That evening the Rabbi Solomon Ben Manasseh came in, and was
informed of the offer which Josephus had made.
"You were present, rabbi," Simon said, "at the events which took
place in Jerusalem, and at the defeat of Cestius. John has been
asking me to tell him more about these matters for, now that he is
to be with the governor, it is well that he should be well
acquainted with public affairs."
"I will willingly tell him the history for, as you say, it is right
that the young man should be well acquainted with the public events
and the state of parties and, though the story must be somewhat
long, I will try and not make it tedious.
"The first tumult broke out in Caesarea, and began by frays between
our people and the Syrian Greeks. Felix the governor took the part
of the Greeks; and many of our people were killed, and more
plundered. When Felix was recalled to Rome, we sent a deputation
there with charges against him; but the Greeks, by means of
bribery, obtained a decree against us, depriving the Jews of
Caesarea of rights of equal citizenship. From this constant
troubles arose but, outside Caesarea, Festus kept all quiet;
putting down robbers, as well as impostors who led the people
astray.
"Then there came trouble in Jerusalem. King Agrippa's palace stood
on Mount Zion, looking towards the Temple; and he built a lofty
story, from whose platform he could command a view of the courts of
the Temple, and watch the sacrifices. Our people resented this
impious intrusion, and built a high wall to cut off the view.
Agrippa demanded its destruction, on the ground that it intercepted
the view of the Roman guard. We appealed to Nero, and sent to him a
deputation; headed by Ismael, the high priest, and Hilkiah, the
treasurer. They obtained an order for the wall to be allowed to
stand, but Ismael and Hilkiah were detained at Rome. Agrippa
thereupon appointed another high priest--Joseph--but, soon
afterwards, nominated Annas in his place.
"When Festus--the Roman governor--was away, Annas put to death many
of the sect called Christians, to gratify the Sadducees. The people
were indignant, for these men had done no harm; and Agrippa
deprived him of the priesthood and appointed Jesus, son of Damnai.
Then, unhappily, Festus--who was a just and good governor--died,
and Albinus succeeded him. He was a man greedy of money, and ready
to do anything for gain. He took bribes from robbers, and
encouraged, rather than repressed, evil doers. There was open war,
in the streets, between the followers of various chief robbers.
Albinus opened the prisons, and filled the city with malefactors;
and, at the completion of the works at the Temple, eighteen
thousand workmen were discharged, and thus the city was filled with
men ready to sell their services to the highest bidders.
"Albinus was succeeded by Gessius Florus, who was even worse than
Albinus. This man was a great friend of Cestius Gallus, who
commanded the Roman troops in Syria; and who, therefore, scoffed at
the complaints of the people against Florus.
"At this time, strange prodigies appeared in Rome. A sword of fire
hung above the city, for a whole year. The inner gate of the
Temple--which required twenty men to move it--opened by itself;
chariots and armed squadrons were seen in the heavens and, worse
than all, the priests in the Temple heard a great movement, and a
sound of many voices, which said:
"'Let us depart hence!'
"So things went on, in Jerusalem, until the old feud at Caesarea
broke out afresh. The trouble, this time, began about one of our
synagogues. The land around it belonged to a Greek and, for this,
our people offered a high price. The heathen who owned it refused
and, to annoy us, raised mean houses round the synagogue. The
Jewish youths interrupted the workmen; and the wealthier of the
community--headed by John, a publican--subscribed eight talents,
and sent them to Florus as a bribe, that he might order the
building to be stopped.
"Florus took the money, and made many promises; but the evil man
desired that a revolt should take place, in order that he might
gain great plunder. So he went away from Caesarea, and did nothing;
and a great tumult arose between the heathen and our people. In
this we were worsted, and went away from the city; while John, with
twelve of the highest rank, went to Samaria to lay the matter
before Florus; who threw them into prison--doubtless the more to
excite the people--and at the same time sent to Jerusalem, and
demanded seventeen talents from the treasury of the Temple.
"The people burst into loud outcries, and Florus advanced upon the
city with all his force. But we knew that we could not oppose the
Romans; and so received Florus, on his arrival, with acclamations.
But this did not suit the tyrant. The next morning he ordered his
troops to plunder the upper market, and to put to death all they
met. The soldiers obeyed, and slew three thousand six hundred men,
women, and children.
"You may imagine, John, the feelings of grief and rage which filled
every heart. The next day the multitude assembled in the
marketplace, wailing for the dead and cursing Florus. But the
principal men of the city, with the priests, tore their robes and
went among them, praying them to disperse and not to provoke the
anger of the governor. The people obeyed their voices, and went
quietly home.
"But Florus was not content that matters should end so. He sent for
the priests and leaders, and commanded them to go forth and
receive, with acclamations of welcome, two cohorts of troops who
were advancing from Caesarea. The priests called the people
together in the Temple and, with difficulty, persuaded them to obey
the order. The troops, having orders from Florus, fell upon the
people and trampled them down and, driving the multitude before
them, entered the city; and at the same time Florus sallied out
from his palace, with his troops, and both parties pressed forward
to gain the Castle of Antonia, whose possession would lay the
Temple open to them, and enable Florus to gain the sacred treasures
deposited there.
"But, as soon as the people perceived their object, they ran
together in such vast crowds that the Roman soldiers could not cut
their way through the mass which blocked up the streets; while the
more active men, going up on to the roofs, hurled down stones and
missiles upon the troops.
"What a scene was that, John! I was on the portico near Antonia,
and saw it all. It was terrible to hear the shouts of the soldiers,
as they strove to hew their way through the defenseless people; the
war cries of our own youths, the shrieks and wailings of the women.
While the Romans were still striving, our people broke down the
galleries connecting Antonia with the Temple; and Florus, seeing
that he could not carry out his object, ordered his troops to
retire to their quarters and, calling the chief priests and the
rulers, proposed to leave the city, leaving behind him one cohort
to preserve the peace.
"As soon as he had done so, he sent to Cestius Gallus lying
accounts of the tumults, laying all the blame upon us; while we and
Bernice, the sister of King Agrippa--who had tried, in vain, to
obtain mercy for the people from Florus--sent complaints against
him. Cestius was moving to Jerusalem--to inquire into the matter,
as he said, but really to restore Florus--when, fortunately, King
Agrippa arrived from Egypt.
"While he was yet seven miles from the city, a procession of the
people met him, headed by the women whose husbands had been slain.
These, with cries and wailings, called on Agrippa for protection;
and related to a centurion, whom Cestius had sent forward, and who
met Agrippa on the way, the cruelty of Florus. When the king and
the centurion arrived in the city, they were taken to the
marketplace and shown the houses where the inhabitants had been
massacred.
"Agrippa called the people together and, taking his seat on a lofty
dais, with Bernice by his side, harangued them. He assured them
that, when the emperor heard what had been done, he would send a
better governor to them, in the place of Florus. He told them that
it was vain to hope for independence, for that the Romans had
conquered all the nations in the world; and that the Jews could not
contend against them, and that war would bring about the
destruction of the city, and the Temple. The people exclaimed they
had taken up arms, not against the Romans, but against Florus.
"Agrippa urged us to pay our tribute, and repair the galleries.
This was willingly done. We sent out leading men to collect the
arrears of tribute, and these soon brought in forty talents. All
was going on well, until Agrippa tried to persuade us to receive
Florus, till the emperor should send another governor. At the
thought of the return of Florus, a mad rage seized the people. They
poured abuse upon Agrippa, threw stones at him, and ordered him to
leave the city. This he did, and retired to his own kingdom.
"The upper class, and all those who possessed wisdom enough to know
how great was the power of Rome, still strove for peace. But the
people were beyond control. They seized the fortress of Masada--a
very strong place near the Dead Sea--and put the Roman garrison to
the sword. But what was even worse, Eleazar--son of Ananias, the
chief priest--persuaded the priests to reject the offerings
regularly made, in the name of the emperor, to the God of the
Hebrews; and to make a regulation that, from that time, no
foreigner should be allowed to sacrifice in the Temple.
"The chief priests, with the heads of the Pharisees, addressed the
people in the quadrangle of the Temple, before the eastern gate. I,
myself, was one of those who spoke. We told them that the Temple
had long benefited by the splendid gifts of strangers; and that it
was not only inhospitable, but impious, to preclude them from
offering victims, and worshiping God, there. We, who were learned
in the law, showed them that it was an ancient and immemorial usage
to receive the offerings of strangers; and that this refusal to
accept the Roman gifts was nothing short of a declaration of war.
"But all we could do, or say, availed nothing. The influence of
Eleazar was too great. A madness had seized the people, and they
rejected all our words; but the party of peace made one more
effort. They sent a deputation--headed by Simon, son of Ananias--to
Florus, and another to Agrippa, praying them to march upon
Jerusalem, and reassert their authority, before it was too late.
Florus made no reply, for things were going just as he wished; but
Agrippa, anxious to preserve the city, sent three thousand
horsemen, commanded by Darius and Philip. When these troops
arrived, the party of peace took possession of the upper city;
while Eleazar and the war party held the Temple.
"For a week, fighting went on between the two parties. Then, at the
festival of the Wood Carrying, great numbers of the poorer people
were allowed by the party of the chief priest to pass through their
lines; and go, as usual, to the Temple. When there, these joined
the party of Eleazar, and a great attack was made on the upper
city. The troops of Darius and Philip gave way. The house of
Ananias--the high priest--and the palaces of Agrippa and Bernice
were burned, and also the public archives. Here all the bonds of
the debtors were registered and, thus, at one blow the power of the
rich over the poor was destroyed. Ananias himself, and a few
others, escaped into the upper towers of the palace, which they
held.
"The next day, Eleazar's party attacked the fortress of Antonia,
which was feebly garrisoned and, after two days' fighting, captured
it, and slew the garrison. Manahem, the son of Judas the Zealot,
arrived two days later, while the people were besieging the palace.
He was accepted as general, by them; and took charge of the siege.
Having mined under one of the towers, they brought it to the
ground, and the garrison asked for terms. Free passage was granted
to the troops of Agrippa, and the Jews; but none was granted to the
Roman soldiers, who were few in number and retreated to the three
great towers, Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne.
"The palace was entered, and Ananias and Hezekiah--his
brother--were found in hiding, and put to death. Manahem now
assumed the state of a king; but Eleazar, unwilling that, after
having led the enterprise, the fruits should be gathered by
another, stirred up the people against him, and he was slain. The
three towers were now besieged; and Metilius--the Roman
commander--finding he could no longer hold out, agreed to
surrender, on the condition that his men should deliver up their
arms, and be allowed to march away, unharmed.
"The terms were accepted and ratified but, as soon as the Roman
soldiers marched out, and laid down their arms, Eleazar and his
followers fell upon them and slew them; Metilius himself being,
alone, spared. After this terrible massacre, a sadness fell on the
city. All felt that there was no longer any hope of making
conditions with Rome. We had placed ourselves beyond the pale of
forgiveness. It was war, to the death, with Rome.
"Up to this time, as I have told you, I was one of those who had
labored to maintain peace. I had fought in the palace, by the side
of Ananias; and had left it only when the troops, and we of their
party, were permitted to march out when it surrendered. But, from
this time, I took another part. All hope of peace, of concessions,
or of conditions was at an end. There remained nothing now but to
fight and, as the vengeance of Rome would fall on the whole Jewish
people, it was for the whole Jewish people to unite in the struggle
for existence.
"On the very day and hour in which the Romans were put to death,
retribution began to fall upon the nation; for the Greeks of
Caesarea rose suddenly, and massacred the Jews. Twenty thousand
were slain, in a single day. The news of these two massacres drove
the whole people to madness. They rose throughout the land, laid
waste the country all round the cities of Syria--Philadelphia,
Sebonitis, Gerasa, Pella, and Scythopolis--and burned and destroyed
many places.
"The Syrians, in turn, fell upon the Jewish inhabitants of all
their towns; and a frightful carnage, everywhere, took place. Then,
our people made an inroad into the domains of Scythopolis but,
though the Jewish inhabitants there joined the Syrians in defending
their territory, the Syrians doubted their fidelity and, falling
upon them in the night, slew them all, and seized their property.
Thirteen thousand perished here. In many other cities, the same
things were done; in Ascalon, two thousand five hundred were put to
the sword; in Ptolemais, two thousand were killed. The land was
deluged with blood, and despair fell upon all.
"Even in Alexandria, our countrymen suffered. Breaking out into a
quarrel with the Greeks, a tumult arose; and Tiberias Alexander,
the governor--by faith a Jew--tried to pacify matters; but the
madness which had seized the people, here, had fallen also upon the
Jews of Alexandria. They heaped abuse upon Alexander, who was
forced to send the troops against them. The Jews fought, but
vainly; and fifty thousand men, women, and children fell.
"While blood was flowing over the land, Cestius Gallus--the
prefect--was preparing for invasion. He had with him the Twelfth
Legion, forty-two hundred strong; two thousand picked men, taken
from the other legions; six cohorts of foot, about twenty-five
hundred; and four troops of horse, twelve hundred. Of allies he
had, from Antiochus, two thousand horse and three thousand foot;
from Agrippa, one thousand horse and three thousand foot; Sohemus
joined him with four thousand men--a third of whom were horse, the
rest archers. Thus he had ten thousand Roman troops, and thirteen
thousand allies; besides many volunteers, who joined him from the
Syrian cities.
"After burning and pillaging Zebulon, and wasting the district,
Cestius returned to Ptolemais, and then advanced to Caesarea. He
sent forward a part of his army to Joppa. The city was open, and no
resistance was offered; nevertheless, the Romans slew all, to the
number of eight thousand five hundred. The cities of Galilee opened
their gates, without resistance, and Cestius advanced against
Jerusalem.
"When he arrived within six miles of the town, the Jews poured out;
and fell upon them with such fury that, if the horse and light
troops had not made a circuit, and fallen upon us in the rear, I
believe we should have destroyed the whole army. But we were forced
to fall back, having killed over five hundred. As the Romans moved
forward, Simon--son of Gioras--with a band, pressed them closely in
rear; and slew many, and carried off numbers of their beasts of
burden.
"Agrippa now tried, once more, to make peace, and sent a deputation
to persuade us to surrender--offering, in the name of Cestius,
pardon for all that had passed--but Eleazar's party, fearing the
people might listen to him, fell upon the deputation, slew some,
and drove the others back.
"Cestius advanced within a mile of Jerusalem and--after waiting
three days, in hopes that the Jews would surrender, and knowing
that many of the chief persons were friendly to him--he advanced to
the attack, took the suburb of Bezetha, and encamped opposite the
palace in the upper city. The people discovered that Ananias and
his friends had agreed to open the gates; and so slew them, and
threw the bodies over the wall. The Romans for five days attacked
and, on the sixth, Cestius, with the flower of his army made an
assault; but the people fought bravely and, disregarding the
flights of arrows which the archers shot against them, held the
walls, and poured missiles of all kinds upon the enemy; until at
last, just as it seemed to all that the Romans would succeed in
mining the walls, and firing the gates, Cestius called off his
troops.
"Had he not done so, he would speedily have taken the city; for the
peace party were on the point of seizing one of the gates, and
opening it. I no longer belonged to this party; for it seemed to me
that it was altogether too late, now, to make terms; nor could we
expect that the Romans would keep to their conditions, after we had
set them the example of breaking faith.
"Cestius fell back to his camp, a mile distant, but he had no rest
there. Exultant at seeing a retreat from their walls, all the
people poured out, and fell upon the Romans with fury.
"The next morning Cestius began to retreat; but we swarmed around
him, pressing upon his rear, and dashing down from the hills upon
his flanks, giving him no rest. The heavy-armed Romans could do
nothing against us; but marched steadily on--leaving numbers of
dead behind them--till they reached their former camp at Gabao, six
miles away. Here Cestius waited two days but, seeing how the hills
around him swarmed with our people, who flocked in from all
quarters, he gave the word for a further retreat; killing all the
beasts of burden, and leaving all the baggage behind, and taking on
only those animals which bore the arrows and engines of war. Then
he marched down the valley, towards Bethoron.
"The multitude felt now that their enemy was delivered into their
hands. Was it not in Bethoron that Joshua had defeated the
Canaanites, while the sun stayed his course? Was it not here that
Judas, the Maccabean, had routed the host of Nicanor? As soon as
the Romans entered the defile, the Jews rushed down upon them, sure
of their prey.
"The Roman horse were powerless to act. The men of the legions
could not climb the rocky sides and, from every point, javelins,
stones, and arrows were poured down upon them; and all would have
been slain, had not night come on and hidden them from us, and
enabled them to reach Bethoron.
"What rejoicings were there not, on the hills that night, as we
looked down on their camp there; and thought that, in the morning,
they would be ours! Fires burned on every crest. Hymns of praise,
and exulting cries, arose everywhere in the darkness; but the watch
was not kept strictly enough. Cestius left four hundred of his
bravest men to mount guard, and keep the fires alight--so that we
might think that all his army was there--and then, with the rest,
he stole away.
"In the morning, we saw that the camp was well-nigh deserted and,
furious at the escape of our foes, rushed down, slew the four
hundred whom Cestius had left behind, and then set out in pursuit.
But Cestius had many hours' start and, though we followed as far as
Antipatris, we could not overtake him; and so returned, with much
rich spoil, and all the Roman engines of war, to Jerusalem--having,
with scarcely any loss, defeated a great Roman army, and slain five
thousand three hundred foot, and three hundred and eighty horse.
"Such is the history of events which have brought about the present
state of things. As you see, there is no hope of pardon, or mercy,
from Rome. We have offended beyond forgiveness. But the madness
against which I fought so hard, at first, is still upon the people.
They provoked the power of Rome; and then, by breaking the terms,
and massacring the Roman garrison, they went far beyond the first
offense of insurrection. By the destruction of the army of Cestius,
they struck a heavy blow against the pride of the Romans. For
generations, no such misfortune had fallen upon their arms.
"What, then, would a sane people have done since? Surely they would
have spent every moment in preparing themselves for the struggle.
Every man should have been called to arms. The passes should have
been all fortified, for it is among the hills that we can best cope
with the heavy Roman troops. The cities best calculated for defense
should have been strongly walled; preparations made for places of
refuge, among the mountains, for the women and children; large
depots of provisions gathered up, in readiness for the strife. That
we could ever, in the long run, hope to resist, successfully, the
might of Rome was out of the question; but we might so sternly, and
valiantly, have resisted as to be able to obtain fair terms, on our
submission.
"Instead of this, men go on as if Rome had no existence; and we
only show an energy in quarreling among ourselves. At bottom, it
would seem that the people rely upon our God doing great things for
us, as he did when he smote the Assyrian army of Sennacherib; and
such is my hope, also, seeing that, so far, a wonderful success has
attended us. And yet, how can one expect the Divine assistance, in
a war so begun and so conducted--for a people who turn their swords
against each other, who spend their strength in civil feuds, who
neither humble themselves, nor repent of the wickedness of their
ways?
"Alas, my son, though I speak brave words to the people, my heart
is very sad; and I fear that troubles, like those which fell upon
us when we were carried captive into Babylon, await us now!"
There was silence, as the rabbi finished. John had, of course,
heard something of the events which had been taking place but, as
he now heard them, in sequence, the gravity and danger of the
situation came freshly upon him.
"What can be done?" he asked, after a long pause.
"Nothing, save to pray to the Lord," the rabbi said, sorrowfully.
"Josephus is doing what he can, towards building walls to the
towns; but it is not walls, but soldiers that are wanted and, so
long as the people remain blind and indifferent to the danger,
thinking of naught save tilling their ground, and laying up money,
nothing can be done."
"Then will destruction come upon all?" John asked, looking round in
a bewildered and hopeless way.
"We may hope not," the rabbi said. "Here in Galilee, we have had no
share in the events in Jerusalem; and many towns, even now, are
faithful to the Romans. Therefore it may be that, in this province,
all will not be involved in the lot of Jerusalem. There can be,
unless a mighty change takes place, no general resistance to the
Romans; and it may be, therefore, that no general destruction will
fall upon the people. As to this, none can say.
"Vespasian--the Roman general who has been charged, by Nero, with
the command of the army which is gathering against us--is said to
be a merciful man, as well as a great commander. The Roman mercies
are not tender, but it may be that the very worst may not fall upon
this province. The men of spirit and courage will, doubtless,
proceed to Jerusalem to share in the defense of the Holy City. If
we cannot fight with success, here, it is far better that the men
should fight at Jerusalem; leaving their wives and families here,
and doing naught to call down the vengeance of the Romans upon this
province.
"In Galilee there have, as elsewhere, been risings against the
Romans; but these will count for little, in their eyes, in
comparison to the terrible deeds at Jerusalem; and I pray, for the
sake of all my friends here, that the Romans may march through the
land, on their way to Jerusalem, without burning and wasting the
country. Here, on the eastern shore of Galilee, there is much more
hope of escape than there is across the lake. Not only are we out
of the line of the march of the army, but there are few important
cities on this side; and the disposition of the people has not been
so hostile to the Romans.
"My own opinion is that, when the Romans advance, it will be the
duty of every Jew who can bear arms to go down to the defense of
the Holy City. Its position is one of vast strength. We shall have
numbers, and courage, though neither order nor discipline; and it
may be that, at the last, the Lord will defend his sanctuary, and
save it from destruction at the hands of the heathen. Should it not
be so, we can but die; and how could a Jew better die than in
defense of God's Temple?"
"It would have been better," Simon said, "had we not, by our evil
doings, have brought God's Temple into danger."
"He has suffered it," the rabbi said, "and his ways are not the
ways of man. It may be that He has suffered such madness to fall
upon, us in order that His name may, at last, be glorified."
"May it be so!" Simon said piously; "and now, let us to bed, for
the hour is growing late."
The following morning Simon, his wife, and the whole household
accompanied John to the shore; as Simon had arranged with one of
the boatmen to take the lad to Hippos. The distance was but short;
but Simon, when his wife had expressed surprise at his sending John
in a boat, said:
"It is not the distance, Martha. A half-hour's walk is naught to
the lad; but I had reasons, altogether apart from the question of
distance. John is going out to play a man's part. He is young but,
since my lord Josephus has chosen to place him among those who form
his bodyguard, he has a right to claim to be regarded as a man.
That being so, I would not accompany him to Hippos; for it would
seem like one leading a child, and it were best to let him go by
himself.
"Again, it were better to have but one parting. Here he will
receive my blessing, and say goodbye to us all. Doubtless he will
often be with us, for Tiberias lies within sight and, so long as
Josephus remains in Galilee, he will never be more than a long
day's journey from home. The lad loves us, and will come as often
as he can but, surrounded as Josephus is by dangers, the boy will
not be able to get away on his own business. He must take the
duties, as well as the honor of the office; and we must not blind
ourselves to the fact that, in one of these popular tumults, great
danger and even death may come upon him.
"This seems to you terrible," he went on, in answer to an
exclamation of alarm from Martha; "but it does not seem so terrible
to me. We go on planting, and gathering in, as if no danger
threatened us, and the evil day were far off; but it is not so. The
Roman hosts are gathering, and we are wasting our strength, in
party strife, and are doing naught to prepare against the storm. We
have gone to war, without counting the cost. We have affronted and
put to shame Rome, before whom all nations bow and, assuredly, she
will take a terrible vengeance. Another year, and who can say who
will be alive, and who dead--who will be wandering over the wasted
fields of our people, or who will be a slave, in Rome!
"In the times that are at hand, no man's life will be worth
anything; and therefore I say, wife, that though there be danger
and peril around the lad, let us not trouble overmuch; for he is,
like all of us, in God's hands."
Therefore, the parting took place on the shore. Simon solemnly
blessed John, and his mother cried over him. Mary was a little
surprised at these demonstrations, at what she regarded as a very
temporary separation; but her merry spirits were subdued at the
sight of her aunt's tears, although she, herself, saw nothing to
cry about.
She brightened up, however, when John whispered, as he said goodbye
to her:
"I shall come across the lake, as often as I can, to see how you
are getting on, Mary."
Then he took his place in the stern of the boat. The fishermen
dipped their oars in the water, and the boat drew away from the
little group, who stood watching it as it made its way across the
sparkling water to Hippos.
Upon landing, John at once went to the house where Josephus was
lodging. The latter gave him in charge to the leader of the little
group of men who had attached themselves to him, as his bodyguard.
"Joab," he said, "this youth will, henceforth, make one of your
party. He is brave and, I think, ready and quick witted. Give him
arms and see that he has all that is needful. Being young, he will
be able to mingle unsuspected among the crowds; and may obtain
tidings of evil intended me, when men would not speak, maybe,
before others whom they might judge my friends. He will be able to
bear messages, unsuspected; and may prove of great service to the
cause."
John found, at once, that there was nothing like discipline, or
regular duties, among the little band who constituted the bodyguard
of Josephus. They were simply men who, from affection for the
governor, and a hatred for those who, by their plots and
conspiracies, would undo the good work he was accomplishing, had
left their farms and occupations to follow and guard him.
Every Jewish boy received a certain training in the use of weapons,
in order to be prepared to fight in the national army, when the day
of deliverance should arrive; but beyond that, the Jews had no
military training, whatever. Their army would be simply a gathering
of the men capable of bearing arms, throughout the land--each ready
to give his life, for his faith and his country; relying, like
their forefathers, on the sword of the Lord and Israel, but without
the slightest idea of military drill, discipline, or tactics. Such
an army might fight bravely, might die nobly, but it could have
little chance of victory over the well-trained legions of imperial
Rome.
At noon, Josephus embarked in a galley with his little band of
followers--eight in number--and sailed across the lake to Tiberias.
Here they landed, and went up to the house in which Josephus always
dwelt, when in that city. His stay there was generally short,
Tarichea being his general abode--for there he felt in safety, the
inhabitants being devoted to him; while those of Tiberias were ever
ready to follow the advice of the disaffected, and a section were
eager for the return of the Romans, and the renewal of the business
and trade which had brought wealth to the city, before the troubles
began.
That evening, Josephus sent for John, and said:
"I purpose, in two days, to go to Tarichea, where I shall spend the
Sabbath. I hear that there is a rumor that many of the citizens
have, privately, sent to King Agrippa asking him to send hither
Roman troops, and promising them a good reception. The men with me
are known, to many in the city, and would be shunned by my enemies,
and so would hear naught of what is going on; therefore, I purpose
to leave you here.
"In the morning, go early to the house of Samuel, the son of
Gideon. He dwells in the street called that of Tarichea, for it
leadeth in the direction of that town. He is a tanner, by trade;
and you will have no difficulty in finding it. He has been here,
this evening, and I have spoken to him about you and, when you
present yourself to him, he will take you in. Thus, no one will
know that you are of my company.
"Pass your time in the streets and, when you see groups of people
assemble, join yourself to them and gather what they are saying. If
it is ought that is important for me to know, come here and tell me
or, if it be after I have departed for Tarichea, bring me the news
there. It is but thirty furlongs distant."
John followed up the instructions given him, and was hospitably
received by Samuel the tanner.
In the course of the day, a number of the citizens called upon
Josephus and begged him, at once, to set about building walls for
the town, as he had already built them for Tarichea. When he
assured them that he had already made preparations for doing so,
and that the builders should set to work, forthwith, they appeared
satisfied; and the city remained perfectly tranquil until Josephus
left, the next morning, for Tarichea.