us permitted
his own men that were upon the wall to defend themselves, who using
their bows, and showing great alacrity against their enemies, easily
drove them away from the towers.

3. And now it was that Silo discovered that he had taken bribes; for
he set a good number of his soldiers to complain aloud of the want of
provisions they were in, and to require money to buy them food; and that
it was fit to let them go into places proper for winter quarters, since
the places near the city were a desert, by reason that Antigonus's
soldiers had carried all away; so he set the army upon removing, and
endeavored to march away; but Herod pressed Silo not to depart, and
exhorted Silo's captains and soldiers not to desert him, when Caesar,
and Antony, and the senate had sent him thither, for that he would
provide them plenty of all the things they wanted, and easily procure
them a great abundance of what they required; after which entreaty, he
immediately went out into the country, and left not the least pretense
to Silo for his departure; for he brought an unexpected quantity of
provisions, and sent to those friends of his who inhabited about
Samaria to bring down corn, and wine, and oil, and cattle, and all other
provisions, to Jericho, that those might be no want of a supply for the
soldiers for the time to come. Antigonus was sensible of this, and sent
presently over the country such as might restrain and lie in ambush for
those that went out for provisions. So these men obeyed the orders of
Antigonus, and got together a great number of armed men about Jericho,
and sat upon the mountains, and watched those that brought the
provisions. However, Herod was not idle in the mean time, for he took
ten bands of soldiers, of whom five were of the Romans, and five of the
Jews, with some mercenaries among them, and with some few horsemen,
and came to Jericho; and as they found the city deserted, but that five
hundred of them had settled themselves on the tops of the hills, with
their wives and children, those he took and sent away; but the Romans
fell upon the city, and plundered it, and found the houses full of all
sorts of good things. So the king left a garrison at Jericho, and came
back again, and sent the Roman army to take their winter quarters in the
countries that were come over to him, Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria.
And so much did Antigonus gain of Silo for the bribes he gave him,
that part of the army should be quartered