hstry

Josephus hails Vespasian as Caesar

set in 67 CE, Judaea. His own account of what he said.

Where and when

set in 67 CEJudaea

1,959 years ago

Explore
Josephus, c. 37 – c. 100 CE3000 BCE2900 BCE2800 BCE2700 BCE2600 BCE2500 BCE2400 BCE2300 BCE2200 BCE2100 BCE2000 BCE1900 BCE1800 BCE1700 BCE1600 BCE1500 BCE1400 BCE1300 BCE1200 BCE1100 BCE1000 BCE900 BCE800 BCE700 BCE600 BCE500 BCE400 BCE300 BCE200 BCE100 BCE1 CE100 CE200 CE300 CE400 CE500 CE600 CE700 CE800 CE900 CE1000 CE1100 CE1200 CE1300 CE1400 CE1500 CE1600 CE1700 CE1800 CE1900 CE2000 CEGreat Pyramid of Giza built, c. 2600 BCERome founded (traditional date), 753 BCELast western Roman emperor deposed, 476 CEGutenberg's printing press, c. 1440 CEColumbus reaches the Americas, 1492 CEFirst people on the Moon, 1969 CEToday, 2026

Swipe the line. Bars: entries. Dots: events.

Josephus

, JudaeaHis own account of what he said

In plain words, ours

Why send me to Nero? Will the rulers after Nero, before you, even live? You, Vespasian, are Caesar and emperor, you and your son here.

Dost thou send me to Nero? For why? Are Nero's successors till they come to thee still alive? Thou, O Vespasian, art Caesar and emperor, thou, and this thy son.

Josephus, The Jewish War 3.399Translated by William Whiston (1737)Read the full passage (Josephus, The Jewish War 3.399, opens scaife.perseus.org)

What was going on, our summary

Judaea, 67 CE, early in the Jewish revolt. Josephus, who fought against Rome, has been taken captive, and Vespasian plans to send him to Nero. Josephus asks to speak privately, before Titus and two friends. He tells this himself.

Checked claim by claim against: Judaea rises against Rome, the passage around the quote.

Why it matters

When the prediction came true, Vespasian, who took Josephus' prophecy to be divine, set him free.

Based on Wikipedia: Josephus

After the prediction came true, he was released by Vespasian, who considered his gift of prophecy to be divine.

Wikipedia, Josephus (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-22. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 64 CE3 years earlier The Great Fire burns much of Rome Same years
  2. 65 CE2 years earlier Nero orders his old tutor Seneca to die Same years
  3. 66 CE1 year earlier Judaea rises against Rome The event behind itAlso in Judaea
  4. set in 67 CEThis momentJosephus hails Vespasian as Caesar
  5. set in 67 CESame year Josephus on being left to the last Same passageMore from Josephus
  6. set in 67 CESame year Josephus on giving himself up to the Romans More from Josephus
  7. set in 67 CESame year Josephus on Titus pitying him Same passageMore from Josephus
  8. 68 CE1 year later Nero kills himself as the Senate declares him an enemy Same years
  9. 69 CE2 years later Four emperors in one year Same years

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

He was also of great weight in persuading his father to preserve him. However, Vespasian gave strict orders that he should be kept with great caution, as though he would in a very little time send him to Nero. When Josephus heard him give those orders, he said that he had somewhat in his mind that he would willingly say to himself alone. When therefore they were all ordered to withdraw, excepting Titus and two of their friends, he said, Thou, O Vespasian, thinkest no more than that thou hast taken Josephus himself captive; but I come to thee as a messenger of greater tidings; for had not I been sent by God to thee, I knew what was the law of the Jews in this case? and how it becomes generals to die.

The quote: Dost thou send me to Nero? For why? Are Nero's successors till they come to thee still alive? Thou, O Vespasian, art Caesar and emperor, thou, and this thy son.

Bind me now still faster, and keep me for thyself, for thou, O Caesar, are not only lord over me, but over the land and the sea, and all mankind; and certainly I deserve to be kept in closer custody than I now am in, in order to be punished, if I rashly affirm any thing of God.

Josephus, The Jewish War 3.392–399Translated by William Whiston (1737)Read the full passage (opens scaife.perseus.org)

When, and whose words

Date
set in 67 CE. Set just after the fall of Jotapata in 67 CE; he wrote it in the 70s CE.
Whose words
His own account of what he said.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

See it among its momentsMore from JosephusSee it in the feed