fhipped in this mountain, and ye fay that

Jerufalem is the place where men ought to worship."

Jof. Ant. lib. xviii. c. 5, fec. 1.

"Com

manding them to meet him at Mount Gerizim, which is by them (the Samaritans) efteemed the most facred of all mountains."

"Then

XXI. (p. 312.) Mat. xxyi. 3. affembled together the chief priests, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the. High Prieft, who was called Gaiaphas.". That Caiaphas was High Priest, and High Priest throughout the presidentship of Pontius Pilate, and confequently at this time, appears from the following account :-He was made High Priest by Valerius Gratus, predeceffor of Pontius Pilate, and was removed from his office by Vitellius, prefi

dent

dent of Syria, after Pilate was fent away out of the province of Judea. Jofephus relates the advancement of Caiaphas to the high priesthood in this manner : "Gratus gave the high priesthood to Simon, the fon of Camithus. He, having enjoyed this honour not above a year, was fucceeded by Jofeph, who is also called Caiaphas*. After this Gratus went away for Rome, having been eleven years in Judea; and Pontius Pilate came thither as his fucceffor." Of the removal of Caiaphas from his office, Josephus likewife afterwards informs us; and connects it with a circumftance which fixes the time to a date subsequent to the deter-mination of Pilate's government. "Vitellius (he tells us) ordered Pilate to repair to Rome; and after that went up himself to Jerusalem, and then gave directions concerning several matters. And, having done these things, he took away the priesthood from the High Prieft Jofeph, who is called Caiaphas +"

XXII. (Michaelis, c. xi. fec. 11.); Acts xxiii. 4. "And they that stood by faid, Revileft thou God's High Priest? Then faid Paul, I wift not, brethren, that he was the High Prieft." Now, upon enquiry into the history of the age, it turns out, that Ananias, of whom this is fpoken, was, in truth, not the High Prieft, though he was fitting in judgement in that affumed capacity. The cafe was, that he had formerly held the office, and had been depofed; that the person who fucceeded him had been murdered; that another was not yet appointed to the station; and that, during the vacancy, he had, of his own authority, taken upon himself the discharge of the office*. This fingular fituation of the high priesthood took place during the interval between the death of Jonathan, who was murdered by order of Felix, and the acceffion of Ifmael, who was invefted with the high priesthood by Agrippa; and precisely in this interval it happened that St. Paul

* Jof. Ant. 1. xx. c. 5, fec. 2. c. 6, sec. 2. c. 9, fec. 2.

was

was apprehended, and brought before the Jewish council.

XXIII. (p. 323.) Mat. xxvi. 59. "Now the chief priests and elders, and all the council, fought falfe witness against him.”

Jof. Ant. lib. xviii. c. 15, fec. 3, 4. "Then might be feen the High Priefts themfelves, with ashes on their heads, and their breafts naked.'

The agreement here confifts in speaking of the high priests, or chief priests (for the name in the original is the fame), in the plural number, when in ftrictness there was only one High Priest: which may be confidered as a proof, that the evangelists were habituated to the manner of speaking then in ufe, because they retain it when it is neither accurate nor juft. For the fake of brevity I have put down from Josephus, only a fingle example of the application of this title in the plural number; but it is his usual style.

1

VOL. II.

M

Ib.

"Now in the

Ib. (p. 871.) Luke iii. 1. fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cefar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, Annas and Caiaphas being the High Priefts, the word of God came unto John." There is a paffage in Jofephus very nearly parallel to this, and which may at least ferve to vindicate the evangelift from objection, with respect to his giving the title of High Priest specifically to two perfons at the fame time: "Quadratus fent two others of the most powerful men of the Jews, as alfo the High Priefs Jonathan and Ananias" That Annas wast a perfon in an eminent ftation, and poffeffed an authority co-ordinate with, or next to that of the High Prieft properly fo called, may be inferred from St. John's gofpel, which, in the hiftory of Chrift's crucifixion, relates that "the foldiers led him away to Annas first t." And this might be noticed

* De Bell. lib. xi. c. 12, fec. 6.

+ xviii. 13.

as