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The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

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storehouses, <strong>and</strong> arsenak, containing every weapon<br />

<strong>of</strong> attack or defence, had been provided to enable<br />

<strong>the</strong> garrison to st<strong>and</strong> a prolonged si^e. Josephus<br />

describes even its natural position as unassailable.<br />

<strong>The</strong> highest point <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fort was on <strong>the</strong> west,<br />

where it looked sheer down into a valley. North<br />

<strong>and</strong> south <strong>the</strong> fort was equally cut <strong>of</strong>i* by valleys,<br />

which could not be filled up for siege purposes.<br />

On <strong>the</strong> east <strong>the</strong>re was, indeed, a valley one<br />

hundred cubits deep, but it terminated in a<br />

mountain opposite to MachsBrus. This was<br />

evidently <strong>the</strong> weak point <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> situation.^<br />

A late <strong>and</strong> very trustworthy traveller * has<br />

pronounced <strong>the</strong> description <strong>of</strong> Josephus^ as<br />

sufficiently accurate, although exaggerated, <strong>and</strong><br />

•wittil^ as probably not derived from personal<br />

observation. He has also furnished such pictorial<br />

details, that we can transport ourselves to that<br />

rocky keep <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Baptist, perhaps <strong>the</strong> more vividly<br />

that, as we w<strong>and</strong>er over <strong>the</strong> vast field <strong>of</strong> stones,<br />

upturned foundations, <strong>and</strong> broken walls around, we<br />

seem to view <strong>the</strong> scene in <strong>the</strong> lurid sunset <strong>of</strong>

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