Read Zealot - The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth for Free Online Page B

these
     peasant gangs were nothing less than the physical embodiment of the anger and suffering
     of the poor. They were heroes: symbols of righteous zeal against Roman aggression,
     dispensers of divine justice to the traitorous Jews. The Romans had a different word
     for them. They called them
lestai
. Bandits.
    “Bandit” was the generic term for any rebel or insurrectionist who employed armed
     violence against Rome or the Jewish collaborators. To the Romans, the word “bandit”
     was synonymous with “thief” or “rabble-rouser.” But these were no common criminals.
     The bandits represented the first stirrings of what would become a nationalist resistance
     movement against the Roman occupation.This may have been a peasant revolt; the bandit gangs hailed from impoverished villages
     like Emmaus, Beth-horon, and Bethlehem. But it was something else, too. The bandits
     claimed to be agents of God’s retribution. They cloaked their leaders in the emblems
     of biblical kings and heroes and presented their actions as a prelude for the restoration
     of God’s kingdom on earth. The bandits tapped into the widespread apocalyptic expectation
     that had gripped the Jews of Palestine in the wake of the Roman invasion. One of the
     most fearsome of all the bandits, the charismatic bandit chief Hezekiah, openly declared
     himself to be the messiah, the promised one who would restore the Jews to glory.
    Messiah
means “anointed one.” The title alludes to the practice of pouring or smearing oil
     on someone charged with divine office: a king, like Saul, or David, or Solomon; a
     priest, like Aaron and his sons, who were consecrated to do God’s work; a prophet,
     like Isaiah or Elisha, who bore a special relationship with God, an intimacy that
     comes with being designated God’s representative on earth. The principal task of the
     messiah, who was popularly believed to be the descendant of King David, was to rebuild
     David’s kingdom and reestablish the nation of Israel. Thus, to call oneself the messiah
     at the time of the Roman occupation was tantamount to declaring war on Rome. Indeed,
     the day would come when these angry bands of peasant gangs would form the backbone
     of an apocalyptic army of zealous revolutionaries that would force the Romans to flee
     Jerusalem in humiliation. In those early years of the occupation, however, the bandits
     were little more than a nuisance. Still, they needed to be stopped; someone had to
     restore order in the countryside.
    That someone turned out to be a clever young Jewish nobleman from Idumea named Herod.
     Herod’s father, Antipater, had the good fortune of being on the right side in the
     civil war between Pompey Magnus and Julius Caesar. Caesar rewarded Antipater for his
     loyalty by granting him Roman citizenship in 48 B.C.E . and giving him administrative powers on behalf of Rome over all ofJudea. Before his death a few years later, Antipater cemented his position among the
     Jews by appointing his sons Phasael and Herod as governors over Jerusalem and Galilee,
     respectively. Herod was probably only fifteen years old at the time, but he immediately
     distinguished himself as an effective leader and energetic supporter of Rome by launching
     a bloody crusade against the bandit gangs. He even captured the bandit chief Hezekiah
     and cut off his head, putting an end (temporarily) to the bandit menace.
    While Herod was clearing Galilee of the bandit gangs, Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus,
     who had lost the throne and the high priesthood to his brother Hyrcanus after the
     Roman invasion, was stirring up trouble in Jerusalem. With the help of Rome’s avowed
     enemies, the Parthians, Antigonus besieged the holy city in 40 B.C.E ., taking both the high priest Hyrcanus and Herod’s brother Phasael prisoner. Hyrcanus
     was mutilated, rendering him ineligible, according to Jewish law, to serve any longer
     as high priest; Herod’s brother Phasael committed suicide while