A little over a thousand years ago a Jew from Southern Italy retold the story of the Second Temple period for his fellow Jews. He did this in a riveting Hebrew prose style, unsurpassed in the Middle Ages, that is comparable to the high level of poetry that Byzantine Jews of that area had already attained. His sour ces were mainly the Latin Bible, Josephus Flavius, and the Christian version of Josephus' War. The author also used Apocryphal texts found in the Latin Bible and other ancient Jewish sources preserved in Latin. Yet he translated all this material into a nationalist history of the Jews that resonated the idioms of the Hebrew Bible and introduced new ones that still sparkle in Israeli Hebrew today. His book, called The Yosippon, was the most popular book on Jewish history for the past millennium, and nearly every Jewish male and most females were familiar with its story and its message of national pride.

Yet he tells a sad and all too familiar tale: how civil war killed myriads of Jews and led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. The following chapter is from my forthcoming translation based on David Flusser's masterful edition (1978) that restored to us the true voice and beautiful style of the anonymous author who wrote this history, while the Jews in neighboring Rome still woke to the sight of the Arch of Titus built to glorify the Roman conquest of Jerusalem and the rantings of churchmen who claimed to be the True Israel. But Yosippon was read and studied even for its descriptions of the events surrounding post-biblical holidays and for providing heroes to a browbeaten people. Yosippon regained new life among Jews in its varied contributions to the rise of Zionism during the 19th century.

Steven Bowman

When he ceased to speak, 1 they brought the ram to the wall. Then many of the bandit leaders went out to him to make peace.

(87. Burning of the Temple)

One of the Temple gates 2 was closed and its door was covered with silver, and the Romans set fire to the gate and the timbers of the door burned and the silver fell to the ground. When they opened the gate, they looked and behold a way led to the Holy of Holies. 3 Titus gave the command that prohibited his army from the Holy of Holies, ordering his men: 4 "Leave this house alone until we take council." Then the Roman officers said to Titus: 5 "If this house will not be burned, we shall not be able to conquer this people, since they will die for its sake." 6 Meanwhile some of their warriors stood there to guard the Holy of Holies until they had taken counsel. 7

When the Jews 8 saw that they had retired from there but left guards, they ran against them with sword and smote them. And when Titus heard all that the Jews had done, he led all his warriors and went against them and smote many of them, and the survivors ran to Mount Zion. 9

On the morrow 10 the Romans gathered and set fire to the Holy of Holies from outside, and they took beams and stood them against the golden gates of the Holy of Holies and set fire to them. And the gold heated and the timbers of the doors burned and fell to the ground. And the Holy of Holies opened in the fifth month on the tenth of the month; this was the day on which it was opened in the days of the Casdim. 11 When they opened the gate, the Romans trumpeted a great outcry, 12 and Titus ran with all his might in order to put out the fire in the Holy of Holies, but he could not for the army was too numerous, so he shouted out to them but they gave no heed, for 13 they came en masse like a torrent of water, and the smoke thickened and spread.

When Titus saw 14 that he could not clear away the army, he unsheathed his sword and began to curse his army officers and to smite the foreigners with the sword in order that they be driven away from there, but he could not. Many of the other gentiles who came to help them died there for Titus smote them, but the people ever increased. And Titus 15 shouted at them until his throat was parched and he could no longer shout. And the priests fought 16 until they could no longer raise their arms. When the priests saw 17 that there was no salvation, they threw themselves into the fire within the Holy of Holies and many of the valiant Jews accompanied them, and they burned as they said: "There is no life after the burning of God's Holy House." And Titus smote 18 to prevent but none listened to him for there were many gentiles and he became weary 19 and exhausted and fell to the ground with no strength left. When he saw 20 that he could not rescue [it], he rose and entered within the Holy Place to behold the beauty of the Holy of Holies, and he looked upon the honor of the House 21 and its glory 22 and he believed that it was the House of God. Then he said: "Now I know that this is the house of the God of Heaven and the dwelling place of His honor and not for nothing did the Jews battle over it unto its destruction. And also the gentiles who came from the ends of the earth with silver and gold and every precious vessel to worship the God of this house, not for nothing did they come, for greater is the honor of this house than the temple of the Romans and than all the gentile temples that I have seen."

Meanwhile the fire intensified 23 to burn the Holy of Holies. 24 When the bandit chiefs saw that the Holy of Holies was burning, they too went and burned all the remaining houses in the city, which were full of every precious wealth. 25 They destroyed the rest of the Temple building as they said: "After the Holy of Holies is burned, what desire is there in living or to leave house or building."

At that time, 26 one of the Jews stood and prophesied falsely and said to the bandits: "Take strength and stand in arms, for now the House will be built by itself and not by the hand of man. 27 Pray take heart and fight, for on this day the House will be rebuilt." 28 And it happened when the bandits heard this that they engaged the Romans and smote them, 29 and the bandits fell. And many of the poor 30 upon whom they had taken pity at the beginning, 31 they killed them like sheep to the slaughter 32 because they heeded the words of the false prophet and did not pay attention to the signs that were performed in Jerusalem.

For one year before 33 Vespasian came, a single great star shining like unsheathed swords was seen over the Temple. And in those days 34 when the sign was seen it was the holiday of Passover 35 and during that entire night the Temple was lit up and illuminated like the light of day, and thus it was all seven days of the Passover. All the sages of Jerusalem knew that it was a malevolent sign, but the rest of the ignorant people said that it was a benevolent sign.

At that time 36 they brought a calf to sacrifice and it happened when they dropped it to the ground to slaughter it, that behold it gave birth to a sheep. Moreover a sign was seen in the East Gate, for the East Gate was large and very heavy, it did not open until twenty men came in the morning and opened it and twenty men in the evening [came] and closed it and the sound of the gate's hinge was heard from afar. And it happened in those days that they found the gate completely open by itself without the hand of man and they could not close it until there gathered a huge number of people and they closed it. And also regarding this sign the sages of Israel and the priests said that it was bad sign; while the rest of the people said that it was a good sign. Now it happened after this 37 that there was seen from above over the Holy of Holies for the whole night the outline of a man's face, the like of whose beauty had never been seen in all the land, and his appearance was quite awesome.

Moreover, in those days were seen chariots of fire and horsemen, a great force flying across the sky near to the ground coming against Jerusalem and all the land of Judah, all of them horses of fire and riders of fire. When the holiday of Shavu'oth came in those days, 38 during the night the priests heard within the Temple something like the sound of men going and the sound of men marching in a multitude going into the Temple, and a terrible and mighty voice was heard speaking: "Let's go and leave this House. 39

And four years before the war 40 there was in Jerusalem a man from the rabble 41 named Yehoshua ben H ananyah, 42 and he began to call out in a loud voice beginning on the holiday of Sukkoth, saying: "A voice from the East and a voice from the West and a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and a voice against the Temple, a voice against the groom and bride and a voice against all the people," until all the inhabitants of the city hated him, and they cursed him, and they beat him, but he did not cease to call out with such a voice. The leader of the city seized him and said to him: "Why do you shout so and call out in such wise?" And he commanded to beat him 43 yet he continued to call out in this manner. So he left him alone, for he considered him as a madman. Thus he went forth calling out: "Woe unto Jerusalem, alas upon Jerusalem," until the day of the war. And when the war happened he began to call out: "Woe unto me, woe upon me." And he did not cease to call out such a word until a hand-thrown stone came at him and struck him on the head 44 and he died.

In those days 45 a missive written upon a stone from the early days was found, and they read it, and behold on it was written as follows: "At the time when the building of the Temple is finished and it will be square, 46 then it will be destroyed." When Antonia was captured and the Roman force destroyed it and they breached the corner of the Temple and the Jews hastened to rebuild the Temple's breach, when they had finished the building behold the Temple was square. But they did not remember 47 the words of the missive 48 upon the stone, for this reason the words of that missive were found to be true. Also there was found written on the wall of the Holy of Holies 49 as follows: "When the building of the Temple shall be square, 50 then a king will rule over Israel, 51 a king who will rule and govern throughout the land." For this reason some of the people said that he will be Israel's king, but the sages of Jerusalem and the priests said that he will be the king of the Romans. 52

Steven Bowman