8

When Christ was born, according to the prophecies, in Bethlehem of Judea at the time indicated by us, Herod, as a result of the inquiries of the Magi who had come from the East: "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star, for this reason we went on such a journey and had a strong desire to worship the Born One as God" - he was greatly alarmed by this event; believing that his power was threatened, he asked the teachers of the law of the people where the birth of Christ was expected. Learning that according to the prophecy of Micah in Bethlehem, he issued a decree commanding to kill suckling babies and children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area, starting from two years old and younger, in accordance with the time that the Magi had precisely indicated. He thought it only natural that Jesus should share the bitter fate of his peers. But the child was warned of his plan: his parents had known beforehand what was to come, and had taken him to Egypt. This is what the Holy Gospel teaches us. (3) It is worth knowing what punishment befell Herod for his transgression against Christ and his contemporaries. Immediately, without the slightest delay, God's judgment befell him while he was still alive, as if showing in advance what he would receive if he parted with his life. 4 The state seemed to prosper, but he darkened his house by continual misfortunes: the murder of his wife, children, relatives, those closest by blood and the dearest. It is impossible to describe these events now, but the story of them would overshadow any tragedy. Josephus tells about them in detail in his "History", where he talks about Herod. (5) Immediately after the attempt on our Saviour and other infants, the scourge of God overtook him and drove him to the very end. It is worth listening to this writer himself. In the 17th book of the Antiquities of the Jews, he describes its end in these words. (6) "Herod's illness increased: God punished him for his iniquities. It was a faint flame that smoldered in it; when palpated, a large inflammation could not be detected, and it was precisely this that aggravated his internal disease. He had a terrible desire to eat something, and nothing could be done to help him; ulcers in the viscera, especially in the rectum, and inflammation of the legs full of clear fluid, severe pains. (7) The groin is the same condition; The man's penis rotted, and worms appeared in it. He could only breathe erectly, and his rapid and heavy breathing gave off a heavy stench. All his limbs were tightened by unbearably strong convulsions. (8) Men inspired by God, to whom it is given to provide all things wisely, said that God punishes the king for the multitude of his wicked deeds."

Here is what the writer mentioned above tells us in the above-mentioned work. 9 And in the second book of the History he gives similar information, and writes thus: "His whole body was seized with an illness which parted him with manifold sufferings. He had a latent fever, an unbearable itching all over his skin; constant pain in the rectum; swelling of the legs, like that of a dropsy patient; inflammation in the groin; A rotting penis with worms in it. In addition, heavy asthmatic breathing and convulsions in all limbs; Inspired people called these diseases a plague. 10 But he struggled with these torments, clung to life, hoped for recovery, and sought a cure. Having crossed the Jordan, he used the warm waters of Callirhoe, which flow into the Asphalt Lake; in themselves they are fresh and suitable for drinking. (11) The doctors decided to warm up his body by immersing him in a bath full of warm olive oil, but he fainted and his eyes rolled back. The servants raised a shout; From their screaming he came to his senses. Despairing of recovery, he ordered fifty drachmas and large sums to be distributed to ordinary soldiers to commanders and friends.

(12) He returned to Jericho in a gloomy mood. Ready to threaten almost death itself, now he planned an even more criminal deed. Having gathered together the nobles from every village throughout all Judea, he ordered them to be shut up in the so-called hippodrome,13 and summoning his sister Salome and her husband Alexander, he said to them: "I know that the Jews will celebrate my death, but it is in my power to make others mourn for me, and to celebrate my funeral magnificently, if only you will do my bidding: As soon as I have lost my breath, order all these people to be surrounded by soldiers and killed: let all Judea and every house mourn for me, even if against my will." (14) A little later Joseph says: "Again tormented by the desire to eat and by fits of coughing, he decided to avert fate. Taking an apple, he asked for a knife, for he liked to eat, cutting food into pieces. Then, looking around to see if anyone would interfere, he raised his right hand to strike himself."

15 The same writer tells us that just before his death he gave orders for his son to be killed (this was the third after the two who had been slain even earlier), and immediately died in the midst of great suffering. (16) Such was the end of Herod, who suffered a just punishment for the massacre in the vicinity of Bethlehem and for his evil design against our Saviour. After the death of Herod, an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph, who lived in Egypt, and told him to get up and return to Judea together with the Child and His Mother, for those who sought to destroy the Child had died. To this the Evangelist adds: "When Joseph heard that Archelaus reigned in the place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither; but having received an answer in a dream, he went into the borders of Galilee."

9

In accordance with the Gospel, the above-mentioned historian speaks of the enthronement of Archelaus after Herod, and tells how he, by the will of his father, Herod, and by the decision of Caesar Augustus, received by inheritance the royal power over the Jews, how he lost power ten years later, and how his brothers, Philip and Herod the Younger, together with Lysanias, received their tetrarchy.

2 The same Josephus, in the eighteenth book of his Antiquities, relates that in the twelfth year of the reign of Tiberius (who succeeded Augustus, who reigned for 57 years), the government of Judea was entrusted to Pontius Pilate. He ruled it for ten whole years, almost until the death of Tiberius. (3) This clearly exposes the falsity of the "Notes" which have only recently been composed against our Saviour; Already the time indicated in the title exposes the falsity of this invention. They attribute the salvific sufferings of the Saviour, to which the Jews criminally subjected Him, to the fourth consulship of Tiberius, which fell in the seventh year of his reign, but if we are to believe Josephus, Pilate at that time did not yet rule Judea. Josephus in the above-mentioned work directly indicates that Tiberius appointed Pilate procurator of Judea in the twelfth year of his reign.

10

It was then, according to the Evangelist, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius and in the fourth year of Pilate's reign of Judea, when the tetrarchs of the rest of Judea were Herod, Lysanias, and Philip, our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the thirtieth year of His life, came to be baptized by John and laid the foundation for the gospel.

(2) According to the Holy Scriptures, the time of His teaching falls within the years when Annas and Caiaphas were high priests. It began in the high priesthood of Annas and lasted until the high priesthood of Caiaphas, a span of less than four years. 3 From this time on, the ordinances of the law concerning the service of God, which was lifelong and passed down in succession from father to son, were violated. The Roman authorities appointed one or the other as high priests, and no one remained in this position for more than a year. 4 Josephus relates that after Annas and before Caiaphas, there were four high priests. In the same book of Antiquities, he writes as follows: "Valerius Gratus deposed Annas and proclaimed Ishmael the son of Fabi as high priest, but after a short time he removed him also and declared Eleazar, the son of the high priest Annas, high priest. 5 At the end of the year he deposed him also, and gave the dignity of high priest to Simon the son of Camathus. And he retained his rank for no more than a year; his successor was Joseph, called Caiaphas."

6 Thus the teaching of our Saviour lasted less than four years, and during these four years the four high priests, from Annas to Caiaphas, carried out their ministry. That Caiaphas was indeed a high priest in the year of the salvific Passions is testified to in the Gospel. It and the above-mentioned remarks, which agree with it, indicate the time of Christ's teaching. (7) Our Saviour and Master, soon after the beginning of His preaching, called the twelve apostles; only they, among His other disciples, He especially honored with the name of the Apostles. Then He chose seventy more, whom He sent two by two before His face to every place and city whither He Himself wanted to go.

11

The Holy Gospel reports that soon Herod the Younger beheaded John the Baptist. Joseph writes about the same thing, calling Herodias by name; Herod married her, his brother's wife, divorcing his first, lawful wife (she was the daughter of Aretas, king of Petrea). Herod took Herodias away from her living husband. 2 She was to blame for the death of John, and for the war with Aretas, who thought his daughter had been insulted. In this war, in one of the battles, they say, the entire army of Herod perished: this was his punishment for the death of John. (3) The same Joseph acknowledges that John was a most righteous man, and that he baptized men; his testimony agrees with what is written in the Gospels. He tells us that Herod, through the fault of the same Herodias, lost his kingdom, was sent with her into distant exile and condemned to live in the Gallic city of Vienna. (4) This is written in the 18th book of the Antiquities, where it is literally said of John: "Some of the Jews think that God destroyed Herod's army in all justice, punishing him for the death of John, who is called the Baptist. Herod killed him, a worthy man, who urged the Jews to exercise virtue, to be just to one another, and godly before God, and then to come to be baptized. He believed that it is worth being baptized not in order to pray for remission of sins, but for the sake of bodily purity, when the soul has been cleansed even earlier by righteousness. 6 People gathered around him, inspired by his words. Herod, however, fearing lest he, having such power of persuasion, should stir up a rebellion (it seemed that by his advice the people would do anything), decided that it would be much better to prevent events and kill John without waiting for a rebellion, and not to repent afterwards if a revolution occurred. Suspected by Herod, he was sent in chains to Maherunt - we spoke of this prison before - and there he was killed."