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‘The Long Hesitation’:* Some Reflections on the Romans in Judaea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2006

John Curran
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Extract

On a day without precise date some time in Judaea in the first century of the common era, an interview of exceptional historical importance took place between a representative of Roman power and a Jewish prophet. What passed between them has left an indelible imprint on history, although religious believers, historians, and theologians have struggled for almost two thousand years to comprehend the legacy. The Roman was Titus Flavius Vespasianus, general of a vast army on its way to Jerusalem, and the Jewish prophet, priest and pharisee was Yosef ben Matthityahu.

The year was AD 67. In the summer of the previous year, the priests of the great temple of the Jewish God in Jerusalem had suspended the sacrifices which had been held twice a day for more than two generations in honour of the emperors of Rome. The suspension marked the formal beginning of a disastrous revolt mounted by the Jews against the empire of Rome in the East. Josephus had been appointed as a commander as soon as the revolt broke out and he had been sent to Galilee, some 50 miles north of Jerusalem, to organize resistance there. After initial success, he had been besieged by Roman forces at Jotapata, 10 miles from Nazareth. And when it became clear to the rebels that they were likely to fall into Roman hands he alleges that they carried out an elaborate mass-suicide, killing their comrades, starting at the lowest levels in the command and working up.

Type
Research Article
Information
Greece & Rome , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , April 2005 , pp. 70 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 2005

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Footnotes

*

I owe the quotation in the tide of this piece to Fergus Millar (The Roman Near East [Cambridge, Mass., 1993], 61). I am also very grateful to Professors Brian Campbell and Tessa Rajak for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

References

1 For Josephus in Galilee, see Cohen, S. J. D., Josephus in Galilee and Rome. His Vita and Development as a Historian (Leiden, 1979)Google Scholar; Schwartz, S., ‘Josephus in Galilee: Rural Patronage and Social Breakdown’, in Parente, F., Sievers, J. (eds.), Josephus and the History of the Greco-Roman Period (Leiden, 1994), 290 ff.Google Scholar; G. Jossa, ‘Josephus’ Action in Galilee during the Jewish War’ in Parente and Sievers (op. cit.), 265 ff. For the so-called ‘Josephus Count’ see Rajak, T., Josephus. The Historian and His Society (London, 1983), 171.Google Scholar

2 BJ 3, 400-2 (reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of the Loeb Classical Library from Josephus volume 2, Loeb Classical Library 203, translated by H. St. J. Thackeray [Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1927]. The Loeb Classical Library® is a registered trademark of the President and Fellows of Harvard College). Vespasian attracted prophecies from other prominent Jews and for the general belief that a great power would rise in the east, see Rajak (n. 1), 188-9; Smallwood, E. M., The Jews under Roman Rule (Leiden, 1976), 307 n. 60Google Scholar.

3 The term is that of Millar, F. G. B., The Roman Near East, (Cambridge, Mass., 1993), 10.Google Scholar

4 BJ 1. 6. For the identity of these readers see Rajak (n. 1), 175-6.

5 Vita 361-4.

6 Millar, E G. B., ‘Empire, Community and Culture in the Roman Near East: Greeks, Syrians, Jews and Arabs’, JJS 38 (1987), 143 ff. Here p. 147.Google Scholar

7 Smith, M., ‘The Troublemakers’, in Horbury, W., Davies, W. D., Sturdy, J. (eds.), The Cambridge History of Judaism vol. 3 (Cambridge, 1999), 501 ff.Google Scholar; Price, J. J., Jerusalem Under Siege. The Collapse of the Jewish State, 66-70 C.E. (Leiden, 1992), xii Google Scholar; Goodman, M. D., ‘The Origins of the Great Revolt: A Conflict of Status Criteria’, in Kasher, A., Rappaport, U., Fuks, G. (eds.), Greece and Rome in Eretz Israel (Jerusalem, 1992), 39 Google Scholar. Among other sceptics, see Cohen (n. 1).

8 Rajak (n. 1). See also Bilde, P., Flavius Josephus between Jerusalem and Rome (JSP SuppL, 2) (Sheffield, 1988)Google Scholar.

9 See Schwartz, S., Josephus andjudaean Politics, CSCT 18, (Leiden, 1990), 211.Google Scholar

10 For ‘Aeneas’ see BJ 5. 326.

11 For a strong statement on ‘fundamentally flawed’ attempts to establish independence from Josephus, see MacLaren, S., Turbulent Times? Josephus and Scholarship on Judaea in the First Century C.E. (Sheffield, 1998), esp. 17 ff.Google Scholar

12 For the importance of propaganda to the new dynasty: Suet., Vesp. 18 (the paying by the emperor for orators); Tacitus, Hist. 2. 101 (history-writing under the Flavians perverted by adulation). For supernatural portents of rule: Suet., Titus 5. 1; Vesp. 5. 6; 7; Tacitus, Hist. 2. 2-4; 2. 78: 4. 82. See Levick, B., Vespasian (London, 1999)Google Scholar, chapters 3 and 5.

13 For an analysis of the specifically Jewish role in the government of the region see MacClaren, J. S., Power and Politics in Palestine: The Jews and the Governing of their Land, 100 B.C.–A.D. 70 (JSNT Suppl, 63) (Sheffield, 1991)Google Scholar.

14 BJ 1. 127 (translated by G. A. Williamson in Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War, revised by E. M. Smallwood, Penguin Classics 1959, revised edition 1981. Copyright G. A. Williamson, 1959, 1969). Cf. AJ 14. 29. See U. Baumann, Rom und die Juden. Die römisch-jüdischen Beziehungen von Pompeius bis zum Tode des Herodes (63 v. Chr.-4 v. Chr). (Frankfurt, 1985), 27 ff.

15 BJ 1. 128. Cf. AJ 14. 34-8.

16 AJ 14. 41.

17 AJ 14.72-3 (translated by Marcus, Loeb Classical Library).

18 For the destruction of Pompey's tomb in Alexandria in the second century: Appian BC 2. 90.

19 BJ 1. 153-6; AJ 14. 73-6. See Schürer, E., The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (Edinburgh, 1973) I, 240 Google Scholar; Bowersock, G. W., Roman Arabia (Cambridge, Mass., 1983), 28 ff.Google Scholar

20 BJ 1. 155-7; AJ 14. 75-6.

21 AJ 14.90-1 (sunedria); BJ 1.169-70; AJ 14.103; BJ 1.178.

22 Crassus: BJ 1. 179; AJ 14. 105-9; Heliopolis: Millar (n. 3), 244.

23 AJ 14. 205; see also Schürer (n. 19), I, 274-5.

24 For Caesar and the Jews, see Schürer (n. 19), I, 270-6.

25 BJ 1. 243-4; AJ 14. 324-6.

26 BJ 1.345-57; AJ 14. 468-86.

27 47 14. 388.

28 in 37/6 BC she was given Chalcis, Coele-Syria, the coastal strip from the river Elutherus to Egypt (excepting the cities of Tyre and Sidon), Cilicia and Cyprus (AJ 15. 79); in 34 Herod was forced to cede ownership of balsam plantations near Jericho: BJ 1. 361-2; AJ 15. 96. For the chronology see Schurer (n. 19), I, 288 n.5.

29 BJ 1. 386-93, a purple passage in Josephus, perhaps owing something to the lost testimony of Nicolaus.

30 BJ 1. 398-400; AJ 15. 343-8.

31 AJ 15. 359-60.

32 The bringing home of sons, 18/17 BC: AJ 16. 6; the sending of Antipater, 13 BC: BJ 1. 451, AJ 16. 86.

33 AJ 16. 87-135 (‘Aquileia’ at 16. 91 but ‘Rome’ at 106); BJ 1. 452-4.

34 BJ 1. 526-9; 534-51; AJ 16. 313-34; 356-94. Composition of the court at AJ 16. 357.

35 Journey to Rome: BJ 1. 573; AJ 17. 52 f. Reports to Augustus: BJ 1. 640; AJ 17. 133-45.

36 AJ 17. 93.

37 Execution: BJ 1. 661-4; AJ 17. 182-7.

38 Friendship: AJ 15. 361 (translated by Marcus, Loeb Classical Library). Cf. BJ 1. 400. Procurators: AJ 15. 360; BJ 1. 399: ‘he gave Herod the position of procurator over all Syria, for the (Roman) procurators were forbidden to take any measures without his concurrence.’ (Translated by Thackeray, Loeb Classical Library).

39 The selection from Alexandrian and Babylonian families classically stated by M. Stern, ‘Aspects of Jewish Society: The Priesthood and Other Classes’, in S. Safrai, M. Stern, D. Flusser, W. C. van Unnik (eds.), The Jewish People in the First Century. Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and Religious Life and Institutions (Compendia Rerum ludaicum ad Novum Testamentum) 1.2 (Assen, 1976), 561-630; here, pp. 570-1. Also noted by M. D. Goodman, ‘The Origins of the Great Revolt: A Conflict of Status Criteria’, in A. Kasher, U. Rappaport, G. Fuks (eds.), Greece and Rome in Eretz Israel (Jerusalem, 1990), 46. See also his The Ruling Class of Judaea (Cambridge, 1987), 41.

40 Robes: AJ 15. 403-4. Pharisees: AJ 15. 368-72; 17. 42.

41 AJ 15. 240-1 (translated by Marcus, Loeb Classical Library).

42 See Richardson, P., Herod. King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans (Columbia, SC, 1996), 33 ff.Google Scholar; Smallwood (n. 2), 87; 90.

43 BJ 2. 80 (autonomia); AJ 17. 314 (attachment to Syria). See Millar (n. 3), 43.

44 According to the Autobiography of Nicolaus of Damascus: FGrH 90 F136. 8-11.

45 See Millar (n. 3), 44.

46 BJ 2. 39-75; AJ 17. 250-98. See Millar (n. 3), 41-2.

47 BJ 2. 111-13; AJ 17. 342-4.

48 See Appendix.

49 See Schürer (n. 19), I. 357-61; P. A. Brunt, ‘Procuratorial Jurisdiction’, Latomus 25 (1966), 461 ff., esp. 463.

50 AJ 20.105-12; BJ 2. 224-7.

51 AJ 20.115-17; BJ 2. 228-31.

52 Celebrations: AJ 19. 356. Subsequent re-deployment: AJ 19. 366 (translated by Feldman. Loeb Classical Library): ‘for this reason Vespasian, on coming to the throne, as we shall shortly relate, deported them from the province.’ For instances of near-mutinies of troops faced with redeployment, see Tacitus, Hist. 2. 80 (Syrian legions); Ann. 4. 46 (Thracian auxiliaries) (I am grateful to my colleague Professor Brian Campbell for pointing out these passages).

53 AJ 18. 29-30.

54 AJ 20. 119-23; BJ 2. 233-8.

55 Hist. 5. 5.

56 For many aspects of the workings of this group, see Goodman (n. 39).

57 See n. 39 above.

58 In AD 6 Joazar was deposed by Quirinius (AJ 18. 26); in AD 36-7 Joseph Caiaphas by Vitellius (AJ 18. 95).

59 I respectfully disagree with Schürer's assessment (n. 19), I. 377 of Roman treatment of the High Priesthood as ‘respectful of the precedence of certain old-fashioned houses (Phiabi, Boethus, Ananus, Camith)’. The pedigree of the personnel is not in dispute; it is the systematic and expedient appointments that I believe caused a long term problem. See E. M. Smallwood, ‘High Priests and Politics in Roman Palestine’, JThSt 13 (1962), 14 ff.

60 AJ 19. 297 (deposition of Theophilus); 313-16 (deposition of Simon Cantheras). See Schwartz (n. 9), 69-70.

61 AJ 19. 277; 20. 15-16. See Schurer (n.19), II. 231 for his appointments; also Kokkinos, N., The Herodian Dynasty: Origins, role in society and eclipse (Sheffield, 1993), 308-9; 319Google Scholar.

62 For Agrippa's High Priests, see AJ 20. 179 (Ishmael ben Phiabi) and AJ 20. 213-14 (Jesus son of Gamaliel).

63 AJ 20. 190-6.

64 Vitellius: AJ 15. 407; 18. 90-5; Fadus: AJ 20.11-14.

65 quies: Tacitus, Hist. 5. 9; Pilate's stubbornness: Philo, Leg. 301-2. For Pilate's term in Judaea, see Schurer (n. 19), I. 383-7; MacLaren (n. 13), 81-101.

66 Cumanus: BJ 2. 244; AJ 20. 132. Felix: AJ 20. 182. Schürer (n. 19), I. 361 n. 36, thought that both legati were on special commissions. Cf. Tacitus, Hist. 5. 9; Ann. 12. 54.

67 For the census see Millar, F. G. B. and Segal, E. (eds.), Caesar Augustus: Seven Aspects (Oxford, 1984), 43-4Google Scholar; also Brunt, P. A. and Moore, J. M. (eds.), Res gestae divi Augusti: the achievements of the divine Augustus (Oxford, 1967), 70 on 26. 2Google Scholar. On Cappadocia and the census (the ‘natio Cietae’) Tacitus, Ann. 6. 41.

68 AJ 18. 89.

69 BJ 2. 185-203; AJ 18. 261-309; Philo, Legatio 207; Tac, Hist. 5. 9.

70 AJ 19. 300-11. See Millar (n. 3), 61.

71 Fortifications: BJ 2. 218-22; AJ 19. 326-7. Conference of oriental kings: AJ 19. 338-42.

72 4720. 6-14; cf 15. 403-8. See Schürer (n. 19), I. 455-6.

73 BJ 2. 232-46; AJ 20. 118-36.

74 Ann. 12. 54 (translation from The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by M. Grant, Penguin Classics 1956, sixth revised edition 1989. Copyright Michael Grant Publications Ltd, 1956, 1959, 1971, 1989). See Schürer (n. 19), I. 459 n. 15; E. M. Smallwood, ‘Some Comments on Tacitus Annates xii, 54’, Latomus 18 (1959), 560 ff.

75 BJ 2. 280-2; 333-5; 499-512; 513-55.

76 AJ 18. 2; Annales 12. 23.

77 See Schürer (n. 19), I, 357-60; Smallwood (n. 2), 145. Cf. J. Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Timeof Jesus (London, 1969), 4: ‘Geographically, culturally and politically the province of Judaea belonged to the province of Syria.’

78 Philo, Leg. 303 (translated by Smallwood).

79 Acts 9. 2.

80 Acts 25. 3

81 AJ 20. 200.

82 Acts 21. 17-27. 1.

83 AJ 20. 201-3.

84 Felix: AJ 20. 161-4 (though not directly implicated by BJ 2. 254-7); Albinus: AJ 20. 208-10; BJ 2. 272-6; Florus: BJ 2. 277-9; AJ 20. 252-7: quotation from 255.

85 AJ 20. 215, causing the countryside to be filled with ‘brigands’.

86 BJ 2. 232: ‘on this the Jews withdrew.’

87 BJ 2. 232-46; AJ 20. 118-36.

88 See Gray, Rebecca, Prophetic Figures in Late Second Temple Jewish Palestine. The Evidence from Josephus (Oxford, 1993)Google Scholar; Smith, M., ‘The Occult in Josephus’, in Feldman, L., Hata, G. (eds.), Josephus, Judaism and Christianity (Leiden, 1987), 236 ff.Google Scholar

89 AJ 20. 97-8: possibly the ‘Theudas’ of Acts 5. 36, but the latter is seemingly chronologically confused.

90 BJ 2. 261-3; AJ 20. 169-71. Paul: Acts 21. 38.

91 See now especially Rajak, T, ‘Jewish Millenarian Expectations’, in Berlin, A. M., Overman, J. A. (eds.), The First Jewish Revolt: Archaeology, history and ideology (London, 2002), 164 ff.Google Scholar

92 AJ 20.124; BJ 2. 238.

93 BJ 2. 256.

94 BJ 5. 6. Criticism: BJ 4.128-34. See Stern, M., ‘Sicarii and Zealots’, in Avi-Yonah, M., Baras, Z. (eds.), World History of the Jewish People 1. 8 (London, 1977), 263 ffGoogle Scholar., here, p. 297.

95 BJ 2. 444.

96 BJ 2. 562.

97 BJ 4.147-61, and specifically 155 (translated by Williamson); AJ. 20. 227. See Price, J. J., Jerusalem under Siege (Leiden, 1991)Google Scholar, 86 n.6 for further references.

98 BJ 3. 307-15.

99 As Morton Smith puts it (n. 7), 538: ‘The hundreds of thousands of fighting men with whom Josephus populates Jerusalem apparently did nothing to field an army that could effectively interfere with the enemy's movements around the outskirts of Judaea.’

100 BJ 6. 429 (translated by Williamson). Cf. Isaac, B., The Limits of Empire. The Roman Army in the East (Oxford, 1990), 77 Google Scholar: ‘it is undoubtedly true that Jewish resistance to Roman rule was sui generis in its motives and fierceness. It cannot be said that signs of unrest may be taken as indicative of the state of affairs in other provinces.’

101 BJ 3. 64-9.

102 Devastation of the countryside: BJ 4. 443; 446; 448. The influx of refugees and combatants info Jerusalem (with implications for food supplies and crime): BJ 4. 135-42. For the pre-meditated strategy, see Smith (n. 7), 548.

103 BJ 5. 450-1.

104 Titus’ alleged respect for the Temple: BJ 6. 241. A different and non-Josephan tradition is preserved in Sulpicius Severus, Chron. 2. 30 that Titus’ friends urged him unsuccessfully to spare the Temple. For fuller discussion, see M. Stern, Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism, vol. 2 (Jerusalem, 1980), no. 282; Smith (n. 7), 563 n. 68, dismisses the Sulpicius passage. See also Alon, G., ‘The Burning of the Temple’, in Alon, G., Jews, Judaism and the Classical World (Jerusalem, 1977), 252 ffGoogle Scholar. Cf. the closure of the temple at Leontopolis: BJ 7. 420-36.

103 BJ 6. 257; 262-3 (translated by Williamson). For a desecrating sacrifice made before the legionary standards in the Temple, see BJ 6. 316.

106 Schürer (n. 19), I. 367. See Millar (n. 3), 107, and note an apparently Vespasianic classic Syriaca: Isaac (n. 100), 35.

107 BJ 2. 181; AJ 18. 237 with Millar (n. 3), 52. Cf. Luke 3. 1 with Schurer (n. 19), I. 569-71, for the tetrarchy of Lysanias, located apparently on Anti-Lebanon, straddling the road between Damascus and the Bekaa. See also Kokkinos (n. 61), 279-80 and Schwartz, D. R., Agrippa I: the last king of Judaea (Tubingen, 1990), 55, 58-62.Google Scholar

108 The phrase ‘in principle’ is Millar's: (n. 3), 57. The honorary rank of praetor: Philo, In Place. 6 (40). See Kokkinos (n. 61), 288-9 and n. 74 on p. 285.

109 AJ 18. 252; BJ 2. 183 with Kokkinos (n. 61), 280-5. Cf. Schwartz (n. 107), 63-5. See Schürer's views at (n. 19), I. 352 n. 42.

110 Panegyric: AJ 19. 274. Cf. Dio 60. 8. 2 (conferment of consular rank). See Kokkinos (n. 61), 289-90.

111 Philo, In Flacc. 5 (29-35).

112 AJ 19. 360-3. See Kokkinos (n. 61), 318.

113 See Millar (n. 3), 62.

114 AJ 20. 15-16. See Millar (n. 3), 63; Kokkinos (n. 61), 318-19.

115 AJ 20. 138; BJ 2. 247. See Schürer (n. 19), I. 472. The tetrarchy of ‘Varus’ apparently in Ituraea: Kokkinos (n. 61), 320.

116 BJ 2. 252; AJ 20. 159. See Schürer (n. 19), I. 473; Kokkinos (n. 61), 322.