Destruction of Jerusalem in 70A.D as recorded by Josephus who was an
eyewitness. The account is reproduced by Eusebius in the History of the Church.
Eusebius was the Bishop of Caesarea. Born in 263 AD and died in 339.
He wrote the first History of the early Church. Eusebius also gives
us an insight into how the early Christians interpreted the destruction
of Jerusalem.
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CHAPTER VI.
The Famine which oppressed them.
TAKING the fifth book of the History of Josephus again in our hands, let us go through the tragedy
of events which then occurred.[1] "For the wealthy," he says, "it was equally dangerous to remain.
For under pretense that they were going to desert men were put to death for their wealth. The
madness of the seditions increased with the famine and both the miseries were inflamed more and
more day by day. Nowhere was food to be seen; but, bursting into the houses men searched them
thoroughly, and whenever they found anything to eat they tormented the owners on the ground that
they had denied that they had anything; but if they found nothing, they tortured them on the ground
that they 4 had more carefully concealed it. The proof of their having or not having food was found
in the bodies of the poor wretches. Those of them who were still in good condition they assumed
were well supplied with food, while those who were already wasted away they passed by, for it
seemed absurd to slay those who were 5 on the point of perishing for want. Many, indeed, secretly
sold their possessions for one measure of wheat, if they belonged to the wealthier class, of barley if
they were poorer. Then shutting themselves up in the innermost parts of their houses, some ate the
grain uncooked on account of their terrible want, while others baked it according as necessity and 6
fear dictated. Nowhere were tables set, but, snatching the yet uncooked food from the fire, they
tore it in pieces. Wretched was the fare, and a lamentable spectacle it was to see the more powerful
secure an abundance while the 7 weaker mourned. Of all evils, indeed, famine is the worst, and it
destroys nothing so effectively as shame. For that which under other circumstances is worthy of
respect, in the midst of famine is despised. Thus women snatched the food from the very mouths of
their husbands and children, from their fathers, and what was most pitiable of all, mothers from their
babes, And while their dearest ones were wasting away in their arms, they Were not ashamed to
take away froth them the last
8 drops that supported life. And even while they were eating thus they did not remain undiscovered.
But everywhere the rioters appeared, to rob them even of these portions of food. For whenever
they saw a house shut up, they regarded it as a sign that those inside were taking food. And
immediately bursting open the doors they rushed in and seized what they were eating, almost forcing
it out of their very throats. Old men who clung to their 9 food were beaten, and if the women
concealed it in their hands, their hair was torn for so doing. There was pity neither for gray hairs nor
for infants, but, taking up the babes that clung to their morsels of food, they dashed them to the
ground. But to those that anticipated their entrance and swallowed what they were about to seize,
they were still more cruel, just as if they had been wronged by them. And 10 they, devised the most
terrible modes of torture to discover food, stopping up the privy passages of the poor wretches with
bitter herbs, and piercing their seats with sharp rods. And men suffered things horrible even to hear
of, for the sake of compelling them to confess to the possession of one loaf of bread, or in order
that they might be made to disclose a single drachm of barley which they had concealed. But the
tormentors themselves did not suffer hunger. Their conduct might indeed have seemed less
barbarous if they had been driven to it by necessity; but they did it for the sake of exercising their
madness and of providing sustenance for themselves for days to come. And when any one crept out
of the 12 city by night as far as the outposts of the Romans to collect wild herbs and grass, they
went to meet him; and when he thought he had already escaped the enemy, they seized what he had
brought with him, and even though oftentimes the man would entreat them, and, calling upon the
most awful name of God, adjure them to give him a portion of what he had obtained at the risk of
his life, they would give him nothing back. Indeed, it was fortunate if the one that was plundered
was not also slain."
To this account Josephus, after relating other things, adds the following:[2] "The 13 possibility of
going out of the city being brought to an end,[3] all hope of safety for the Jews was cut off. And the
famine increased and devoured the people by houses and families. And the rooms were filled with
dead women and children, the lanes of the city with the corpses of old men. Children and youths,
14 swollen with the famine, wandered about the market-places like shadows, and fell down
wherever the death agony overtook them. The sick were not strong enough to bury even their own
relatives, and those who had the strength
hesitated because of the multitude of the dead and the uncertainty as to their own fate. Many,
indeed, died while they were burying others,
and many betook themselves to their graves
15 before death came upon them. There was neither weeping nor lamentation under these
misfortunes; but the famine stifled the natural affections. Those that were dying a lingering death
looked with dry eyes upon those that had gone to their rest before them. Deep silence and
death-laden night encircled the city.
16 But the robbers were more terrible than these miseries; for they broke open the houses, which
were now mere sepulchres, robbed the dead and stripped the covering from their bodies, and went
away with a laugh. They tried the points of their swords in the dead bodies, and some that were
lying on the ground still alive they thrust through in order to test their weapons. But those that
prayed that they would use their right hand and their sword upon them, they contemptuously left to
be destroyed by the famine. Every one of these died with eyes fixed upon the temple; and they left
the seditious
17 alive. These at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out of the public treasury, for
they could not endure the stench. But afterward, when they were not able to do this, they threw the
bodies from the walls 18 into the trenches. And as Titus went around and saw the trenches filled
with the dead, and the thick blood oozing out of the putrid bodies, he groaned aloud, and, raising
his hands, called God to witness that this was 19 not his doing." After speaking of some other
things, Josephus proceeds as follows:[4] "I cannot hesitate to declare what my feelings compel me
to. I suppose, if the Romans had longer delayed in coming against these guilty wretches, the city
would have been swallowed up by a chasm, or overwhelmed with a flood, or struck with such
thunderbolts as destroyed Sodom. For it had brought forth a generation of men much more godless
than were those that suffered such punishment. By their madness indeed was the whole people
brought to destruction."
20 And in the sixth book he writes as follows:[5] "Of those that perished by famine in the city the
number was countless, and the miseries they underwent unspeakable. For if so much as the shadow
of food appeared in any house, there was war, and the dearest friends engaged in hand-to-hand
conflict with one another, and snatched from each other the most wretched supports of life. Nor
would they believe 21 that even the dying were without food; but the robbers would search them
while they were expiring, lest any one should feign death while concealing food in his bosom. With
mouths gaping for want of food, they stumbled and staggered along like mad dogs, and beat the
doors as if they were drunk, and in their impotence they would rush into the same houses twice or
thrice in one hour. Necessity compelled them to eat anything 22 they could find, and they gathered
and devoured things that were not fit even for the filthiest of irrational beasts. Finally they did not
abstain even from their girdles and shoes, and they stripped the hides off their shields and devoured
them. Some used even wisps of old hay for food, and others gathered stubble and sold the smallest
weight of it for four Attic drachm'.[6]
"But why should I speak of the shamelessness which was displayed during the famine toward
inanimate things? For I am going to relate a fact such as is recorded neither by Greeks nor
Barbarians; horrible to relate, incredible to hear. And indeed I should gladly have omitted this
calamity, that I might not seem to posterity to be a teller of fabulous tales, if I had not innumerable
witnesses to it in my own age. And besides, I should render my country poor service if I suppressed
the account of the sufferings which she endured.
"There was a certain woman named Mary that dwelt beyond Jordan, whose father was Eleazer, of
the village of Bathezor[7] (which signifies the house of hyssop). She was distinguished for her family
and her wealth, and had fled with the rest of the multitude to Jerusalem and was shut up there with
them during the siege. The tyrants had robbed her of the 25 rest of the property which she had
brought with her into the city from Perea. And the remnants of her possessions and whatever food
was to be seen the guards rushed in daily and snatched away from her. This made the woman
terribly angry, and by her frequent reproaches and imprecations she aroused the anger of the
rapacious villains against herself. But no one either through anger or pity would slay her; and she
grew weary of finding food for others to eat. The search, too, was already become everywhere
difficult, and the famine was piercing her bowels and marrow, and resentment was raging more
violently than famine. Taking, therefore, anger and necessity as her counsellors, she proceeded to
do a most unnatural thing. Seizing her child, a boy which was sucking at her breast, she said, Oh,
wretched child, m war, in famine, in sedition, for what do I pre-
serve thee? Slaves among the Romans we shall be even if we are allowed to live by them. But even
slavery is anticipated by the famine, and the rioters are more cruel than both. Come, be food for
me, a fury for these rioters, (8) and a bye-word to the world, for this is all that is wanting to
complete the calamities of the Jews. And when she had said this she slew her son; 98 and having
roasted him, she ate one half herself, and covering up the remainder, she kept it. Very soon the
rioters appeared on the scene, and, smelling the nefarious odor, they threatened to slay her
'immediately unless she should show them what she had prepared. She replied that she had saved
an excellent portion for them, and with that she uncovered the 99 remains of the child. They were
immediately seized with horror and amazement and stood transfixed at the sight. But she said This is
my own son, and the deed is mine. Eat for I too have eaten. Be not more merciful than a woman,
nor more compassionate than a mother. But if you are too pious and shrinkfrom my sacrifice, I have
already (9) eaten of 80 it; let the rest also remain for me. At these words the men went out
trembling, in this one case being affrighted; yet with difficulty did they yield that food to the mother.
Forthwith the whole city was filled with the awful crime, and as all pictured the terrible deed before
their own eyes, they trembled as if they 81 had done it themselves. Those that were suffering from
the famine now longed for death; and blessed were they that had died before hearing and seeing
miseries like these."
32 Such was the reward which the Jews received for their wickedness and impiety, against the
Christ of God.
CHAPTER VII.
The Predictions of Christ.
1It is fitting to add to these accounts the true prediction of our Saviour in which he 2foretold these
very events. His words are
as follows: (1) "Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day; For there shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." The
historian, reckoning the whole number (3) of the slain, says that eleven hundred thousand persons
perished by famine and sword, (2) and that the rest of the rioters and robbers, being betrayed by
each other after the taking of the city, were slain. (3) But the tallest of the youths and those that
were distinguished for beauty were preserved for the triumph. Of the rest of the multitude, those that
were over seventeen years of age were sent as prisoners to labor in the works of Egypt, (4) while
still more were scattered through the provinces to meet their death in the theaters by the sword and
by beasts. Those under seventeen years of age were carried away to be sold as slaves, and of these
alone the number reached ninety thousand. (5) These things 4 took place in this manner in the
second year of the reign of Vespasian, (6) in accordance with the prophecies of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, who by divine power saw them beforehand as if they were already present,
and wept and mourned according to the statement of the holy evangelists, who give the very words
which be uttered, when, as if addressing Jerusalem herself, he said: (7) "If thou hadst 5 known, even
thou, in this day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For
the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a rampart about thee, and compass thee
round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee and thy children even with the ground."
And 6 then, as if speaking concerning the people, he says, (8) "For there shall be great distress in
the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led
away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of
the Gentiles be fulfilled." And again: (9) "When ye shall see Jerusalem com-
passed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." 7 If any one compares the words
of our Saviour with the other accounts of the historian concerning the whole war, how can one fail
to wonder, and to admit that the foreknowledge and the prophecy of our Saviour were 8 truly
divine and marvellously strange. (10) Concerning those calamities, then, that befell the whole Jewish
nation after the Saviour's passion and after the words which the multitude of the Jews uttered, when
they begged the release of the robber and murderer, but besought that the Prince of Life should be
taken from their midst, (11) it is not necessary to add anything to the 9 account of the historian. But
it may be proper to mention also those events which exhibited the graciousness of that all-good
Providence which held back their destruction full forty years after their crime against Christ,--during
which time many of the apostles and disciples, and James himself the first bishop there, the one who
is called the brother of the Lord, were still alive, and dwelling in Jerusalem itself, remained the surest
bulwark of the place. Divine Providence thus still proved itself long-suffering toward them in order
to see whether by repentance for what they had done they might obtain pardon and salvation; and in
addition to such long-suffering, Providence also furnished wonderful signs of the things which were
about to happen to them if they did not repent. 10 Since these matters have been thought worthy of
mention by the historian already cited, we cannot do better than to recount them for the benefit of
the readers of this work.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Signs which preceded the War.
1 Taking, then, the work of this author, read what he records in the sixth book of his History. His
words are as follows: (1) "Thus were the miserable people won over at this time by the impostors
and false prophets; (2) but they did not heed nor give credit to the visions and signs that foretold the
approaching desolation. On the contrary, as if struck by lightning, and as if possessing neither eyes
nor understanding, they slighted the proclamations of God. At one time a star, in form like a sword,
stood over the city, and a comet, which lasted for a whole year; and again before the revolt and
before the disturbances that led to the war, when the people were gathered for the feast of
unleavened bread, on the eighth of the month Xanthicus, (3) at the ninth hour of the night, so great a
light shone about the altar and the temple that it seemed to be bright day; and this continued for half
an hour. This seemed to the unskillful a good sign, but was interpreted by the sacred scribes as
portending those events which very soon took place. And at the same feast a cow, led 3 by the high
priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple. And the eastern gate of the
inner temple, 4 which was of bronze and very massive, and which at evening was closed with
difficulty by twenty men, and rested upon iron-bound beams, and had bars sunk deep in the ground,
was seen at the sixth hour of the night to open of itself. And not many days after the feast, 5 on the
twenty-first of the month Artemisium, (4) a certain marvelous vision was seen which passes belief.
The prodigy might seem fabulous were it not related by those who saw it, and were not the
calamities which followed deserving of such signs. For before the setting of the sun chariots and
armed troops were seen throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and
encircling the cities. And at the feast which is called Pentecost, 6 when the priests entered the
temple at night, as was their custom, to perform the services, they said that at first they perceived a
movement and a noise, and afterward a voice as of a great multitude, saying, 'Let us go hence.' (5)
But what follows is still more 7 terrible; for a certain Jesus, the son of Ananias, a common
countryman, four years before the war, (6) when the city was particularly
prosperous and peaceful, came to the feast, at which it was customary for all to make tents at the
temple to the honor of God, (7) and suddenly began to cry out: 'A voice from the east, a voice from
the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the temple, a voice against
bridegrooms and brides, a voice against all the people.' Day and night he went 8 through all the
alleys crying thus. But certain of the more distinguished citizens, vexed at the ominous cry, seized the
man and beat him with many stripes. But without uttering a word in his own behalf, or saying
anything in particular to those that were present, he continued to cry out in the same words as
before. And the rulers, thinking, as was true, that the man was moved by a higher power, brought
him before the Roman governor. (8) And then, though he was scourged to the bone, he neither
made supplication nor shed tears, but, changing his voice to the most lamentable tone possible, he
answered each stroke with the words, 'Woe, woe unto Jerusalem.'" 10 The same historian records
another fact still more wonderful than this. He says (9) that a certain oracle was found in their
sacred writings which declared that at that time a certain person should go forth from their country
to rule the world. He himself understood 11 that this was fulfilled in Vespasian. But Vespasian did
not rule the whole world, but only that part of it which was subject to the Romans. With better right
could it be applied to Christ; to whom it was said by the Father, "Ask of me, and I will give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession." (10) At that very time,
indeed, the voice of his holy apostles "went throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of
the world." (11)
CHAPTER IX. |
