Which 'Josephus' is Closer to the Original? Pseudo-Hegesippus Book 4 Chapter 1 or Bellum Judaicum Book 4 Chapter 1?

We continue with our section by section comparison of the narratives of Pseudo-Hegesippus and Jewish War. It should be noted that both traditions end Book Three at the material cited in our last post. In other words, what follows is understood to be the beginning of Book Four in both texts. Book One ends for both traditions with the death of Herod but Book Two has different endings, Book Three a different beginnings etc. but the basic form of the five books is relatively consistent. 

The next section in our comparative study of Pseudo-Hegesippus is:

The Taricheans having been eliminated, for the most part the Romans were able to gain control of the Galilaean cities and territory, save only that the city Gamala of an obstinate people of the Gaulanitidian region relying upon (its) inaccessible location maintained (its) arrogance. For it is situated on a mountain. Circumscribed on the right and left sides by rugged cliffs, it is constrained to the summit, in front it is cut off by a deep opening, in the after part it is somewhat extended, from that side also, a narrow path and a difficult approach meandering to the city, you would judge the route similar to a tail; from the highest point a neck extending a great distance displays a fortress as if a head and lifts to a high altitude, narrow from the beginning and like a curved bottom with steep turnings and buried to a great depth, thence as if raising up in the middle a certain tendon of the neck, for the rest rugged and without a path. Whence very many from previous times think (it) to have been named Camela, because it offers the shape of a camel, but the name of Gamala to have stuck to the city from the incorrect usage of the inhabitants. Indeed if you look at the buildings jammed together, you would adjudge the city to be suspended and would especially consider its northern parts to hang suspended, turned back a little southerly. Josephus added fortifications to this city also, relying upon which and the number of the multitude coming together there they made sport through seven months of the siege of King Agrippa. For this city and Sotanis and Seleucia were parts of his kingdom, Seleucia next to that very pleasant forest Daphnes famous throughout Syria, filled with cypress trees, gushing with springs by which it pours in certain nutriments with milky abundance into the meandering river of this region, which they designate the Lesser Jordan. However this state and upper Sotanis and the portion of Gaulanitidis below Gamala, from where with dissonant enthusiasm the former chose the Roman partnership, the latter revolted so obstinately that when the king wished to address them too close to the walls he was wounded by the missile of a sling. Incensed by whose injury the Romans applied themselves to the siege more strongly, and it was conflicted promptly by both sides, by the Jews also, who had treated with violence their own king while he was persuading useful actions, who assessing themselves to be without any forgiveness if they were conquered were fighting with all their strength. Agrippa for the reason that he had been struck on the right elbow by a rock went out from the fighting, the Romans broke into the city. The enemy gave way to the missiles, the wall to the battering rams. For those who fought the war machines were not at all able to resist longer, and the wall shattered by three battering rams furnished an accessible route to the besiegers into the besieged. But that thing the impatience of haste brought an extraordinary slaughter upon the victors. For when they poured themselves into the dwellings, while they are searching through or hastening to go plundering, the critical falling to weight of houses, with crumbling foundations brought on catastrophe and the nearest and whatever was in proximity was dashed to destruction. Many Romans involved with these collapses met death in victory. Most pushing themselves forward were overwhelmed by falling dwellings, others half-dead with mangled body barely dug out, dust killed most. Pressed together in tight spaces they were killed, also women and weak old men and those of the younger who had fled were thrown down beneath stones from above. Darkness poured in upon everything took away sight confused the mind. Want of knowledge did not find a way out. And so barely withdrawing themselves from the danger they withdrew from the city. Vespasian meanwhile while pressing upon the enemy in the middle of the city had withdrawn and in the midst of a surrounded force of the enemy he spurred on the fight. For indeed it was totally unfitting for a man to offer his back to the enemy nor did he think it safe. He had directed his son Titus against Syria. He aroused the consciousness of their famous bravery and collecting themselves into their arms with shields joined together with the few whom he had at hand undaunted he stood as if weighing against whom he should launch himself. Whose attack the fearful Jews began to stand against with less strength and each fearing for himself to weaken their battle line. Thus Vespasian against the enemy gradually made progress resembling fighters more than advancers. At that place fell the decurion Butius proven previously in many battles and against the Jews a famous man of experience and great bravery. A centurion also with ten other Syrians accomplished an outstanding and memorable deed. For in the same confusion when he perceived the Romans to be hard pressed he took them into a hiding place of a certain home and there when the Jews were conferring among themselves while dining what they were contriving against the Romans, in the dead of night he killed them all and brought himself with his soldiers back to the Roman army. [Pseudo-Hegesippus 4.1]

This parallel section in Jewish War reads:

Now all those Galileans who, after the taking of Jotapata, had revolted from the Romans, did, upon the conquest of Taricheae, deliver themselves up to them again. And the Romans received all the fortresses and the cities, excepting Gischala and those that had seized upon Mount Tabor; Gamala also, which is a city ever against Tarichem, but on the other side of the lake, conspired with them. This city lay upon the borders of Agrippa's kingdom, as also did Sogana and Scleucia. And these were both parts of Gaulanitis; for Sogana was a part of that called the Upper Gaulanitis, as was Gamala of the Lower; while Selcucia was situated at the lake Semechouitis, which lake is thirty furlongs in breadth, and sixty in length; its marshes reach as far as the place Daphne, which in other respects is a delicious place, and hath such fountains as supply water to what is called Little Jordan, under the temple of the golden calf, where it is sent into Great Jordan. Now Agrippa had united Sogana and Seleucia by leagues to himself, at the very beginning of the revolt from the Romans; yet did not Gamala accede to them, but relied upon the difficulty of the place, which was greater than that of Jotapata, for it was situated upon a rough ridge of a high mountain, with a kind of neck in the middle: where it begins to ascend, it lengthens itself, and declines as much downward before as behind, insomuch that it is like a camel in figure, from whence it is so named, although the people of the country do not pronounce it accurately. Both on the side and the face there are abrupt parts divided from the rest, and ending in vast deep valleys; yet are the parts behind, where they are joined to the mountain, somewhat easier of ascent than the other; but then the people belonging to the place have cut an oblique ditch there, and made that hard to be ascended also. On its acclivity, which is straight, houses are built, and those very thick and close to one another. The city also hangs so strangely, that it looks as if it would fall down upon itself, so sharp is it at the top. It is exposed to the south, and its southern mount, which reaches to an immense height, was in the nature of a citadel to the city; and above that was a precipice, not walled about, but extending itself to an immense depth. There was also a spring of water within the wall, at the utmost limits of the city.

As this city was naturally hard to be taken, so had Josephus, by building a wall about it, made it still stronger, as also by ditches and mines under ground. The people that were in it were made more bold by the nature of the place than the people of Jotapata had been, but it had much fewer fighting men in it; and they had such a confidence in the situation of the place, that they thought the enemy could not be too many for them; for the city had been filled with those that had fled to it for safety, on account of its strength; on which account they had been able to resist those whom Agrippa sent to besiege it for seven months together.

But Vespasian removed from Emmaus, where he had last pitched his camp before the city Tiberias, (now Emmaus, if it be interpreted, may be rendered "a warm bath," for therein is a spring of warm water, useful for healing,) and came to Gamala; yet was its situation such that he was not able to encompass it all round with soldiers to watch it; but where the places were practicable, he set men to watch it, and seized upon the mountain which was over it. And as the legions, according to their usual custom, were fortifying their camp upon that mountain, he began to cast up banks at the bottom, at the part towards the east, where the highest tower of the whole city was, and where the fifteenth legion pitched their camp; while the fifth legion did duty over against the midst of the city, and whilst the tenth legion filled up the ditches and the valleys. Now at this time it was that as king Agrippa was come nigh the walls, and was endeavoring to speak to those that were on the walls about a surrender, he was hit with a stone on his right elbow by one of the slingers; he was then immediately surrounded with his own men. But the Romans were excited to set about the siege, by their indignation on the king's account, and by their fear on their own account, as concluding that those men would omit no kinds of barbarity against foreigners and enemies, who where so enraged against one of their own nation, and one that advised them to nothing but what was for their own advantage.

Now when the banks were finished, which was done on the sudden, both by the multitude of hands, and by their being accustomed to such work, they brought the machines; but Chares and Joseph, who were the most potent men in the city, set their armed men in order, though already in a fright, because they did not suppose that the city could hold out long, since they had not a sufficient quantity either of water, or of other necessaries. However, these their leaders encouraged them, and brought them out upon the wall, and for a while indeed they drove away those that were bringing the machines; but when those machines threw darts and stones at them, they retired into the city; then did the Romans bring battering rams to three several places, and made the wall shake [and fall]. They then poured in over the parts of the wall that were thrown down, with a mighty sound of trumpets and noise of armor, and with a shout of the soldiers, and brake in by force upon those that were in the city; but these men fell upon the Romans for some time, at their first entrance, and prevented their going any further, and with great courage beat them back; and the Romans were so overpowered by the greater multitude of the people, who beat them on every side, that they were obliged to run into the upper parts of the city. Whereupon the people turned about, and fell upon their enemies, who had attacked them, and thrust them down to the lower parts, and as they were distressed by the narrowness and difficulty of the place, slew them; and as these Romans could neither beat those back that were above them, nor escape the force of their own men that were forcing their way forward, they were compelled to fly into their enemies' houses, which were low; but these houses being thus full, of soldiers, whose weight they could not bear, fell down suddenly; and when one house fell, it shook down a great many of those that were under it, as did those do to such as were under them. By this means a vast number of the Romans perished; for they were so terribly distressed, that although they saw the houses subsiding, they were compelled to leap upon the tops of them; so that a great many were ground to powder by these ruins, and a great many of those that got from under them lost some of their limbs, but still a greater number were suffocated by the dust that arose from those ruins. The people of Gamala supposed this to be an assistance afforded them by God, and without regarding what damage they suffered themselves, they pressed forward, and thrust the enemy upon the tops of their houses; and when they stumbled in the sharp and narrow streets, and were perpetually falling down, they threw their stones or darts at them, and slew them. Now the very ruins afforded them stones enow; and for iron weapons, the dead men of the enemies' side afforded them what they wanted; for drawing the swords of those that were dead, they made use of them to despatch such as were only half dead; nay, there were a great number who, upon their falling down from the tops of the houses, stabbed themselves, and died after that manner; nor indeed was it easy for those that were beaten back to fly away; for they were so unacquainted with the ways, and the dust was so thick, that they wandered about without knowing one another, and fell down dead among the crowd.

Those therefore that were able to find the ways out of the city retired. But now Vespasian always staid among those that were hard set; for he was deeply affected with seeing the ruins of the city falling upon his army, and forgot to take care of his own preservation. He went up gradually towards the highest parts of the city before he was aware, and was left in the midst of dangers, having only a very few with him; for even his son Titus was not with him at that time, having been then sent into Syria to Mucianus. However, he thought it not safe to fly, nor did he esteem it a fit thing for him to do; but calling to mind the actions he had done from his youth, and recollecting his courage, as if he had been excited by a divine fury, he covered himself and those that were with him with their shields, and formed a testudo over both their bodies and their armor, and bore up against the enemy's attacks, who came running down from the top of the city; and without showing any dread at the multitude of the men or of their darts, he endured all, until the enemy took notice of that divine courage that was within him, and remitted of their attacks; and when they pressed less zealously upon him, he retired, though without showing his back to them till he was gotten out of the walls of the city. Now a great number of the Romans fell in this battle, among whom was Ebutius, the decurion, a man who appeared not only in this engagement, wherein he fell, but every where, and in former engagements, to be of the truest courage, and one that had done very great mischief to the Jews. But there was a centurion whose name was Gallus, who, during this disorder, being encompassed about, he and ten other soldiers privately crept into the house of a certain person, where he heard them talking at supper, what the people intended to do against the Romans, or about themselves (for both the man himself and those with him were Syrians). So he got up in the night time, and cut all their throats, and escaped, together with his soldiers, to the Romans. [Jewish War 4.1.1 - 5]

Some notes. Jewish War characteristically blurs the distinction between Jews and Galileans by saying "all those Galileans who, after the taking of Jotapata, had revolted from the Romans." Jewish War continues the consistent expansion of the original text. Hegesippus says "the Romans were able to gain control of the Galilaean cities and territory, save only that the city Gamala" which is CLEARLY the original. Jewish War continues to (a) add its subplot about John Gischala which is NEVER present in Hegesippus viz. "and the Romans received all the fortresses and the cities, excepting Gischala and those that had seized upon Mount Tabor; Gamala also." The narrative only makes sense if Gamala is the last hold out. 

There is also a consistent effort to limit the size of Agrippa's kingdom in Jewish War "this city lay upon the borders of Agrippa's kingdom."

As always, the two accounts have similar narrative arranged according to a different order. It is worth noting the two explanations for the name Gamala. Hegesippus writes "whence very many from previous times think (it) to have been named Camela, because it offers the shape of a camel, but the name of Gamala to have stuck to the city from the incorrect usage of the inhabitants." Jewish War seems more correct when it says that mountain "declines as much downward before as behind, insomuch that it is like a camel in figure, from whence it is so named, although the people of the country do not pronounce it accurately." They presumably pronounce it Camela. 

The identification of Agrippa as a 'Jew' in Jewish War goes beyond what is written in Pseudo-Hegesippus -"but the Romans were excited to set about the siege, by their indignation on the king's account, and by their fear on their own account, as concluding that those men would omit no kinds of barbarity against foreigners and enemies, who where so enraged against one of their own nation, and one that advised them to nothing but what was for their own advantage."

Hegesippus and Jewish War develop Vita's account in very different ways. First the original account in Vita:

Now there was one Joseph, the son of a female physician, who excited a great many young men to join with him. He also insolently addressed himself to the principal persons at Gamala, and persuaded them to revolt from the king; and take up arms, and gave them hopes that they should, by his means, recover their liberty. And some they forced into the service, and those that would not acquiesce in what they had resolved on, they slew. They also slew Chares, and with him Jesus, one of his kinsmen, and a brother of Justus of Tiberias, as we have already said. Those of Gamala also wrote to me, desiring me to send them an armed force, and workmen to raise up the walls of their city; nor did I reject either of their requests. The region of Gaulanitis did also revolt from the king, as far as the village Solyma. I also built a wall about Seleucia and Soganni, which are villages naturally of ver great strength. [Vita 37]

Clearly the reality is that Josephus himself was present at Gamala. As we have noted the story of him being captured earlier was invented by the synergoi. Josephus was originally inventing the figure of a 'second Josephus' because someone was claiming that he was there. 

In any event, Hegesippus only says that Josephus only built the walls which surrounded Gamala "Josephus added fortifications to this city also, relying upon which and the number of the multitude coming together there they made sport through seven months of the siege of King Agrippa." Jewish War adds material which admits that a Joseph was present but unbelievably claims that Chares, the kinsman of Philip the son of Jacimus a general who had formerly served in Agrippa's army. Vita makes clear that Chares was somehow associated with Agrippa and Josephus blames the residents of Gamala for his death (although it is likely again that he had a hand in that murder):

As this city was naturally hard to be taken, so had Josephus, by building a wall about it, made it still stronger, as also by ditches and mines under ground.

and then

Chares and Joseph, who were the most potent men in the city, set their armed men in order.

This other Joseph is not surprisingly killed off later in the narrative as we shall see shortly.

Also curious is Jewish Wars CLEAR EXPANSION of this narrative preserved in Hegesippus:

Vespasian meanwhile while pressing upon the enemy in the middle of the city had withdrawn and in the midst of a surrounded force of the enemy he spurred on the fight. For indeed it was totally unfitting for a man to offer his back to the enemy nor did he think it safe. He had directed his son Titus against Syria. He aroused the consciousness of their famous bravery and collecting themselves into their arms with shields joined together with the few whom he had at hand undaunted he stood as if weighing against whom he should launch himself. Whose attack the fearful Jews began to stand against with less strength and each fearing for himself to weaken their battle line. Thus Vespasian against the enemy gradually made progress resembling fighters more than advancers. At that place fell the decurion Butius proven previously in many battles and against the Jews a famous man of experience and great bravery. 

into this:

Those therefore that were able to find the ways out of the city retired. But now Vespasian always staid among those that were hard set; for he was deeply affected with seeing the ruins of the city falling upon his army, and forgot to take care of his own preservation. He went up gradually towards the highest parts of the city before he was aware, and was left in the midst of dangers, having only a very few with him; for even his son Titus was not with him at that time, having been then sent into Syria to Mucianus. However, he thought it not safe to fly, nor did he esteem it a fit thing for him to do; but calling to mind the actions he had done from his youth, and recollecting his courage, as if he had been excited by a divine fury,he covered himself and those that were with him with their shields, and formed a testudo over both their bodies and their armor, and bore up against the enemy's attacks, who came running down from the top of the city; and without showing any dread at the multitude of the men or of their darts, he endured all, until the enemy took notice of that divine courage that was within him, and remitted of their attacks; and when they pressed less zealously upon him, he retired, though without showing his back to them till he was gotten out of the walls of the city.

Jewish War drops any reference to 'Butius'