Page 59 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

A small group of Zealot rebels held out for three years at the rock fortress of Masada. Roman troops surrounded the mountain and forced
30,000 Jewish slaves to build a siege ramp on the western side of the mountain, seen in the center of this photograph. When Romans
broke through the final barrier, they found that more than 900 men, women and children were dead. Masada is the most visited site in
Israel today. On a side note, the water of the Dead Sea came nearly to the edge of Masada less than a century ago. The shrinking of the
Dead Sea is an ecological crisis.

Titus advanced upon Jerusalem, which Zealots had controlled since the war began in 66 AD. A siege
began shortly before Passover, 70 AD. The Temple was destroyed on August 30, 70 AD, and the
destruction of Jerusalem was finished eight days later. At that point, the city was uninhabitable.
Josephus writes that more than 1 million people were killed during the siege, though historians believe
that number to be greatly exaggerated. Nevertheless, it is possible that far more people than would
have normally been in Jerusalem would have been inside the ancient walls because of Passover, for
personal safety, or their passionate desire to defend the city. Whatever the reason, blood ran in the
streets of Jerusalem as it burned to the ground.

After the destruction of Jerusalem, Josephus wrote that the temple was destroyed, and even the
foundation stones were dug up. That verifies Jesus’s prediction that the temple would be destroyed and
that “not one stone will be left upon another,” found in Matthew 24:2 AND Mark 13:2. The only
th
structure remaining, according to Josephus, was the Fort housing the 10 Roman legion or the temple
mount of today.

Rome renamed Jerusalem “Aelia Capitolina,” and a temple to a pagan god was built on the battered
Temple Mount. After the second Jewish revolt was stamped out in 135 AD., Jews were forbidden from
living in Jerusalem, circumcision was forbidden in the land of Judea, and the land was officially renamed
“Syria Palestinia.” The name “Palestine” today traces its roots back to this time period, though it was the
Greeks who first coined the phrase after the ancient Philistine communities along the coastline.

Though the war with the Jews was obviously won, one group of Jewish rebels held out for another three
years at Herod’s palace-fortress of Masada. The story of what happened there is a great example of
both the determination of the Zealots to never give in to Roman rule and of Roman determination to
never allow rebellion among its subjects.

Because of the supplies already stored at the fortress, the Zealots were able to hold the fortress in
relative ease despite being in one of the most desolate locations in the world. They could have lived on
Masada for many more years. They had all the water and food they needed.

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