In Antiquities, Josephus recounts the actions of Pilate, and mentions Jesus.
In The Jewish War, Josephus recounts the same actions of Pilate, with no mention of Jesus.
Josephus, Antiquities, Book 18 chapter 3
1. But now Pilate, the procurator of
Judea, removed the army from Cesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter
quarters there, in order to abolish the Jewish laws. So he introduced Caesar's
effigies, which were upon the ensigns, and brought them into the city; whereas
our law forbids us the very making of images; on which account the former
procurators were wont to make their entry into the city with such ensigns as
had not those ornaments. Pilate was the first who brought those images to
Jerusalem, and set them up there; which was done without the knowledge of the
people, because it was done in the night time; but as soon as they knew it,
they came in multitudes to Cesarea, and interceded with Pilate many days that
he would remove the images; and when he would not grant their requests, because
it would tend to the injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their
request, on the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons
privately, while he came and sat upon his judgment-seat, which seat was so
prepared in the open place of the city, that it concealed the army that lay
ready to oppress them; and when the Jews petitioned him again, he gave a signal
to the soldiers to encompass them routed, and threatened that their punishment
should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing
him, and go their ways home. But they threw themselves upon the ground, and
laid their necks bare, and said they would take their death very willingly,
rather than the wisdom of their laws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate
was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable,
and presently commanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to
Cesarea.
2. But Pilate
undertook to bring a current of water to Jerusalem, and did it with the sacred
money, and derived the origin of the stream from the distance of two hundred
furlongs. However, the Jews were not pleased with what had been done about this
water; and many ten thousands of the people got together, and made a clamor
against him, and insisted that he should leave off that design. Some of them
also used reproaches, and abused the man, as crowds of such people usually do.
So he habited a great number of his soldiers in their habit, who carried
daggers under their garments, and sent them to a place where they might
surround them. So he bid the Jews himself go away; but they boldly casting
reproaches upon him, he gave the soldiers that signal which had been beforehand
agreed on; who laid upon them much greater blows than Pilate had commanded
them, and equally punished those that were tumultuous, and those that were not;
nor did they spare them in the least: and since the people were unarmed, and
were caught by men prepared for what they were about, there were a great number
of them slain by this means, and others of them ran away wounded. And thus an
end was put to this sedition.
3. Now there
was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a
man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the
truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the
Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the
principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him
at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third
day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful
things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not
extinct at this day…
5. There was a
man who was a Jew, but had been driven away from his own country by an
accusation laid against him for transgressing their laws, and by the fear he
was under of punishment for the same; but in all respects a wicked man. He,
then living at Rome, professed to instruct men in the wisdom of the laws of
Moses. He procured also three other men, entirely of the same character with
himself, to be his partners. These men persuaded Fulvia, a woman of great
dignity, and one that had embraced the Jewish religion, to send purple and gold
to the temple at Jerusalem; and when they had gotten them, they employed them
for their own uses, and spent the money themselves, on which account it was
that they at first required it of her. Whereupon Tiberius, who had been
informed of the thing by Saturninus, the husband of Fulvia, who desired inquiry
might be made about it, ordered all the Jews to be banished out of Rome; at
which time the consuls listed four thousand men out of them, and sent them to
the island Sardinia; but punished a greater number of them, who were unwilling
to become soldiers, on account of keeping the laws of their forefathers. Thus
were these Jews banished out of the city by the wickedness of four men.
Josephus on
Pilate: no Jesus.
The Jewish War, Book
2, Ch. 9
2. Now Pilate,
who was sent as procurator into Judea by Tiberius, sent by night those images
of Caesar that are called ensigns into Jerusalem. This excited a very among
great tumult among the Jews when it was day; for those that were near them were
astonished at the sight of them, as indications that their laws were trodden
under foot; for those laws do not permit any sort of image to be brought into
the city. Nay, besides the indignation which the citizens had themselves at
this procedure, a vast number of people came running out of the country. These
came zealously to Pilate to Cesarea, and besought him to carry those ensigns
out of Jerusalem, and to preserve them their ancient laws inviolable; but upon
Pilate's denial of their request, they fell down prostrate upon the ground, and
continued immovable in that posture for five days and as many nights.
3. On the next
day Pilate sat upon his tribunal, in the open market-place, and called to him the
multitude, as desirous to give them an answer; and then gave a signal to the
soldiers, that they should all by agreement at once encompass the Jews with
their weapons; so the band of soldiers stood round about the Jews in three
ranks. The Jews were under the utmost consternation at that unexpected sight.
Pilate also said to them that they should be cut in pieces, unless they would
admit of Caesar's images, and gave intimation to the soldiers to draw their
naked swords. Hereupon the Jews, as it were at one signal, fell down in vast
numbers together, and exposed their necks bare, and cried out that they were
sooner ready to be slain, than that their law should be transgressed. Hereupon
Pilate was greatly surprised at their prodigious superstition, and gave order
that the ensigns should be presently carried out of Jerusalem.
4. After this
he raised another disturbance, by expending that sacred treasure which is
called Corban upon aqueducts, whereby he brought water from the distance of
four hundred furlongs. At this the multitude had indignation; and when Pilate
was come to Jerusalem, they came about his tribunal, and made a clamor at it.
Now when he was apprized aforehand of this disturbance, he mixed his own
soldiers in their armor with the multitude, and ordered them to conceal
themselves under the habits of private men, and not indeed to use their swords,
but with their staves to beat those that made the clamor. He then gave the
signal from his tribunal [to do as he had bidden them]. Now the Jews were so sadly
beaten, that many of them perished by the stripes they received, and many of
them perished as trodden to death by themselves; by which means the multitude
was astonished at the calamity of those that were slain, and held their peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.