Commentary Upon Acts, Part 3 – Title page 11
Part III. The Jewish History.
Sect. I. The Therapeutae.
THey are called Therapeutae and Therapeutrides (saith Philo) either because they professe a Physick better then that professed in Cities, for that healeth bodies onelyonly, but this diseased soules. — Or because they have learned from nature, and the holy Laws to serve him that is — Those that betake themselves to this course, do it not out of fashion,foreign. or upon any ones exhortation, but ravished with a heavenly love, (even as the Bac…bantes and Corybantes have their raptures) untill they behold what they desire.foreign. Then through the desire of an immortall and blessed life, reputing themselves to die to this mortall life, they leave their estates to sonnes or daughters or to other kindred, voluntarily making them their heires, and to their friends and familiars if they have no kindred.— When they are thus parted from their goods, being taken now by no baite, they flie irrevocably, leaving breathren, children, wives, parents, numerous kindreds, societies and countries, where they were borne and bred— they flit, not into other Cities — but they make their abode without the walls in gardens or solitary Villages, affecting the wildernesse not for any hatred of men, but because of being mixed with men of different conditions, which thing they know is unprofitable and hurtfull. This kind of people are in many parts of the world,— but it abounds in Egypt through every one of those places that are called Nomi, especially about Alexandria. Now out of all places the chiefe or best of the Therapeutae are sent into a Colony (as it were into their Countrey) into a most convenient region, besides the lake Maria, upon a low gentle rising banke, very fit, both for safetie and the wholesome aire. — The houses of the company are very meane, affording shelter in two most necessary respects, against the heate of the Sunne, and the coldnesse of the aire. Nor are they neere together like houses in a Citie, for such vicinity is trouble and displeasing to such as love and affect solitude. Nor yet farre asunder, because of that communion which they imbrace, and that they may helpe one another if there bee any incursion of theeves. Every one of them hath a holy house which is called a *foreign.Chappell and Monastery, in which they *foreign.being solitary doe performe the mysteries of a religious life: bringing in thither neither drinke nor meate, nor any other necessaries for the use of the body, but the Law and the Oracles given by the Prophets, and hymnes and other things whereby knowledge and religion are increased and perfected. Therefore thy have God perpetually in their mind, insomuch that in their dreames, they see nothing but the beauty of the Divine powers, and there are some of them who by dreaming do vent excellent matters of Philosophy. They use to pray twice every day, morning and evening, at Sunne rising and Sunne setting, and all the time betweene they meditate and study the Scripture allegorizing them, because they beleeve that mystical things are hid under the plain letter: they have also many commentaries of their predecessors of this sect to this purpose. They also made Psalmes, and Hymnes to the praise of God. Thus spend they the six dayes of the weeke every one in his Cell, not so much a… looking out of it. But on the seventh day they meet together and sit downe according to their age demurely, with their hands within their coats, the right hand betwixt their breast and their skin, and the left on their side. Then steps forth one of the gravest and skilfullest in their profession and preacheth to them, and the rest hearken with all silence, onelyonly nodding their heads, or moving their eyes:foreign their place of worship is parted into two roomes, one for the men and the other for the women: All the weeke long they never taste meate nor drink any day before Sunne setting, because they think the …udy of wisedome to bee fit for the light, and the taking ease of their bodies for the darke: some hardly eate above once in 3. dayes, some in 6. on the 7th day after they have taken care of the soule, they refresh the body. Their diet is onelyonly bread and salt, and some adde a little hyssop. Their drink spring-water. Their cloths meane and onelyonly fit to keepe out heat and cold▪ At the end of every seven weeks they feast together, honoring much the number seven: Old women are present at their feasts, but they are such as are virgins upon devotion. When they first meet together, they first stand and pray that the feast may bee blessed to them, then sit they downe the men on one side and the women on the other, some of their young Schollers waite on them: their diet is but as at other times, bread and salt for their meat, hyssop for sauce, and water for drinke: there is generall silence all the meale, save that one or other asketh or resolveth questions, the rest holding their peace; and they shew by their severall gestures that they understand, or approve or doubt. Their interpretations of Scripture are all allegories; when the president hath satisfied the things proposed, they give a generall applause, and then hee singeth a Psalme either of his own making or of some of the ancients: And thus doe the rest in their course, when all have done, the young men take away the table: and then they rise and fall to a daunce, the men apart and the women apart for a while, but at last they joyne and dance all together: and this is in representation of the dance upon the shore of the red Sea. Thus spend they the night, when Sunne riseth they all turne their faces that way, and pray for a happy day, and for truth and understanding, and so they depart every one to their Cells.
To this purpose doth Philo describe these Therapeutae of his times: which howsoever they are taken for Christians by divers as was said before, yet is it so plaine by divers passages in Philoes Charactering of them that they were no Christians, but Jewish sectaries, that it is even needlesse to determinate it: let the reader but consider that it is a Jew that commends their devotion, that hee himselfe imitates their manner of expounding the Scriptures by allegories, that hee saith they had many commentaries of their predecessors to that tenour, that they were superstitious about the number seven, as hee himself is not a little, and if there were no other arguments to prove that they were onelyonly a sect of the Jewes, these were enow.
Sact. II. The affaires of the Iewes in Alexandria, and Babylonia.
The death of Caius was an allay to the troubles of the Jewes both in Iudea and Alexandria, and the proclamation of Claudius which wee shall heare of the next yeer, was their utter cessation for the present, but so it was not in Babylonia. The terrour and trouble that had seized Iudea, about the statue of Caesar, was removed, and extinct with the removall, and extinction of Caesar himselfe, so were the pressures of them in Alexandria mitigated much from what they were before, though their commotions and troubling continued still in an equall measure. For whereas before the displeasure of the Emperour lay so heavy upon them that they neither could nor durst stand out in their owne defence, when that burden is now removed they gather heart and mettall, and now though the Greeks and they be continually at daggers drawn, yet now it is upon equall tearmes, and they dare strike as well as the other. But in Babylonia and thereabouts, their miseries is but now a brewing, and an equall strait is preparing for them, as had been to either of the other, though it began with some smiling of a seeming happinesse, and the sunshine of present prosperitie. The bloodhound of vengeance was to hunt this nation, and not to bee taken off till it was destroyed: and therefore when it giveth off the quest in one place, it takes it in another, and leaveth not their footing till it had left them no footing at all.
Those Jewes whose Tragedy wee have seene acted already found their owne misery though they sought it not, and how much more shall they that wee are now to bring upon the scene that sought and wooed it with their utmost paines.
Sect. I. The rebellion of some Iewes.
There were in Nea…daa (the residence and Universitie of the Jewes in Babylona) two brethren named Asinaeus and Anilaeus, or in their proper language Chasinai, and Chanilai. These two their mother (their father being dead) had put to a trade and to a master, for the making of sailes or other tackle for ships. The sturdy youths having one day given their master some offence, and hee them some blowes, did take the matter in such high scorne and disdaine, that they resolve not onelyonly to overrun their master, but indeed to run over all mastership whatsoever. They therefore getting away all the Armes their masters house would afford, betake themselves to a strong place in an Iland of Euphrates, and there publish and proclaime their rebellious resolution. Young men flocke in to them apace, men of the same desperate minds and fortunes, and after building some Castles in the ayre of future expectations, they begin to build a Fort in the Ile for their present securitie and rendevouz. They then command the neighbour townes to pay them tribute, which the numerousnesse and resolution of the Commanders made them that they durst not disobey. The governour of Babylonia thinking to quell this growing evill before it should bee too strong, commeth secretly upon them on the Sabbath day, thinking to involve them in their owne superstition into the trap that hee had prepared for them: But the furious youths were not so over-religious as to bee kild in devotion, nor did they prize the Sabbath above their owne lives, but for all it was that day they are resolved to fight, and they fight resolvedly, and kill and rout and foile the forces that made no other account but of victory.
Artabanus King of Parthia hearing of the power of this newborne army, and the resolution of those upstart Captaines, and considering how advantagious it might bee for his owne affaires, to have them sure and firme unto himselfe, hee sendeth for the two brethren with assurance of their safetie: whereupon they come to him, and are royally and bravely intertained by him: and when Abdagasis the Generall of his army would have slaine Asinaeus treacherously, the King forbad him, sent Asinaeus home with rich gifts and the government of Babylonia committed to him: There hee grew greater and greater in power and honour: and stood in high repute both with the Babylonians and the Parthians, and had all Mesopotamia at his command. And thus continued these brethren in pompe and height for 15. yeers together: till a miscarriage of Anilaeus began to cloud and eclipse their prosperitie: For Anilaeus having slaine a Parthian Peere that he might enjoy his Lady, and shee when shee was now his wife, using her ancient idolatry as in her first husbands dayes, this became a double offence to his chiefest friends, namely, for that hee had married an heathen, and for that shee continued still in her Idolatry: They seriously admonish Anilaeus of the matter, but hee slew one of the chiefest of them for his home-reproofe and admonition. Therefore the rest addresse themselves to Asinaeus, and demand the vindication of their native Laws and Religion: hee rebuketh his brother Anilaeus, and is therefore poisoned by the Parthian Lady, because that her husband might bee from under rebuke, and might bee commander of all. He being now so indeed, first invadeth the country of Mithridates, son in Law to Artabanus, and forrageth that, and by a surpizall getteth Mithridates prisoner, yet sendeth him home again to his own possessions, having hardly delivered him from his souldiers fury that they did not kill him: Mithridates sensible of the disgrace of his usage (for they had set him naked upon an Asse,) and instigated by the haughty and revengefull spirit of his wife, raiseth what force he can get, and giveth Anilaeus battell and routeth him. But Anilaeus himselfe escaping, and recruting an army of dissolute and resolute fellowes againe, hee beginneth to spoile some townes of the Babylonians, but the Babylonians finding a fit opportunitie, fall upon Anilaeus and his troope, and slew many of them, and Anilaeus himselfe among the rest: This bridle and curbe of the Jewes, which had laine so long and so heavy upon the Babylonians being now taken off, they begin now to rise up and to curbe and oppresse the Jewes: who for their safety flee to Seleucia: and there they reside quietly for the space of five yeers, but in the sixth yeer, a hot plague driving the rest of them that had staied behind at Babylon, into Seleucia also, providence did as it were bring them all thither together to execution: for a quarrell being first betweene the Greeks and Syrians that dwelt in that Citie, and the Syrians getting the better through the helpe of the Jewes, at last Greeks and Syrians joyne both together against the Jewes, and destroy fiftie thousand of them: And this was a second notable vengeance that hath overtaken that nation since the murder of the Lord of life.
THE CHRISTIAN HISTORY, THE JEWISH, and the ROMAN, OF The Yeare of Christ 43. And of the Emperour Claudius 2. Being the Yeare of the World 3970. And of the City of Rome, 795. Consuls
C. Largus.
Claudius II.
London, Printed by R. C. for Andrew Crooke, 1645.