Judeans as the Romans saw them: Claudius via Josephus

From Josephus’ The Antiquities of the Jews vol XIX

Chapter 5:2-3

Now about this time there was a sedition between the Jews and the Greeks, at the city of Alexandria; for when Caius was dead, the nation of the Jews, which had been very much mortified under the reign of Caius, and reduced to very great distress by the people of Alexandria, recovered itself, and immediately took up their arms to fight for themselves. So Claudius sent an order to the president of Egypt to quiet that tumult; he also sent an edict, at the requests of king Agrippa and king Herod, both to Alexandria and to Syria, whose contents were as follows: "Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, high priest, and tribune of the people, ordains thus: Since I am assured that the Jews of Alexandria, called Alexandrians, have been joint inhabitants in the earliest times with the Alexandrians, and have obtained from their kings equal privileges with them, as is evident by the public records that are in their possession, and the edicts themselves; and that after Alexandria had been subjected to our empire by Augustus, their rights and privileges have been preserved by those presidents who have at divers times been sent thither; and that no dispute had been raised about those rights and privileges, even when Aquila was governor of Alexandria; and that when the Jewish ethnarch was dead, Augustus did not prohibit the making such ethnarchs, as willing that all men should be so subject [to the Romans] as to continue in the observation of their own customs, and not be forced to transgress the ancient rules of their own country religion; but that, in the time of Caius, the Alexandrians became insolent towards the Jews that were among them, which Caius, out of his great madness and want of understanding, reduced the nation of the Jews very low, because they would not transgress the religious worship of their country, and call him a god: I will therefore that the nation of the Jews be not deprived of their rights and privileges, on account of the madness of Caius; but that those rights and privileges which they formerly enjoyed be preserved to them, and that they may continue in their own customs. And I charge both parties to take very great care that no troubles may arise after the promulgation of this edict." 

3. And such were the contents of this edict on behalf of the Jews that was sent to Alexandria. But the edict that was sent into the other parts of the habitable earth was this which follows: "Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, high priest, tribune of the people, chosen consul the second time, ordains thus: Upon the petition of king Agrippa and king Herod, who are persons very dear to me, that I would grant the same rights and privileges should be preserved to the Jews which are in all the Roman empire, which I have granted to those of Alexandria, I very willingly comply therewith; and this grant I make not only for the sake of the petitioners, but as judging those Jews for whom I have been petitioned worthy of such a favor, on account of their fidelity and friendship to the Romans. I think it also very just that no Grecian city should be deprived of such rights and privileges, since they were preserved to them under the great Augustus. It will therefore be fit to permit the Jews, who are in all the world under us, to keep their ancient customs without being hindered so to do. And I do charge them also to use this my kindness to them with moderation, and not to show a contempt of the superstitious observances of other nations, but to keep their own laws only. And I will that this decree of mine be engraven on tables by the magistrates of the cities, and colonies, and municipal places, both those within Italy and those without it, both kings and governors, by the means of the ambassadors, and to have them exposed to the public for full thirty days, in such a place whence it may plainly be read from the ground."

Chapter 6:1-4

And when Agrippa had entirely finished all the duties of the Divine worship, he removed Theophilus, the son of Ananus, from the high priesthood, and bestowed that honor of his on Simon the son of Boethus, whose name was also Cantheras whose daughter king Herod married, as I have related above. Simon, therefore, had the [high] priesthood with his brethren, and with his father, in like manner as the sons of Simon, the son of Onias, who were three, had it formerly under the government of the Macedonians, as we have related in a former book. 

2. And when Agrippa had entirely finished all the duties of the Divine worship, he removed Theophilus, the son of Ananus, from the high priesthood, and bestowed that honor of his on Simon the son of Boethus, whose name was also Cantheras whose daughter king Herod married, as I have related above. Simon, therefore, had the [high] priesthood with his brethren, and with his father, in like manner as the sons of Simon, the son of Onias, who were three, had it formerly under the government of the Macedonians, as we have related in a former book.

3. When the king had settled the high priesthood after this manner, he returned the kindness which the inhabitants of Jerusalem had showed him; for he released them from the tax upon houses, every one of which paid it before, thinking it a good thing to requite the tender affection of those that loved him. He also made Silas the general of his forces, as a man who had partaken with him in many of his troubles. But after a very little while the young men of Doris, preferring a rash attempt before piety, and being naturally bold and insolent, carried a statue of Caesar into a synagogue of the Jews, and erected it there. This procedure of theirs greatly provoked Agrippa; for it plainly tended to the dissolution of the laws of his country. So he came without delay to Publius Petronius, who was then president of Syria, and accused the people of Doris. Nor did he less resent what was done than did Agrippa; for he judged it a piece of impiety to transgress the laws that regulate the actions of men. So he wrote the following letter to the people of Doris in an angry strain: "Publius Petronius, the president under Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, to the magistrates of Doris, ordains as follows: Since some of you have had the boldness, or madness rather, after the edict of Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was published, for permitting the Jews to observe the laws of their country, not to obey the same, but have acted in entire opposition thereto, as forbidding the Jews to assemble together in the synagogue, by removing Caesar's statue, and setting it up therein, and thereby have offended not only the Jews, but the emperor himself, whose statue is more commodiously placed in his own temple than in a foreign one, where is the place of assembling together; while it is but a part of natural justice, that every one should have the power over the place belonging peculiarly to themselves, according to the determination of Caesar,—to say nothing of my own determination, which it would be ridiculous to mention after the emperor's edict, which gives the Jews leave to make use of their own customs, as also gives order that they enjoy equally the rights of citizens with the Greeks themselves,—I therefore ordain that Proculus Vitellius, the centurion, bring those men to me, who, contrary to Augustus's edict, have been so insolent as to do this thing, at which those very men, who appear to be of principal reputation among them, have an indignation also, and allege for themselves, 'that it was not done with their consent, but by the violence of the multitude, that they may give an account of what hath been done. I also exhort the principal magistrates among them, unless they have a mind to have this action esteemed to be done with their consent, to inform the centurion of those that were guilty of it, and take care that no handle be hence taken for raising a sedition or quarrel among them; which those seem to me to treat after who encourage such doings; while both I myself, and king Agrippa, for whom I have the highest honor, have nothing more under our care, than that the nation of the Jews may have no occasion given them of getting together, under the pretense of avenging themselves, and become tumultuous. And that it may be more publicly known what Augustus hath resolved about this whole matter, I have subjoined those edicts which he hath lately caused to be published at Alexandria, and which, although they may be well known to all, yet did king Agrippa, for whom I have the highest honor, read them at that time before my tribunal, and pleaded that the Jews ought not to be deprived of those rights which Augustus hath granted them. I therefore charge you, that you do not, for the time to come, seek for any occasion of sedition or disturbance, but that every one be allowed to follow their own religious customs." 

4. Thus did Petronius take care of this matter, that such a breach of the law might be corrected, and that no such thing might be attempted afterwards against the Jews.

Judeans as the Romans saw them: Suetonius

Suetonius, who, as we have noted, was Hadrian’s secretary, has surprisingly few things to say about Judeans.  The first brief mention we find is at Julius Caesar’s funeral (Julius. 84):

Thereupon the musicians and professional mourners, who had walked in the funeral train wearing the robes that he had himself worn at his four triumphs, tore these in pieces and flung them on the flames – to which veterans who had assisted at his triumphs added the arms that they had then borne. Many women in the audience sacrificed their jewelry together with their children’s breast-plaques and robes. Public grief was enhanced by crowds of foreigners lamenting in their own fashion, especially Jews, who came flocking to the forum several nights in succession.

The next is during Tiberius’ reign (Tiberius. 36):

He abolished foreign cults at Rome, particularly the Egyptian and Jewish, forcing all citizens who had embraced their superstitious faiths to burn their religious vestments and other accessories. Jews of military age were removed to unhealthy regions, on the pretext of drafting them into the army; the others of the same race or of similar beliefs were expelled from the city and threatened with slavery if they defied the order. Tiberius also banished all astrologers except such as asked for his forgiveness and undertook to make no more predictions.

And the final reference is during Claudius’ reign (Claudius 25):

It now became illegal for foreigners to adopt the names of Roman families, and any who usurped the rights of Roman citizens were executed in the Esquiline Field…Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from the city.

We have already noted the bizarreness that “Chrestus” and his followers seem to have appeared in Rome before any reference to their existence in that part of the world is documented in The Acts of the Apostles.   The only possible explanation for this is that this is an insertion from a later date.

Judeans as the Romans saw them: Tacitus

Sulpicius Severus (Christian historian ca 363-425 CE) quotes (and possibly redacts) Tacitus in a description of Titus’ destruction of the Temple in the Jewish War of 66-73CE:

From Sulpicius’ Chronica II, 30:3,6-7:

Meanwhile the Jews, hemmed in by the siege, since no opportunity for peace or surrender had been given, at last perished of hunger, and everywhere the roads began to be filled with corpses, so that the duty of burying them could not be performed…It is said that Titus summoned his council, and before taking action consulted it whether he should overthrow a sanctuary of such workmanship, since it seemed to many that a sacred building, one more remarkable than any other human work, should not be destroyed.  For if preserved it would testify to the moderation of the Romans, while if demolished, it would be a perpetual sign of cruelty.  On the other hand, others, and Titus himself, expressed their opinion that the Temple should be destroyed without delay, in order that the religion of the Jews and Christians should be more completely exterminated.  For those religions, though opposed to one another, derive from the same founders; the Christians stemmed from the Jews and the extirpation of the root would easily cause the offspring to perish.

Sulpicius Severus claims that Christianity and Judaism had “the same founders,” and immediately qualifies that statement by saying that Christianity “stemmed from the Jews.”  Christians, when the Temple was in use, were not participants in Temple service due to the lack of surgery required in order to be admitted into Temple worship. As such, destruction of the Temple would not automatically mean that the Christian religion would be destroyed.  It is evident that at the time Sulpicius quoted (and redacted) Tacitus, the Church had already established its version of the historical trajectory claiming the proto-Christian community as an off-shoot of the Judeans.We should remember that Tacitus' reference to "Christus" identifies Christians as deriving from him, rather than from Jews, in Annals 15:44: 

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.

            It would appear that not only was Tacitus redacted, but that he was redacted more than once, by “historians” who were not careful to make sure their insertions were consistent with each other.

From Tacitus Annals, II 42:5:

About the same time, the death of two kings, Antiochus of Commagene and Philopator of Cicilia, disturbed the peace of their countries, where the majority of men desired a Roman governor and the minority a monarch.  The provinces, too, of Syria and Judea, exhausted by their burdens, were pressing for a diminution of the tribute.

From Annals, II 85:4:

Another debate dealt with the proscription of the Egyptian and Jewish rites, and a senatorial edict directed that four thousand descendants of enfranchised slaves, tainted with that superstition and suitable in point of age, were to be shipped to Sardinia and there employed in suppressing brigandage:  “If they succumbed to the pestilential climate, it was a cheap loss.”  The rest had orders to leave Italy, unless they had renounced their impious ceremonial by a given date.

From Annals XIII, 23:1

Ituraea and Judea, on the death of their sovereigns, Sohaemus and Agrippa, were attached to the province of Syria.

Philo in history: reading Legatio ad Gaium against Claudius' letter to the Alexandrians

As a scholarly source of information, Philo is suspect for similar reasons as we suspect Josephus.  Both are described by Christian scholars as “Hellenzied Jews,” which is meant to convey the impression that they were assimilated Jews:  Jews who self-identifed as Jews, but who had successfully integrated themselves into the dominant, non-Jewish society.

The problem with that understanding is that it is…wrong.  Josephus had himself adopted into the Flavian family, thereby disowning himself from his Judean patrimony.  Philo we know little of except from fragments that he provides (as with Legatio ad Gaium), and from Josephus, in Antiquities (which should already tell us that Philo is someone whose veracity might be doubtful).

From Josephus, we know that Philo’s brother Alexander held the position of alabarch.  This was apparently a high office that involved supervising the collection of revenues.  Alexander was so wealthy that King Agrippa I often borrowed money from him.  The implication of this is that Philo was a member of a family that was prominent in the Jewish community at Alexandria, and would account for Philo’s inclusion in the embassy to Caligula.  Philo's nephew Tiberius Julius Alexander, Alexander's son, became the Roman procurator in Judea in 46-48 CE, abandoning his religion and patrimony, and played an important role for the Romans in their suppression of the Jewish revolt of 66-70 CE. 

This gives us an idea of the status that the family achieved with respect to Rome, and why Jewish scholars are uninclined to assume Philo’s impartiality regarding his  history and “philosophy.”  It would seem, from his family associations, that his intent in his “philosophy” was less to proselytize Judaism than it was to reassure his Greco-Roman audience that a Judean who was siding with Romans could be trusted.

When reading Legatio ad Gaium, it is worthwhile to reference Philo’s account against Claudius’ letter to the Jews of Alexandria. Legatio is presumed to date around between 37-41 CE (Caligula’s reigh), and Claudius’ letter is dated around 41 CE.

Philo on Gaius Caligula, Pilate and the Judean people: Legatio ad Gaium

In Legatio ad Gaium, Philo recounts the interaction between Gaius Caligula, Pilate and the Judean people. 

I can also tell you of something on which he [Gaius Caligula's grandfather, Tiberius Caesar] prided himself, although I experienced countless sufferings during his lifetime. But you love and respect the truth. Pilate was an official who had been appointed procurator of Judaea. With the intention of annoying the Jews rather than honoring Tiberius, he set up gilded shields in Herod's palace in the Holy City. They bore no figure and nothing else that was forbidden, but only the briefest possible inscription, which stated two things — the name of the dedicator and that of the person in whose honour the dedication was made. But when the Jews at large learnt of his action, which was indeed already widely known, they chose as their spokesmen the king's four sons, who enjoyed prestige and rank equal to that of kings, his other descendants, and their own officials, and besought Pilate to undo his innovation in the shape of the shields, and not to violate their native customs, which had hitherto been invariably preserved inviolate by kings and emperors alike. When Pilate, who was a man of inflexible, stubborn, and cruel disposition, obstinately refused, they shouted, 'Do not cause a revolt! Do not cause a war! Do not break the peace! Disrespect done to our ancient Laws brings no honour to the Emperor. Do not make Tiberius an excuse for insulting our nation. He does not want any of our traditions done away with. If you say that he does, show us some decree or letter or something of the sort, so that we may cease troubling you and appeal to our master by means of an embassy. This last remark exasperated Pilate most of all, for he was afraid that if they really sent an embassy, they would bring accusations against the rest of his administration as well, specifying in detail his venality, his violence, his thefts, his assaults, his abusive behavior, his frequent executions of untried prisoners, and his endless savage ferocity. So, as he was a spiteful and angry person, he was in a serious dilemma; for he had neither the courage to remove what he had once setup, nor the desire to do anything which would please his subjects, but at the same time he was well aware of Tiberius' firmness on these matters.

When the Jewish officials saw this, and realized that Pilate was regretting what he had done, although he did not wish to show it, they wrote a letter to Tiberius, pleading their case as forcibly as they could. What words, what threats Tiberius uttered against Pilate when he read it!

It would be superfluous to describe his anger, although he was not easily moved to anger, since his reaction speaks for itself. For immediately, without even waiting until the next day, he wrote to Pilate, reproaching and rebuking him a thousand times for his new-fangled audacity and telling him to remove the shields at once and have them taken from the capital to the coastal city of Caesarea (the city named Sebaste after your great-grandfather), to be dedicated in the temple of Augustus. This was duly done. In this way both the honour of the Emperor and the traditional policy regarding Jerusalem were alike preserved.

The Jews of Jamnia demolished an altar built by the Greeks resident in that town. The latter complained to Herennius Capito, the procurator of the imperial estate in which Jamnia lay, who reported the matter to Gaius. Gaius decided that, as a punishment for the Jews' action, a colossal gilded statue of himself should be made and erected in the Temple, and he sent orders to Publius Petronius, the legate of Syria, to carry this decision out, with the help of military force if necessary. Petronius sought to forestall the inevitable Jewish opposition by summoning the Jewish leaders to a conference while the statue was being made, for the purpose of informing them of his orders and of advising them to urge the rest of the population not to resist the desecration. His appeal to them was unsuccessful, and when the Jews at large got to know of the scheme, they staged mass demonstrations of protest before Petronius, who by then was in Phoenicia with an army. Their pleas impressed the legate. He wrote to Gaius apologizing for the delay over the dedication of the statue and explaining that this was due partly to the work involved in the construction of the statue and partly to the fact that it was the season of the grain-harvest, which he feared that the Jews might deliberately destroy in their frenzied opposition to the proposed desecration; there would then be danger of a famine, which would be inconvenient when Gaius traveled, as he intended to do in the near future, to Alexandria via the coasts of Syria and Palestine. In a politely worded reply Gaius concealed the irritation which he felt at Petronius' failure to carry out his orders promptly and his presumption in pleading the Jews' cause; he commended his forethought, but told him to expedite the dedication of the statue, as the harvest must by then be in. Not long afterwards, however, Gaius was persuaded by the reasoned arguments presented to him in writing by his friend, Herod Agrippa of Judaea, to rescind his order, and he sent instructions to Petronius to leave the Temple unmolested.

(Smallwood translation)

more of Judeans as the Greeks saw them

Also from Diodorus, 1^st cen BCE:

Οτι περι Δαμασκον της Συριας διατριβοντος Πομπηιου ηκε προς αυτον Αριστοβουλος ο των Ιουδαιων βασιλευς και Υρκανος ο αδελφος αμφισβητουντες περι της βασιλειας.  Οι δε επιφανεστατοι, πλειους οντες των διακοσιων κατηντησαν προς τον αυτοκρατορα, και απεφηναντο τους προγονους εαυτων αφεστηκοτας του ιερου πεπρεσβευκεναι προς την συγκλητον και παρειληφεναι την προστασιαν των Ιουδαιων ελευθερων και αυτονομων ου βασιλεως χρηματιζοντος αλλ αρχειρεως προεστηκοτος του εθνους..  Τουτους δε νυν δυναστευειν καταλελυκοτας τους πατριους νομους και καταδεδουλωσθαι τους πολιτας αδικως´ μισθοφορων γαρ πληθει και αικιαις και πολλοις φονοις ασεβεσι περιπεποιησθαι την βασιλειαν.  Ο δε περι μεν των αμφισβητησεων εις υστερον υπερεβαλετο καιρον, περι δε της παρανομιας των Ιουδαιων και των εις Ρωμαιους αδικηματων πικρως επιτιμησας τοις περι τον Υρκανον αξιους μεν αυτους εφησεν ειναι και μειζονος και πικροτερας επιστροφης.   ομως δε δια την πατπιον επιεικειαν των Ρωμαιων ει απο της νυν πειθωνται συγγνωμης αυτους αξιωσειν.

During Pompey’s stay in Damascus of Syria, Aristobulus the king of the Judeans, and Hyrcanus his brother came to him with their dispute over the kingship.  Likewise the leading men, more than two hundred in number, gathered to address the general and explain that their forefathers, having reevolted from Demetrius, had sent an embassy to the senate and received from them the leadership of the Judeans who were, moreover, to be free and autonomous their ruler being called High Priest, not King.  Now, however, these men were lording it over them, having overthrown the ancient laws and enslaved the citizens in defiance of all justice; For it was by means of a horde of mercenaries and by outrages and countless impious murders that they had established themselves as kings.  Pompey put off until a later occasion the settlement of their rival claims, but as to the lawless behaviour of the Judeans and the wrongs committed against the Romans, he bitterly upbraided the party of Hyrcanus.  They deserved, he said, some graver and harsher visitation;  nevertheless, in the spirit of Rome’s traditional clemency, he could, if they were obedient henceforward, grant them pardon.

Judeans as the Greeks saw them

There is scholarly argument as to the purpose of Aristeas to Philocrates.  One of the more pervasive arguments is that the text was a means of proselytizing Judaism to the Greeks.  This is unlikely.  It is more likely that the text was written pseudonymously (as we have noted) for the purpose of countering pervading beliefs about the Judean people and their praxis.  We have Josephus’ version of Apion’s statements regarding the Greek perception of the Judeans.  We also have Diodorus’ account of when Antiochus invaded Jerusalem.  This gives us an idea of how Greeks perceived Judeans as a people, rather than how they perceived Judean “philosophy” which many of them later attempted to cultivate, and later to usurp.

Diodorus, the Sicilian, 1^st cen BCE. 

Ως Αντιοχος ο βασιλευς, φησιν ρπολιορκει τα Ιεροσολυμα, οι δε Ιουδαιοι μεχρι μεν τινος αντεσχον, εξαναλωθεντων δε των επιτηδειων απαντων ηναγκαοθησαν περι διαλυσεως διαπρεσβευσασθαι. Οι δε πλειους αυτω των φιλων συνεβουλευον κατα κρατος αιρησειν την πολιν και το γενος αρδην ανελειν των Ιουδαιων´μονους γαρ απαντων εθνων ακοινωνητους ειναι της προς αλλο εθνος επιμιξιας και πολεμιους υπολαμβανειν παντας.  Απεδεικνουν δε και τους προγονους αυτων ως ασεβεις και μισουμενους υπο των θεων εξ απασης της Αιγυπτου πεφυγαδευμενους.  Τους γαρ αλφους η λεπρας εχοντας εν τοις σωμασι χαθαρμου χαριν ως εναγεις συναθροισθεντας υπεροριους εκβεβλησθαι´ τους δε εξορισθεντας καταλαβεσθαι μεν τους περι τα Ιεροσολυμα τοπους συστησαμενους δε το των Ιουδαιων εθνος παραδοσιμον ποιησαι  το μισος το προς τους ανθρωπους´ δια τουτο δε και νομιμα παντελως εξελλαγμενα καταδειξαι το μηδενι αλλω εθνει τραπεζης καινωνειν μηδ᾽ευνοειν το παραπαν.  Υπεμνησαν δε  αυτον και περι του προγενομενου μισους τοις προγονοις προς τουτο το εθνος.  Αντιοχος γαρ ο προσαγορευθεις Επριφαης καταπολεμησας τους Ιουδαιους εισηλθεν εις τον αδυτον του θεου σηκον οι νομιμον εισειναι μονον τον ιερεα´ Ευρων δε εν αυτω λιθνον αγαλμα ανδρος βαθυπωγωνος καθημενον επ ονου, μετα χειρας εχον βιβλιον, τουτο μεν υπελαβε Μουσεως ειναι του κτισαντος τα Ιεροσολυμα και συστησαμενου το εθνος προς δε τουτοις νομοθετησαντος τα μισανθρωπα και παρανομα εθη τοις Ιουδαιοις´ Αυτος δε στυγησας την μισανθρωπιαν παντων εθνων εφιλοτιμηθη καταλυσαι τα νομιμα.  Διο τω αγαλματι του κιστου και τω υπαιθρω βωμω του θεου μεγαλην υν θυσας το δε αιμα προσεχεεν αυτοις και τα κρεα σκευασας προσεταξε τω μεν απο τουτων ξωμω τας ιερας αυτων βιβλους και περιεχουσας τα μισοξενα νομιμα καταρραναι τον δε αθανατον λεγομενον παρ´αυτοις λυχνον και καομενον αδιαλειπτως εν τω ναω κατασβεσαι των τε κρεων αναγκασαι προσενεγκασθαι τον αρχειρεα και τους αλλους Ιουδαιους.  Ταυτα δη διεξιοντες οι φιλοι τον Αντιοχον παρεκαλουν μαλιστα μεν αρδην ανελειν το εθνος ει δε μη, καταλυσαι τα νομιμα και συναναγκασαι τας αγωγας μεταθεσθαι.  Ο δε βασιλευς μεγαλοψυχος ων και το ηθος ημερος λαβων ομηρους απελυσε των εγκληματων τους Ιουδαιους φορους τε τους οφειλομενους πραξαμενος και τα τειχη περιελων των Ιεροσολυμων.

Then King Antiochus, says Diodorus, was laying siege to Jerusalem, the Judeans held out for a time, but when all their supplies were exhausted, they found themselves compelled to make overtures for a cessation of hostilities.  Now the majority of his friends advised the king to take the city by storm and to wipe out completely the race of Judeans, since they alone of all nations avoided dealings with any other people and looked upon all men as their enemies.  They pointed out, too, that the ancestors of the Judeans had been driven out of all Egypt as men who were impious and detested by the gods.  For by way of purging the country all persons who had white or leprous marks on their bodies had been assembled and driven across the border, as being under a curse;  the refugees had occupied the territory round about Jerusalem, and having organized the nation of the Judeans had made their hatred of mankind  into a tradition, and on this account had introduced utterly outlandish laws;  not to break bread with any other race, nor to show them any good will at all.  His friends reminded Antiochus also of the enmity that in times past his ancestors had felt for this people.  Antiochus called Ephiphanes, on defeating the Judeans had entered the innermost sanctuary of the god’s temple, where it was lawful for the priest alone to enter.  Finding there a marble statue of a heavily bearded man seated on an ass, with a book in his hands, he supposed it to be an image of Moses, the founder of Jerusalem and organizer of the nation, the man, moreover, who had ordained for the Judeans their misanthropic and lawless customs.  And since Epiphanes was shocked by such hatred directed against all mankind, he had set himself to break down their traditional practices.  Accordingly, he sacrificed before the image of the founder and the open-air altar of the god a great sow and poured its blood over them.  Then, having prepared its flesh, he ordered that their holy books, containing the xenophobic laws, should be sprinkled with the broth of the meat;  that the lamp, which they called undying and which burns continually in the temple, should be extinguished;  and that the high priest and the rest of the Judeans should be compelled to partake of the meat.  Rehearsing all these events, his friends strongly urged Antiochus to make an end of the race completely, or, failing that, to abolish their laws and force them to change their ways.  But the king, being a magnanimous and mild-mannered person, took hostages but dismissed the charges against the Judeans, once he had exacted the tribute that was due and had dismantled the walls of Jerusalem.