divided the care of the sick among them, and honoured the elder men of their society From 1 Mace. with the same reverence as if they had been their fathers. v. 1. 2 Macc. x. 11. and end of 1 and xiii. c. 19. This strictness and regularity of theirs gave them an eminent character, and made it Jos. lib. xii. a matter of no small consequence to be admitted into their society. For when, after a c. 14. to the due course of probation, any one presented himself for that purpose, they bound him 2 Macc. and under the most solemn vows and protestations, " To love and worship God, and do jus- of Jos. lib. tice to all men; to profess himself an enemy to the wicked, and a friend to the lovers. of virtue; to keep his hands from theft, and all fraudulent dealings, and his soul unpolluted with the desire of unjust gain; not to usurp upon his inferiors, nor distinguish himself from them by any ornaments of dress or apparel; not to conceal any of the mysteries of religion from his brethren, nor to disclose any to the profane, though it were to save his life; but to preserve the doctrine he professed, the books that were written of it, and the names of those from whom he had it." This was the form of admission into their communion, which whoever violated, in any gross instance, was immediately excluded, and never received again without the deepest humiliation and repentance. And if such was the religion and manner of life of the Essenes, we have less reason to be surprised at our finding some authors so much extolling their courage and magnanimity upon several occasions, as persons who, under distresses and persecutions, suffered death, and the most grievous torments, even with joy and cheerfulness, rather than say or do any thing contrary to the law of God. They are said, however, to have (a) greatly degenerated from their primitive purity of life and doctrine. In the time of Trajan and the reign of Justinian, though they were known under the pompous title of angels or angelic persons, yet were they found to come infinitely short of the beings whose names they assumed, and, upon that account, falling into a great disesteem, in a very short time † they dwindled into nothing. There was another sect among the Jews, (b) mentioned in the gospels, which, though of later original, may not improperly be considered in this place; and that is the Herodians *, who, in their main principles, were not very different from the Sadducees. They sprang up, no doubt, in the time of Herod the Great, some twenty or thirty years before Christ, and had their denomination from him, but upon what account it is not so well agreed. The common opinion is, that they looked upon Herod as the promised Messiah But it is a very improbable thing, that any Jews should, in the time of our Saviour's ministry, above thirty years after the death of Herod, hold him to have been the Messiah, when they found no one of those particulars which they expected from the Messiah performed by him, but rather every thing quite contrary. (c) Others therefore suppose, that they were called Herodians, because they constituted a sodality (or club as we call it) in honour of Herod at Jerusalem, as there were several in Rome in honour of their emperors *2. But since the earliest of these sodalities in Rome were not instituted till after the death of Augustus, who outlived Herod sixteen years and (a) Basnage's History of the Jews, lib. ii. c. 13. Some indeed are of opinion, that these Essenes did renounce Judaism, and were converts to Christianity, and that such among them as were called Therapeutæ became monks, and were formed into that order by St Mark, who was the first founder of the Chris tian church in Alexandria. But though it seems unlikely that some of this sect might be converted, yet that the main body of them should embrace Christianity, and so be lost in the societies of Christian hermits, is far from being probable; especially since we find no traces of any such institution as monkism till after the beginning of the second century, when these Ascetics, who had formerly fled from persecution, finding the sweets of their retirement and solitude, began to mul tiply, and so erected themselves into bodies. Pri (b) Matth. xxii. 16. Mark iii. 6. Chap. viii. 15. * Accordingly St Mark (Chap. viii. 15.) calls that the leaven of Herod, which Christ styles the leaven of the Sadducees, Matth. xvi. 6. (c) Scaliger in Animadver. ad Eusebii Chron. et Casaubon Exercit. &c. **Such were the Augustales, Adrianales, Antonini, &c. constituted in honour of Augustus, Adrian, and Antoninus, and the rest of the emperors after their death. Prideaux's Connection, Anno 107. A. M. 3841, upwards, this could be no pattern or foundation for the institution of the like in me. Ant Chris. mory of Herod, who died so long before. &c. or 5247. 163, &c. or 164. 66 Herod, no doubt, came into the government with great opposition; and as he was by birth a foreigner, and had made his entrance with much blood, his title was not acknowledged by the greater part of the Jews, especially as long as Antigonus was alive. Those therefore that would own bis title and espouse his interest, might for this reason, perhaps, go under the name of Herodians; but this seems not to be the whole of the matter. Our blessed Saviour cautions his disciples (a) " against the leaven (i. e. against the evil and erroneous tenets) of Herod;" which seems to imply that Herod himself was the author of some false notions, which constituted a particular sect, differing from the other sects of the Jews; and that his followers, imbibing these principles from him, had the denomination of Herodians. (b) For as much then that Herod (c), the better to secure his possession of the throne, had put himself under the Roman protection, (d) contrary to an express precept of the law; and, to ingratiate himself with the great men at Rome, built temples, and erected images in them for idolatrous worship, excusing himself to the Jews, that all this he did purely in compliance to the commands he was necessitated to obey, and might probably lay it down for a maxim in religion, that in case of compulsion it was lawful to submit to unjust injunctions; there is no wonder at all that some bold men should rise up to justify the king's practice, and (by the royal permission) call themselves by his name, whose distinguishing tenet might probably be," That although they professed the Jewish religion, and abominated idolatry in their hearts; yet, to humour the Romans, and make themselves easy with their governors, it was not unlawful to comply sometimes with their demands, and, at least outwardly, to become occasional conformists." This is the leaven of the Herodians which our Saviour cautions his disciples against; but it was not of long continuance in the Jewish church. For Herod Antipas (e), having lost his credit at Rome, and being deposed and banished out of Judea, the sect that was instituted by his father, and supported by his favour and countenance, could not support itself after his disgrace. Another sect, mentioned by Josephus (ƒ) as rising after this time, was that of Judas of Galilee For when Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, was sent into banishment, and Judea reduced to a Roman province, Judas †, a native of Galamala, took occasion from some new exactions to exhort his countrymen to shake off the Roman yoke; pretending, that to pay tribute to any foreign power was a shameful badge of their slavery. An aversion to the Roman dominion, and an hatred of the publicans (who had the care of receiving the taxes and tributes) was natural enough to all the Jews; but they, whose zeal led them to join Judas, and form a particular sect, valued themselves upon their holiness and justice, because they would not acknowledge any other Sovereign but God; and, rather than submit to the dominion of man, or give him the title of Lord, they chose to subject themselves to any torments, or even to death itself. Judas indeed perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed for a while;" but in the time of the Jewish wars, they gathered again, and soon became a faction strong and considerable enough to put every thing into confusion. They affected the title of zealots (says (g) Josephus) as if their undertakings had been good and honourable, even while they outdid the very worst of men in wickedness. They looked upon themselves indeed as the true successors of Phinehas, (h) who, out of zeal for the honour of God, did immediate execution upon Zimri and Cosbi, for which he received the Divine thanks 66 (a) Mark viii. 15. lib. xv. c. 12. (f) Joseph. Antiq. lib. xviii. (b) Prideaux's Connection, Anno 107. (c) Joseph. Antiq. (d) Deut. xvii. 15. (e) Basnage's History, lib. ii. c. 14. + Augustus furnished him with a plausible pretence for it, by issuing out his edict to have the whole province of Syria new surveyed and taxed about this time. (h) Numb. xxv. 13. (g) De Bello Jud. lib. iv. v. x. 11. and c. 14. to the and approbation. And, in imitation of him, these men took upon them to execute From 1 Mace. These were the several sects which, much about this period of time, sprang up in the of Jos. lib. CHAPTER V. FROM THE DEATH OF JOHN HYRCANUS TO THE THE HISTORY. or 5305. 07, &c. or 106. lib. XV., M. 3897, HYRCANUS, when he died, left five sons: Aristobulus, Antigonus, and Alexander, lib. xii. c. 19.. From Joseph. t. Chris. were the three first: who the fourth was, we no where read; but the name of the fifth to the end of was Absalom. Aristobulus, as eldest, succeeded his father, both in the pontificate and principality of the nation, and, as we said before, was the first in Judea, since the Babylonish captivity, who put on a diadem, and assumed the title of a king; but he was a man of a bloody and suspicious disposition. His own mother, because in virtue of his father's will she claimed some share in the sovereignty, he first cast into prison, and there starved to death. All his brothers he put under the like confinement except Antigonus, who was his great favourite, and at first shared in the government with him; but he soon cooled in his affections, and at last had him put to death; though in this piece of cruelty the instruments about him were more to blame than he. As soon as he was settled in the throne he engaged in a war with the Ituræans † ; (a) 1 Cor. xi. 19. Ituræa, the country where these people dwelt, was part of Cœlo Syria, bordering upon the northeast part of the land of Israel, and lying between the inheritance of the half tribe of Manasseh, beyond Jordan, and the territorics of Damascus. It is the Ant. Chris. A. M. 3897, and having subdued the greatest part of them, he forced them to become proselytes to &c. or 3305. the Jewish religion, in the same manner as his father had done to the Idumeans; but 107, &c. returning sick from the war to Jerusalem, he left his brother behind him to finish it, which accordingly he did with success; and so returning in triumph, at a time when the feast of tabernacles was celebrating, he went directly to the temple (as did the guards that attended him) with his armour on, to pay his devotions to God. or 106. The queen and the courtiers of her party, who envied the interest which Antigonus had with the king, were always buzzing in his ears such stories as they thought would excite his jealousy; and now they come and tell him "That it was high time for him to look to himself; that his brother was gone into the temple in an equipage not becoming a private man; and that, in all probability, it would not be long before he could come with a troop of his armed soldiers, and execute his wicked design against him." This representation made some impression upon Aristobulus, so that he sent to his brother to put off his armour, and immediately come to him; concluding, that if, pursuant to his orders, he came unarmed, there was no mischief intended; but that if he did otherwise, there might be something in what the queen had suggested: And therefore, placing his guards in a subterraneous passage † which led from the palace to the temple, and through which his brother was to come to the king's apartment, he ordered them, that if he came unarmed they should let him pass, but if otherwise they should instantly fall upon him and dispatch him. The queen, knowing this, prevailed with the messenger whom Aristobulus sent to bid his brother come unarmed, to tell him, on the contrary, that the king, being informed of a very beautiful suit of armour which he had brought with him from the wars, was minded to see how it became him, and therefore desired him to come in it; which accordingly he did, suspecting no ill. When he came to the place where the guards were posted, they, seeing his armour on, executed their orders, and immediately slew him; but no sooner was the fact committed than Aristobulus severely repented it. For the sense of the loss of a good brother brought to his remembrance the murder of his mother, and his conscience flew in his face for both at once. The anxiety of his mind encreased the distemper of his body; so that, finding no ease for the one, and no cure for the other, in the utmost agonies of guilt, and with many bitter accusations of himself, he gave up the ghost, f2 and, after a reign of no more than one year, was suc ceeded by his brother Alexander Janneus. Ever since his father's death, he had been kept in prison by the late king; but upon his decease, his widow Salome released him and his other two brothers from their confinement; so that, being now on the throne, and having discovered that the elder of these brothers had formed a design to supplant him, he caused him to be put to death; + When Hyrcanus built the palace of Baris, he caused this passage, which led from thence to the temple, to be made, that upon all occasions he might have a ready communication with it: And as over this passage there was a turret, or tower of the palace, called Straton's tower, Josephus tells us a very remarkable story concerning it, viz. That one Judas, an Essene, having foretold that Antigonus should that very day be slain in Straton's tower, which he took to be a town so called lying on the sea coast, and two days journey from Jerusalem; and seeing Antigonus come into the temple, he fell into a great passion, and began to exclaim against truth itself, as supposing his prediction impossible now to be fulfilled; but while he was in this agony, news being brought, that Antigonus was slain in that part of the subterraneous gallery which was directly under the turret called Straton's tower, the Essene rejoiced in the comfort and satisfaction of having his prophecy veri fied, at the same time that every one else was lamenting the murder of this young prince. Jewish Antiq. lib. xii. c. 19. f Aristobulus was a great favourer of the Greeks, for which reason he was called Philellen, and the Greeks indeed had an equal favour for him: For, as Josephus tells out of Strabo, one of their historians has left this character of him "That he was a prince of equity, and had in many things been very beneficial to the Jews, in that he had augmented their territories, and ingrafted into the Jewish state part of the nation of the Ituræans; but the actions of his short reign shew him to have been a man of a quite different disposition. Prideaux's Connection, Anno 106. but the other, who was called Absalom, desiring to live quietly, and in a private condi- From Joseph. tion, he took into his favour and under his protection. lib. xiii. c. 19. to the end of As soon as he had settled his matters at home, he led forth his forces to make war lib. xv. with the people of Ptolemais; and, having vanquished them in a pitched battle, shut them up in the city, and laid close siege to it. This place, and Gaza, together with the tower of Straton, and the fortress of Dura which Zoilus possessed, were the only places on the coast which were not under Alexander's dominion; and therefore, dividing his forces, with one part he besieged Ptolemais, and employed the other in ravaging the territories of Zoilus and those of Gaza. In the mean time the besieged had sent to Ptolemy Lathyrus, * the expelled king of Egypt, who reigned then in Cyprus, to come to their relief; but afterwards, bethinking themselves better, they came to a resolution (which they communicated to Ptolemy) to trust to their own strength rather than admit of any auxiliaries. Ptolemy however was already set to sea when he heard this news; and therefore, proceeding in his voyage, and landing his army in Phoenicia, he advanced towards Ptolemais But the people in the town would neither receive his messengers, nor send him any answer, so that he was in no small perplexity what course to take, when Zoilus and the Gazeans sent ambassadors, desiring his assistance against Alexander's forces, which they were not able to oppose. Ptolemy, being very glad of any opportunity to make an honourable retreat from before Ptolemais, readily marched his army to their relief; but Alexander, not thinking it advisable to hazard an engagement with him, withdrew his army into their quarters, and there thought to gain by policy what he could not attain by force. To this purpose he entered into a treaty with Lathyrus, and engaged to pay him four hundred talents of silver, on condition that he would deliver Zoilus and his territories into his hands, which Lathyrus agreed to do, and accordingly had got Zoilus into his custody; but when he came to understand that at the same time Alexander was clandestinely treating with Cleopatra, to bring her upon him with all her forces, he, detesting such double dealing, broke off all friendship with him, and resolved to do him what mischief he could. The two armies therefore met the next year, and a very fierce battle ensued near Asophus, not far from the river Jordan; wherein Alexander being vanquished lost thirty thousand of his men, besides those that were taken prisoners. After this victory Ptolemy made every where great havock, and spread the terror *2 of his name throughout all the province; but his mother Cleopatra being fearful lest so much success should make him powerful enough to invade Egypt, set out with a large fleet and a numerous army, which she landed in Phoenicia, and thence proceeded to Ptolemais, expecting that the people would have opened their gates to her; but finding the contrary, she invest * This Ptolemy Lathyrus, by his mother Cleopatra was made king of Egypt, but, by his affecting to reign without her, he so far incurred her displeasure, that she procured his expulsion by this artifice.-Some of her favourite eunuchs she caused to be wounded; and then bringing them out into the public assembly of the Alexandrians, she there pretended that they had suffered this from Lathyrus, in defence of her person against him, and thereupon accused him of having made an attempt upon her life; and by this means she so far incensed the people, that they rose in a general uproar against him, and would have torn him in pieces had he not fled for his life. Hereupon Cleopatra sent for Alexander, her younger son, who for some time had reigned in Cyprus, and, having made him king of Egypt, forced Lathyrus to be content VOL. II. with Cyprus, upon his brother's leaving it. Justiny * There is a very cruel and barbarous act which 4N |