GGJ5b

Jakob Lorber – The Great Gospel of John, vol. 5, part B
Chapter 260
[GGJ.05_260,01] After a few hours‘ journey we reached the hidden
settlement which, like many others, had no name. The Jews as well as the
Greeks often did not name their settlements so that they could not be found
so easily by the Romans and the tetrarchs because of taxation; for once such
a village was found, described and given a name, it was also eligible to pay
tribute.
[GGJ.05_260,02] But besides this there was another reason for the so
frequent occurrence of no-name small villages, and that was this: Among the
Romans it was usual, because of the faster and easier colonization and
cultivation of the infertile and barren areas, that a new colony along with its
newly-built village would remain untaxed for twenty, thirty, forty up to fifty
years, according to how long one or other village needed for its full
cultivation. Well, the Jews and Greeks, who never were particular friends of
taxes, knew very well how to exploit this humane Roman law for their own
good, no-one will have any doubt in that. Therefore they gave a newly-built
village no name and if they were ever asked by any Roman commissar, the
village was only ten years old, if he had already more than a half a century
behind it. Then the village inspected by the commissar received a number,
but no name; and only beginning from this point in time was the new village
taxable after the end of the legal period and it received a name.
[GGJ.05_260,03] And thus this small place which we had just reached was a
nameless, but for that still tax-free village. This situation often suited us very
well; since the inhabitants of such a new or even better untaxed village were
much friendlier and accessible. And so it was once again the case here. We
arrived just as the sun was going down on the day before the Sabbath in this
truly very hidden village.
[GGJ.05_260,04] But the village lay in a high mountain valley which was very
fruitful and particularly suitable for raising cattle; but that was only on one
side, and even there very inaccessible. People who tend towards dizziness
would hardly dare to head over these steep paths. The valley itself lay
according to the present measures over four thousand feet above sea level,
which is certainly not saying much in Asia, because there were and still are
inhabited villages at much higher altitudes.
[GGJ.05_260,05] When we thus arrived in this village, immediately several
inhabitants saw us and quickly called their eldest and chief, so that he should
come and check us out, why we had come there. The chief, an already grey
haired Jew, was immediately at hand, looked at us and then asked us what
we wanted there, and what had forced us to climb to this village so cut off
from the entire world.
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