History and Historiography: Comparing Josephus and the Talmud on the
Destruction of the Temple
Babylonian Talmud Gittin 56a-b
Avot d’Rabbi Natan B ch. 6
(J. Rubenstein translations)
Abba Sikara, the head of the rebels of Jerusalem, was the Now, when Vespasian came to destroy
nephew of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. [Rabban Yohanan Jerusalem he said to them: “Idiots!
ben Zakkai] sent for him [saying,] “Come secretly to me.”
Why do you want to destroy this city
He [Abba Sikara] came [to Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai] and [why do] you want to burn the
who said to him, “Until when will you do this, killing Temple? What do I want of you except
everybody with famine?” He [Abba Sikara] said to him: that you send me one bow or one arrow
“What should I do? For if I say anything to them, they will and I will go from you? They said to
kill me.” He [Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai] said to him, him, “Just as we went forth against
“Devise a plan for me that I may go out; maybe there could your two predecessors and killed them,
so we will go forth against you and kill
at least be a small [chance for] salvation.”
you.” When R. Yohanan b. Zakkai
[Abba Sikara] said to him: “Let it be known that you are heard this he sent for the men of
deathly ill and everybody will come to ask about you. Take Jerusalem and said to them., “My sons.
a stinking object and keep it by you, so that they will say Why are you destroying this city and
that you have died. Let your students bear you, and let no [why] do you want to burn the temple?
other man bear you so that none may sense how light you What does he ask of you except one
are, for they [the rebels] know that a live man is lighter than bow or one arrow and he will go from
a dead one.”
you?” They said to him, “Just as we
[Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai] did so. Rabbi Eleazar carried went forth against his two predecessors
him on one side and Rabbi Joshua on the other side. When and killed them, so we will go forth
they came to the city entrance, [the rebel guards] wanted to against him and kill him.” Vespasian
pierce the [body to ensure that he was dead]. [Abba Sikara] had men positioned within the walls of
said to them, “[The Romans] will say that [the rebels even] Jerusalem. They wrote down every
pierced their [own] Rabbi!” They wanted to push him [to single word they heard on arrows and
see if he would cry out]. [Abba Sikara] said to them, “[The shot them beyond the walls, saying that
Romans] will say that they pushed their [own] Rabbi!” [The R. Yohanan b. Zakkai was among the
friends of the Emperor.
guards] opened the gate and they went out.
When R. Yohanan b. Zakkai had
When he reached him [Vespasian], he said to him, “Peace to spoken to them one day, then a second
you, 0 King. Peace to you, 0 King.” He said to him, “You
and a third, but they did not accept [his
deserve death on two [counts]. First, I am not a king.”
words], he sent for his students, for R.
Second, if I am a king, why did you not come to me until
Eliezer and R. Yehoshua. He said to
now?” He said to him, “As for what you said, ‘I am not a
them, “My sons. Arise and take me out
king,’ in truth you are a king. For if you were not a king,
of here. Make a coffin for me and I will
Jerusalem would not be delivered into your hands, for it
lie down in it.” R. Eliezer grasped its
says, Lebanon shall fall to the might one (Isa 10:34) and
front and R. Yehoshua grasped its
‘mighty one’ refers to a king, as it says, His mighty one
back. At twilight they carried him until
shall come from his midst (Jer 30:21),” and ‘Lebanon’ refers they reached the gates of Jerusalem.
to the Temple, as it says, That good hill country and the
The gatekeepers said to him, “What is
Lebanon (Deut 3:25)” And as for what you said, ‘If I am a
this?” They said to them, “It is a
king, why did you not come to me?’-the thugs among us
corpse. Do you not know that one does
would not let me.”
not leave a corpse overnight in
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He said to him, “If there is a jar of honey and a snake wound
around it, would they not break the jar on account of the
snake?” He was silent. Rav Yosef [and some say R. Akiba]
applied to him the verse, “[God] turns sages back and
makes nonsense of their knowledge (Isa 44:25). He should
have answered him, ‘We take tongs and take away the snake
and kill it. And we leave the jar.’”
Just then a messenger came from Rome. He said to them,
“Rise, for the emperor has died and the notables of Rome
voted to make you the leader.” He [Vespasian] had put on
one shoe. He tried to put on the other but it would not go on.
He tried to take off the first, but it would not come off. He
said, “What is this?” He [R. Yohanan b. Zakkai] said to him,
“Do not worry. You received good news, [as it says], Good
news puts fat on bones (Prov 15:30).” He said to him,
“What is the remedy?” [He said,] “Bring someone who
annoys you and have him pass before you, as it says,
Despondency dries up the bones (Prov 17:22).” He did this.
It [the shoe] went on. He said to him, “Since you are so
wise, why did you not come to me before now?” He said to
him, “Have
I not told you?” He said, “I also told you.”
He [Vespasian] said to him, “I am going and I will send
someone else. Ask something of me and 1will give it you.”
He said, “Give me Yavneh and its sages and the line of
Rabban Gamaliel and doctors to heal Rabbi Zadoq.”
Rav Yosef, and some say R. Akiba, applied to him the
verse, “[God] tums sages back [and makes nonsense of their
knowledge] (Isa 44:25). He should have said, ‘Let them off
this time.’”
But he thought that perhaps he [Vespasian] would not do so
much, and he would not even save a little.
Jerusalem?” They said to him, “If it is a
corpse, take it out.”
They took him out and carried him
until they reached Vespasian. They
opened the coffin and he stood before
him. He (Vespasian) said to him,” Are
you Yohanan b. Zakkai? Ask, what
shall I give you?” He said to him, “I
ask nothing of you except that I may go
to Yavneh and study with my disciples,
and institute prayer there, and perform
all the commandments.” He said to
him, “Go and do everything that you
wish.”
He (R. Yohanan b. Zakkai) said to him,
“Would you like me to tell you
something?” He said to him, “Speak.”
He said to him, “Behold, you are about
to become Emperor.” He said to him,
“How do you know?” He said to him,
“It is our tradition that the temple will
not be delivered to the hand of a
commoner but to the hand of a king, as
it says, The thickets of the forest shall
be hacked away with iron, and
Lebanon shall fall to the mighty one
(lsa 10:34).”
It was said: No more than one, two, or
three days passed before there came to
him a messenger from his city that the
Emperor died and they voted him to be
Emperor.
“Josephus, hiding his concerns for his own safety, said that he was trying to leave in order to
help [the townspeople]. By staying he could provide little help. If they were captured, what help
would it be for him to die with them. If he were outside, he could put together an army from the
whole Galilee to divert the Romans from the siege” (Jewish War 3.197-199).
“But while the city was being captured, Josephus, aided by some divine providence, had escaped
from amidst the enemy and jumped into a deep pit…where he found forty persons of distinction
hidden with supplies that would last for several days.”
In the cave, Josephus “remembered the dreams by which God had forewarned him of the
impending fate of the Jews and the destinies of the Roman emperors” (JW 3:351). As he
considered surrendering, the other people in the cave shouted at him:
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"'Are you so in love with life, Josephus, that you can bear to live as a slave?…We will lend you a
sword and a hand. If you die willingly, you will die as the general of the Jews; if you die
unwillingly, you will die as a traitor.' As they said this, they pointed their swords at him and
threatened to kill him if he surrendered to the Romans" (JW 3.357-360).
Josephus argued against suicide, but to no avail, but ultimately convinced the people to draw lots
to kill each other. "However, Josephus, shall we say by luck or by divine providence, was left
with one other man" (JW 3.391) whom he convinced to join him in surrendering to the Romans.
Josephus is brought to Vespasian, and says:
"You believe, Vespasian, that I am merely a prisoner, but I come to you as a herald of greater
destinies. …You will be Caesar, Vespasian. You will be emperor, and your son here" (JW 3:400401).
Isaiah 10
24
Assuredly, thus said my Lord GOD of Hosts: “O My people that dwells in Zion, have no fear of
Assyria, who beats you with a rod and wields his staff over you as did the Egyptians. 25For very
soon My wrath will have spent itself, and My anger that was bent on wasting them.”
‫ לד‬,‫ישעיהו פרק י‬
:‫ְונִקַּף ִס ְבכֵי ַּהיַּעַּר ַּבב ְַּרזֶל ְו ַּה ְלבָנֹון ְבאַּדִ יר י ִּפֹול‬
The thickets of the forest shall be hacked away with iron, and the Lebanon trees shall fall in their
majesty. (NJPS)
Isaiah 36
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the
fortified towns of Judah and seized them. 2From Lachish, the king of Assyria sent the
Rabshakeh, with a large force, to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. [The Rabshakeh] took up a
position near the conduit of the Upper Pool, by the road of the Fuller’s Field; 3and Eliakim son of
Hilkiah who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder
went out to him.
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The Rabshakeh said to them, “You tell Hezekiah: Thus said the Great King, the king of Assyria:
What makes you so confident? 5I suppose mere talk makes counsel and valor for war! Look, on
whom are you relying, that you have rebelled against me? 6You are relying on Egypt, that
splintered reed of a staff, which enters and punctures the palm of anyone who leans on it. That’s
what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to all who rely on him. 7And if you tell me that you are
relying on Hashem your God, He is the very one whose shrines and altars Hezekiah did away
with, telling Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship only at this altar!’ 8Come now, make this
wager with my master, the king of Assyria: I’ll give you two thousand horses, if you can produce
riders to mount them. 9So how could you refuse anything, even to the deputy of one of my
master’s lesser servants, relying on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10And do you think I have
marched against this land to destroy it without Hashem? Hashem Himself told me: Go up against
that land and destroy it.”
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Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah replied to the Rabshakeh, “Please, speak to your servants in
Aramaic, since we understand it; do not speak to us in Judean in the hearing of the people on the
wall.” 12But the Rabshakeh replied, “Was it to your master and to you that my master sent me to
speak those words? It was precisely to the men who are sitting on the wall—who will have to eat
their dung and drink their urine with you.” 13And the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud
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voice in Judean: 14“Hear the words of the Great King, the king of Assyria! Thus said the king:
Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you. 15Don’t let Hezekiah make
you rely on Hashem, saying, ‘Hashem will surely save us; this city will not fall into the hands of
Assyria!’ 16Don’t listen to Hezekiah. For thus said the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me
and come out to me, so that you may all eat from your vines and your fig trees and drink water
from your cisterns, 17until I come and take you away to a land like your own, a land of bread and
wine, of grain [fields] and vineyards. 18Beware of letting Hezekiah mislead you by saying,
‘Hashem will save us.’ Did any of the gods of the other nations save his land from the king of
Assyria? 19Where were the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where were the gods of Sepharvaim?
And did they save Samaria from me? 20Which among all the gods of those countries saved their
countries from me, that Hashem should save Jerusalem from me?” 21But they were silent and did
not answer him with a single word; for the king’s order was: “Do not answer him.”
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And so Eliakim son of Hilkiah who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and Joah
son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and they reported to him
what the Rabshakeh had said.
Isaiah 22
15
Thus said my Lord GOD of Hosts: Go in to see that steward, that Shebna, in charge of the
palace: 16What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn out a tomb for
yourself here?— O you who have hewn your tomb on high; O you who have hollowed out for
yourself an abode in the cliff! 17Hashem is about to shake you severely, fellow, and then wrap
you around Himself. 18Indeed, He will wind you about Him as a headdress, a turban. Off to a
broad land! There shall you die, and there shall be the chariots bearing your body, O shame of
your master’s house!
Bavli Sanhedrin 26a-b
When Sennacherib came and besieged Jerusalem, Shebna wrote a note, which he shot on an
arrow [into the enemy's camp, declaring]: Shebna and his followers are willing to conclude
peace; Hezekiah and his followers are not. Thus it is written, For lo, the wicked bend the bow,
they make ready their arrow upon the string. So Hezekiah was afraid, and said: Perhaps, Heaven
forfend, the mind of the Holy One, blessed be He, is with the majority; and since they wish to
surrender, we must do likewise! Thereupon the Prophet came and reassured him: Say ye not a
confederacy, concerning all of whom this people do say, A confederacy; it is a confederacy of
the wicked, and as such cannot be counted [for the purpose of a decision].
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