2 oppressor, as he heard the hoofs of the horses on the pavement, and the well-known tramp of the Roman soldiers. A second resting-place might perhaps be found at Thamna,' a city mentioned by Josephus in the Jewish wars, and possibly the "Timnath Heres," where Joshua was buried "in Mount Ephraim, in the border of his inheritance." And then they proceeded, still descending over a rocky and thinly-cultivated tract,3 till about daybreak they came to the ridge of the last hill, and overlooked "the great plain of Sharon coming quite up to its base on the west." The road now turned northwards, across the rich land of the plain of Sharon, through fields of wheat and barley, just then almost ready for the harvest. "On the east were the mountains of Samaria, rising gradually above each other, and bounding the plain in that direction: on the left lay a line of low wooded hills, shutting it in from the sea." Between this higher and lower range, but on the level ground, in a place well watered and richly wooded, was the town of Antipatris. Both its history and situation are described to us by Josephus. The ancient Caphar-Saba, from which one of the Asmonean princes had dug a trench and built a wall to Joppa, to protect the country from inva 1 One of the collateral results of Mr. Eli Smith's journey is the identification of the site of this city-not the Timnath of Josh. xv. 10-but a place mentioned in the following passages of Josephus, Ant. xiv. 11, 2; War, iii. 3, 5, iv. 8, 1: also 1 Macc. ix. 50. The ruins are now called Tibneh. 2 Josh. xix. 49, 50, xxiv. 30; Judg. ii. 8, 9. Mr. E. Smith observed some remarkable sepulchres at Tibneh. ... B. S. 486, 487. The traveller was still guided by the same indications of the ancient road. "Hastening on [from Tibneh], and passing occasionally portions of the Roman road, we reached in 40 m. the large town of Abud. To the left of our road we passed several sepulchral excavations, marking this as an ancient place. Our path led us for a considerable distance down a gentle but very rocky descent, which was the beginning of a Wady. Through nearly the whole of it, we either rode upon or by the side of the Roman road. At length the Wady became broader, and with its declivities was chiefly occupied with fields of grain and other cultivation. . . . After clearing the cultivation in the neighborhood, we passed over a hilly tract, with little cultivation, and thinly sprinkled with shrubbery. . . . In our descent, which was not great, we thought we could discern further traces of the Roman road. But it was nearly dark, and we may possibly have been mistaken." At this point is the village of Mejdel Yaba in the province of Nablous. "It stands on the top of a hill, with the valley of Belat on the south, a branch Wady running into it on the east, and the great plain of Sharon coming quite up to its base on the west," p. 488. Mr. E. Smith arrived there at eight in the evening, having ridden about thirty miles since the morning. The next day he says: "I was disappointed in not procuring so many bearings from Mejdel Yaba as I had hoped. The rising sun shooting his rays down the side of the mountain prevented our seeing much in that direction," p. 490. 6 From Mejdel Yaba Mr. E. Smith did not take the direct route to Kefr Saba, "which would have led northward, probably in the direction of the Roman road," but went more to the west, by Ras-el-Ain, and across the river Anjeh near its source, and then by Jiljulieh. 6"Its soil is an inexhaustible black loam, and nearly the whole of it was now under cultivation, presenting a scene of fertility and rural beauty rarely equalled. Immense fields of wheat and barley, waving in the breeze, were advancing rapidly to maturity," p. 491. This was on the 27th of April, almost the exact time of St. Paul's journey. sion,' was afterwards rebuilt by Herod, and named in honor of his father Antipater. It is described in one passage as being near the mountains ;' and in another, as in the richest plain of his dominions, with abundance both of water and wood. In the narrative of the Jewish war, Antipatris is mentioned as one of the scenes of Vespasian's first military proceedings. It afterwards disappears from history; but the ancient name is still familiarly used by the peasantry, and remains with the physical features of the neighborhood to identify the site. The foot-soldiers proceeded no farther than Antipatris, but returned from thence to Jerusalem (xxiii. 32). They were no longer necessary to secure St. Paul's safety; for no plot by the way was now to be apprehended; but they might very probably be required in the fortress of Antonia. It would be in the course of the afternoon that the remaining soldiers with their weary horses entered the streets of Cæsarea. The centurion who remained in command of them proceeded at once to the governor, and gave up his prisoner; and at the same time presented the despatch,10 with which he was charged by the commandant of the garrison at Jerusalem. We have no record of the personal appearance of Felix; but if we may yield to the impression naturally left by what we know of his sensual and ferocious character," we can imagine the countenance with which he read the following despatch." "Claudius Lysias sends greeting to the most Excellent Felix the governor. This man was apprehended by the Jews, and on the point of being killed by them, when I came and rescued him with my military guard: for I learnt that he was a Roman citizen.1 And wishing to ascertain the charge which they had to allege against him, I 13 14 1 Joseph. Ant. xiii. 15, 1; War, i. 4, 7. 2 Ant. xvi. 5, 2; War, i. 21, 9. 8 War, i. 4, 7. Ant. xvi. 5, 2; War, i. 21, 9. 6 Hearing of the revolt of Vindex from Nero, "he moved his forces in spring from Cæsarea towards Antipatris."-War, iv. 8, 1. It is mentioned by Jerome as a "small town half ruined." It occurs in Jerusalem Itinerary between Cæsarea and Jerusalem; and the distances are given. 7 The existence of a place called Kafar Saba in this part of the plain was known to Prokesch, and its identity with Antipatria was suggested by Raumer, Rob. Bib. Res. iii. 45-47. This identity may be considered now as proved beyond a doubt. For some remarks on minor difficulties, see our note here in the larger editions. 8 It is explicitly stated that they came back to their quarters at Jerusalem. 9 One centurion would remain while the others returned. Possibly he is the same officer 18 "His Excellency the Governor." This is apparently an official title. Tertullus uses the same style, in addressing Felix, xxiv. 3, and Paul himself, in addressing Festus, xxvi. 25. Hence we may suppose Theophilus (who is thus addressed, Luke i. 3) to have been a man holding official rank. 14 In A. V. (through forgetfulness of the definite article) this is unfortunately translated "with an army." 15 This statement was dexterously inseted by Claudias Lysias to save himself from disgrace. But it was false; for it is impossible not to see "I learnt" intends to convey the impression that Paul's Roman citizenship was the cause of the rescue, whereas this fact did not come to his knowledge till afterwards. Some of the commentators have justly observed that took him down to their Sanhedrin: and there I found that the charge had reference to certain questions of their law, and that he was accused of no offence worthy of death or imprisonment. And now, having received information that a plot is about to be formed against the man's life, I send him to thee forthwith, and I have told his accusers that they must bring their charge before thee. Farewell." Felix raised his eyes from the paper, and said, "To what province does he belong?" It was the first question which a Roman governor would naturally ask in such a case. So Pilate had formerly paused, when he found he was likely to trespass on "Herod's jurisdiction." Besides the delicacy required by etiquette, the Roman law laid down strict rules for all inter-provincial communications. In the present case there could be no great difficulty for the moment. A Roman citizen with certain vague charges brought against him was placed under the protection of a provincial governor, who was bound to keep him in safe custody till the cause should be heard. Having therefore ascertained that Paul was a native of the province of Cicilia, Felix simply ordered him to be kept in "Herod's prætorium," and said to Paul himself, "I will hear and decide thy cause when thy accusers are come." Here, then, we leave the Apostle for a time. A relation of what befell him at Cæsarea will be given in another chapter, to which an account of the political state of Palestine, and a description of Herod's city, will form a suitable introduction. this dexterous falsehood is an incidental proof balanced, we should decide in its favor; for it of the genuineness of the document. 1 "Took down." Here we may repeat what has been said above concerning the topography of Antonia and the Temple. 2 This is the natural English translation. Our letters are expressed as from the writer's point of view: those of the ancients were adapted to the position of the reader. 8 "Before thee," at the termination, emphatic. "Farewell." The MSS. vary as to the genaineness of this word. If the evidence is equally is exactly the Latin "Vale." Such despatches from a subordinate to a commanding officer would naturally be in Latin. See p. 2. 6 The word here is érapxía, v. 34. It has already been observed (pp. 130, 131) that this is a general term for both the Emperor's and the Senate's provinces, just as yeμúv is a general term for the government of either. For the province of Cilicia, see p. 214. 6 Such is the meaning of the phrase, v. 35. So in xxiv. 22. CHAPTER XXII. History of Judæa resumed. — Roman Governors. — Felix.- Troops quartered in Palestine. — Description of Cæsarea. -St. Paul accused there.- Speech before Felix.- Continued Imprisonment. - Accession of Festus. - Appeal to the Emperor.- Speech before Agrippa. WE E have pursued a long and varied narrative since we last took a general view of the political history of Judæa. The state of this part of the Empire in the year 44 was briefly summed up in a previous chapter (Ch. IV.). It was then remarked that this year and the year 60 were the two only points which we can regard as fixed in the annals of the earliest Church, and, therefore, the two best chronological pivots of the Apostolic history. We have followed the life of the Apostle Paul through a space of fourteen years from the former of these dates; and now we are rapidly approaching the second. Then we recounted the miserable end of King Agrippa I. Now we are to speak of Agrippa II., who, like his father, had the title of King, though his kingdom was not identically the same.' The life of the second Agrippa ranges over the last period of national Jewish history, and the first age of the Christian Church; and both his life and that of his sisters Drusilla and Berenice are curiously connected, by manifold links, with the general history of the times. This Agrippa saw the destruction of Jerusalem, and lived till the first century was closed in the old age of St. John, the last of a dynasty eminent for magnificence and intrigue. Berenice concluded a life of profligacy by a criminal connection with Titus, the conqueror of Jerusalem. Drusilla 1 We assume that Festus succeeded Felix in the year 60. In support of this opinion we must refer to the note (C) upon the Chronological Table, Appendix III. 2 Agrippa II. was made king of Chalcis A.D. 48he received a further accession of territory A. D. 53, and died, at the age of 70, A. D. 99. He was intimate with Josephus, and was the last prince of the Herodian house. 8 Titus seems to have been only prevented from marrying this beautiful and profligate princess by the indignant feeling of the RoSee Dio Cass. lxvi. 15. The name of mans. Berenice is so mixed up with the history of the times, and she is so often mentioned, both by Josephus and by Roman writers, that it is desirable to put together here some of the principal notices of her life and character. She was first married to her uncle, Herod, king of Chalcis; and after his death she lived with her brother, Agrippa, not without suspicion of the most criminal intimacy. (Joseph. Ant. xx. 7, 3.) Compare Juvenal, vi. 155. It was during this period of her life that she made that marriage with Polemo, king of Cilicia, which has been alluded to in the earlier became the wife of Felix, and perished with the child of that union in the eruption of Vesuvius. We have said that the kingdom of this Agrippa was not coincident with that of his father. He was never, in fact, King of Judæa. The three years during which Agrippa I. reigned at Cæsarea were only an interpolation in the long series of Roman procurators who ruled Judæa, in subordination to the governors of Syria, from the death of Herod the Great to the final destruction of Jerusalem. In the year 44, the second Agrippa was only sixteen years old, and he was detained about the court of Claudius, while Cuspius Fadus was sent out to direct the provincial affairs at Cæsarea. It was under the administration of Fadus that those religious movements took place, which ended (as we have seen above, p. 635) in placing under the care of the Jews the sacred vestments kept in the tower of Antonia, and which gave to Herod king of Chalcis the management of the Temple and its treasury, and the appointment of the high priests. And in other respects the Jews had reason to remember his administration with gratitude; for he put down the banditti which had been the pest of the country under Agrippa; and the slavish compliment of Tertullus to Felix (Acts xxiv. 2, 3) might have been addressed to him with truth, that " by him the Jews enjoyed great quietness, and that very worthy deeds had been done to the nation by his providence." He was succeeded by Tiberius Alexander, a renegade Alexandrian Jew, and the nephew of the celebrated Philo. In relation to the life of this official in Judæa, there are no incidents worth recording at a later period we see him at the siege of Jerusalem in command of Roman forces under Titus: and the consequent inscriptions in his honor at Rome served to point the sarcasm of the Roman satirist. Soon after the arrival of Ventidius Cumanus to succeed him as governor in the year 48, Herod king of Chalcis died, and Agrippa II. was placed on his throne, with the same privileges in reference to the Temple and its worship which had been possessed by his uncle. "During the government of Cumanus, the low and sullen murmurs which announced the approaching eruption of the dark volcano, now gathering its strength in Palestine, became more distinct. The people and the Roman soldiery |