Josephus
Dear Josephus,
I did not know you were considered a traitor by the Jewish people. I learned on a field trip the other day that you were one of the leaders of the Jewish Revolt in 67AD. This is the revolt that lead to the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and is commemorated on the Arch of Titus in Rome and you wrote about it in your book. I had assumed that you were like Herodotus, just a historian observing on the sidelines. But no, you were a leader of the revolt and were responsible for defending sections of Galilee.
You did defend the Galilee and apparently fortified it extensively. Then the Romans came and besieged you in the fortress of Jotapata, built during the Maccabean Revolt. All that I was able to see of the fortress of your last stand were some pretty cool caves and cisterns. As I understand it, you and your men realized that you could not win and that the Romans were going to utterly destroy Jotapata (which they did because the fortress is gone and Yodfat hill is all that is left). What I understand is that you and your men (about 60 of them I think) agreed to commit suicide rather than be captured.
This was regular practice for Jews during the revolt, I think. The process you all decided on was to have 10 men kill the other 50 and then the 10 would cast lots to figure out who would kill whom. You ended up being the last person left. I cannot imagine how horrific that experience must have been, to kill your friends with the enemy outside your walls. Why did you then decided to not commit suicide yourself? You must have been exhausted from the killing. Your failure to kill yourself after assisting all your friends in their suicides looks like cowardice…This is a pagan view, as a follower of Christ (who I know you know of) I cannot condone suicide ever. But you didn’t just not commit suicide, you then went over to the Romans.
Somehow, you knew or guessed that Vespasian was going to be emperor. So you went and told him so. Thus, you saved your own life and gave up the revolt. But you recorded it and is it correct that you even acted as a translator for Titus at the Siege of Jerusalem? Moreover, you Latinized your name and added Titus Flavius to it after the emperor’s own name. It is no wonder the Jews consider you a traitor.At the same time though, we would know much less about the history and events of your time if you had not preserved your life or taken the time to write them down. So thank you for doing that.
I’m sure you went to Zippori at some point since it was another scene during the Jewish Revolt, though, I’m not certain you would have seen the mosaics that are there now. Many of them are pagan or were done after you had died.
There are some beautiful mosaics from a synagogue. I didn’t know Jews did mosaics. The menorahs depicted are interesting because they look so different from the one on the arch of Titus. These show the plant like design of the original menorah. Also, the temple’s façade is designed to look like the beautiful covers given to the Torah scrolls kept in synagogues. So, that is very interesting.
Also, Josephus, as a Roman Jew, what do you think of the mosaic above? It is the center piece of a calendar in the middle of the synagogue. The calendar shows the signs of the zodiac with the corresponding month written in Hebrew. But this centerpiece shows the chariot of Helios. Personally, I think the horses look like camels, but that’s not the point. Is it odd that the Jews would put symbols of the Greek sun-god in their synagogue? They don’t actually depict him. Instead, they just put the sun. They also put the moon, which is unusual. Anyway, I thought that was odd.
Below are mosaics from a Roman dining room. You might actually have eaten in similar rooms. Do you recognize the lay out? Since the Romans “reclined at table” (meaning, they lay on couches while they ate), they left the three spots on the left blank because those mosaics would have been covered by the couches.
Did you ever go to Egypt, Josephus? I have to confess, important as your books are, I haven’t read them.
Josephus, I wonder if you would recognize Galilee now. The actual topography of the land hasn’t changed too much. Though, I do live in a city that didn’t exist in your day because of all the swamps in the area. They’ve since been drained. The towns and cities are much larger because the population is way larger. The weather is basically the same though. You were part of a revolt. Now, there is still unrest, but no open war going on. The Jews are still here, but the Romans are gone. All that is left are these mosaics (well, there is other stuff too, but in Zippori there are only mosaics and the ancient tick-tack-toe game carved on a paving stone).
One of these days, Josephus, I will read your books and try to figure out why you did what you did. But in the mean time,
Rest in Peace!
Debora Sebastian
