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[219]
And now it was that the temple was finished. So when the people saw
that the workmen were unemployed, who were above eighteen thousand and
that they, receiving no wages, were in want because they had earned their
bread by their labors about the temple; and while they were unwilling to
keep by them the treasures that were there deposited, out of fear of [their
being carried away by] the Romans; and while they had a regard to the making
provision for the workmen; they had a mind to expend these treasures upon
them; for if any one of them did but labor for a single hour, he received
his pay immediately; so they persuaded him to rebuild the eastern cloisters.
These cloisters belonged to the outer court, and were situated in a deep
valley, and had walls that reached four hundred cubits [in length], and
were built of square and very white stones, the length of each of which
stones was twenty cubits, and their height six cubits. This was the work
of king Solomon, 1
who first of all built the entire temple. But king Agrippa, who had the
care of the temple committed to him by Claudius Caesar, considering that
it is easy to demolish any building, but hard to build it up again, and
that it was particularly hard to do it to these cloisters, which would
require a considerable time, and great sums of money, he denied the petitioners
their request about that matter; but he did not obstruct them when they
desired the city might be paved with white stone. He also deprived Jesus,
the son of Gamaliel, of the high priesthood, and gave it to Matthias, the
son of Theophilus, under whom the Jews' war with the Romans took its beginning.
2
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