e out of the fortress
already, unless, on that very night when he was going away, there had
fallen a great deal of rain, insomuch that his reservoirs were full of
water, and so he was under no necessity of running away. After which,
therefore, they made an irruption upon Antigonus's party, and slew a
great many of them, some in open battles, and some in private ambush;
nor had they always success in their attempts, for sometimes they were
beaten, and ran away.

2. In the mean time Ventidius, the Roman general, was sent out of Syria,
to restrain the incursions of the Parthians; and after he had done that,
he came into Judea, in pretense indeed to assist Joseph and his party,
but in reality to get money of Antigonus; and when he had pitched his
camp very near to Jerusalem, as soon as he had got money enough, he went
away with the greatest part of his forces; yet still did he leave Silo
with some part of them, lest if he had taken them all away, his taking
of bribes might have been too openly discovered. Now Antigonus hoped
that the Parthians would come again to his assistance, and therefore
cultivated a good understanding with Silo in the mean time, lest any
interruption should be given to his hopes.

3. Now by this time Herod had sailed out of Italy, and was come to
Ptolemais; and as soon as he had gotten together no small army of
foreigners, and of his own countrymen, he marched through Galilee
against Antigonus, wherein he was assisted by Ventidius and Silo, both
whom Dellius, [22] a person sent by Antony, persuaded to bring Herod
[into his kingdom]. Now Ventidius was at this time among the cities, and
composing the disturbances which had happened by means of the Parthians,
as was Silo in Judea corrupted by the bribes that Antigonus had given
him; yet was not Herod himself destitute of power, but the number of his
forces increased every day as he went along, and all Galilee, with few
exceptions, joined themselves to him. So he proposed to himself to set
about his most necessary enterprise, and that was Masada, in order to
deliver his relations from the siege they endured. But still Joppa stood
in his way, and hindered his going thither; for it was necessary to take
that city first, which was in the enemies' hands, that when he should
go to Jerusalem, no fortress might be left in the enemies' power behind
him. Silo also willingly joined him, as having now a plausible occasion
of drawing off his forces [from Jerusalem];