SOI 
J E W. 
-r.cve inclinable to furrender; but a feditious Jew of that' 
town, named John, the fon of Levi, head of the faftion, 
oppofed it ■, and, having the mob on his fide, overawed 
the whole city. On the fabbath he begged of Titus to 
forbear hoftilities till to-morrow, and then he would ac¬ 
cept his offer ; but, inftead of that, he fled to Jerufalem 
with as many as would follow him. The Romans, as foon 
as"they were informed of his flight; purfned, and killed 
6000 of his followers on the road, and brought back near 
3000 women and children prifoners. The inhabitants 
then furrendered to Titus, and only the factious were pu¬ 
nched ; and this completed the reduction of Galilee. 
The Jewifli nation by this time was divided into two 
•very oppofite parties; the one, forefeeing that this war, if 
continued, muft end in the total ruin of their country, 
were for putting an end to it by fubmitting to the Ro¬ 
mans; the other, which was the remains of the faction of 
Judas Gaulonitis, breathed nothing but war and confufion, 
and oppofed all peaceable meafures with invincible obfti- 
nacv. This laft, which was by far the mod numerous 
and powerful, confided of metl of the-vileft and mod pro¬ 
fligate characters that can-be paralleled in hidory. They 
■were proud, ambitious, cruel, rapacious, and committed 
the mod horrid and unnatural crimes under the mafk of 
religion. They affirmed every where, that it was offering 
the great eft cfilhonour to God to fubmit to any earthly 
potentate; much lets to Romans and to heathens. This, 
they faidy was the only motive that induced them to take 
up arms, and to bind themfelves under the drifted obli¬ 
gations not to lay them down till they had either totally 
extirpated all foreign authority, orperifhed in the attempt. 
■This' dreadful diffenfipn was not confined tcf Jerufalem, 
but had infefted all the cities, towns, and villages, of Pa- 
ledine. Even houfes and families were fo divided againft 
each other, that, as aur Saviour had exprefsly foretold, a 
man’s'greated enemies were often thole of his own family 
and houfehold. In fhort, if we may believe Jofephus, 
the zealots acted more like incarnate devils than like men 
who had any fenl'e of humanity left-them. This obliged 
the contrary party likewife to rife up in arms in their own 
defence againd thofe mifereants ; from whom, however, 
they fuffered much more than they did even from the ex- 
afperated Romans. 
The zealots began their outrages by murdering all tliat 
oppofed them in the countries round about. Then they 
•entered Jerufalem; but met with a ftout oppofition from 
the other party headed by Ananus, w-ho had lately been 
high-pried. A fierce engagement enfued between them ; 
and the zealots were driven into the inner cinfture of the 
temple, where they u’ere clofely befieged. John of Gif- 
chala above-mentioned, who had pretended to fide with 
the peaceable party, was then fent with terms of accom¬ 
modation ; but, inftead of adviiing the befieged to accept 
of them, he perfuaded them dill to hold out, and call the 
Idumeans to their‘affiftance. They did fo, and procured 
.20,000 of them to come to their relief; but thefe new al¬ 
lies were refuted admittance into the city. On that night, 
however, there happened fuch a violent dorm, accompa¬ 
nied with thunder, lightning, and an earthquake, that 
the zealots from within the inner court fhwed the bolts 
and hinges of the temple-gates without being heard, forced, 
the guards of the befiegers, tallied into the citjq and led 
in the Idumeans. The city was indantly filled with 
butcheries of the mod horrid kind. Barely to put any of 
the oppofite party to death was thought too mild a pu- 
niihment; they mud have the pleafure of murdering them 
by inches ; fo that they made it now their diverfion to 
put them to the mod exquifite tortures that could be in¬ 
vented; nor could they be _ prevailed upon to difpatch 
them till the violence of their torments had rendered 
them quite incapable of feeling. In this manner perifhed 
32,000 perfons of noble extraftion, and in the flower of 
their age; till at lad the Idumeans complained fo much 
.againd the putting fuch numbers to death, that the zea¬ 
lots thought proper to ereft: a kind of tribunal, which, 
Vol.X, No. 718. , 
however, was intended not for judgment, but condemna¬ 
tion; for, the judges having once acquitted a perfon who 
was manifedly innocent, the zealots npt only murdered 
him in the temple, but denofed the newly-created judges 
as perfons unfit for their ofljee. 
The zealots, after having exterminated all th'ofe of any 
charafter or diftinftion, began next to wreak their ven¬ 
geance on the common people. This obliged many of the 
Jews to forfake Jerufalem, and take refuge with the Ro¬ 
mans, though the attempt was very hazardous; for the 
zealots had all the avenues well guarded, and failed not 
to put to death fuch as fell into their hands. Vefpafirm 
in the mean time daid at Ctefarea an idle fpeftator of their 
outrages; well knowing that the zealots were fighting for 
him, and that the drength of the Jewifli nation was gra¬ 
dually wading away. Everything fucceeded to his with. 
The zealots, after having maffacred or driven away the' 
oppofite party, turned their arms againd each other. A 
party was formed againd John, under one Simon, who had 
his head-quarters at the fortrefs of Maffada. This new 
mifereant plundered, burned, and maffacred, wherever lie 
came, carrying the fpoil into the fortrefs above-mentioned- 
To increafe his party, he caufed a proclamation to be 
published, by which he promifed liberty to the flaves; and 
proportionable encouragement to the freemen who joined 
him. This dratagem had the defired*effeft, and he foon 
faw himfelf at the head of a confiderable -army. Not 
thinking himfelf, however, as yet maderof force fufficient 
to befiege Jerufalem, he invaded Idumea with 20,060 men. 
The Idumeans oppofed him with 25,000; and a fharp en¬ 
gagement enfued, in which neither party was victorious. 
But Simon, foon after, having corrupted the rdumeau 
general, got their army delivered up to him. By this 
means he eafily became mader of the country; where lie 
committed fuch cruelties, that the miferable inhabitants 
abandoned it to feek for flielter in Jerufalem. 
In the city, matters went in the dune way. John ty¬ 
rannized in fuch a manner, that the Idumeans revolted* 
killed a great number of his men, plundered his palace, 
and forced him to retire into the temple. In the mean, 
time the people, expefting that he would fallv out in the 
night and fet fire to the city, called a council, in which 
it was refolved to admit Simon with his troops, in order 
to oppofe John and his zealots. Simon’s fird attempt 
againd his rival, however, was ineffeftual, and he was 
obliged to content himfelf with befiegihg the zealots in 
the temple. In the mean time the miferies of the city 
were increafed by the darting up of a third party, headed 
by one Eleazar, who feized on the court of the prieds, 
and kept John confined within that of the Ifraelites. 
Eleazar kept the avenues fo well guarded, that none were 
admitted to come into that part of the temple but thofe 
who came thither to offer facrifices ; and it was by thefe 
.offerings chiefly that he maintained himfelf and his men. 
John by this means found himfelf hemmed in between two 
powerful enemies, Simon below, and Eleazar above. He 
defended himfelf, however, againft them both with great 
refolution ; and, when the city was invefted by the Ro¬ 
mans, having pretended to come to an agreement with 
his rivals, he found means to cut off or force Eleazar’s 
men to fubmit to Kim, lb that the faftions were again re¬ 
duced to two. 
The Romans, in the year 72, began to advance towards 
the capital. In their way they deltroyed many thoufands, 
wafting the country as they went along; and in the year 
73 arrived before the walls of Jerulalem, under Titus, af¬ 
terwards emperor. As he was a man of an exceedingly 
merciful difpofition, and greatly defired to fpare the city, 
he immediately fent offers of peace; but thefe were re- 
jefted with contempt, and he himfelf put-in great danger 
of his life, fo that he refolved to begin the fiege in form. 
In the mean time, Simon and John renewed their hofti¬ 
lities with greater fury than ever. John now held the 
whole temple, forne of the out-part's of if, and the-valley 
of Cedron. Simon had the whole city to range in; iri 
