not please the neighboring
nations, who all of them bare an ill-will to them. They also celebrated the feast
of tabernacles at that time, as the legislator had ordained concerning it; and after
they offered sacrifices, and what were called the daily sacrifices, and the oblations
proper for the Sabbaths, and for all the holy festivals. Those also that had made
vows performed them, and offered their sacrifices from the first day of the seventh
month. They also began to build the temple, and gave a great deal of money to the
masons and to the carpenters, and what was necessary for the maintenance of the
workmen. The Sidonians also were very willing and ready to bring the cedar trees
from Libanus, to bind them together, and to make a united float of them, and to
bring them to the port of Joppa, for that was what Cyrus had commanded at first,
and what was now done at the command of Darius.

2. In the second year of their coming to Jerusalem, as the Jews were there in
the second month, the building of the temple went on apace; and when they had laid
its foundations on the first day of the second month of that second year, they set,
as overseers of the work, such Levites as were full twenty years old; and Jeshua
and his sons and brethren, and Codmiel the brother of Judas, the son of Aminadab,
with his sons; and the temple, by the great diligence of those that had the care
of it, was finished sooner than any one would have expected. And when the temple
was finished, the priests, adorned with their accustomed garments, stood with their
trumpets, while the Levites, and the sons of Asaph, stood and sung hymns to God,
according as David first of all appointed them to bless God. Now the priests and
Levites, and the elder part of the families, recollecting with themselves how much
greater and more sumptuous the old temple had been, seeing that now made how much
inferior it was, on account of their poverty, to that which had been built of old,
considered with themselves how much their happy state was sunk below what it had
been of old, as well as their temple. Hereupon they were disconsolate, and not able
to contain their grief, and proceeded so far as to lament and shed tears on those
accounts; but the people in general were contented with their present condition;
and because they were allowed to build them a temple, they desired no more, and
neither regarded nor remembered, nor indeed at all tormented themselves with the
comparison of that and the former temple, as if this were below their expectations;
but the wailing of the old men and of the priests, on account of the deficiency
of this temple, in their opinion, if compared with that which had been demolished,
overcame the sounds of the trumpets and the rejoicing of the people.

3. But when the Samaritans, who were still enemies to the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin, heard the sound of the trumpets, they came running together, and desired
to know what was the occasion of this tumult; and when they perceived that it was
from the Jews, who had been carried captive to Babylon, and were rebuilding their
temple, they came to Zorobabel and to Jeshua, and to the heads of the families,
and desired that they would give them leave to build the temple with them, and to
be partners with them in building it; for they said, “We worship their God, and
especially pray to him, and are desirous of their religious settlement, and this
ever since Shalmanezer, the king of Assyria, transplanted us out of Cuthah and Media
to this place.” When they said thus, Zorobabel and Jeshua the high priest, and the
heads of the families of the Israelites, replied to them, that it was impossible
for them to permit them to be their partners, whilst they [only] had been appointed
to build that temple at first by Cyrus, and now by Darius, although it was indeed
lawful for them to come and worship there if they pleased, and that they could allow
them nothing but that in common with them, which was common to them with all other
men, to come to their temple and worship God there.

4. When the Cuthearts heard this, for the Samaritans have that appellation, they
had indignation at it, and persuaded the nations of Syria to desire of the governors,
in the same manner as they had done formerly in the days of Cyrus, and again in
the days of Cambyses afterwards, to put a stop to the building of the temple, and
to endeavor to delay and protract the Jews in their zeal about it. Now at this time
Sisinnes, the governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, with certain others,
came up to Jerusalem, and asked the rulers of the Jews, by. whose grant it was that
they built the temple in this manner, since it was more like to a citadel than a
temple? and for what reason it was that they built cloisters and walls, and those
strong ones too, about the city? To which Zorobabel and Jeshua the high priest replied,
that they were the servants of God Almighty; that this temple was built for him
by a king of theirs, that lived in great prosperity, and one that exceeded all men
in virtue; and that it continued a long time, but that because of their fathers’
impiety towards God, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians and of the Chaldeans,
took their city by force, and destroyed it, and pillaged the temple, and burnt it
down, and transplanted the people whom he had made captives, and removed them to
Babylon; that Cyrus, who, after him, was king of Babylonia and Persia, wrote to
them to build the temple, and committed the gifts and vessels, and whatsoever Nebuchadnezzar
had carried out of it, to Zorobabel, and Mithridates the treasurer; and gave order
to have them carried to Jerusalem, and to have them restored to their own temple,
when it was built; for he had sent to them to have that done speedily, and commanded
Sanabassar to go up to Jerusalem, and to take care of the building of the temple;
who, upon receiving that epistle from Cyrus, came, and immediately laid its foundations;
and although it hath been in building from that time to this, it hath not yet been
finished, by reason of the malignity of our enemies. If therefore you have a mind,
and think it proper, write this account to Darius, that when he hath consulted the
records of the kings, he may find that we have told you nothing that is false about
this matter.”

5. When Zorobabel and the high priest had made this answer, Sisinnes, and those
that were with him, did not resolve to hinder the building, until they had informed
king Darius of all this. So they immediately wrote to him about these affairs; but
as the Jews were now under terror, and afraid lest the king should change his resolutions
as to the building of Jerusalem and of the temple, there were two prophets at that
time among them, Haggai and Zechariah, who encouraged them, and bid them be of good
cheer, and to suspect no discouragement from the Persians, for that God foretold
this to them. So, in dependence on those prophets, they applied themselves earnestly
to building, and did not intermit one day.

6. Now Darius, when the Samaritans had written to him, and in their epistle had
accused the Jews, how they fortified the city, and built the temple more like to
a citadel than to a temple; and said, that their doings were not expedient for the
king’s affairs; and besides, they showed the epistle of Cambyses, wherein he forbade
them to build the temple: and when Darius thereby understood that the restoration
of Jerusalem was not expedient for his affairs, and when he had read the epistle
that was brought him from Sisinnes, and those that were with him, he gave order
that what concerned these matters should be sought for among the royal records.
Whereupon a book was found at Ecbatana, in the tower that was in Media, wherein
was written as follows: “Cyrus the king, in the first year of his reign, commanded
that the temple should be built in Jerusalem; and the altar in height threescore
cubits, and its breadth of the same, with three edifices of polished stone, and
one edifice of stone of their own country; and he ordained that the expenses of
it should be paid out of the king’s revenue. He also commanded that the vessels
which Nebuchadnezzar had pillaged [out of the temple], and had carried to Babylon,
should be restored to the people of Jerusalem; and that the care of these things
should belong to Sanabassar, the governor and president of Syria and Phoenicia,
and his associates, that they may not meddle with that place, but may permit the
servants of God, the Jews and their rulers, to build the temple. He also ordained
that they should assist them in the work; and that they should pay to the Jews,
out of the tribute of the country where they were governors, on account of the sacrifices,
bulls, and rams, and lambs, and kids of the goats, and fine flour, and oil, and
wine, and all other things that the priests should suggest to them; and that they
should pray for the preservation of the king, and of the Persians; and that for
such as transgressed any of these orders thus sent to them, he commanded that they
should be caught, and hung upon a cross, and their substance confiscated to the
king’s use. He also prayed to God against them, that if any one attempted to hinder
the building of the temple, God would strike him dead, and thereby restrain his
wickedness.”

7. When Darius had found this book among the records of Cyrus, he wrote an answer
to Sisinnes and his associates, whose contents were these: “King Darius to Sisinnes
the governor, and to Sathrabuzanes, sendeth greeting. Having found a copy of this
epistle among the records of Cyrus, I have sent it you; and I will that all things
be done as is therein written. Fare ye well.” So when Sisinnes, and those that were
with him, understood the intention of the king, they resolved to follow his directions
entirely for the time to come. So they forwarded the sacred works, and assisted
the elders of the Jews, and the princes of the Sanhedrim; and the structure of the
temple was with great diligence brought to a conclusion, by the prophecies of Haggai
and Zechariah, according to God’s commands, and by the injunctions of Cyrus and
Darius the kings. Now the temple was built in seven years’ time. And in the ninth
year of the reign of Darius, on the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, which
is by us called Adar, but by the Macedonians Dystrus, the priests, and Levites,
and the other multitude of the Israelites, offered sacrifices, as the renovation
of their former prosperity after their captivity, and because they had now the temple
rebuilt, a hundred bulls, two hundred rains, four hundred lambs, and twelve kids
of the goats, according to the number of their tribes, (for so many are the tribes
of the Israelites,) and this last for the sins of every tribe. The priests also
and the Levites set the porters at every gate, according to the laws of Moses. The
Jews also built the cloisters of the inner temple that were round about the temple
itself.

8. And as the feast of unleavened bread was at hand, in the first month, which,
according to the Macedonians, is called Xanthicus, but according to us Nisan, all
the people ran together out of the villages to the city, and celebrated the festival,
having purified themselves, with their wives and children, according to the law
of their country; and they offered the sacrifice which was called the Passover,
on the fourteenth day of the same month, and feasted seven days, and spared for
no cost, but offered whole burnt-offerings to God, and performed sacrifices of thanksgiving,
because God had led them again to the land of their fathers, and to the laws thereto
belonging, and had rendered the mind of the king of Persia favorable to them. So
these men offered the largest sacrifices on these accounts, and used great magnificence
in the worship of God, and dwelt in Jerusalem, and made use of a form of government
that was aristocratical, but mixed with an oligarchy, for the high priests were
at the head of their affairs, until the posterity of the Asamoneans set up kingly
government; for before their captivity, and the dissolution of their polity, they
at first had kingly government from Saul and David for five hundred and thirty-two
years, six months, and ten days; but before those kings, such rulers governed them
as were called judges and monarchs. Under this form of government they continued
for more than five hundred years after the death of Moses, and of Joshua their commander.
And this is the account I had to give of the Jews who had been carried into captivity,
but were delivered from it in the times of Cyrus and Darius.

9. But the Samaritans, being evil and enviously disposed to the Jews, wrought
them many mischiefs, by reliance on their riches, and by their pretense that they
were allied to the Persians, on account that thence they came; and whatsoever it
was that they were enjoined to pay the Jews by the king’s order out of their tributes
for the sacrifices, they would not pay it. They had also the governors favorable
to them, and assisting them for that purpose; nor did they spare to hurt them, either
by themselves or by others, as far as they were able. So the Jews determined to
send an embassage to king Darius, in favor of the people of Jerusalem, and in order
to accuse the Samaritans. The ambassadors were Zorobabel, and four others of the
rulers; and as soon as the king knew from the ambassadors the accusations and complaints
they brought against the Samaritans, he gave them an epistle to be carried to the
governors and council of Samaria; the contents of which epistle were these: “King
Darius to Tanganas and Sambabas, the governors of the Sainaritans, to Sadraces and
Bobelo, and the rest of their fellow servants that are in Samaria: Zorobabel, Ananias,
and Mordecai, the ambassadors of the Jews, complain of you, that you obstruct them
in the building of the temple, and do not supply them with the expenses which I
commanded you to do for the offering their sacrifices. My will therefore is this,
That upon the reading of this epistle, you supply them with whatsoever they want
for their sacrifices, and that out of the royal treasury, of the tributes of Samaria,
as the priest shall desire, that they may not leave off offering their daily sacrifices,
nor praying to God for me and the Persians.” And these were the contents of that
epistle.

CHAPTER 5.

How Xerxes The Son Of Darius Was Well Disposed To The Jews; As Also Concerning
Esdras And Nehemiah,

1. Upon the death of Darius, Xerxes his son took the kingdom, who, as he inherited
his father’s kingdom, so did he inherit his piety towards God, and honor of him;
for he did all things suitably to his father relating to Divine worship, and he
was exceeding friendly to the Jews. Now about this time a son of Jeshua, whose name
was Joacim, was the high priest. Moreover, there was now in Babylon a righteous
man, and one that enjoyed a great reputation among the multitude. He was the principal
priest of the people, and his name was Esdras. He was very skillful in the laws
of Moses, and was well acquainted with king Xerxes. He had determined to go up to
Jerusalem, and to take with him some of those Jews that were in Babylon; and he
desired that the king would give him an epistle to the governors of Syria, by which
they might know who he was. Accordingly, the king wrote the following epistle to
those governors: “Xerxes, king of kings, to Esdras the priest, and reader of the
Divine law, greeting. I think it agreeable to that love which I bear to mankind,
to permit those of the Jewish nation that are so disposed, as well as those of the
priests and Levites that are in our kingdom, to go together to Jerusalem. Accordingly,
I have given command for that purpose; and let every one that hath a mind go, according
as it hath seemed good to me, and to my seven counselors, and this in order to their
review of the affairs of Judea, to see whether they be agreeable to the law of God.
Let them also take with them those presents which I and my friends have vowed, with
all that silver and gold that is found in the country of the Babylonians, as dedicated
to God, and let all this be carried to Jerusalem to God for sacrifices. Let it also
be lawful for thee and thy brethren to make as many vessels of silver and gold as
thou pleasest. Thou shalt also dedicate those holy vessels which have been given
thee, and as many more as thou hast a mind to make, and shall take the expenses
out of the king’s treasury. I have, moreover, written to the treasurers of Syria
and Phoenicia, that they take care of those affairs that Esdras the priest, and
reader of the laws of God, is sent about. And that God may not be at all angry with
me, or with my children, I grant all that is necessary for sacrifices to God, according
to the law, as far as a hundred cori of wheat. And I enjoin you not to lay any treacherous
imposition, or any tributes, upon their priests or Levites, or. sacred singers,
or porters, or sacred servants, or scribes of the temple. And do thou, O Esdras,
appoint judges according to the wisdom [given thee] of God, and those such as understand
the law, that they may judge in all Syria and Phoenicia; and do thou instruct those
also which are ignorant of it, that if any one of thy countrymen transgress the
law of God, or that of the king, he may be punished, as not transgressing it out
of ignorance, but as one that knows it indeed, but boldly despises and contemns
it; and such may be punished by death, or by paying fines. Farewell.”

2. When Esdras had received this epistle, he was very joyful, and began to worship
God, and confessed that he had been the cause of the king’s great favor to him,
and that for the same reason he gave all the thanks to God. So he read the epistle
at Babylon to those Jews that were there; but he kept the epistle itself, and sent
a copy of it to all those of his own nation that were in Media. And when these Jews
had understood what piety the king had towards God, and what kindness he had for
Esdras, they were all greatly pleased; nay, many of them took their effects with
them, and came to Babylon, as very desirous of going down to Jerusalem; but then
the entire body of the people of Israel remained in that country; wherefore there
are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Iomans, while the ten tribes
are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated
by numbers. Now there came a great number of priests, and Levites, and porters,
and sacred singers, and sacred servants to Esdras. So he gathered those that were
in the captivity together beyond Euphrates, and staid there three days, and ordained
a fast for them, that they might make their prayers to God for their preservation,
that they might suffer no misfortunes by the way, either from their enemies, or
from any other ill accident; for Esdras had said beforehand that he had told the
king how God would preserve them, and so he had not thought fit to request that
he would send horsemen to conduct them. So when they had finished their prayers,
they removed from Euphrates on the twelfth day of the first month of the seventh
year of the reign of Xerxes, and they came to Jerusalem on the fifth month of the
same year. Now Esdras presented the sacred money to the treasurers, who were of
the family of the priests, of silver six hundred and fifty talents, vessels of silver
one hundred talents, vessels of gold twenty talents, vessels of brass, that was
more precious than gold, twelve talents by weight; for these Presents had been made
by the king and his counselors, and by all the Israelites that staid at Babylon.
So when Esdras had delivered these things to the priests, he gave to God, as the
appointed sacrifices of whole burnt-offerings, twelve bulls on account of the common
preservation of the people, ninety rams, seventy-two lambs, and twelve kids of the
goats, for the remission of sins. He also delivered the king’s epistle to the king’s
officers, and to the governors of Celesyria and Phoenicia; and as they were under
a necessity of doing what was enjoined by him, they honored our nation, and were
assistant to them in all their necessities.

3. Now these things were truly done under the conduct of Esdras; and he succeeded
in them, because God esteemed him worthy of the success of his conduct, on account
of his goodness and righteousness. But some time afterward there came some persons
to him, and brought an accusation against certain of the multitude, and of the priests
and Levites, who had transgressed their settlement, and dissolved the laws of their
country, by marrying strange wives, and had brought the family of the priests into
confusion. These persons desired him to support the laws, lest God should take up
a general anger against them all, and reduce them to a calamitous condition again.
Hereupon he rent his garment immediately, out of grief, and pulled off the hair
of his head and beard, and cast himself upon the ground, because this crime had
reached the principal men among the people; and considering that if he should enjoin
them to cast out their wives, and the children they had by them, he should not be
hearkener to, he continued lying upon the ground. However, all the better sort came
running to him, who also themselves wept, and partook of the grief he was under
for what had been done. So Esdras rose up from the ground, and stretched out his
hands towards heaven, and said that he was ashamed to look towards it, because of
the sins which the people had committed, while they had cast out of their memories
what their fathers had undergone on account of their wickedness; and he besought
God, who had saved a seed and a remnant out of the calamity and captivity they had
been in, and had restored them again to Jerusalem, and to their own land, and had
obliged the kings of Persia to have compassion on them, that he would also forgive
them their sins they had now committed, which, though they deserved death, yet,
was it agreeable to the mercy of God, to remit even to these the punishment due
to them.

4. After Esdras had said this, he left off praying; and when all those that came
to him with their wives and children were under lamentation, one whose name was
Jechonias, a principal man in Jerusalem, came to him, and said that they had sinned
in marrying strange wives; and he persuaded him to adjure them all to cast those
wives out, and the children born of them, and that those should be punished who
would not obey the law. So Esdras hearkened to this advice, and made the heads of
the priests, and of the Levites, and of the Israelites, swear that they would put
away those wives and children, according to the advice of Jechonias. And when he
had received their oaths, he went in haste out of the temple into the chamber of
Johanan, the son of Eliasib, and as he had hitherto tasted nothing at all for grief,
so he abode there that day. And when proclamation was made, that all those of the
captivity should gather themselves together to Jerusalem, and those that did not
meet there in two or three days should be banished from the multitude, and that
their substance should b appropriated to the uses of the temple, according to the
sentence of the elders, those that were of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin came
together in three days, viz. on the twentieth day of the ninth month, which, according
to the Hebrews, is called Tebeth, and according to the Macedonians, Apelleius. Now
as they were sitting in the upper room of the temple, where the elders also were
present, but were uneasy because of the cold, Esdras stood up and accused them,
and told them that they had sinned in marrying wives that were not of their own
nation; but that now they would do a thing both pleasing to God, and advantageous
to themselves, if they would put those wives away. Accordingly, they all cried out
that they would do so. That, however, the multitude was great, and that the season
of the year was winter, and that this work would require more than one or two days.
“Let their rulers, therefore, [said they,] and those that have married strange wives,
come hither at a proper time, while the elders of every place, that are in common
to estimate the number of those that have thus married, are to be there also.” Accordingly,
this was resolved on by them, and they began the inquiry after those that had married
strange wives on the first day of the tenth month, and continued the inquiry to
the first day of the next month, and found a great many of the posterity of Jeshua
the high priest, and of the priests and Levites, and Israelites, who had a greater
regard to the observation of the law than to their natural affection, and immediately
cast out their wives, and the children which were born of them. And in order to
appease God, they offered sacrifices, and slew rams, as oblations to him; but it
does not seem to me to be necessary to set down the names of these men. So when
Esdras had reformed this sin about the marriages of the forementioned persons, he
reduced that practice to purity, so that it continued in that state for the time
to come.

5. Now when they kept the feast of tabernacles in the seventh month and almost
all the people were come together to it, they went up to the open part of the temple,
to the gate which looked eastward, and desired of Esdras that the laws of Moses
might be read to them. Accordingly, he stood in the midst of the multitude and read
them; and this he did from morning to noon. Now, by hearing the laws read to them,
they were instructed to be righteous men for the present and for the future; but
as for their past offenses, they were displeased at themselves, and proceeded to
shed tears on their account, as considering with themselves that if they had kept
the law, they had endured none of these miseries which they had experienced. But
when Esdras saw them in that disposition, he bade them go home, and not weep, for
that it was a festival, and that they ought not to weep thereon, for that it was
not lawful so to do. He exhorted them rather to proceed immediately to feasting,
and to do what was suitable to a feast, and what was agreeable to a day of joy;
but to let their repentance and sorrow for their former sins be a security and a
guard to them, that they fell no more into the like offenses. So upon Esdras’s exhortation
they began to feast; and when they had so done for eight days, in their tabernacles,
they departed to their own homes, singing hymns to God, and returning thanks to
Esdras for his reformation of what corruptions had been introduced into their settlement.
So it came to pass, that after he had obtained this reputation among the people,
he died an old man, and was buried in a magnificent manner at Jerusalem. About the
same time it happened also that Joacim, the high priest, died; and his son Eliasib
succeeded in the high priesthood.

6. Now there was one of those Jews that had been carried captive who was cup-bearer
to king Xerxes; his name was Nehemiah. As this man was walking before Susa, the
metropolis of the Persians, he heard some strangers that were entering the city,
after a long journey, speaking to one another in the Hebrew tongue; so he went to
them, and asked them whence they came. And when their answer was, that they came
from Judea, he began to inquire of them again in what state the multitude was, and
in what condition Jerusalem was; and when they replied that they were in a bad state
for that their walls were thrown down to the ground, and that the neighboring nations
did a great deal of mischief to the Jews, while in the day time they overran the
country, and pillaged it, and in the night did them mischief, insomuch that not
a few were led away captive out of the country, and out of Jerusalem itself, and
that the roads were in the day time found full of dead men. Hereupon Nehemiah shed
tears, out of commiseration of the calamities of his countrymen; and, looking up
to heaven, he said, “How long, O Lord, wilt thou overlook our nation, while it suffers
so great miseries, and while we are made the prey and spoil of all men?” And while
he staid at the gate, and lamented thus, one told him that the king was going to
sit down to supper; so he made haste, and went as he was, without wishing himself,
to minister to the king in his office of cup-bearer. But as the king was very pleasant
after supper, and more cheerful than usual, he cast his eyes on Nehemiah, and seeing
him look sad, he asked him why he was sad. Whereupon he prayed to God to give him
favor, and afford him the power of persuading by his words, and said, “How can I,
O king, appear otherwise than thus, and not be in trouble, while I hear that the
walls of Jerusalem, the city where are the sepulchers of my fathers, are thrown
down to the ground, and that its gates are consumed by fire? But do thou grant me
the favor to go and build its wall, and to finish the building of the temple.” Accordingly,
the king gave him a signal that he freely granted him what he asked; and told him
that he should carry an epistle to the governors, that they might pay him due honor,
and afford him whatsoever assistance he wanted, and as he pleased. “Leave off thy
sorrow then,” said the king, “and be cheerful in the performance of thy office hereafter.”
So Nehemiah worshipped God, and gave the king thanks for his promise, and cleared
up his sad and cloudy countenance, by the pleasure he had from the king’s promises.
Accordingly, the king called for him the next day, and gave him an epistle to be
carried to Adeus, the governor of Syria, and Phoenicia, and Samaria; wherein he
sent to him to pay due honor to Nehemiah, and to supply him with what he wanted
for his building.

7. Now when he was come to Babylon, and had taken with him many of his countrymen,
who voluntarily followed him, he came to Jerusalem in the twenty and fifth year
of the reign of Xerxes. And when he had shown the epistles to God he gave them to
Adeus, and to the other governors. He also called together all the people to Jerusalem,
and stood in the midst of the temple, and made the following speech to them: “You
know, O Jews, that God hath kept our fathers, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in
mind continually, and for the sake of their righteousness hath not left off the
care of you. Indeed he hath assisted me in gaining this authority of the king to
raise up our wall, and finish what is wanting of the temple. I desire you, therefore
who well know the ill-will our neighboring nations bear to us, and that when once
they are made sensible that we are in earnest about building, they will come upon
us, and contrive many ways of obstructing our works, that you will, in the first
place, put your trust in God, as in him that will assist us against their hatred,
and to intermit building neither night nor day, but to use all diligence, and to
hasten on the work, now we have this especial opportunity for it.” When he had said
this, he gave order that the rulers should measure the wall, and part the work of
it among the people, according to their villages and cities, as every one’s ability
should require. And when he had added this promise, that he himself, with his servants,
would assist them, he dissolved the assembly. So the Jews prepared for the work:
that is the name they are called by from the day that they came up from Babylon,
which is taken from the tribe of Judah,. which came first to these places, and thence
both they and the country gained that appellation.

8. But now when the Ammonites, and Moabites, and Samaritans, and all that inhabited
Celesyria, heard that the building went on apace, they took it heinously, and proceeded
to lay snares for them, and to hinder their intentions. They also slew many of the
Jews, and sought how they might destroy Nehemiah himself, by hiring some of the
foreigners to kill him. They also put the Jews in fear, and disturbed them, and
spread abroad rumors, as if many nations were ready to make an expedition against
them, by which means they were harassed, and had almost left off the building. But
none of these things could deter Nehemiah from being diligent about the work; he
only set a number of men about him as a guard to his body, and so unweariedly persevered
therein, and was insensible of any trouble, out of his desire to perfect this work.
And thus did he attentively, and with great forecast, take care of his own safety;
not that he feared death, but of this persuasion, that if he were dead, the walls
for his citizens would never be raised. He also gave orders that the builders should
keep their ranks, and have their armor on while they were building. Accordingly,
the mason had his sword on, as well as he that brought the materials for building.
He also appointed that their shields should lie very near them; and he placed trumpeters
at every five hundred feet, and charged them, that if their enemies appeared, they
should give notice of it to the people, that they might fight in their armor, and
their enemies might not fall upon them naked. He also went about the compass of
the city by night, being never discouraged, neither about the work itself, nor about
his own diet and sleep, for he made no use of those things for his pleasure, but
out of necessity. And this trouble he underwent for two years and four months; for
in so long a time was the wall built, in the twenty-eighth year of the reign of
Xerxes, in the ninth month. Now when the walls were finished, Nehemiah and the multitude
offered sacrifices to God for the building of them, and they continued in feasting
eight days. However, when the nations which dwelt in Syria heard that the building
of the wall was finished, they had indignation at it. But when Nehemiah saw that
the city was thin of people, he exhorted the priests and the Levites that they would
leave the country, and remove themselves to the city, and there continue; and he
built them houses at his own expenses; and he commanded that part of the people
which were employed in cultivating the land to bring the tithes of their fruits
to Jerusalem, that the priests and Levites having whereof they might live perpetually,
might not leave the Divine worship; who willingly hearkened to the constitutions
of Nehemiah, by which means the city Jerusalem came to be fuller of people than
it was before. So when Nehemiah had done many other excellent things, and things
worthy of commendation, in a glorious manner, he came to a great age, and then died.
He was a man of a good and righteous disposition, and very ambitious to make his
own nation happy; and he hath left the walls of Jerusalem as an eternal monument
for himself. Now this was done in the days of Xerxes.

CHAPTER 6.

Concerning Esther And Mordecai And Haman; And How In The Reign Of Artaxerxes
The Whole Nation Of The Jews Was In Danger Of Perishing.

1. After the death of Xerxes, the kingdom came to be transferred to his son Cyrus,
whom the Greeks called Artaxerxes. When this man had obtained the government over
the Persians, the whole nation of the Jews, with their wives and children, were
in danger of perishing; the occasion whereof we shall declare in a little time;
for it is proper, in the first place, to explain somewhat relating to this king,
and how he came to marry a Jewish wife, who was herself of the royal family also,
and who is related to have saved our nation; for when Artaxerxes had taken the kingdom,
and had set governors over the hundred twenty and seven provinces, from India even
unto Ethiopia, in the third year of his reign, he made a costly feast for his friends,
and for the nations of Persia, and for their governors, such a one as was proper
for a king to make, when he had a mind to make a public demonstration of his riches,
and this for a hundred and fourscore days; after which he made a feast for other
nations, and for their ambassadors, at Shushan, for seven days. Now this feast was
ordered after the manner following: He caused a tent to be pitched, which was supported
by pillars of gold and silver, with curtains of linen and purple spread over them,
that it might afford room for many ten thousands to sit down. The cups with which
the waiters ministered were of gold, and adorned with precious stones, for pleasure
and for sight. He also gave order to the servants that they should not force them
to drink, by bringing them wine continually, as is the practice of the Persians,
but to permit every one of the guests to enjoy himself according to his own inclination.
Moreover, he sent messengers through the country, and gave order that they should
have a remission of their labors, and should keep a festival many days, on account
of his kingdom. In like manner did Vashti the queen gather her guests together,
and made them a feast in the palace. Now the king was desirous to show her, who
exceeded all other women in beauty, to those that feasted with him, and he sent
some to command her to come to his feast. But she, out of regard to the laws of
the Persians, which forbid the wives to be seen by strangers, did not go to the
king and though he oftentimes sent the eunuchs to her, she did nevertheless stay
away, and refused to come, till the king was so much irritated, that he brake up
the entertainment, and rose up, and called for those seven who had the interpretation
of the laws committed to them, and accused his wife, and said that he had been affronted
by her, because that when she was frequently called by him to his feast, she did
not obey him once. He therefore gave order that they should inform him what could
be done by the law against her. So one of them, whose name was Memucan, said that
this affront was offered not to him alone, but to all the Persians, who were in
danger of leading their lives very ill with their wives, if they must be thus despised
by them; for that none of their wives would have any reverence for their husbands,
if they had” such an example of arrogance in the queen towards thee, who rulest
over all.” Accordingly, he exhorted him to punish her, who had been guilty of so
great an affront to him, after a severe manner; and when he had so done, to publish
to the nations what had been decreed about the queen. So the resolution was to put
Vashti away, and to give her dignity to another woman.

2. But the king having been fond of her, did not well bear a separation, and
yet by the law he could not admit of a reconciliation; so he was under trouble,
as not having it in his power to do what he desired to do. But when his friends
saw him so uneasy, they advised him to cast the memory of his wife, and his love
for her, out of his mind, but to send abroad over all the habitable earth, and to
search out for comely virgins, and to take her whom he should best like for his
wife, because his passion for his former wife would be quenched by the introduction
of another, and the kindness he had for Vashti would be withdrawn from her, and
be placed on her that was with him. Accordingly, he was persuaded to follow this
advice, and gave order to certain persons to choose out of the virgins that were
in his kingdom those that were esteemed the most comely. So when a great number
of these virgins were gathered together, there was found a damsel in Babylon, whose
parents were both dead, and she was brought up with her uncle Mordecai, for that
was her uncle’s name. This uncle was of the tribe of Benjamin, and was one of the
principal persons among the Jews. Now it proved that this damsel, whose name was
Esther, was the most beautiful of all the rest, and that the grace of her countenance
drew the eyes of the spectators principally upon her. So she was committed to one
of the eunuchs to take the care of her; and she was very exactly provided with sweet
odors, in great plenty, and with costly ointments, such as her body required to
be anointed withal; and this was used for six months by the virgins, who were in
number four hundred. And when the eunuch thought the virgins had been sufficiently
purified, in the fore-mentioned time, and were now fit to go to the king’s bed,
he sent one to be with the king ever day. So when he had accompanied with her, he
sent her back to the eunuch; and when Esther had come to him, he was pleased with
her, and fell in love with the damsel, and married her, and made her his lawful
wife, and kept a wedding feast for her on the twelfth month of the seventh year
of his reign, which was called Adar. He also sent angari, as they are called, or
messengers, unto every nation, and gave orders that they should keep a feast for
his marriage, while he himself treated the Persians and the Medes, and the principal
men of the nations, for a whole month, on account of this his marriage. Accordingly,
Esther came to his royal palace, and he set a diadem on her head. And thus was Esther
married, without making known to the king what nation she was derived from. Her
uncle also removed from Babylon to Shushan, and dwelt there, being every day about
the palace, and inquiring how the damsel did, for he loved her as though she had
been his own daughter.

3. Now the king had made a law, that none of his own people should approach him
unless he were called, when he sat upon his throne and men, with axes in their hands,
stood round about his throne, in order to punish such as approached to him without
being called. However, the king sat with a golden scepter in his hand, which he
held out when he had a mind to save any one of those that approached to him without
being called, and he who touched it was free from danger. But of this matter we
have discoursed sufficiently.

4. Some time after this [two eunuchs], Bigthan and Teresh, plotted against the
king; and Barnabazus, the servant of one of the eunuchs, being by birth a Jew, was
acquainted with their conspiracy, and discovered it to the queen’s uncle; and Mordecai,
by the means of Esther, made the conspirators known to the king. This troubled the
king; but he discovered the truth, and hanged the eunuchs upon a cross, while at
that time he gave no reward ]: to Mordecai, who had been the occasion of his preservation.
He only bid the scribes to set down his name in the records, and bid him stay in
the palace, as an intimate friend of the king.

5. Now there was one Haman, the son of Amedatha, by birth an Amalekite, that
used to go in to the king; and the foreigners and Persians worshipped him, as Artaxerxes
had commanded that such honor should be paid to him; but Mordecai was so wise, and
so observant of his own country’s laws, that he would not worship the man When Haman
observed this, he inquired whence he came; and when he understood that he was a
Jew, he had indignation at him, and said within himself, that whereas the Persians,
who were free men, worshipped him, this man, who was no better than a slave, does
not vouchsafe to do so. And when he desired to punish Mordecai, he thought it too
small a thing to request of the king that he alone might be punished; he rather
determined to abolish the whole nation, for he was naturally an enemy to the Jews,
because the nation of the Amalekites, of which he was; had been destroyed by them.
Accordingly he came to the king, and accused them, saying, “There is a certain wicked
nation, and it is dispersed over all the habitable earth the was under his dominion;
a nation separate from others, unsociable, neither admitting the same sort of Divine
worship that others do, nor using laws like to the laws of others, at enmity with
thy people, and with all men, both in their manners and practices. Now, if thou
wilt be a benefactor to thy subjects, thou wilt give order to destroy them utterly,
and not leave the least remains of them, nor preserve any of them, either for slaves
or for captives.” :But that the king might not be damnified by the loss of the tributes
which the Jews paid him, Haman promised to give him out of his own estate forty
thousand talents whensoever he pleased; and he said he would pay this money very
willingly, that the kingdom might. be freed from such a misfortune.

6. When Haman had made this petition, the king both forgave him the money, and
granted him the men, to do what he would with them. So Haman, having gained what
he desired, sent out immediately a decree, as from the king, to all nations, the
contents whereof were these: “Artaxerxes, the great king, to the rulers of the hundred
twenty and seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, sends this writing. Whereas
I have governed many nations, and obtained the dominions of all the habitable earth,
according to my desire, and have not been obliged to do any thing that is insolent
or cruel to my subjects by such my power, but have showed myself mild and gentle,
by taking care of their peace and good order, and have sought how they might enjoy
those blessings for all time to come. And whereas I have been kindly informed by
Haman, who, on account of his prudence and justice, is the first in my esteem, and
in dignity, and only second to myself, for his fidelity and constant good-will to
me, that there is an ill-natured nation intermixed with all mankind, that is averse
to our laws, and not subject to kings, and of a different conduct of life from others,
that hateth monarchy, and of a disposition that is pernicious to our affairs, I
give order that all these men, of whom Haman our second father hath informed us,
be destroyed, with their wives and children, and that none of them be spared, and
that none prefer pity to them before obedience to this decree. And this I will to
be executed on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month of this present year, that
so when all that have enmity to us are destroyed, and this in one day, we may be
allowed to lead the rest of our lives in peace hereafter.” Now when this decree
was brought to the cities, and to the country, all were ready for the destruction
and entire abolishment of the Jews, against the day before mentioned; and they were
very hasty about it at Shushan, in particular. Accordingly, the king and Haman spent
their time in feasting together with good cheer and wine, but the city was in disorder.

7. Now when Mordecai was informed of what was done, he rent his clothes, and
put on sackcloth, and sprinkled ashes upon his head, and went about the city, crying
out, that “a nation that had been injurious to no man was to be destroyed.” And
he went on saying thus as far as to the king’s palace, and there he stood, for it
was not lawful for him to go into it in that habit. The same thing was done by all
the Jews that were in the several cities wherein this decree was published, with
lamentation and mourning, on account of the calamities denounced against them. But
as soon as certain persons had told the queen that Mordecai stood before the court
in a mourning habit, she was disturbed at this report, and sent out such as should
change his garments; but when he could not be induced to put off his sackcloth,
because the sad occasion that forced him to put it on was not yet ceased, she called
the eunuch Acratheus, for he was then present, and sent him to Mordecai, in order
to know of him what sad accident had befallen him, for which he was in mourning,
and would not put off the habit he had put on at her desire. Then did Mordecai inform
the eunuch of the occasion of his mourning, and of the decree which was sent by
the king into all the country, and of the promise of money whereby Haman brought
the destruction of their nation. He also gave him a copy of what was proclaimed
at Shushan, to be carried to Esther; and he charged her to petition the king about
this matter, and not to think it a dishonorable thing in her to put on a humble
habit, for the safety of her nation, wherein she might deprecate the ruin of the
Jews, who were in danger of it; for that Haman, whose dignity was only inferior
to that of the king, had accused the Jews, and had irritated the king against them.
When she was informed of this, she sent to Mordecai again, and told him that she
was not called by the king, and that he who goes in to him without being called,
is to be slain, unless when he is willing to save any one, he holds out his golden
scepter to him; but that to whomsoever he does so, although he go in without being
called, that person is so far from being slain, that he obtains pardon, and is entirely
preserved. Now when the eunuch carried this message from Esther to Mordecai, he
bade him also tell her that she must not only provide for her own preservation,
but for the common preservation of her nation, for that if she now neglected this
opportunity, there would certainly arise help to them from God some other way, but
she and her father’s house would be destroyed by those whom she now despised. But
Esther sent the very same eunuch back to Mordecai [to desire him] to go to Shushan,
and to gather the Jews that were there together to a congregation, and to fast and
abstain from all sorts of food, on her account, and [to let him know that] she with
her maidens would do the same: and then she promised that she would go to the king,
though it were against the law, and that if she must die for it, she would not refuse
it.

8. Accordingly, Mordecai did as Esther had enjoined him, and made the people
fast; and he besought God, together with them, not to overlook his nation, particularly
at this time, when it was going to be destroyed; but that, as he had often before
provided for them, and forgiven, when they had sinned, so he would now deliver them
from that destruction which was denounced against them; for although it was not
all the nation that had offended, yet must they so ingloriously be slain, and that
he was himself the occasion of the wrath of Haman, “Because,” said he, “I did not
worship him, nor could I endure to pay that honor to him which I used to pay to
thee, O Lord; for upon that his anger hath he contrived this present mischief against
those that have not transgressed thy laws.” The same supplications did the multitude
put up, and entreated that God would provide for their deliverance, and free the
Israelites that were in all the earth from this calamity which was now coming upon
them, for they had it before their eyes, and expected its coming. Accordingly, Esther
made supplication to God after the manner of her country, by casting herself down
upon the earth, and putting on her mourning garments, and bidding farewell to meat
and drink, and all delicacies, for three days’ time; and she entreated God to have
mercy upon her, and make her words appear persuasive to the king, and render her
countenance more beautiful than it was before, that both by her words and beauty
she might succeed, for the averting of the king’s anger, in case he were at all
irritated against her, and for the consolation of those of her own country, now
they were in the utmost danger of perishing; as also that he would excite a hatred
in the king against the enemies of the Jews, and those that had contrived their
future destruction, if they proved to be contemned by him.

9. When Esther had used this supplication for three days, she put off those garments,
and changed her habit, and adorned herself as became a queen, and took two of her
handmaids with her, the one of which supported her, as she gently leaned upon her,
and the other followed after, and lifted up her large train (which swept along the
ground) with the extremities of her fingers. And thus she came to the king, having
a blushing redness in her countenance, with a pleasant agreeableness in her behavior;
yet did she go in to him with fear; and as soon as she was come over against him,
as he was sitting on his throne, in his royal apparel, which was a garment interwoven
with gold and precious stones, which made him seem to her more terrible, especially
when he looked at her somewhat severely, and with a countenance on fire with anger,
her joints failed her immediately, out of the dread she was in, and she fell down
sideways in a swoon: but the king changed his mind, which happened, as I suppose,
by the will of God, and was concerned for his wife, lest her fear should bring some
very ill thing upon her, and he leaped from his throne, and took her in his arms,
and recovered her, by embracing her, and speaking comfortably to her, and exhorting
her to be of good cheer, and not to suspect any thing that was sad on account of
her coming to him without being called, because that law was made for subjects,
but that she, who was a queen, as well as he a king, might be entirely secure; and
as he said this, he put the scepter into her hand, and laid his rod upon her neck,
on account of the law; and so freed her from her fear. And after she had recovered
herself by these encouragements, she said, “My lord, it is not easy for me, on the
sudden, to say what hath happened, for as soon as I saw thee to be great, and comely,
and terrible, my spirit departed from me, and I had no soul left in me.” And while
it was with difficulty, and in a low voice, that she could say thus much, the king
was in a great agony and disorder, and encouraged Esther to be of good cheer, and
to expect better fortune, since he was ready, if occasion should require it, to
grant her the half of his kingdom. Accordingly, Esther desired that he and his friend
Haman would come to her to a banquet, for she said she had prepared a supper for
him. He consented to it; and when they were there, as they were drinking, he bid
Esther to let him know what she desired; for that she should not be disappointed
though she should desire the half of his kingdom. But she put off the discovery
of her petition till the next day, if he would come again, together with Haman,
to her banquet.

10. Now when the king had promised so to do, Haman went away very glad, because
he alone had the honor of supping with the king at Esther’s banquet, and because
no one else partook of the same honor with kings but himself; yet when he saw Mordecai
in the court, he was very much displeased, for he paid him no manner of respect
when he saw him. So he went home and called for his wife Zeresh, and his friends,
and when they were come, he showed them what honor he enjoyed not only from the
king, but from the queen also, for as he alone had that day supped with her, together
with the king, so was he also invited again for the next day; yet,” said he, “am
I not pleased to see Mordecai the Jew in the court.” Hereupon his wife Zeresh advised
him to give order that a gallows should be made fifty cubits high, and that in the
morning he should ask it of the king that Mordecai might be hanged thereon. So he
commended her advice, and gave order to his servants to prepare the gallows, and
to place it in the court, for the punishment of Mordecai thereon, which was accordingly
prepared. But God laughed to scorn the wicked expectations of Haman; and as he knew
what the event would be, he was delighted at it, for that night he took away the
king’s sleep; and as the king was not willing to lose the time of his lying awake,
but to spend it in something that might be of advantage to his kingdom, he commanded
the scribe to bring him the chronicles of the former kings, and the records of his
own actions; and when he had brought them, and was reading them, one was found to
have received a country on account of his excellent management on a certain occasion,
and the name of the country was set down; another was found to have had a present
made him on account of his fidelity: then the scribe came to Bigthan and Teresh,
the eunuchs that had made a conspiracy against the king, which Mordecai had discovered;
and when the scribe said no more but that, and was going on to another history,
the king stopped him, and inquired “whether it was not added that Mordecai had a
reward given him?” and when he said there was no such addition, he bade him leave
off; and he inquired of those that were appointed for that purpose, what hour of
the night it was; and when he was informed that it was already day, he gave order,
that if they found any one of his friends already come, and standing before the
court, they should tell him. Now it happened that Haman was found there, for he
was come sooner than ordinary to petition the king to have Mordecai put to death;
and when the servants said that Haman was before the court, he bid them call him
in; and when he was come in, he said, “Because I know that thou art my only fast
friend, I desire thee to give me advice how I may honor one that I greatly love,
and that after a manner suitable to my magnificence.” Now Haman reasoned with himself,
that what opinion he should give it would be for himself, since it was he alone
who was beloved by the king: so he gave that advice which he thought of all other
the best; for he said, “If thou wouldst truly honor a man whom thou sayest thou
dost love, give order that he may ride on horseback, with the same garment on which
thou wearest, and with a gold chain about his neck, and let one of thy intimate
friends go before him, and proclaim through the whole city, that whosoever the king
honoreth obtaineth this mark of his honor.” This was the advice which Haman gave,
out of a supposal that such a reward would come to himself. Hereupon the king was
pleased with the advice, and said, “Go thou therefore, for thou hast the horse,
the garment, and the chain, ask for Mordecai the Jew, and give him those things,
and go before his horse and proclaim accordingly; for thou art,” said he, “my intimate
friend, and hast given me good advice; be thou then the minister of what thou hast
advised me to. This shall be his reward from us, for preserving my life.” When he
heard this order, which was entirely unexpected, he was confounded in his mind,
and knew not what to do. However, he went out and led the horse, and took the purple
garment, and the golden chain for the neck, and finding Mordecai before the court,
clothed in sackcloth, he bid him put that garment off, and put the purple garment
on. But Mordecai, not knowing the truth of the matter, but thinking that it was
done in mockery, said, “O thou wretch, the vilest of all mankind, dost thou thus
laugh at our calamities?” But when he was satisfied that the king bestowed this
honor upon him, for the deliverance he had procured him when he convicted the eunuchs
who had conspired against him, he put on that purple garment which the king always
wore, and put the chain about his neck, and got on horseback, and went round the
city, while Haman went before and proclaimed, “This shall be the reward which the
king will bestow on every one whom he loves, and esteems worthy of honor.” And when
they had gone round the city, Mordecai went in to the king; but Haman went home,
out of shame, and informed his wife and friends of what had happened, and this with
tears; who said, that he would never be able to be revenged of Mordecai, for that
God was with him.

11. Now while these men were thus talking one to another, Esther’s eunuchs hastened
Haman away to come to supper; but one of the eunuchs, named Sabuchadas, saw the
gallows that was fixed in Haman’s house, and inquired of one of his servants for
what purpose they had prepared it. So he knew that it was for the queen’s uncle,
because Haman was about to petition the king that he might be punished; but at present
he held his peace. Now when the king, with Haman, were at the banquet, he desired
the queen to tell him what gifts she desired to obtain, and assured her that she
should have whatsoever she had a mind to. She then lamented the danger her people
were in; and said that “she and her nation were given up to be destroyed, and that
she, on that account, made this her petition; that she would not have troubled him
if he had only given order that they should be sold into bitter servitude, for such
a misfortune would not have been intolerable; but she desired that they might be
delivered from such destruction.” And when the king inquired of her whom was the
author of this misery to them, she then openly accused Haman, and convicted him,
that he had been the wicked instrument of this, and had formed this plot against
them. When the king was hereupon in disorder, and was gone hastily out of the banquet
into the gardens, Haman began to intercede with Esther, and to beseech her to forgive
him, as to what he had offended, for he perceived that he was in a very bad case.
And as he had fallen upon the queen’s bed, and was making supplication to her, the
king came in, and being still more provoked at what he saw, “O thou wretch,” said
he, “thou vilest of mankind, dost thou aim to force in wife?” And when Haman was
astonished at this, and not able to speak one word more, Sabuchadas the eunuch came
in and accused Haman, and said,” He found a gallows at his house, prepared for Mordecai;
for that the servant told him so much upon his inquiry, when he was sent to him
to call him to supper.” He said further, that the gallows was fifty cubits high:
which, when the king heard, he determined that Haman should be punished after no
other manner than that which had been devised by him against Mordecai; so he gave
order immediately that he should be hung upon those gallows, and be put to death
after that manner. And from hence I cannot forbear to admire God, and to learn hence
his wisdom and his justice, not only in punishing the wickedness of Haman, but in
so disposing it, that he should undergo the very same punishment which he had contrived
for another; as also because thereby he teaches others this lesson, that what mischiefs
any one prepares against another, he, without knowing of it, first contrives it
against himself.

12. Wherefore Haman, who had immoderately abused the honor he had from the king,
was destroyed after this manner, and the king granted his estate to the queen. He
also called for Mordecai, (for Esther had informed him that she was akin to him,)
and gave that ring to Mordecai which he had before given to Haman. The queen also
gave Haman’s estate to Mordecai; and prayed the king to deliver the nation of the
Jews from the fear of death, and showed him what had been written over all the country
by Haman the son of Ammedatha; for that if her country were destroyed, and her countrymen
were to perish, she could not bear to live herself any longer. So the king promised
her that he would not do any thing that should be disagreeable to her, nor contradict
what she desired; but he bid her write what she pleased about the Jews, in the king’s
name, and seal it with his seal, and send it to all his kingdom, for that those
who read epistles whose authority is secured by having the king’s seal to them,
would no way contradict what was written therein. So he commanded the king’s scribes
to be sent for, and to write to the nations, on the Jews’ behalf, and to his lieutenants
and governors, that were over his hundred twenty and seven provinces, from India
to Ethiopia. Now the contents of this epistle were these: “The great king Artaxerxes
to our rulers, and those that are our faithful subjects, sendeth greeting. Many
men there are who, on account of the greatness of the benefits bestowed on them,
and because of the honor which they have obtained from the wonderful kind treatment
of those that bestowed it, are not only injurious to their inferiors, but do not
scruple to do evil to those that have been their benefactors, as if they would take
away gratitude from among men, and by their insolent abuse of such benefits as they
never expected, they turn the abundance they have against those that are the authors
of it, and suppose they shall lie concealed from God in that case, and avoid that
vengeance which comes from him. Some of these men, when they have had the management
of affairs committed to them by their friends, and bearing private malice of their
own against some others, by deceiving those that have the power, persuade them to
be angry at such as have done them no harm, till they are in danger of perishing,
and this by laying accusations and calumnies: nor is this state of things to be
discovered by ancient examples, or such as we have learned by report only, but by
some examples of such impudent attempts under our own eyes; so that it is not fit
to attend any longer to calumnies and accusations, nor to the persuasions of others,
but to determine what any one knows of himself to have been really done, and to
punish what justly deserves it, and to grant favors to such as are innocent. This
hath been the case of Haman, the son of Ammedatha, by birth an Amalekite, and alien
from the blood of the Persians, who, when he was hospitably entertained by us, and
partook of that kindness which we bear to all men to so great a degree, as to be
called my father, and to be all along worshipped, and to have honor paid him by
all in the second rank after the royal honor due to ourselves, he could not bear
his good fortune, nor govern the magnitude of his prosperity with sound reason;
nay, he made a conspiracy against me and my life, who gave him his authority, by
endeavoring to take away Mordecai, my benefactor, and my savior, and by basely and
treacherously requiring to have Esther, the partner of my life, and of my dominion,
brought to destruction; for he contrived by this means to deprive me of my faithful
friends, and transfer the government to others: but since I perceived that these
Jews, that were by this pernicious fellow devoted to destruction, were not wicked
men, but conducted their lives after the best manner, and were men dedicated to
the worship of that God who hath preserved the kingdom to me and to my ancestors,
I do not only free them from the punishment which the former epistle, which was
sent by Haman, ordered to be inflicted on them, to which if you refuse obedience,
you shall do well; but I will that they have all honor paid to them. Accordingly,
I have hanged up the man that contrived such things against them, with his family,
before the gates of Shushan; that punishment being sent upon him by God, who seeth
all things. And I give you in charge, that you publicly propose a copy of this epistle
through all my kingdom, that the Jews may be permitted peaceably to use their own
laws, and that you assist them, that at the same season whereto their miserable
estate did belong, they may defend themselves the very same day from unjust violence,
the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar; for God hath made that day
a day of salvation instead of a day of destruction to them; and may it be a good
day to those that wish us well, and a memorial of the punishment of the conspirators
against us: and I will that you take notice, that every city, and every nation,
that shall disobey any thing that is contained in this epistle, shall be destroyed
by fire and sword. However, let this epistle be published through all the country
that is under our obedience, and let all the Jews, by all means, be ready against
the day before mentioned, that they may avenge themselves upon their enemies.”

13. Accordingly, the horsemen who carried the epistles proceeded on the ways
which they were to go with speed: but as for Mordecai, as soon as he had assumed
the royal garment, and the crown of gold, and had put the chain about his neck,
he went forth in a public procession; and when the Jews who were at Shushan saw
him in so great honor with the king, they thought his good fortune was common to
themselves also, and joy and a beam of salvation encompassed the Jews, both those
that were in the cities, and those that were in the countries, upon the publication
of the king’s letters, insomuch that many even of other nations circumcised their
foreskin for fear of the Jews, that they might procure safety to themselves thereby;
for on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which according to the Hebrews is
called Adar, but according to the Macedonians, Dystrus, those that carried the king’s
epistle gave them notice, that the same day wherein their danger was to have been,
on that very day should they destroy their enemies. But now the rulers of the provinces,
and the tyrants, and the kings, and the scribes, had the Jews in esteem; for the
fear they were in of Mordecai forced them to act with discretion. Now when the royal
decree was come to all the country that was subject to the king, it fell out that
the Jews at Shushan slew five hundred of their enemies; and when the king had told
Esther the number of those that were slain in that city, but did not well know what
had been done in the provinces, he asked her whether she would have any thing further
done against them, for that it should be done accordingly: upon which she desired
that the Jews might be permitted to treat their remaining enemies in the same manner
the next day; as also that they might hang the ten sons of Haman upon the gallows.
So the king permitted the Jews so to do, as desirous not to contradict Esther. So
they gathered themselves together again on the fourteenth day of the month Dystrus,
and slew about three hundred of their enemies, but touched nothing of what riches
they had. Now there were slain by the Jews that were in the country, and in the
other cities, seventy-five thousand of their enemies, and these were slain on the
thirteenth day of the month, and the next day they kept as a festival. In like manner
the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together, and feasted on the fourteenth
day, and that which followed it; whence it is that even now all the Jews that are
in the habitable earth keep these days festival, and send portions to one another.
Mordecai also wrote to the Jews that lived in the kingdom of Artaxerxes to observe
these days, and celebrate them as festivals, and to deliver them down to posterity,
that this festival might continue for all time to come, and that it might never
be buried in oblivion; for since they were about to be destroyed on these days by
Haman, they would do a right thing, upon escaping the danger in them, and on them
inflicting punishment on their enemies, to observe those days, and give thanks to
God on them; for which cause the Jews still keep the forementioned days, and call
them days of Phurim [or Purim.] And Mordecai became a great and illustrious person
with the king, and assisted him in the government of the people. He also lived with
the queen; so that the affairs of the Jews were, by their means, better than they
could ever have hoped for. And this was the state of the Jews under the reign of
Artaxerxes.

CHAPTER 7.

How John Slew His Brother Jesus In The Temple; And How Bagoses Offered Many Injuries
To The Jews; And What Sanballat Did.

1. When Eliashib the high priest was dead, his son Judas succeeded in the high
priesthood; and when he was dead, his son John took that dignity; on whose account
it was also that Bagoses, the general of another Artaxerxes’s army, polluted the
temple, and imposed tributes on the Jews, that out of the public stock, before they
offered the daily sacrifices, they should pay for every lamb fifty shekels. Now
Jesus was the brother of John, and was a friend of Bagoses, who had promised to
procure him the high priesthood. In confidence of whose support, Jesus quarreled
with John in the temple, and so provoked his brother, that in his anger his brother
slew him. Now it was a horrible thing for John, when he was high priest, to perpetrate
so great a crime, and so much the more horrible, that there never was so cruel and
impious a thing done, neither by the Greeks nor Barbarians. However, God did not
neglect its punishment, but the people were on that very account enslaved, and the
temple was polluted by the Persians. Now when Bagoses, the general of Artaxerxes’s
army, knew that John, the high priest of the Jews, had slain his own brother Jesus
in the temple, he came upon the Jews immediately, and began in anger to say to them,”
Have you had the impudence to perpetrate a murder in your temple?” And as he was
aiming to go into the temple, they forbade him so to do; but he said to them,” Am
not I purer than he that was slain in the temple?” And when he had said these words,
he went into the temple. Accordingly, Bagoses made use of this pretense, and punished
the Jews seven years for the murder of Jesus.

2. Now when John had departed this life, his son Jaddua succeeded in the high
priesthood. He had a brother, whose name was Manasseh. :Now there was one Sanballat,
who was sent by Darius, the last king [of Persia], into Samaria. He was a Cutheam
by birth; of which stock were the Samaritans also. This man knew that the city Jerusalem
was a famous city, and that their kings had given a great deal of trouble to the
Assyrians, and the people of Celesyria; so that he willingly gave his daughter,
whose name was Nicaso, in marriage to Manasseh, as thinking this alliance by marriage
would be a pledge and security that the nation of the Jews should continue their
good-will to him.

CHAPTER 8.

Concerning Sanballat And Manasseh, And The Temple Which They Built On Mount Gerizzim;
As Also How Alexander Made His Entry Into The City Jerusalem, And What Benefits
He Bestowed On The Jews.

1. About this time it was that Philip, king of Macedon, was treacherously assaulted
and slain at Egae by Pausanias, the son of Cerastes, who was derived from the family
of Oreste, and his son Alexander succeeded him in the kingdom; who, passing over
the Hellespont, overcame the generals of Darius’s army in a battle fought at Granicum.
So he marched over Lydia, and subdued Ionia, and overran Caria, and fell upon the
places of Pamphylia, as has been related elsewhere.

2. But the elders of Jerusalem being very uneasy that the brother of Jaddua the
high priest, though married to a foreigner, should be a partner with him in the
high priesthood, quarreled with him; for they esteemed this mans marriage a step
to such as should be desirous of transgressing about the marriage of [strange] wives,
and that this would be the beginning of a mutual society with foreigners, although
the offense of some about marriages, and their having married wives that were not
of their own country, had been an occasion of their former captivity, and of the
miseries they then underwent; so they commanded Manasseh to divorce his wife, or
not to approach the altar, the high priest himself joining with the people in their
indignation against his brother, and driving him away from the altar. Whereupon
Manasseh came to his father-in-law, Sanballat, and told him, that although he loved
his daughter Nicaso, yet was he not willing to be deprived of his sacerdotal dignity
on her account, which was the principal dignity in their nation, and always continued
in the same family. And then Sanballat promised him not only to preserve to him
the honor of his priesthood, but to procure for him the power and dignity of a high
priest, and would make him governor of all the places he himself now ruled, if he
would keep his daughter for his wife. He also told him further, that he would build
him a temple like that at Jerusalem, upon Mount Gerizzini, which is the highest
of all the mountains that are in Samaria; and he promised that he would do this
with the approbation of Darius the king. Manasseh was elevated with these promises,
and staid with Sanballat, upon a supposal that he should gain a high priesthood,
as bestowed on him by Darius, for it happened that Sanballat was then in years.
But there was now a great disturbance among the people of Jerusalem, because many
of those priests and Levites were entangled in such matches; for they all revolted
to Manasseh, and Sanballat afforded them money, and divided among them land for
tillage, and habitations also, and all this in order every way to gratify his son-in-law.

3. About this time it was that Darius heard how Alexander had passed over the
Hellespont, and had beaten his lieutenants in the battle at Granicum, and was proceeding
further; whereupon he gathered together an army of horse and foot, and determined
that he would meet the Macedonians before they should assault and conquer all Asia.
So he passed over the river Euphrates, and came over Taurus, the Cilician mountain,
and at Issus of Cilicia he waited for the enemy, as ready there to give him battle.
Upon which Sanballat was glad that Darius was come down; and told Manasseh that
he would suddenly perform his promises to him, and this as soon as ever Darius should
come back, after he had beaten his enemies; for not he only, but all those that
were in Asia also, were persuaded that the Macedonians would not so much as come
to a battle with the Persians, on account of their multitude. But the event proved
otherwise than they expected; for the king joined battle with the Macedonians, and
was beaten, and lost a great part of his army. His mother also, and his wife and
children, were taken captives, and he fled into Persia. So Alexander came into Syria,
and took Damascus; and when he had obtained Sidon, he besieged Tyre, when he sent
all epistle to the Jewish high priest, to send him some auxiliaries, and to supply
his army with provisions; and that what presents he formerly sent to Darius, he
would now send to him, and choose the friendship of the Macedonians, and that he
should never repent of so doing. But the high priest answered the messengers, that
he had given his oath to Darius not to bear arms against him; and he said that he
would not transgress this while Darius was in the land of the living. Upon hearing
this answer, Alexander was very angry; and though he determined not to leave Tyre,
which was just ready to be taken, yet as soon as he had taken it, he threatened
that he would make an expedition against the Jewish high priest, and through him
teach all men to whom they must keep their oaths. So when he had, with a good deal
of pains during the siege, taken Tyre, and had settled its affairs, he came to the
city of Gaza, and besieged both the city and him that was governor of the garrison,
whose name was Babemeses.

4. But Sanballat thought he had now gotten a proper opportunity to make his attempt,
so he renounced Darius, and taking with him seven thousand of his own subjects,
he came to Alexander; and finding him beginning the siege of Tyre, he said to him,
that he delivered up to him these men, who came out of places under his dominion,
and did gladly accept of him for his lord instead of Darius. So when Alexander had
received him kindly, Sanballat thereupon took courage, and spake to him about his
present affair. He told him that he had a son-in-law, Manasseh, who was brother
to the high priest Jaddua; and that there were many others of his own nation, now
with him, that were desirous to have a temple in the places subject to him; that
it would be for the king’s advantage to have the strength of the Jews divided into
two parts, lest when the nation is of one mind, and united, upon any attempt for
innovation, it prove troublesome to kings, as it had formerly proved to the kings
of Assyria. Whereupon Alexander gave Sanballat leave so to do, who used the utmost
diligence, and built the temple, and made Manasseh the priest, and deemed it a great
reward that his daughter’s children should have that dignity; but when the seven
months of the siege of Tyre were over, and the two months of the siege of Gaza,
Sanballat died. Now Alexander, when he had taken Gaza, made haste to go up to Jerusalem;
and Jaddua the high priest, when he heard that, was in an agony, and under terror,
as not knowing how he should meet the Macedonians, since the king was displeased
at his foregoing disobedience. He therefore ordained that the people should make
supplications, and should join with him in offering sacrifice to God, whom he besought
to protect that nation, and to deliver them from the perils that were coming upon
them; whereupon God warned him in a dream, which came upon him after he had offered
sacrifice, that he should take courage, and adorn the city, and open the gates;
that the rest should appear in white garments, but that he and the priests should
meet the king in the habits proper to their order, without the dread of any ill
consequences, which the providence of God would prevent. Upon which, when he rose
from his sleep, he greatly rejoiced, and declared to all the warning he had received
from God. According to which dream he acted entirely, and so waited for the coming
of the king.

5. And when he understood that he was not far from the city, he went out in procession,
with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The procession was venerable,
and the manner of it different from that of other nations. It reached to a place
called Sapha, which name, translated into Greek, signifies a prospect, for you have
thence a prospect both of Jerusalem and of the temple. And when the Phoenicians
and the Chaldeans that followed him thought they should have liberty to plunder
the city, and torment the high priest to death, which the king’s displeasure fairly
promised them, the very reverse of it happened; for Alexander, when he saw the multitude
at a distance, in white garments, while the priests stood clothed with fine linen,
and the high priest in purple and scarlet clothing, with his mitre on his head,
having the golden plate whereon the name of God was engraved, he approached by himself,
and adored that name, and first saluted the high priest. The Jews also did all together,
with one voice, salute Alexander, and encompass him about; whereupon the kings of
Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done, and supposed him disordered
in his mind. However, Parmenio alone went up to him, and asked him how it came to
pass that, when all others adored him, he should adore the high priest of the Jews?
To whom he replied, “I did not adore him, but that God who hath honored him with
his high priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit,
when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might
obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over
the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion
over the Persians; whence it is that, having seen no other in that habit, and now
seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which
I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the Divine conduct, and
shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that
all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind.” And when he had said
this to Parmenio, and had given the high priest his right hand, the priests ran
along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up into the temple, he
offered sacrifice to God, according to the high priest’s direction, and magnificently
treated both the high priest and the priests. And when the Book of Daniel was showed
him wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of
the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended. And as he was then
glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present; but the next day he called them
to him, and bid them ask what favors they pleased of him; whereupon the high priest
desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers, and might pay no tribute
on the seventh year. He granted all they desired. And when they entreared him that
he would permit the Jews in Babylon and Media to enjoy their own laws also, he willingly
promised to do hereafter what they desired. And when he said to the multitude, that
if any of them would enlist themselves in his army, on this condition, that they
should continue under the laws of their forefathers, and live according to them,
he was willing to take them with him, many were ready to accompany him in his wars.

6. So when Alexander had thus settled matters at Jerusalem, he led his army into
the neighboring cities; and when all the inhabitants to whom he came received him
with great kindness, the Samaritans, who had then Shechem for their metropolis,
(a city situate at Mount Gerizzim, and inhabited by apostates of the Jewish nation,)
seeing that Alexander had so greatly honored the Jews, determined to profess themselves
Jews; for such is the disposition of the Samaritans, as we have already elsewhere
declared, that when the Jews are in adversity, they deny that they are of kin to
them, and then they confess the truth; but when they perceive that some good fortune
hath befallen them, they immediately pretend to have communion with them, saying
that they belong to them, and derive their genealogy from the posterity of Joseph,
Ephraim, and Manasseh. Accordingly, they made their address to the king with splendor,
and showed great alacrity in meeting him at a little distance from Jerusalem. And
when Alexander had commended them, the Shechemites approached to him, taking with
them the troops that Sanballat had sent him, and they desired that he would come
to their city, and do honor to their temple also; to whom he promised, that when
he returned he would come to them. And when they petitioned that he would remit
the tribute of the seventh year to them, because they did but sow thereon, he asked
who they were that made such a petition; and when they said that they were Hebrews,
but had the name of Sidonians, living at Shechem, he asked them again whether they
were Jews; and when they said they were not Jews, “It was to the Jews,” said he,
“that I granted that privilege; however, when I return, and am thoroughly informed
by you of this matter, I will do what I shall think proper.” And in this manner
he took leave of the Shechenlites; but ordered that the troops of Sanballat should
follow him into Egypt, because there he designed to give them lands, which he did
a little after in Thebais, when he ordered them to guard that country.

7. Now when Alexander was dead, the government was parted among his successors,
but the temple upon Mount Gerizzim remained. And if any one were accused by those
of Jerusalem of having eaten things common or of having broken the sabbath, or of
any other crime of the like nature, he fled away to the Shechemites, and said that
he was accused unjustly. About this time it was that Jaddua the high priest died,
and Onias his son took the high priesthood. This was the state of the affairs of
the people of Jerusalem at this time.