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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Jun. 14, 2025
Update	: Jun. 14, 2025
Parts	: 25

Synopsis:




Continuing our discussion from part ten, as we have seen, rather than take a chance by fighting against Jerusalem at that time. Simon of Gioras set his sights on taking all of Idumaea instead.

Realizing Simon's intentions, the Idumaeans quickly formed an army of twenty-five thousand men. Thus, an all-day battle then ensued, but by the day's end, neither side was able to declare a clear victory, and thus they each went their own way. However, before long, Simon made a second assault and tried to get the Idumaean city of Herodium to surrender to him. While this endeavor failed, a traitor arose amongst the Idumaeans who promised Simon that he would help him to take all of Idumaea. Simon agreed to the devious plan, and the traitor then went back to the village of Alurus where the Idumaean army was encamped.

We are next informed that through sly deception, the traitor convinced the Idumaeans that Simon's army was larger than it really was. Thus, he persuaded all of the Idumaean commanders -- and in fact the entire multitude -- to surrender to Simon, which they foolishly did. Thus, Josephus writes as follows:

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"Hereupon the rulers of the Idumeans got together on the sudden the most warlike part of their people, about twenty-five thousand in number, and permitted the rest to be a guard to their own country, by reason of the incursions that were made by the Sicarii that were at Masada. Thus they received Simon at their borders, where they fought him, and continued the battle all that day, and the dispute lay whether they had conquered him or been conquered by him. So he went back to Nain, as did the Idumeans return home.

Nor was it long ere Simon came violently again upon their country; when he pitched his camp at a certain village called Thecoe, and sent Eleazar, one of his companions to those that keep garrison at Herodium, and in order to persuade them to surrender that fortress to him. The garrison received this man readily; while they knew not of what he came about, but as soon as he talked of the surrender of the place, they fell upon him with their drawn swords, till he found that he had no place for flight, when he threw himself down from the wall into the valley beneath; so he died immediately: but the Idumeans who were already much afraid of Simon's power, thought fit to take a view of the enemy's army before they hazarded a battle with them.

Now, there was one of their commanders named Jacob, who offered to serve them readily upon that occasion, BUT HAD IT IN HIS MIND TO BETRAY THEM. He went therefore from the village Alurus, wherein the army of the Idumeans were gotten together, and came to Simon, and at the very first he agreed to betray his country to him, and took assurances upon oath from him, that he should always have him in esteem, and then promised him, that he would assist him in subduing all Idumea under him; upon which account he was feasted after an obliging manner by Simon, and elevated by his mighty promises, and when he was returned to his own men, he at first belied the army of Simon, and said it was manifold more in number than what it was; after which, he dexterously persuaded the commanders, and by degrees the whole multitude, to receive Simon, and to surrender the whole government up to him, without fighting.

And as he was doing this, he invited Simon by his messengers, and promised him to disperse the Idumeans, which he performed also, for as soon as their army was nigh them, he first of all got upon his horse, and fled, together with those whom he had corrupted; hereupon a terror fell upon the whole multitude, and before it came to a close fight, they broke their ranks, and every one retired to his own home.

Thus did Simon unexpectedly march into Idumea, without bloodshed,"

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With this victory, Josephus reports that with his armed men, and 40,000 other men who followed him, Simon then proceeded to take Hebron, followed by taking all the rest of Idumea. So great was his anger against the people of Idumea, that Josephus notes that Simon and his army completely wasted the country, so that absolutely nothing was left once they had marched through an area. Everything was left devastated and barren. Josephus describes this great destruction in the following manner:

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"Thence did Simon make his progress over all Idumea, and did not only ravage the cities and villages, but lay waste the whole country; for, besides those that were completely armed, he had forty thousand men that followed him, insomuch that he had not provisions enough to suffice such a multitude. Now, besides this want of provisions that he was in, he was of a barbarous disposition, and bore great anger at this nation, by which means it came to pass that Idumea was greatly depopulated; and as one may see all the woods behind despoiled of their leaves by locusts, after they have been there, so was there nothing left behind Simon's army but a desert. Some places they burnt down, some they utterly demolished, and whatsoever grew in the country, they either trod it down or fed upon it, and by their marches, they made the ground, that was cultivated, harder and more untractable than that which was barren. In short, there was no sign remaining of those places that had been laid waste, that ever they had had a being."

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Then something totally unexpected occurred. While the people of Jerusalem were afraid to fight against Simon and his army out in the open, they laid traps for his men, and then they totally enraged Simon when they kidnapped his wife, along with quite a few of her attendants. Simon, of course, went on a rampage, and stood outside of the walls of Jerusalem as he angrily yelled at the people within. Furthermore, any person who went outside of the walls was caught, tortured and killed. To drive even more fear into the Jerusalemites, and to create division amongst them, Simon also cut off the hands of some of the people which had been caught, and then sent them back into the city as a warning to others. In the end, the people of Jerusalem returned Simon's wife to him. Thus, Josephus writes as follows:

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"This success of Simon excited the Zealots afresh; and though they were afraid to fight him openly in a fair battle, yet did they lay ambushes in the passes, and seized upon his wife, with a considerable number of her attendants, whereupon they came back to the city rejoicing, as if they had taken Simon himself captive, and were in present expectation that he would lay down his arms, and make supplication to them for his wife; but instead of indulging any merciful affection, he grew very angry at them for seizing his beloved wife; so he came to the wall of Jerusalem, and, like wild beasts, when they are wounded, and cannot overtake those that wounded them, he vented his spleen upon all persons that he met with. Accordingly he caught all those that were come out of the city gates, either to gather herbs or sticks, who were unarmed, and in years; he then tormented them,and destroyed them, out of the immense rage he was in, and was almost ready to taste the very flesh of their dead bodies. He also CUT OFF THE HANDS OF A GREAT MANY, and sent them into the city to astonish his enemies, and in order to make the people fall into a sedition, and desert those that had been the authors of his wife's seizure. He also enjoined them to tell the people, that Simon swore by the God of the universe, who sees all things, that unless they will restore him his wife, he will break down their wall, and inflict the like punishment upon all the citizens, without sparing any age, and without making any distinction between the guilty and the innocent. These threatenings so greatly affrighted, not the people only, but THE ZEALOTS themselves also, that they sent his wife back to him, when he became a little milder, and left off his perpetual bloodshedding."

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At this point in his narration, Joseph mentions that not only is sedition and civil war breaking out all over Judea, but in Italy itself, the civil war continues during the "Year of the Four Emperors" as Galba, Otho and Vitellius fall one by one. As we discussed earlier in this series, Galba was slain, Otho eventually killed himself after suffering a military defeat, and Vitellius became the third emperor that year. Meanwhile, in Israel, Vespasian makes his next move by withdrawing his army from Caesarea, and then continuing his war campaign to subdue the cities and villages which were still in rebellion.

Eventually, a number of other toparchies, cities and villages were brought under Roman submission. These places included Gophnitick, Acrabattene, Bethel and Ephraim. While Vespasian rode as far as Jerusalem, his commander, Cerealis, went down into Idumea, where he subdued Hebron and other cities. As a result, when all was said and done, besides Jerusalem itself, only Herodium, Masada, and Macherus remained untaken, which were still in the hands of the robbers. Thus Josephus writes:

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"But in the meantime Vespasian removed from Caesarea, on the fifth day of the month Desius, [Sivan], and marched against those places of Judea which were not yet overthrown. So he went up to the mountainous country, and took those two toparchies that were called the Gophnitick and Acrabattene toparchies. After which he took Bethel and Ephraim, two small cities, and when he had put garrisons into them, he rode as far as Jerusalem, in which march he took many prisoners, and many captives; hut Cerealis, one of his commanders, took a body of horsemen and footmen, and laid waste that part of Idumea which was called the Upper Idumea, and attacked Caphethra, which pretended to be a small city, and took it at the first onset and burnt it down. He also attacked Capharabim. and laid siege to it, for it had a very strong wall, and when he expected to spend a long time in that siege, those that were within opened their gates on the sudden, and came to beg pardon; and surrendered themselves up to him. When Cerealis had conquered them he went to Hebron, another very ancient city. I have told you already, that this city is situated in a mountainous country not far off Jerusalem; and when he had broken into the city by force, what multitude and young men were left therein he slew, and burnt down the city; so that as now all the places were taken, excepting Herodium, Masada, and Macherus, which were in the possession of THE ROBBERS, so Jerusalem was what the Romans at present aimed at."

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Thus we see that the day of God's judgment against Jerusalem is fast approaching. Despite so many attempts by the peaceful people of Jerusalem to have their city spared, as we learned in earlier parts of this series, that simply was NOT God's intentions whatsoever. As you will recall, Jesus and some of the Apostles had warned of the wrath to come, and now it was almost upon them from God, and absolutely nothing would stop it, particularly not the will of man!

Meanwhile, upon getting his wife back, Simon of Gioras went down into what remained of Idumaea and gathered an army, after which he returned and surrounded the walls of Jerusalem. We are then informed by Josephus that the people of Jerusalem were more afraid of Simon than they were of the Romans. And to make matters worse, the Jerusalemites were also afraid of the Zealots who had taken over the city. So indeed, it was a very bad situation for them. Josephus describes the situation as follows:

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"And now, as soon as Simon had set his wife free, and recovered her from the Zealots, he returned back to the remainders of Idumea, and driving the nation all before him, from all quarters, he compelled a great number of them to retire to Jerusalem; he followed them himself also to the city, and encompassed the wall all round again: and when he lighted upon any labourers that were coming thither out of the country he slew them. Now this Simon who was without the wall, was a greater terror to the people than the Romans themselves, as were the Zealots who were within it more heavy upon them than both of the others;"

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And now we return to John of Gischala who had already become a powerful leader of one of the violent factions within the city. As we learned earlier in this series, Josephus writes that not only was John a complete tyrant, but his men were the epitome of wickedness. Aside from plundering and killing people within the city as they pleased with John's approval, they defiled themselves, and the city as a whole, when they broke the Mosaic law by donning women's clothing and makeup, and acting in a very effeminate manner, as they went about on their murderous spree. These vile, wicked murderers were an abomination to the Lord. In the Book of Leviticus we find the following commandment:

"The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God."


Regarding these abominable, disgusting creatures who dared to even defy God's holy laws, Josephus describes them in the following manner. As you will see, these vile men were in fact resorting to these wicked tactics in order to deceive the men of Jerusalem, so that they could then turn around and kill them:

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". . . and during this time did the mischievous contrivances and courage [of John] corrupt the body of the Galileans; for these Galileans had advanced this John, and made him very potent, who made them suitable requital from the authority he had obtained by their means; for he permitted them to do all things that any of them desired to do, while their inclination to plunder was insatiable, as was their zeal in searching the houses of the rich; and for the murdering of the men, and abusing of the women, it was sport to them. They also devoured what spoils they had taken, together with their blood, and indulged themselves in feminine wantonness, without any disturbance, till they were satiated therewith: while they decked their hair and put on women's garments, and were besmeared over with ointments; and that they might appear very comely, they had paints under their eyes, and imitated, not only the ornaments, but also the lusts of women, and were guilty of such intolerable uncleanness, that they invented unlawful pleasures of that sort; and thus did they roll themselves up and down the city, as in a brothel house, and defiled it entirely with their impure actions, nay, while their faces looked like the faces of women, they killed with their right hands, and when their gait was effeminate, they presently attacked men, and became warriors, and drew their swords from under their finely dyed cloaks, and ran everybody through whom they alighted upon."

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So as I explained a minute ago, the Jerusalemites were in a very terrible bind, because John of Gischala and the Zealots killed those who were inside the city, while Simon of Gioras and his army killed anyone who snuck out of the city. But as Josephus next informs us yet again, he saw the hand of God working against the Jerusalemites, because the Idumaeans who were inside the city with John were stirred up against John, not only because of the great violence and cruelty which he and his men committed, but also because they were jealous of the power which John wielded. Thus they plotted to destroy John, as we see by the following excerpt:

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"However, Simon waited for such as ran away from John, and was the more bloody of the two: and he who had escaped the tyrant within the wall was destroyed by the other that lay before the gates, so that all attempts of flying and deserting to the Romans were cut off, as to those that had a mind so to do.

Yet did the army that was under John raise a sedition against him, and all the Idumeans separated themselves from the tyrant and attempted to destroy him, and this out of their envy at his power, and hatred of his cruelty; so they got together, and slew many of the Zealots, and drove the rest before them into that royal palace that was built by Grapte, who was a relation of Izates, the king of Adiabene: the Idumeans fell in with them, and drove the Zealots out thence into the temple, and betook themselves to plunder John's effects; for both he himself was in that palace, and therein had he laid up the spoils lie had acquired by his tyrants. In the meantime the multitude of those Zealots that were dispersed over the city ran together to the temple unto those that had fled thither, and John prepared to bring them down against the people, and the Idumeans, who were not so much afraid of being attacked by them, because they were themselves better soldiers than they, as at their madness, lest they should privately sally out of the temple and get among them, and not only destroy them, but set the city on fire also. So they assembled themselves together, and the high priests with them, and took counsel after what manner they should avoid their assault."

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As you can see, not only did the Idumaeans kill a lot of the Zealots, because they were better soldiers, but they also drove them out of the palace -- which had been their base of operations where they stored all of their stolen booty -- and they drove them into the temple compound. As a result, the Idumaeans were able to steal all of John's spoils. Thus, we are slowly learning exactly how each of the key players and factions acquired their place within the city before Titus made his assault. But it is what the Idumaeans did next which convinced Josephus yet again that God was truly working against the people of Jerusalem so that they would eventually feel His divine wrath.

So exactly what did the Idumaeans do? After taking counsel with the high priests, in order to totally defeat John and the Zealots who were trapped in the temple compound, they decided to invite Simon of Gioras and his army into the city. Oh, what a terrible decision that turned out to be! Josephus thus describes their grave error in the following manner:

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"So they assembled themselves together, and the high priests with them, and took counsel after what manner they should avoid their [meaning the Zealots] assault. Now IT WAS GOD WHO TURNED THEIR OPINIONS TO THE WORST ADVICE, and thence they devised such a remedy to get themselves free, as was worse than the disease itself. Accordingly, in order to overthrow John, they determined to admit Simon, and earnestly to desire the introduction of a second tyrant into the city; which resolution they brought to perfection, and sent Matthias the high priest, to beseech this Simon to come in to them, of whom they had so often been afraid. Those also that had fled from THE ZEALOTS in Jerusalem, joined in this request to him, out of the desire they had of preserving their houses and their effects.

Accordingly he in an arrogant manner granted them his lordly protection, and came into the city, in order to deliver it from THE ZEALOTS. The people also made joyful acclamations to him, as their saviour, and their preserver: but when he was come in, with his army, he took care to secure his own authority, and looked upon those that had invited him in, to be no less his enemies, than those against whom the invitation was intended.

And THUS DID SIMON GET POSSESSION OF JERUSALEM, in the third year of the war, in the month Xanthicus, [Nisan], whereupon John, with his multitude of Zealots, as being both prohibited from coming out of the temple, and having lost their power in the city, (for Simon and his party had plundered them of what they had), were in despair of deliverance."

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So as you can clearly see, the Idumaeans' foolish solution was to invite another tyrant into the city -- meaning Simon -- in order to defeat the first tyrant -- meaning John. However, as Josephus writes, Simon viewed the Idumaeans as being just as much his enemies as the Zealots were his enemies. As for John, he had lost his power and influence because his booty had been stolen by the Idumaeans, and he and his fellow Zealots were now trapped in the temple.

Please note that Josephus even tells us exactly when Simon gained control of Jerusalem. It was at the very beginning of the third year of the war, because Nisan is the first month of the Jewish year according to the Torah. As we will see a bit later in this series, this also means that we are only months away from the destruction of the temple compound "in the midst of the week" -- or in the middle of the seven-year war -- as had been prophesied by the Prophet Daniel.

After explaining how Simon and his army engaged in a battle with John and the Zealots who were trapped in the temple -- but who had the advantage because they were at a higher elevation -- we enter Book 4 Chapter 10 where Josephus now explains how Vespasian became the next emperor. He begins by informing us that having subdued all of the places that were near to Jerusalem, Vespasian and his army returned to to their camp at Caesarea. Meanwhile in Italy, Vitellius had returned to Rome from Germany and had made the entire city his military camp. In addition, Josephus mentions how Vitellius' soldiers were in awe of -- and very much tempted by -- the great wealth which they encountered in Rome.

Upon learning that Vitellius was now the new emperor, we are told that Vespasian was filled with indignation. Not only that, but Josephus seems to indicate that Vespasian lost his motivation to continue fighting in Rome's wars as long as Vitellius was in power. Furthermore, Vespasian was also frustrated by the fact that not only couldn't he return to Italy due to the distance involved, but also because it was Winter. But this was not the only problem.

We are also informed that Vespasian's soldiers were not happy with the situation in Rome either, and felt that it was not fair that Vitellius became the new emperor, while Vespasian had given many years of his life in service to Rome. Vespasian's soldiers also felt that it was not fair that Vitellius' soldiers enjoyed the delicacies of Rome, while having never really fought as they had done, so as to win fame for themselves. Thus, Josephus quotes the soldiers as saying the following amongst themselves:

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"At Rome there are soldiers that live delicately, and when they have not ventured so much as to hear the fame of war, they ordain whom they please for our governors, and in hopes of gain make them emperors; while you who have gone through so many labours, and are grown into years under your helmets, give leave to others to use such a power, when yet you have among yourselves one more worthy to rule [meaning Vespasian] than any whom they have set up. Now what juster opportunity shall they ever have of requiting their generals, if they do not make use of this that is now before them? while there is so much juster reasons for Vespasian's being emperor than for Vitellius; as they are themselves more deserving than those that made the other emperors; for that they have undergone as great wars as have the troops that come from Germany; nor are they inferior in war to those that have brought that tyrant to Rome [meaning Vitellius], nor have they undergone smaller labours than they; for that neither will the Roman senate, nor people, bear such a lascivious emperor as Vitellius, if he be compared with their chaste Vespasian; nor will they endure a most barbarous tyrant, instead of a good governor,

Whether, therefore, we estimate the capacity of governing from the skill of a person in years, we ought to have Vespasian or whether from the strength of a young man, we ought to have Titus; for by this means we shall have the advantage of both their ages, for that they will afford strength to those that shall be made emperors,"

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Josephus next informs his readers that after engaging in consultations and discussions among themselves, at length the commanders and soldiers declared Vespasian to be the new emperor. However, there was a problem. Vespasian did NOT want to be emperor, and in fact, he at first resisted their entreaties. However, after a lot of insistence from his own commanders, and after his soldiers even threatened to take his life, and realizing that he could not dissuade them any further, Vespasian agreed to let them salute him as the emperor. Thus, Josephus writes as follows:

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"These were the discourses the soldiers had in their several companies, after which they got together in a great body, and, encouraging one another, they declared Vespasian emperor, and exhorted him to save the government which was now in danger. Now Vespasian's concern had been for a considerable time about the public, yet did he not intend to set up for governor himself, though his actions showed him to deserve it, while he preferred that safety which is in a private life, before the dangers in a state of such dignity: but while he refused the empire, the commanders insisted the more earnestly upon his acceptance, and the soldiers came about him, with their drawn swords in their hands, and threatened to kill him, unless he would now live according to his dignity. And when he had showed his reluctance a great while, and had endeavoured to thrust away his dominion from him, he at length, being not able to persuade them, yielded to their solicitations that would salute him emperor."

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Upon finally accepting his new role as emperor, Vespasian determined that the best way to overthrow Vitellius was by taking control of Alexandria, Egypt, because it was a major supplier of corn to Rome. His personal thinking was that if Rome was denied corn, the population would eventually grow hungry, which would make it very difficult for Vitellius to maintain control over them. Furthermore, Vespasian wanted to join the two legions that were in Alexandria to his own, so that he could have a backup plan, in case something went wrong.

To consolidate his plan, Vespasian sent a letter to Tiberius Alexander, who was the Roman governor of both Alexandria and Egypt. Alexander immediately accepted Vespasian's offer, and persuaded both the two legions and the rest of the people of Alexandria to pledge their fidelity to Vespasian. Now having gained that support, Vespasian prepared to return to Rome. Thus, Josephus writes as follows:

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So upon the exhortations of Mucianus, and the other commanders, that he would accept of the empire, and upon that of the rest of the army, who cried out, that they were willing to be led against all his opposers, he was in the first place intent upon gaining the dominion over Alexandria, as knowing that Egypt was of the greatest consequence, in order to obtain the entire government, because of its supplying of corn [to Rome], which corn if he could be master of, he hoped to dethrone Vitellius, supposing he should aim to keep the empire by force (for he would not be able to support himself, if the multitude at Rome should once be in want of food); and because he was desirous to join the two legions that were at Alexandria to the other legions that were with him. He also considered with himself, that he should then have that country for a defence to himself against the uncertainty of fortune.

Justly, therefore, did Vespasian desire to obtain that government, in order to corroborate his attempts upon the whole empire; so he immediately sent to Tiberius Alexander, who was then governor of Egypt and of Alexandria, and informed him what the army had put him upon, and how he, being forced to accept of the burden of the government, was desirous to have him for his confederate and supporter. Now as soon as ever Alexander had read this letter, he readily obliged the legions and the multitude to take the oath of fidelity to Vespasian, both which willingly complied with him, as already acquainted with the courage of the man, from that his conduct in their neighbourhood. Accordingly Vespasian looking upon himself as already entrusted with the government, got all things ready for his journey [to Rome.]

----- End Quote -----

Please go to part twelve for the continuation of this series.

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