Jesus Comparative Figures: Sign Prophet Series (Temple Prophet of 70CE)

Part 7 Temple Prophet of 70CE

Josephus writes about this Sign Prophet after discussing the Temple burning down despite Josephus claiming that Titus attempted to stop it (Josephus, War 6.266). “At the end of the Roman siege while the temple was ablaze (August, A.D. 70), six thousand refugees fled to the remaining portico in the outer court. A prophet had informed them that they would receive the ‘tokens of their deliverance’ and ‘help from God’ (War 6.285-286).[1] Josephus recounts how 6000 ordinary people were led to their deaths in the middle of a raging battle. “women and children of the populace and a mixed multitude” (War 6.283) by a false prophet. He had promised them “signs of their deliverance” from the very real trouble of slaughter by the Roman soldiers (War 6.285). “It is difficult to imagine what sort of “deliverance” or “release” was expected by the prophet who led six thousand apparently defenseless people into the Temple precincts in the middle of a fierce battle. It would seem that he expected an act of divine intervention of a very dramatic sort.”[2]

The “six thousand inhabitants of Jerusalem lost their lives in the Temple area, to which they had fled, because a “false prophet” had told them to do so, as it was a commandment of God; for there they should receive the signs of salvation (War 6.285f).[3]  Hengel sees the Temple Sign Prophet as one of many appointed by the Zealots to boost peoples morale among the horrors suffering from Roman siege warfare, “they were killed by the Romans or they died in the flames.”.[4] The Sign Prophet promising deliverance in the midst of Roman slaughter just shows in desperate times how scriptural fantasy offered false hope. “The Jewish prophet may have pointed to a word such as that in Isaiah 28:16f., which played an important role in early Judaism (see IQS VIII:7f.; 1QH VI:21ff.). Zion is God’s foundation; he who believes will not be shaken.”[5]  Once again Exodus-Conquest imagery is employed by the Sign-Prophet. He promised the ‘signs of salvation’ a phrase clearly interchangeable with the ‘Signs of freedom’ employed by the Sign Prophets in the days of Felix.[6]

 

Here is the passage from Josephus’ War:

The soldiers also came to the rest of the cloisters that were in the outer [court of the] Temple, whither the women and children, and a great mixed multitude of the people, fled, in number about six thousand.  But before Caesar had determined anything about these people, or given the commanders any orders relating to them, the soldiers were in such a rage, that they set that cloister on fire; by which means it came to pass that some of these were destroyed by throwing themselves down headlong, and some were burnt in the cloisters themselves. Nor did anyone of them escape with his life. A false prophet was the occasion of these people’s destruction, who had made a public proclamation in the city that very day, that God commanded them to get up upon the temple, and that there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance. Now, there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose on the people, who denounced this to them, that they should wait for deliverance from God; and this was in order to keep them from deserting, and that they might be buoyed up above fear and care by such hopes. A man is easily persuaded in adversity: when the deceiver actually promises deliverance from the miseries that envelop them, then the sufferer becomes the willing slave of hope. So it was that the unhappy people were beguiled at that stage by cheats and false messengers of God. Thus were the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself; while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation, but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them.

Josephus, War 6.283- 288

Some interesting points distinguishing this Sign Prophet:

1. he was typical of a class of Sign Prophets used by the Zealots – “there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose on the people … in order to keep them from deserting, and that they might be buoyed up above fear and care by such hopes” (War 6.286).
2. Josephus uses his report of him to explain why he attracted crowds so easily – “when the deceiver actually promises deliverance from the miseries that envelop them, then the sufferer becomes the willing slave of hope” (War 6.287).
3. In the aftermath of this passage Josephus explains that these Sign Prophets read the portents wrong saying they pointed to Salvation whereas Josephus according to himself ‘correctly’ interprets these potents as leading to disaster.

 

The ‘inexperienced’ ‘uninitiated’ among whom apparently were ‘numerous (Sign) Prophets’, interpreted these portents as pointing to ‘salvation.’ Josephus, supported by the ‘sacred scribes’ declared that the portents were in fact omens of doom.[7] As Josephus says himself “they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation, but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them.” (War 6.288)

Portents such as: “Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year” (War 6.289), of a “great a light shone round the altar” (6.290). This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it. (6.291) i. e. Temple Destruction. And another portent of disaster “a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple.” (6.292) or of a heavy gate opening of its own accord “also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved” (6.295) Josephus then relates the famous portent (also used in the gospels) of “chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. (War 6.298-299; cf Dan. 7:13; 2 Macc..5:2; Mark 13:36; Rev 1:7; in fact this riding on clouds stuff goes back to Ba’al in the Ugarit texts- KTU 1.3, sometimes Yahweh is slipped in: see Deut. 33:26; Jer. 4:13; Isaiah 19:1and Ps 68:32-33, 104:3) and the priests hearing a noise “Let us remove hence!” (6.300)

Josephus used a common trope of a people losing divine favour before a disaster.

This Temple Prophet is one of an increasing number of self styled prophets just before the Great Revolt:

“the popular prophets who announced imminent divine deliverance were concentrated just before and during the great revolt. Josephus claims that there were many prophets at this time bidding the people to “await help from God.” Originating in apocalyptic visions, the messages delivered by these prophets held out hope for the people suffering under increasing oppression prior to the rebellion, or for those struggling against overwhelming odds once the Romans brought their massive forces to suppress the revolt (see War 6.286-87).” [8]

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[1] P. W. Barnett, “The Jewish Sign Prophets -A.D. 40–70 Their Intentions and Origin”, NTS 27/5 (1981), pp. 679-697, (679).

[2] Rebecca Gray, Prophetic Figures in Late Second Temple Jewish Palestine, The Evidence from Josephus, Oxford 1993, p.121

[3] Otto Betz, “Miracles in the Writings of Flavius Josephus”, ch.9 in Feldman and Hata (eds) Josephus, Judaism, and Christianity, (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987), p.230.

[4] Martin Hengel, The Zealots, Investigation into the Jewish Freedom Movement in the Period from Herod I to 70 AD, (translation by David Smith), (Edinburgh 1989), p.229.

[5] Betz, Miracles, p.230

[6] Barnett, Jewish Sign Prophets, p.686

[7] Barnett, Jewish Sign Prophets, p.686

[8] Richard Horsley and John Hanson, Bandits, Prophets and Messiahs, Popular Movements in the time of Jesus, Claremont 1985, p.181