by Brian Godawa
[Like] a raptor from his fingers,
It strikes the head of Prince [Yamm,]
Between the eyes of Judge River.
Mark S. Smith and Simon B. Parker, Ugaritic Narrative Poetry, vol. 9, Writings from the Ancient World (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1997), 103–104.
“The most important textual witnesses to the weapons of the storm god of Aleppo [Ba’al] are found in the Old Babylonian letters from the Mari archives From these letters we learn that the weapons that were housed in the temple of the storm god in Aleppo were brought to the Mariote city of Terqa during Zimri-Lim’s reign. While the letters seem to allude to the conflict myth that we find in fuller form later on in the Baal-Cycle from Ugarit, the weapons in the letters appear to be real weapons used as cultic objects.” Joanna Töyräänvuori, “Weapons of the Storm God in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Traditions,” Studia Orientalia, volume 112 (Helsinki, Finnish Oriental Society, 2012), 154, 160.
“In the text of the Ugaritic Baal-Cycle, the weapons forged by the smith Kothar-wa-Ḫasis, and wielded by Baal in the battle against Yamm, were clubs called by the names ygrš and aymr and traslated as ‘driver’ and ‘chaser,’ respectively. A club (or a hammer, also a smiting weapon) could certainly have been one of the storm god’s weapons, as the association seems to have had a cross-cultural mythological foundation. Many Syrian and Anatolian reliefs depict the weather god (Adad or Tarhunt) holding a lightning weapon in one hand and a hammer or a smiting weapon in the other hand.”
Joanna Töyräänvuori, “Weapons of the Storm God in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Traditions,” Studia Orientalia, vol. 112, (Finnish Oriental Society, 2012) 166
Marduk’s weapons:
Enuma Elish Tablet IV:27-59:
When the gods his fathers saw what he had commanded,
Joyfully they hailed, “Marduk is king!”
They bestowed in full measure scepter, throne, and staff,
(30) They gave him unopposable weaponry that vanquishes enemies.
“Go, cut off the life of Tiamat,
Let the winds bear her blood away as glad tidings!”
The gods, his fathers, ordained the Lord’s destiny,
On the path to success and authority did they set him marching.
(35) He made the bow, appointed it his weapon,
He mounted the arrow, set it on the string.
He took up the mace, held it in his right hand,
Bow and quiver he slung on his arm.
Thunderbolts he set before his face,
(40) With raging fire he covered his body.
Then he made a net to enclose Tiamat within,
He deployed the four winds that none of her might escape:
South Wind, North Wind, East Wind, West Wind,
Gift of his grandfather Anu; he fastened the net at his side.
(45) He made ill wind, whirlwind, cyclone,
Four–ways wind, seven–ways wind, destructive wind, irresistible wind:
He released the winds which he had made, the seven of them,
Mounting in readiness behind him to roil inside Tiamat.
Then the Lord raised the Deluge, his great weapon.
(50) He mounted the terrible chariot, the unopposable Storm Demon,
He hitched to it the four–steed team, he tied them at his side:
“Slaughterer,” “Merciless,” “Overwhelmer,” “Soaring.”
Their lips are curled back, their teeth bear venom,
They know not fatigue, they are trained to trample down.
(55) He stationed at his right gruesome battle and strife,
At his left the fray that overthrows all formations.
He was garbed in a ghastly armored garment,
On his head he was covered with terrifying auras.
The Lord made straight and pursued his way,
William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, The Context of Scripture (Leiden; New York: Brill, 1997–), 397.
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CHAPTER 62
This confrontation between Titus and Simon is creative license.
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God’s providence over the acts of evil in Revelation:
Revelation 9:1
1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
Revelation 6:2
And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
Revelation 6:4
And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Revelation 6:8
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
Revelation 9:3
Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.
Revelation 13:5
And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
Revelation 13:7
Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,
Revelation 13:14–15
14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
Revelation 16:8
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.
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Titus believed that the temple was no longer protected by a deity:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.2.4, §127
“I appeal to the gods of my own country, and to every god that ever had any regard to this place (for I do not suppose it to be now regarded by any of them); I also appeal to my own army, and to those Jews that are now with me, and even to you yourselves, that I do not force you to defile this your sanctuary; (128) and if you will but change the place whereon you will fight, no Roman shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront to it; nay, I will endeavor to preserve you your holy house, whether you will or not.”
Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 733.
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Josephus’ story of Simon’s capture: I have used creative license in the ending of Simon’s and Gischala’s stories. According to Josephus, Simon went and hid in the tunnels beneath the city. He was captured trying to trick the Romans. He was then brought to Rome for the triumphal procession. See Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 7.2.1, §26-36.
John of Gischala had actually hid in the tunnels as well before being captured by the Romans. Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.9.4, §433-434.
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CHAPTER 63
The previous final sequence of the Romans taking the Antonia and then the temple mount has been telescoped from a month into a day for creative license.
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This story is taken from: Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.5.2, §283-287. Six thousand die burned alive the cloisters because they were following a false prophet awaiting their deliverance.
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Gischala’s death here is creative license. He was actually captured in the tunnels and brought to Rome for the Triumphal procession.
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.9.4, §433-434
"As for John, he w
anted food, together with his brethren, in these caverns, and begged that the Romans would now give him their right hand for his security, which he had often proudly rejected before; but for Simon, he struggled hard with the distress he was in, till he was forced to surrender himself, as we shall relate hereafter; (434) so he was reserved for the triumph, and to be then slain: as was John condemned to perpetual imprisonment; and now the Romans set fire to the extreme parts of the city, and burnt them down, and entirely demolished its walls."
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The burning of the holy house:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.4.5, §250
“But, as for that [holy] house, God had for certain long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month Lous [Ab], upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon.”
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CHAPTER 64
Gold of the temple melting:
“When at last the walls were breached Titus tried to preserve the Temple by giving orders to his soldiers not to destroy or burn it. But the anger of the soldiers against the Jews was so intense that, maddened by the resistance they encountered, they disobeyed the order of their general and set fire to the Temple. There were great quantities of gold and silver there which had been placed in the Temple for safekeeping. This melted and ran down between the rocks and into the cracks of the stones. When the soldiers captured the Temple area, in their greed to obtain this gold and silver they took long bars and pried apart the massive stones. Thus, quite literally, not one stone was left standing upon another. The Temple itself was totally destroyed, though the wall supporting the area upon which the Temple was built was left partially intact and a portion of it remains to this day, called the Western Wall.”
This was supposedly taken from Jossipon’s account of the war.
It can be found in Ray C. Stedman, What's This World Coming To? (An expository study of Matthew 24-26, the Olivet Discourse). Discovery Publications, 3505 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94306. 1970
http://www.templemount.org/destruct2.html#anchor615789
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The Romans raise their standards in the temple and sacrifice to Titus:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.6.1, §316
“And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city, and upon the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings round about it, brought their ensigns to the temple, and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to them, and there did they make Titus imperator, with the greatest acclamations of joy.”
Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 743.
Roman standards: “The Roman Standard (Latin: Signum or Signa Romanum) was a pennant, flag, or banner, suspended or attached to a staff or pole, which identified a Roman legion (infantry) or Equites (cavalry). The Standard of a cavalry unit was emblazoned with the symbol of the serpent (Draconarius) while a legion of infantry was represented by a totemic animal. The most famous of these is the eagle (Aquila)…
“Besides the Serpent and Eagle symbols, there were also the Imago (a Standard displaying the image of the emperor), the Manus (an open hand at the top of the banner), the Vexillum (a rectangular cut cloth of a certain color, sometimes with a number, attached to a pole), and Banners which designated military hierarchy (a red banner, for example, would designate a general). The Vexillum designated the type of unit (legion or cohort) and which legion it was. The Manus of the open hand symbolized the loyalty of the soldiers and the trust they had in their leaders. The Imago reminded the troops of the emperor they fought for and symbolically stood for the will of Rome among them. A Standard would have more than one banner on it except for the Vexillum which was used to direct the troops' movements.” “Roman Standard,” Ancient History Encyclopedia Online http://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Standard/
Roman standards (“ensigns”) were considered idolatrous by the Jews: Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 2.9.2 §169-170 “Now Pilate, who was sent as procurator into Judea by Tiberius, sent by night those images of Caesar that are called Ensigns, into Jerusalem. (170) This excited a very great tumult among the Jews when it was day; for those that were near them were astonished at the sight of them, as indications that their laws were trodden underfoot: for those laws do not permit any sort of image to be brought into the city.” Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 608.
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Titus’s pompous blasphemous words and deeds in the temple:
Babylonian Talmud Gittin 5:6, I.12.A–D
I.12 A. He went and sent Titus, who said, “ ‘Where is their God, the rock in whom they trusted?’ (Deut. 32:37).”
B. This is that wicked Titus, who blasphemed and raged against Heaven. What did he do? He took a whore by her hand, and went into the house of the Holy of Holies; he spread out a scroll of the Torah, and on it he fucked her.
C. He took a sword and slashed the curtain.
D. A miracle was done, and blood spurted out. He thought he had killed himself: “Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly, they have set up their ensigns for signs” (Ps. 74:4)…
G. What did he do? He took the veil and made it into a kind of basket, and he brought all the utensils that were in the sanctuary and put them in it, and he set them onto a boat to go to serve in his triumph his city…
I. A gale arose at sea, to swamp him. He said, “It appears to me that the god of these people is mighty only through water. Pharaoh came along, and he drowned him in water. Sisera came along, and he drowned him in water. So he’s now standing against me to drown me in water. So if he’s so mighty, let him come up onto dry land and make war with me there.”
Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 11b (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 243–244.
http://www.come-and-hear.com/gittin/gittin_56.html
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Titus kills all the surviving priests:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.6.1, §316, 321
“And now all the soldiers had such vast quantities of the spoils which they had gotten by plunder, that in Syria a pound weight of gold was sold for half its former value. (318) But as for those priests that kept themselves still upon the wall of the holy house…
On the fifth day afterward, the priests that were pined with the famine came down, and when they were brought to Titus by the guards, they begged for their lives; (322) but he replied, that the time of pardon was over as to them; and that this very holy house, on whose account only they could justly hope to be preserved, was destroyed; and that it was agreeable to their office that priests should perish with the house itself to which they belonged. So he ordered them to be put to death.”
Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 743–744.
The False Prophet destroyed:
In this book, I take the False Prophet as a symbol of the office of the High Priest, who, because they rejected Messiah, had become the unholy opposite of a Biblical prophet. Though Ananus the high priest and others had been killed earlier in the siege, all representing this destruction, Titus nonetheless slaughtered the last of the priests after taking the temple, which represented that final blow.
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CHAPTER 66
Fleeing citizens finding refuge in the tunnels beneath the city:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.9.4, §429-430
“and others they made search for underground, and when they found where they were, they broke up the ground and slew all they met with. (430) There were also found slain there above two thousand persons, partly by their own hands, and partly by one another, but chiefly destroyed by the famine.”
Flavius Josephus and William Whisto
n, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 749.
The Jewish soldier defenders of the city also sought refuge in the tunnels beneath the city:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.7.3, §370-373
3. (370) So now the last hope which supported the tyrants and that crew of robbers who were with them, was in the caves and caverns underground; whither, if they could once fly, they did not expect to be searched for; but endeavored, that after the whole city should be destroyed, and the Romans gone away, they might come out again, and escape from them. (371) This was no better than a dream of theirs; for they were not able to lie hid either from God or from the Romans. (372) However, they depended on these underground subterfuges,
Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 746.
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CHAPTER 67
The details of the taking of the Upper City can be found in: Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.6.1-6.8.5, § 316-408.
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Titus’s comment about destroying the temple as subverting both Judaism and Christianity:
