66 AD
“And now Gallus, seeing nothing more that looked towards an innovation in Galilee, returned with his army to Cesarea: but Cestius removed with his whole army, and marched to Antipatris; and when he was informed that there was a great body of Jewish forces gotten together in a certain tower called Aphek, he sent a party before to fight them; but this party dispersed the Jews by affrighting them before it came to a battle.”
Flavius Josephus, The Jewish Wars, Book II, Chapter 19, Section 1
Cestius Gallus, the proconsul of Syria, sets out to Judea with 36,000 archers, in addition to infantry and cavalry men; some of them are Roman soldiers and others are members of Agrippa II’s personal army. The rebellion is suppressed across the Galilee in 66 AD. Acre, Caesarea, Jaffa, Nuribta, Kabul, and Lod fall into Roman hands, while Sepphoris surrenders without a fight. Gallus conquers Aphek and Lod en route to Jerusalem. However, along the ascent to Beth Horon, the siege engines are placed at the end of the formation – a grave error that enables Simon bar Giora’s men to flank the Roman contingent and capture their weapons. This heavy blow significantly damages Gallus’ ability to attack Jerusalem. Meanwhile, King Agrippa sends envoys to Jerusalem to try and appease the rebels once again. However, they are killed upon arrival.
Simon bar Giora and the rebels are not disheartened by the fall of the Galilee and coastal cities. Instead, they nurture their faith, set their eyes to the future, and focus their efforts on saving Judaism and Jerusalem. This attitude enables them to successfully attack Gallus.
“And now Gallus, seeing nothing more that looked towards an innovation in Galilee, returned with his army to Cesarea: but Cestius removed with his whole army, and marched to Antipatris; and when he was informed that there was a great body of Jewish forces gotten together in a certain tower called Aphek, he sent a party before to fight them; but this party dispersed the Jews by affrighting them before it came to a battle” (Josephus Flavius, The Jewish Wars, Book 2, Chapter 19, paragraph 1)
Pursuit of truth means not only looking outward, but also inward; our life’s mission is to discover truth.
