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fling themselves upon God's protection, and implore his mercy to them for their deliverance from this danger; and therefore, in order hereto, they made their devout addresses unto him with sacrifices, oblations, and prayers. By which God, being moved to compassion towards them, directed Jaddua, in a vision of the night, to go out and meet the conqueror in his pontifical robes, with the priests attending him in their proper habits, and all the people in white garments. Jaddua, in obedience hereto, the next day went forth in the manner directed, with the priests and people ranged as in a sacred procession, and all habited as the vision commanded, and advanced to a place called Sapha (an eminence without Jerusalem, which commanded a prospect of all the country round, as well as of the city and temple of Jerusalem,) there waited the coming of Alexander, and, on his approach, met him in this pompous and solemn manner. As soon as the king saw the high priest in this manner coming towards him, he was struck with a profound awe at the spectacle, and, hastening forward, bowed down to him, and saluted him with a religious veneration, to the great surprise of all that attended him, especially of the Syrians and Phoenicians, who expected nothing less than that Alexander should have destroyed this people as he had the Tyrians; and they came thither with an eager desire, out of the hatred they had to them, to bear a part in the execution. While all stood amazed at this behaviour, which was so much contrary to their expectations, Parmenio asked the king the reason of it, and how it came to pass, that he, whom all adored, should pay such adoration to the Jewish high priest; to which he answered, that he did not pay that adoration to him, but to that God whose priest he was. For that, when he was at Dio in Macedonia, and there deliberating with himself how he should carry on his war against the Persians, and was in much doubt about the undertaking, this very person, and in this very habit, appeared to him in a dream, and encouraged him to lay aside all thought

e It was so called from the Hebrew Zapha, which signifieth to see as from a watch tower, or any other eminence.

fulness and diffidence about this matter, and pass boldly over into Asia, promising him that God would be his guide in the expedition, and give him the empire of the Persians; and that therefore, on his seeing this person, and knowing him by his habit, as well as by his shape and countenance, that he was the very same that appeared to him at Dio, he assured himself from hence, that he made the present war under the conduct of God, and should certainly, by his assistance, conquer Darius, and overthrow the Persian empire, and succeed in all things concerning it according to his desire; and that therefore, in the person of this his high priest, he paid adoration unto him. Hereon, turning again to Jaddua, he kindly embraced him, and entered Jerusalem with him in a friendly manner, and offered sacrifices to God in the temple; where Jaddua having shewn him the prophecies of Danielf which predicted the overthrow of the Persian empire by a Grecian king, he went from thence with the greater assurance of success in his farther carrying on of the war, not doubting but that he was the person meant by those prophecies. All which particulars rendering him kindly affected to the Jews, he called them together when he was on his departure, and bid them ask what they had to desire of him. Whereon they having petitioned him, that they might enjoy the freedom of their country, laws and religion, and be exempted every seventh year from paying any tribute, because in that year, according to their law, they neither sowed nor reaped, Alexander readily granted them all this request; which brought another very troublesome solicitation upon him.

For he was scarce gone out of Jerusalem, buts he was accosted by the Samaritans, who met him in great pomp and parade, and prayed him, that he would honour also their city and temple with his presence. These are Josephus' words; and they plainly prove,

f That is, what is written in Daniel of the ram and he-goat, (c. viii,) where that he-goat is interpreted to be the king of Grecia, who should conquer the Medes and Persians, (ver. 21,) and also what is written by the same prophet of the said Grecian king, (xi, 3.) For both these prophecies foretold the destruction of the Persian empire by a Grecian king.

g Josephus, ibid.

that the temple which they invited Alexander to must. have been built long before that time, and not by leave from him, while he was at the siege of Tyre, as he elsewhere by mistake relates. For if it had not been built, but by leave from him, while at that siege, the first foundation of it could scarce have been laid by this time. For the siege of Tyre lasted only seven months, and immediately from the taking of it he came to Jerusalem. This same Josephus indeed tells us, that Alexander from Tyre went immediately to Gaza, and did not, till after two months more spent in the taking of that city, come to Jerusalem. But herein he must be again mistaken; for Jerusalem lying in the way from Tyre to Gaza, it is by no means likely, that Alexander should from Tyre go directly to Gaza, then passing by Jerusalem, and afterwards return three or four days march with all his army back again to that city; or that he should at all think it safe to begin the siege of Gaza, while such a city as Jerusalem was left untaken behind him; and moreover, all that write of the life and actions of Alexander, tell us, that, from the taking of Gaza, he went directly into Egypt. And therefore taking it for certain, that his progress was from Tyre to Jerusalem, and from thence to Gaza, I have related it in this order. However, supposing it were otherwise, there would hereby be only two months more added to the seven abovementioned for the building of this temple, the siege of Gaza lasting no longer; and this would not much mend the matter, it being as improbable that such a temple could be built in nine months as in seven. When the Jews refused to obey that summous which Alexander sent them from Tyre to submit to him, these Samaritans readily complied with it, and, to ingratiate themselves the more with him, sent eight thousand of their men to assist him in that siege; and valuing themselves upon this merit, thought they had a much better title to his favour than the Jews, and therefore, finding how well the Jews had fared, thought they might obtain at least the same, if

h Vide Usserii Annales sub Anno Mundi 3673.

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not much greater grants from him; and, in order hereto, made this procession to invite him to their city, and the eight thousand Samaritans that were in Alexander's army joined with them herein. Alexander answered them kindly, telling them, that he was hastening into Egypt, and had not then time to spare; but that when he should come back again, he would comply with their desires as far as his affairs would permit. They then requested of him to be discharged from paying tribute on the seventh year. Hereon Alexander asked them, whether they were Jews? for to them only had he granted this privilege. To this they answered, that they were Hebrews, who, observing the same law the Jews did, neither reaped nor sowed in that year, and he having, for this reason, granted the Jews this immunity, they desired of him, that, having the same plea for it, they might have the same grant also. Alexander, not being then at leisure to make full inquiry into this matter, referred this also to his return, telling them, that then he would fully inform himself as to what they proposed, and would do therein what should be reasonable, and then marched on to Gaza.

On his arrival at that city, he found it strongly garrisoned under one of Darius' eunuchs, named Betis, who, being a very valiant man, and very faithful to his master, defended it to the utmost; and it being the inlet into Egypt, Alexander could not pass thither till he had taken it. This necessitated him to sit down before it; and, notwithstanding that the utmost of military skill, and the utmost of vigour and application, was made use of in the assailing of the place, yet it cost Alexander and all his army two months time before they could master it. The stop which this did put to his intended march into Egypt, and two dangerous wounds which he received in the siege, provoked his anger to that degree, that, on his taking the place, he treated the commander and all else that he found in it with inexcusable cruelty. For having slain ten thousand of the men, he sold all the rest with their

k Josephus, ibid. Plutarch. in Alexandro. Q. Curtius, lib. 4, c. 6. Arrian. lib. 2. Diod. Sic. lib. 17.

wives and children into slavery; and when Betis was brought to him (whom they took alive in that assault wherein they carried the place,) instead of treating him in a manner suitable to his valour and fidelity as a generous conqueror ought to have done, he ordered his heels to be bored, and a cord to be drawn through them, and caused him thereby to be tied to the hinder part of a chariot, and dragged round the city till he died, bragging, that herein he imitated his progenitor Achilles, who as Homer has it, thus dragged Hector round the walls of Troy. But that was a barbarous act in the example, and much more so in the imitation: for it was only Hector's dead carcass that Achilles dragged round Troy; but Alexander thus treated Betis while alive, and thus made him die in a cruel manner, for no other cause, but that he faithfully and valiantly served his master in the post committed to his charge which was deserving of a reward even from an enemy, rather than of so cruel a punishment; and Alexander would have acted accordingly, had he made the true principles of virtue and generosity, rather than the fictions of Homer, the rule of his actions. But that young conqueror, having the Iliads of this poet in great admiration, always carried them with him, laid them under his pillow when he slept, and read in them on all leisure opportunities; and therefore, finding Achilles to be the great hero of that poem, he thought every thing said of him in it worthy of his imitation, and the readiest way to make him an hero also; and the vanity of being thought such, and the eager desire which he had of making his name in like manner to be celebrated in after ages, was the main impulsive cause of all his undertakings. But in reality, were all his actions duly estimated, he could deserve no other character than that of the great cutthroat of the age in which he lived. But the folly of mankind, and the errour of historians, is such, that they usually make the actions of war, bloodshed, and conquest, the subject of their highest encomiums; and those their most celebrated heroes that most excel therein. In a righteous cause, and the just defence of a man's country, all actions of valour are indeed just

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