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he was collecting the first-fruits from the Jews in the province. At this time he came to lodge nearer to the church, I cannot say in what city. And he became friends with the bishop there, † who secretly asked for the Gospels from him and read them. Since then as an apostle (for so, as I said, the dignity is called among them), being most severe and seemingly pure, he continually put forward matters for the establishment of good order, deposing and removing from office many of the appointed rulers of synagogues and priests and elders and *azanitai*, which among them are interpreted as deacons or ministers, he was resented by many, who, as if trying to defend themselves, were not a little diligent in meddling with him and tracking his activities. For such a reason, having meddled, they suddenly burst into his home and found him going through the Gospels, and they seize the book and grab the man, dragging him on the ground and shouting, and inflicting no ordinary outrages, they lead him to the synagogue and scourge him according to the law. And this became his first trial; but the bishop of the city came and rescued him. At another time they came upon him during a journey, as he related to us, and they threw him into the Cydnus river. And having been snatched by the current * they supposed that he must have perished, having gone under the water, and they rejoiced at this. But a short 1.347 time later he is deemed worthy of the holy font (for he was saved), and he goes up to the court and befriends the emperor Constantius and related to him all things concerning himself, how he was of the most distinguished rank among the Jews and how divine visions appeared to him in every way, the Lord calling him to the holy calling and salvation of faith and knowledge in Him. And the good emperor, being a servant of Christ in truth and possessing a zeal according to God among emperors like David and Hezekiah and Josiah, gives him a reward, as I have already said, of a dignity in his kingdom. For he appointed him a Count, telling him to ask again for whatever he wanted; but he asked for nothing except to receive this very great gift from the emperor: to be permitted and, by an imperial decree, to build churches of Christ in the cities and villages of the Jews, where no one had ever been able to establish churches because there was neither a Greek nor a Samaritan nor a Christian among them. This rule among them of not having a foreigner is especially observed in Tiberias and in Diocaesarea, which is also Sepphoris, and in Nazareth, and in Capernaum. 12. So Joseph, having received the letters and the authority with the dignity, came to Tiberias, also having letters to spend from the imperial funds, but also having been honored himself with salaries from the emperor. He begins, therefore, to build in Tiberias. And a very large temple already existed in the city; perhaps, I think, they called it the Hadrianeum. And this Hadrianeum having remained unfinished, perhaps the citizens were trying to repair it into a public bath. Joseph, having found this, took his pretext from it, and when he found the four walls had already been raised to a certain height with squared stones, from there he begins to undertake the care of the church. But there was need of lime and the other material. He therefore ordered many kilns to be made outside the city, perhaps seven in number—and 1.348 locally they call these *fournakas*. But the Jews, clever and bold for every undertaking, did not refrain from the sorcery that was always practiced among them. For with certain magics and curious arts the noble Jews attempted to bind the fire, but they did not have the strength to the end. At any rate, the fire was idle and did not work, but was outside of its own nature, so to speak. And when those who were to throw the fuel into the

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ἀπαρχὰς παρὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐπαρχίᾳ Ἰουδαίων εἰσέπραττεν. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ καιρῷ κατάγεται πλησιαίτερον τῆς ἐκκλησίας, οὐκ οἶδ' εἰπεῖν ἐν ποίᾳ πόλει. φιλιοῦται δὲ τῷ ἐκεῖσε ἐπισκόπῳ, † ὃς λεληθότως ᾔτησε παρ' αὐτοῦ τὰ εὐαγγέλια καὶ ἀνέγνω. ἐπεὶ οὖν οἷα ἀπόστολος οὕτως γὰρ παρ' αὐτοῖς ὡς ἔφην τὸ ἀξίωμα καλεῖται, ἐμβριθέστατός τε ὢν καὶ καθαρεύων δῆθεν, τὰ εἰς κατάστασιν εὐνομίας οὗτος διετέλει προβαλλόμενος, πολλοὺς τῶν κατασταθέντων ἀρχισυναγώγων καὶ ἱερέων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων καὶ ἀζανιτῶν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς διακόνων ἑρμηνευομένων ἢ ὑπηρετῶν καθαιρῶν τε καὶ μετακινῶν τοῦ ἀξιώματος, ὑπὸ πολλῶν ἐνεκοτεῖτο, οἵτινες ὥσπερ ἀμύνασθαι αὐτὸν πειρώμενοι πολυπραγμονεῖν τοῦτον καὶ ἰχνηλατεῖν τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ γινόμενα οὐ μικρὸν ἐσπούδαζον. διὰ τοιαύτην δὲ αἰτίαν πολυπραγμονήσαντες ἀθρόως εἰσέφρησαν οἴκαδε εἰς τὸ αὐτοῦ ἐφέστιον καὶ καταλαμβάνουσιν αὐτὸν τὰ εὐαγγέλια διερχόμενον, τήν τε βίβλον κατέχουσι τὸν δὲ ἄνδρα ἁρπάζουσι, σύροντες χαμαὶ καὶ βοῶντες, καὶ αἰκίας ἐπιφέροντες οὐ τὰς τυχούσας ἀπάγουσι μὲν εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν καὶ μαστίζουσι τοῦτον κατὰ τὸν νόμον. καὶ οὗτος αὐτῷ πρῶτος ἀγὼν γίνεται· ἐπέστη δὲ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἀφείλετο αὐτόν. ἄλλοτε δὲ καταλαμβάνουσιν αὐτὸν ἐν ὁδοιπορίᾳ τινί, ὡς ἡμῖν ὑφηγήσατο, καὶ ῥίπτουσιν αὐτὸν εἰς Κύδνον τὸν ποταμόν. τῷ δὲ ῥεύματι αὐτὸν ἀφαρπαχθέντα * ἐτόπασαν μή πη ἄρα ὄλωλεν ὑποβρύχιος γενόμενος τοῖς ὕδασι καὶ ἔχαιρον ἐπὶ τούτῳ. ὁ δὲ μικρῷ 1.347 ὕστερον λουτροῦ ἁγίου καταξιοῦται ἐσώθη γάρ, ἄνεισι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ κομιτάτον καὶ βασιλεῖ Κωνσταντίνῳ φιλιοῦται καὶ ἀνέθετο αὐτῷ τὰ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἅπαντα, ὡς ἦν τῶν κατ' Ἰουδαίους ἐξοχωτάτης ἀξίας καὶ ὡς αἱ θεοπτίαι αὐτῷ πάντῃ ἐπεφαίνοντο, τοῦ κυρίου αὐτὸν προσκαλουμένου εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν κλῆσιν καὶ σωτηρίαν τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν πίστεώς τε καὶ γνώσεως. ὁ δὲ ἀγαθὸς βασιλεύς, δοῦλος ὢν Χριστοῦ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ τὸν κατὰ θεὸν ζῆλον ἐν βασιλεῦσι μετὰ ∆αυὶδ καὶ Ἐζεκίαν καὶ Ἰωσίαν κεκτημένος, γέρας αὐτῷ δίδωσιν, ὡς ἤδη προεῖπον, ἀξιώματος ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ βασιλείᾳ. κόμητα γὰρ αὐτὸν κατέστησε, φήσας αὐτῷ αἰτεῖν πάλιν ὃ βούλεται· ὁ δὲ οὐδὲν ᾐτήσατο πλὴν τοῦτο μέγιστον χάρισμα τυχεῖν παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τὸ ἐπιτραπῆναι καὶ διὰ προστάγματος βασιλικοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι Χριστοῦ ἐκκλησίας ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι καὶ κώμαις τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἔνθα τις οὐδέποτε ἴσχυσεν προστήσασθαι ἐκκλησίας διὰ τὸ μήτε Ἕλληνα μήτε Σαμαρείτην μήτε Χριστιανὸν μέσον αὐτῶν εἶναι. τοῦτο δὲ μάλιστα ἐν Τιβεριάδι καὶ ἐν ∆ιοκαισαρείᾳ τῇ καὶ Σεπφουρὶν καὶ ἐν Ναζαρὲτ καὶ ἐν Καπερναοὺμ φυλάσσεται τὸ παρ' αὐτοῖς τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἀλλόεθνον. 12. Λαβὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰώσηπος τὰ γράμματα καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν μετὰ τοῦ ἀξιώματος ἐπὶ τὴν Τιβεριάδα ἧκεν, ἔχων καὶ ἐπιστολὰς ἀπὸ τῶν βασιλικῶν ἀναλίσκειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὀψωνίοις παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τετιμημένος. ἄρχεται γοῦν ἐν Τιβεριάδι κτίζειν. ναὸς δὲ μέγιστος ἐν τῇ πόλει προϋπῆρχε· τάχα, οἶμαι, Ἀδριανεῖον τοῦτο ἐκάλουν. ἀτελὲς δὲ τοῦτο τὸ Ἀδριανεῖον διαμεῖναν τάχα οἱ πολῖται εἰς δημόσιον λουτρὸν ἐπειρῶντο ἐπισκευάσαι. ὅπερ εὑρὼν ὁ Ἰώσηπος ἐκ τούτου τὴν πρόφασιν ἔσχε, καὶ ὡς ἤδη τετραχῆ τοὺς τοίχους διὰ τετραπόδων λίθων εὗρεν ἕως ὕψους τινὸς ἀνεγηγερμένους, ἐντεῦθεν ἄρχεται ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἐκκλησίας τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. ἀσβέστου δὲ ἦν χρεία καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ὕλης. καμίνους τοίνυν ἔξωθεν τῆς πόλεως πολλὰς προσέταξε γενέσθαι, τάχα τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἑπτά φούρνακας δὲ 1.348 ἐπιχωρίως ταύτας καλοῦσιν. οἱ δὲ δεινοὶ καὶ πρὸς πᾶν ἐπιχείρημα εὔτολμοι Ἰουδαῖοι τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀεὶ γινομένης μαγγανείας οὐκ ἀπέσχοντο. μαγείαις γάρ τισι καὶ περιεργίαις τὸ πῦρ καταδῆσαι οἱ γεννάδαι Ἰουδαῖοι ἐπετρίβησαν, ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς τέλος ἴσχυσαν. ἤργει γοῦν τὸ πῦρ καὶ οὐκ ἔπραττεν ἀλλὰ τῆς ἰδίας ὡς εἰπεῖν φύσεως ἐκτὸς ἐγένετο. ὡς δὲ οἱ τὴν καυστικὴν ὕλην παραβάλλειν τῷ