please, excepting Gabara and Gischala—the one of which is John's native city, and the other in confederacy and friendship with him."
46. WHEN JONATHAN and his partners
had received this letter, they wrote to me no more
answers, but called a council of
their friends together; and taking
John into their consultation, they
Jonathan's
further
schemes.
took counsel together by what
means they might attack me.
John's opinion was, that they should write to all
the cities and villages that were in Galilee; for
that there must be certainly one or two persons
in every one of them that were at variance with
me; and that they be invited to come, to oppose
me as an enemy. He would also have them send
this resolution of theirs to the city of Jerusalem,
that its citizens, upon the knowledge of my being
adjudged to be an enemy by the Galileans, might
themselves also confirm that determination. He
said also, that when this was done, even those
Galileans who were affected to me would desert
me out of fear. When John had given them this
counsel, what he had said was very agreeable to
the rest of them. I was also made acquainted
with these affairs about the third hour of the
night, by the means of one Saccheus, who had
belonged to them, but now deserted them and
came over to me, and told me what they were
about; so I perceived that no time was to
be lost. Accordingly I gave command to
Jacob, an armed man of my guard, whom I
esteemed faithful to me, to take two hundred
men, and to guard the passages that led from
Gabara to Galilee, and to seize upon the passengers
and send them to me, especially such as were
caught with letters about them: I also sent
Jeremias himself, one of my friends, with six
hundred armed men, to the borders of Galilee, in
order to watch the roads that led from the
country to the city Jerusalem; and gave him
charge to lay hold of such as travelled with
letters about them, to keep the men in bonds
upon the place, but to send me the letters.
47. WHEN I had laid these commands upon
them, I gave them orders, and bid
them to take their arms and bring
Measures of
Josephus.
three days' provision with them,
and be with me the next day. I
also parted those that were about me into four
parts, and ordained those of them that were most
faithful to me to be a guard to my body. I also
set over them centurions; and commanded them
to take care that not a soldier which they did not
know should mingle himself among them. Now,
on the fifth day following, when I was at Gabaroth,
I found the entire plain that was before the village
full of armed men, who were come out of Galilee
to assist me: many others of the multitude also
out of the village, ran along with me; but as
soon as I had taken my place, and began to speak
to them, they all made an acclamation, and called
me the benefactor and saviour of the country;
and when I had made them my acknowledgments,
and thanked them [for their affection to me], I
also advised them to fight with nobody.[1] nor to
spoil the country, but to pitch their tents in the
plain, and be content with the sustenance they
had brought with them; for I told them I had a
mind to compose these troubles without shedding
any blood. Now it came to pass, that on the
very same day those who were sent with letters
fell among the guards whom I appointed to watch
the roads: so the men were themselves kept upon
the place, as my orders were; but I got the
letters, which were full of reproaches and lies;
and I intended to fall upon these men, without
saying a word of these matters to anybody.
48. NOW, AS soon as Jonathan and his
companions heard of my coming, they took all their
own friends, and John with them,
and retired to the house of Jesus,
which indeed was a large castle,
and no way unlike a citadel ; so
Jonathan
seeks to entrap
Josephus.
they privately led a band of armed
men therein, and shut all the other doors but one,
which they kept open, and they expected that I
should come out of the road to them, to salute
them; and indeed they had given orders to the
armed men, that when I came they should let
nobody besides me come in, but should exclude
others; as supposing that, by this means, they
should easily get me under their power: but they
were deceived in their expectation; for I perceived
what snares they had laid for me. Now, as soon
as I was got off my journey, I took up my lodgings
over against them, and pretended to be asleep;
so Jonathan and his party, thinking that I was
really asleep and at rest, made haste to go down
into the plain to persuade the people that I was
an ill governor: but the matter proved otherwise;
for, upon their appearance, there was a cry made
by the Galileans immediately, declaring their
good opinion of me as their governor; and they
made a clamour against Jonathan and his partners
for coming to them when they had suffered no
harm, and as though they would overturn their
happy settlement; and desired them by all means
to go back again, for that they would never be
persuaded to have any other to rule over them
but myself. When I heard of this, I did not fear
to go down into the midst of them; I went
therefore myself down presently to hear what Jonathan
and his companions said. As soon as I appeared,
there was immediately an acclamation made to
me by the whole multitude, and a cry in my
commendation by them, who confessed their
thanks was owing to me for my good government
of them.
49. WHEN JONATHAN and his
companions heard this, they were in
fear of their own lives, and in
danger lest they should be assaulted
Jonathan
in fear.
by the Galileans on my account;
so they contrived how they might run away; but
- ↑ Josephus's directions to his soldiers here are much the same that John the Baptist gave (Luke iii. 14):—"Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages." Whence Dr. Hudson confirms this conjecture, that Josephus, in some things, was, even now, a follower of John the Baptist; which is by no means improbable. See the note on sect. 3.
