From the Banishment of Archelus to the Departure From Babylon - Flavius Josephus

slow, that other letters came to Petronius before this, by which he understood
that Caius was dead; for God would not forget the dangers Petronius had
undertaken on account of the Jews, and of his own honor. But when he had
taken Caius away, out of his indignation of what he had so insolently
attempted in assuming to himself divine worship, both Rome and all that
dominion conspired with Petronius, especially those that were of the
senatorian order, to give Caius his due reward, because he had been
unmercifully severe to them; for he died not long after he had written to
Petronius that epistle which threatened him with death. But as for the
occasion of his death, and the nature of the plot against him, I shall relate
them in the progress of this narration. Now that epistle which informed
Petronius of Caius's death came first, and a little afterward came that which
commanded him to kill himself with his own hands. Whereupon he rejoiced
at this coincidence as to the death of Caius, and admired God's providence,
who, without the least delay, and immediately, gave him a reward for the
regard he had to the temple, and the assistance he afforded the Jews for
avoiding the dangers they were in. And by this means Petronius escaped that
danger of death, which he could not foresee.
Footnotes:
1. Regarding instances of the interpositions of Providence, as have been
always very rare among the other idolatrous nations, but of old very
many among the posterity of Abraham, the worshippers of the true God;
nor do these seem much inferior to those in the Old Testament, which
are the more remarkable, because, among all their other follies and
vices, the Jews were not at this time idolaters; and the deliverances here
mentioned were done in order to prevent their relapse into that idolatry.
2. Josephus here assures us that the ambassadors from Alexandria to Caius
were on each part no more than three in number, for the Jews, and for
the Gentiles, which are but six in all; whereas Philo, who was the
principal ambassador from the Jews, as Josephus here confesses, (as was
58