（3）　This　is　an　excellent　reflection　of　Josephus；　including　his　hopes　of　the　restoration　of　the　Jews　upon　their　repentance；　See　Antiq。　B。　IV。　ch。　8。　sect。　46；　which　is　the　grand　〃Hope　of　Israel；〃　as　Manasseh…ben…Israel；　the　famous　Jewish　Rabbi；　styles　it；　in　his　small　but　remarkable　treatise　on　that　subject；　of　which　the　Jewish　prophets　are　every　where　full。　See　the　principal　of　those　prophecies　collected　together　at　the　end　of　the　Essay　on　the　Revelation；　p。　822；　etc。
  （4）　This　destruction　of　such　a　vast　quantity　of　corn　and　other　provisions；　as　was　sufficient　for　many　years。　was　the　direct　occasion　of　that　terrible　famine；　which　consumed　incredible　numbers　of　Jews　in　Jerusalem　during　its　siege。　Nor　probably　could　the　Romans　have　taken　this　city；　after　all；　had　not　these　seditious　Jews　been　so　infatuated　as　thus　madly　to　destroy；　what　Josephus　here　justly　styles；　〃The　nerves　of　their　power。〃
  （5）　This　timber；　we　see；　was　designed　for　the　rebuilding　those　twenty　additional　cubits　of　the　holy　house　above　the　hundred；　which　had　fallen　down　some　years　before。　See　the　note　on　Antiq。　B。　XV。　ch。　11。　sect。　3。
  （6）　There　being　no　gate　on　the　west；　and　only　on　the　west；　side　of　the　court　of　the　priests；　and　so　no　steps　there；　this　was　the　only　side　that　the　seditious；　under　this　John　of　Gischala；　could　bring　their　engines　close　to　the　cloisters　of　that　court　end…ways；　though　upon　the　floor　of　the　court　of　Israel。　See　the　scheme　of　that　temple；　in　the　description　of　the　temples　hereto　belonging。
  （7）　We　may　here　note；　that　Titus　is　here　called　〃a　king；〃　and　〃Caesar；〃　by　Josephus；　even　while　he　was　no　more　than　the　emperor's　son；　and　general　of　the　Roman　army；　and　his　father　Vespasian　was　still　alive；　just　as　the　New　Testament　says　〃Archelaus　reigned；〃　or　〃was　king；〃　Matthew　2：22；　though　he　was　properly　no　more　than　ethnarch；　as　Josephus　assures　us；　Antiq。　B。　XVII。　ch。　11。　sect。　4；　Of　the　War；　B。　II。　ch。　6。　sect。　3。　Thus　also　the　Jews　called　the　Roman　emperors　〃kings；〃　though　they　never　took　that　title　to　themselves：〃　We　have　no　king　but　Caesar；〃　John　19：15。　〃Submit　to　the　king　as　supreme；〃　1　Peter　2：13；　17；　which　is　also　the　language　of　the　Apostolical　Constitutions；　II。　II；　31；　IV。　13；　V。　19；　VI。　2；　25；　VII。　16；　VIII。　2；　13；　and　elsewhere　in　the　New　Testament；　Matthew　10：18；　17：25；　1　Timothy　2：2；　and　in　Josephus　also；　though　I　suspect　Josephus　particularly　esteemed　Titus　as　joint　king　with　his　father　ever　since　his　divine　dreams　that　declared　them　both　such；　B。　III。　ch。　8。　sect。　9。
  （8）　This　situation　of　the　Mount　of　Olives；　on　the　east　of　Jerusalem；　at　about　the　distance　of　five　or　six　furlongs；　with　the　valley　of　Cedron　interposed　between　that　mountain　and　the　city；　are　things　well　known　both　in　the　Old　and　New　Testament；　in　Josephus　elsewhere；　and　in　all　the　descriptions　of　Palestine。
  （9）　Here　we　see　the　true　occasion　of　those　vast　numbers　of　Jews　that　were　in　Jerusalem　during　this　siege　by　Titus；　and　perished　therein；　that　the　siege　began　at　the　feast　of　the　passover；　when　such　prodigious　multitudes　of　Jews　and　proselytes　of　the　gate　were　come　from　all　parts　of　Judea；　and　from　other　countries；　in　order　to　celebrate　that　great　festival。　See　the　note　B。　VI。　ch。　9。　sect。　3。　Tacitus　himself　informs　us；　that　the　number　of　men；　women；　and　children　in　Jerusalem；　when　it　was　besieged　by　the　Romans；　as　he　had　been　informed。　This　information　must　have　been　taken　from　the　Romans：　for　Josephus　never　recounts　the　numbers　of　those　that　were　besieged；　only　he　lets　us　know；　that　of　the　vulgar；　carried　dead　out　of　the　gates；　and　buried　at　the　public　charges；　was　the　like　number　of　600；000；　ch。　viii。　sect。　7。　However；　when　Cestius　Gallus　came　first　to　the　siege；　that　sum　in　Tacitus　is　no　way　disagreeable　to　Josephus's　history；　though　they　were　become　much　more　numerous　when　Titus　encompassed　the　city　at　the　passover。　As　to　the　number　that　perished　during　this　siege；　Josephus　assures　us；　as　we　shall　see　hereafter；　they　were　1；100；000；　besides　97；000　captives。　But　Tacitus's　history　of　the　last　part　of　this　siege　is　not　now　extant；　so　we　cannot　compare　his　parallel　numbers　with　those　of　Josephus。
  （10）　Perhaps；　says　Dr。　Hudson；　here　was　that　gate；　called　the　〃Gate　of　the　Corner；〃　in　2　Chronicles　26：9。　See　ch。　4。　sect。　2
  （11）　These　dove…courts　in　Josephus；　built　by　Herod　the　Great；　are；　in　the　opinion　of　Reland；　the　very　same　that　are　mentioned　by　the　Talmudists；　and　named　by　them　〃Herod's　dove　courts。〃　Nor　is　there　any　reason　to　suppose　otherwise；　since　in　both　accounts　they　were　expressly　tame　pigeons　which　were　kept　in　them。
  （12）　See　the　description　of　the　temples　hereto　belonging；　ch。　15。　But　note；　that　what　Josephus　here　says　of　the　original　scantiness　of　this　Mount　Moriah；　that　it　was　quite　too　little　for　the　temple；　and　that　at　first　it　held　only　one　cloister　or　court　of　Solomon's　building；　and　that　the　foundations　were　forced　to　be　added　long　afterwards　by　degrees；　to　render　it　capable　of　the　cloisters　for　the　other　courts；　etc。；　is　without　all　foundation　in　the　Scriptures；　and　not　at　all　confirmed　by　his　exacter　account　in　the　Antiquities。　All　that　is　or　can　be　true　here　is　this；　that　when　the　court　of　the　Gentiles　was　long　afterward　to　be　encompassed　with　cloisters；　the　southern　foundation　for　these　cloisters　was　found　not　to　be　large　or　firm　enough；　and　was　raised；　and　that　additional　foundation　supported　by　great　pillars　and　arches　under　ground；　which　Josephus　speaks　of　elsewhere；　Antiq。　B。　XV。　ch。　11。　sect。　3；　and　which　Mr。　Maundrel　saw；　and　describes；　p。　100；　as　extant　under　ground　at　this　day。
  （13）　What　Josephus　seems　here　to　mean　is　this：　that　these　pillars；　supporting　the　cloisters　in　the　second　court；　had　their　foundations　or　lowest　parts　as　deep　as　the　floor　of　the　first　or　lowest　court；　but　that　so　far　of　those　lowest　parts　as　were　equal　to　the　elevation　of　the　upper　floor　above　the　lowest　were；　and　must　be；　hidden　on　the　inside　by　the　ground　or　rock　itself；　on　which　that　upper　court　was　built；　so　that　forty　cubits　visible　below　were　reduced　to　twenty…five　visible　above；　and　implies　the　difference　of　their　heights　to　be　fifteen　cubits。　The　main　difficulty　lies　here；　how　fourteen　or　fifteen　steps　should　give　an　ascent　of　fifteen　cubits；　half　a　cubit　seeming　sufficient　for　a　single　step。　Possibly　there　were　fourteen　or　fifteen　steps　at　the　partition　wall；　and　fourteen　or　fifteen　more　thence　into　the　court　itself；　which　would　bring　the　whole　near　to　the　just　proportion。　See　sect。　3；　infra。　But　I　determine　nothing。
  （14）　These　three　guards　that　lay　in　the　tower　of　Antonia　must　be　those　that　guarded　the　city；　the　temple；　and　the　tower　of　Antonia。
  （15）　What　should　be　the　meaning　of　this　signal　or　watchword；　when　the　watchmen　saw　a　stone　coming　from　the　engine；　〃The　Stone　Cometh；〃　or　what　mistake　there　is　in　the　reading；　I　cannot　tell。　The　MSS。；　both　Greek　and　Latin；　all　agree　in　this　reading；　and　I　cannot　approve　of　any　groundless　conjectural　alteration　of　the　text　from　ro　to　lop；　that　not　the　son　or　a　stone；　but　that　the　arrow　or　dart　cometh；　as　hath　been　made　by　Dr。　Hudson；　and　not　corrected　by　Havercamp。　Had　Josephus　written　even　his　first　edition　of　these　books　of　the　war　in　pure　Hebrew；　or　had　the　Jews　then　used　the　pure　Hebrew　at　Jerusalem；　the　Hebrew　word　for　a　son　is　so　like　that　for　a　stone；　ben　and　eben；　that　such　a　correction　might　have　been　more　easily　admitted。　But　Josephus　wrote　his　former　edition　for　the　use　of　the　Jews　beyond　Euphrates；　and　so　in　the　Chaldee　language；　as　he　did　this　second　edition　in　the　Greek　language；　and　bar　was　the　Chaldee　word　for　son；　instead　of　the　Hebrew　ben；　and　was　used　not　only　in　Chaldea；　etc。　but　in　Judea　also；　as　the　New　Testament　informs　us。　Dio　lets　us　know　that　the　very　Romans　at　Rome　pronounced　the　name　of　Simon　the　son　of　Giora；　Bar　Poras　for　Bar　Gioras；　as　we　learn　from　Xiphiline；　p。　217。　Reland　takes　notice；　〃that　many　will　here　look　for　a　mystery；　as　though　the　meaning　were；　that　the　Son　of　God　came　now　to　take　vengeance　on　the　sins　of　the　Jewish　nation；〃　which　is　indeed　the　truth　of　the　fact；　but　hardly　what　the　Jews　could　now　mean；　unless　possibly　by　way　of　derision　of　Christ's　threatening　so　often　made；　that　he　would　come　at　the　head　of　the　Roman　army　for　their　destruction。　But　even　this　interpretation　has　but　a　very　small　degree　of　probability。　If　I　were　to　make　an　emendation　by　mere　conjecture；　I　would　read　instead　of；　though　the　likeness　be　not　so　great　as　in　lo；　because　that　is　the　word　used　by　Josephus　just　before；　as　has　been　already　noted　on　this　very　occasion；　while；　an　arrow　or　dart；　is　only　a　poetical　word；　and　never　used　by　Josephus　elsewhere；　and　is　indeed　no　way　suitable　to　the　occasion；　this　engine　not　throwing　arrows　or　darts；　but　great　stones；　at　this　time。
  （16）　Josephus　supposes；　in　this　his　admirable　speech　to　the　Jews；　that　not　Abraham　only；　but　Pharaoh　king　of　Egypt；　prayed　towards　a　temple　at　Jerusalem；　or　towards　Jerusalem　itself；　in　which　were　Mount　Sion　and　Mount　Moriah；　on　which　the　tabernacle　and　temple　did　afterwards　stand；　and　this　long　before　either　the　Jewish　tabernacle　or　temple　were　built。　Nor　is　the　famous　command　given　by　God　to　Abraham；　to　go　two　or　three　days'　journey；　on　purpose　to　offer　up　his　son　Isaac　there；　unfavorable　to