02.06.2019 Views

From the Taking of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes to the Death of Herod the Great - Flavius Josephus

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

as <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r cities, Sebaste and Agrippias, had <strong>the</strong>ir names changed, and<br />

<strong>the</strong>se given <strong>the</strong>m from Sebastus and Agrippa. But Alexandra died before she<br />

could punish Aris<strong>to</strong>bulus for his disinheriting his bro<strong>the</strong>r, after she had<br />

reigned nine years.<br />

Footnotes:<br />

1. Mat<strong>the</strong>w 16:19; 18:18. Here we have <strong>the</strong> oldest and most au<strong>the</strong>ntic<br />

Jewish exposition <strong>of</strong> binding and loosing, for punishing or absolving<br />

men, not for declaring actions lawful or unlawful, as some more modern<br />

Jews and Christians vainly pretend.<br />

2. Strabo, B. XVI. p. 740, relates, that this Selene Cleopatra was besieged<br />

<strong>by</strong> Tigranes, not in P<strong>to</strong>lemais, as here, but after she had left Syria, in<br />

Seleucia, a citadel in Mesopotamia; and adds, that when he had kept her<br />

a while in prison, he put her <strong>to</strong> death. Dean Aldrich supposes here that<br />

Strabo contradicts <strong>Josephus</strong>, which does not appear <strong>to</strong> me; for although<br />

<strong>Josephus</strong> says both here and in <strong>the</strong> Antiquities, B. XIII. ch. 16. sect. 4,<br />

that Tigranes besieged her now in P<strong>to</strong>lemais, and that he <strong>to</strong>ok <strong>the</strong> city, as<br />

<strong>the</strong> Antiquities inform us, yet does he no where intimate that he now<br />

<strong>to</strong>ok <strong>the</strong> queen herself; so that both <strong>the</strong> narrations <strong>of</strong> Strabo and<br />

<strong>Josephus</strong> may still be true notwithstanding.<br />

20

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!