agoses, the general of Artaxerxes, knew that
Johanan, the high priest of the Jews had slain his own brother Jeshua in
the temple, he immediately came against the Jews and began in anger to say
to them, Have you dared commit a murder in your temple! And when he
attempted to go into the temple they tried to prevent him doing so; but he
said to them, Am I not purer than he who was slain in the temple? And when
he had said these words, he went into the temple. Thus Bagoses made use of
this pretext and punished the Jews seven years for the murder of Jeshua.

[Sidenote: (Jos. Ant. XI, 7:2)]
Now when Johanan had departed this life, his son Jaddua succeeded to the
high priesthood. He had a brother whose name was Manasseh. And there was a
certain Sanballat who was sent to Samaria by Darius, the last king of
Persia. This man, knowing that Jerusalem was a famous city and that its
kings had given great trouble to the Assyrians and the people of
Coele-Syria, willingly gave his daughter, whose name was Nicaso, in
marriage to Manasseh, thinking that this marriage alliance would be a
pledge that the nation of the Jews would continue their good will toward
him.

[Sidenote: (Jos. Ant. XI, 8:2a-c)]
The elders of Jerusalem, complaining loudly that the brother of Jaddua,
the high priest, though married to a foreigner, was sharing with him the
high priesthood, took sides against Jaddua; for they regarded this man's
marriage as an encouragement to those who were eager to transgress by
marrying foreign wives and that this would be the beginning of a closer
association with foreigners. Therefore they commanded Manasseh to divorce
his wife or else not to approach the altar. The high priest himself joined
with the people in their indignation and drove his brother from the altar.

[Sidenote: (Jos. Ant. XI, 8:2d-g)]
Then Manasseh went to his father-in-law, Sanballat, and told him that,
although he loved his daughter, Nicaso, he was not willing to be deprived
on her account of his priestly dignity, since it was the greatest dignity
in their nation and had always continued in the same family. Thereupon
Sanballat promised him not only to preserve for him the honor of his
priesthood but also to procure for him the power and dignity of a high
priest and to make him governor of all the places which he himself ruled,
if he would retain his daughter as his wife. He also told him that he
would build him a temple like that at Jerusalem upon Mount Gerizim,