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beginning from Cyrus they presided over the affairs of the nation; for it is clear from the sacred scripture, and no less so from the aforementioned words of Josephus, that after the return from Babylon, from Jesus the high priest himself, they employed leaders and rulers in succession, down to those whom Josephus names the sons of Asamonius, whom the scripture called Maccabees, of whom the first to serve as high priest was Judas, surnamed Maccabeus, who also led the people after defeating the generals of Antiochus; after whom Jonathan his brother took over both the high priesthood and the leadership of the people; and again his brother Simon as high priest, after whom Hyrcanus succeeds, after whom Judas, also called Aristobulus; and he was the first to put on the diadem in addition to the high priesthood and the kingship; after him Alexander, having received both the high priesthood and the kingship, dies, with his wife as his successor; 157 at which point in the concluded weeks of Daniel the rulers from the priests who were called anointed ones cease; so that the oracle which says, "until an anointed leader," indicates that there will be so many weeks; as if it had said more clearly, nine and sixty-two weeks of years will pass, that is a period of four hundred and eighty-three years, during which a certain anointed one and high priest as a leader in succession will preside over the affairs of the people. And it is indeed clear to everyone from what we have set forth, that such a number of years is established from Cyrus until the death of Alexander, the last high priest who ruled them; after whom a woman, alone of any up to that time, takes over the kingship of the nation, from which time both the leadership of the Jews and the high priesthood, which had proceeded steadfastly from their ancestors, are thrown into confusion. For the aforementioned woman, having taken over the rule, gives the high priesthood to her son Hyrcanus, but she herself, after holding the kingship for nine years, dies; after her, Aristobulus, his other son, after stirring up much strife against his brother, takes the high priesthood from him, but he himself loses it and the kingship after the third year; for immediately the Roman general Pompey arrived, besieged Jerusalem by force, and defiled the holy places, having proceeded even to the innermost parts of the temple, and he sends Aristobulus as a prisoner to Rome along with his children; after whom, when Hyrcanus was also carried off as a captive by the Parthians, the kingship over the Jews is entrusted to Herod, the first from the gentiles, 158 by the Roman senate; as Josephus reports, being an Idumean by race on his father's side, but an Arabian on his mother's; but as Africanus, whom we mentioned a little before, says, those who are accurate concerning him say that Antipater, who was his father, was the son of a certain Herod of Ascalon, one of the temple-servants of the temple of Apollo. Therefore, when the rule of the Jews had devolved upon such a man, at the (sic) same time, along with the other prophets, the prophecy of Jacob found in Moses is fulfilled, saying, "a ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is reserved; and he is the expectation of nations"; and it is clear from the histories and from what has been set forth by us, that until Herod, in whose time Christ was born, the rule of those from the Hebrews themselves in succession who led the whole nation did not cease; but when Herod, the first of foreign race, became their king, immediately the coming of Christ is fulfilled, and the foretold expectation of the nations began to be accomplished in deed through the teaching of our Savior which spread to every nation; then also the prophecy in Daniel after the weeks we have discussed was sealed, saying, "and after the sixty-two weeks, anointing shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in him"; "and he shall destroy the city and the holy place with the coming leader;" "and they shall be cut off in a flood, and until the end of a war which is cut short by desolations." 159 In what way, therefore, the aforementioned weeks and the

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ἀρξάμενοι ἀπὸ Κύρου τῶν τοῦ ἔθνους προέστησαν πραγμάτων· πρόδηλον γὰρ ἀπό τε τῆς ἱερᾶς γραφῆς, οὐ μὲν μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προτεθεισῶν τοῦ Ἰωσήπου φωνῶν, ὡς ὅτι μετὰ τὴν ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος ἐπάνοδον, ἐξ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ ἱερέως τοῦ μεγάλου ἡγεμόσι καὶ ἄρχουσι τοῖς κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἐχρῶντο, μέχρι ὧν ὁ Ἰώσηπος ὀνομάζει Ἀσαμωνίου παίδων, οὓς ἡ γραφὴ Μακκαβαίους ὠνόμασεν, ὧν πρῶτος ἀρχιεράτευσεν Ἰούδας ὁ Μακκαβαῖος ἐπικληθεὶς, ὃς καὶ καθηγήσατο τοῦ λαοῦ τοὺς Ἀντιόχου τροπωσάμενος στρατηγούς· μεθ' ὃν Ἰωνάθης ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ὁμοῦ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην καὶ τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ διαλαμβάνει προστασίαν· καὶ αὖθις τούτου ἀδελφὸς Σίμων ἀρχιερεὺς, μεθ' ὃν Ὑρκανὸς, μεθ' ὃν Ἰούδας, ὁ καὶ Ἀριστόβουλος, διαδέχεται· καὶ πρῶτος ἐπὶ τῇ ἀρχιερωσύνῃ καὶ βασιλείᾳ περιέθετο διάδημα· μεθ' ὃν τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν παραλαβὼν Ἀλέξανδρος ἐπὶ διαδόχῳ γυναικὶ τελευτᾷ· 157 ἐν ᾧ τῶν ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ συμπερασθεισῶν ἑβδομάδων οἱ ἐξ ἱερέων ἄρχοντες χριστοὶ προσαγορευόμενοι διαλείπουσιν· ὥστε δηλοῦν τὸ φάσκον λόγιον, ἕως χριστοῦ ἡγουμένου, τόσασδε ἔσεσθαι ἑβδομάδας· ὡσεὶ σαφέστερον εἰρήκει, θʹ καὶ ξʹ διελεύσεσθαι ἐτῶν ἑβδομάδας, τοῦτ' ἔστι χρόνων ον γʹ καὶ πʹ καὶ υʹ ἐτῶν, ἐν ᾧ χριστός τις καὶ ἀρχιερεὺς κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἡγούμενος τῶν τοῦ λαοῦ προστήσεται πραγμάτων. Καὶ δὴ παντί τῳ σαφὲς ἐκ τῶν προπαρατεθέντων ἡμῖν, ὡς τοσοῦτος ἐτῶν ἀριθμὸς τῶν ἀπὸ Κύρου καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν τελευτὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ ὑστάτου αὐτῶν ἡγησαμένου ἀρχιερέως παρίσταται· μεθ' ὃν μόνη τῶν πώποτε τὸ τηνικαῦτα γυνὴ τὴν τοῦ ἔθνους βασιλείαν διαλαμβάνει, ἐξ ἧς ὁμοῦ τά τε τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἡγεμονίας, καὶ τὰ τῆς ἐκ προγόνων εὐσταθῶς προϊούσης ἀρχιερωσύνης συγχεῖται. ∆ιαλαβοῦσα γοῦν ἡ προδεδηλωμένη τὴν ἀρχὴν, τὴν μὲν ἀρχιερωσύνην Ὑρκανῷ τῷ παιδὶ δίδωσιν, αὐτὴ δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν ἔτη θʹ κατασχοῦσα τελευτᾷ· μεθ' ἣν Ἀριστόβουλος, ἕτερος αὐτὸς πλεῖστα στασιάσας πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν, ἐκεῖνον μὲν τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην ἀφαιρεῖται, αὐτὸς δὲ πρὸς ταύτῃ καὶ τῆς βασιλείας μετὰ τρίτον ἔτος ἀποπίπτει· Ῥωμαίων γὰρ αὐτίκα στρατηγὸς Πομπήϊος ἐπιστὰς, τὴν μὲν Ἱερουσαλὴμ κατὰ κράτος πολιορκεῖ, μιαίνει τε τὰ ἅγια μέχρι τῶν ἀδύτων τοῦ ἱεροῦ προελθὼν, τὸν δὲ Ἀριστόβουλον δέσμιον ἐπὶ Ῥώμης ἅμα τέκνοις ἀναπέμπει· μεθ' ὃν καὶ τοῦ Ὑρκανοῦ ὑπὸ Πάρθων αἰχμαλώτου ἀχθέντος, τὴν κατὰ Ἰουδαίων βασιλείαν πρῶτος ἐξ ἐθνῶν. Ἡρώδης 158 παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου Ῥωμαίων ἐγχειρίζεται· ὡς μὲν ὁ Ἰώσηπος παραδίδωσιν, Ἰδουμαῖος κατὰ πατέρα τὸ γένος ὢν, Ἀράβιος δὲ κατὰ μήτερα· ὡς δ' ὁ Ἀφρικανὸς, οὗ μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθημεν, φασὶν οἱ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἀκριβοῦντες Ἀντίπατρον, τοῦτον δ' εἶναι αὐτῷ πατέρα, Ἡρώδου τινὸς Ἀσκαλωνίτου τῶν περὶ τὸν νεῶ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱεροδούλων γεγονέναι. Εἰς δὴ οὖν τὸν τοιοῦτον τῆς Ἰουδαίων περιελθούσης ἀρχῆς, ἐν τα (sic) αὐτῷ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων προφητῶν καὶ ἡ παρὰ Μωσεῖ φερομένη τοῦ Ἰακὼβ πληροῦται πρόρρησις, οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ἰούδα φήσασα, καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ᾧ ἀπόκειται· καὶ αὐτὸς προσδοκία ἐθνῶν· καὶ πρόδηλόν γε ἔκ τε τῶν ἱστοριῶν, καὶ τῶν ἡμῖν παρατεθέντων, ὅτι δὴ μέχρις Ἡρώδου, καθ' ὃν ὁ Χριστὸς γεγέννηται, οὐ διέλειπεν ἡ ἐξ αὐτῶν Ἑβραίων κατὰ διαδοχὴν τοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους ἡγησαμένων ἀρχή· πρώτου δὲ τὸ γένος ἀλλοφύλου βασιλεύσαντος αὐτῶν Ἡρώδου, αὐτίκα μὲν καὶ ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσία πληροῦται, καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐθνῶν προθεσπισθεῖσα προσδοκία διὰ τῆς εἰς πᾶν ἔθνος διαδραμούσης τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν διδασκαλίας ἔργῳ συντελεῖσθαι ἤρξατο· τότε καὶ ἡ ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ μετὰ τὰς διαληφθείσας ἡμῖν ἑβδομάδας πρόρρησις ἐπεσφραγίζετο, φάσκουσα, καὶ μετὰ τὰς ἑβδομάδας τὰς ξβʹ ἐξολοθρευθήσεται χρίσμα, καὶ κρίμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον διαφθερεῖ σὺν τῷ ἡγουμένῳ τῷ ἐρχομένῳ· καὶ κοπήσονται ἐν κατακλυσμῷ, καὶ ἕως τέλους πολέμου συντετμημένου ἀφανισμοῖς. 159 Τίνα μὲν οὖν τρόπον ἡ τῶν προρρηθεισῶν ἑβδομάδων τῶν τε