April 1, 2020

Profanation Of The Temple: The Jewish Revolt Of 66 AD Uses God’s House As Last Ditch Defense Against Rome

The Roman garrison in Jerusalem was located at the Antonia Fortress, the adjoining building at the northwest corner of the Temple complex. The Temple complex was administered by Rome, not the Sanhedrin. To the Romans, the Temple guarded Jerusalem, while the Antonia Fortress guarded the Temple complex; "for the temple was a fortress that guarded the city, as was the tower of Antonia a guard to the temple". Only the Tabernacle was under the complete control of the Sanhedrin, off limits, on pain of death, to Gentiles, including the emperor.

The 66 AD Jewish Revolt against Roman administration in Judea and Roman oversight of Galilee-Perea was a catastrophic move for Jews not only in the affected areas of the revolt, but affected negatively the standing of Jews throughout the Roman Empire.* Roman subjects throughout the empire now viewed all Jews as no better than barbarians, accomplices with Rome’s enemies in the quest to extinguish ‘the light of the world’, thereby ushering in an age of decivilization. This article, however, does not venture into the politics of Jewish resistance against Rome in Judea/Galilee-Perea. This article will concentrate on but one highly contentious subject: What were the intentions of Rome towards the Temple in Jerusalem, and more specifically what was Rome’s intentions towards the Tabernacle, located in the center of the Temple complex, the rear portion of which is where God resides, called the Holy of Holies.

Two accounts exist regarding Rome’s intentions towards the Tabernacle, the first account being an eyewitness at the scene, the Jewish aristocratic rebel turned historian, Titus Flavius Josephus, the second account being a fragment attributed to the Roman historian Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, but located in a secondary source in the writings of the Christian writer Sulpicius Severus. We will first examine Josephus’ account from his work, The Wars of The Jews: 

But then, on the next day, Titus commanded part of his army to quench the fire, and to make a road for the more easy marching up of the legions, while he himself gathered the commanders together. Of those there were assembled the six principal persons: Tiberius Alexander, the commander [under the general] of the whole army; with Sextus Cerealis, the commander of the fifth legion; and Larcius Lepidus, the commander of the tenth legion; and Titus Frigius, the commander of the fifteenth legion: there was also with them Eternius, the leader of the two legions that came from Alexandria; and Marcus Antonius Julianus, procurator of Judea: after these came together all the rest of the procurators and tribunes. Titus proposed to these that they should give him their advice what should be done about the holy house. Now some of these thought it would be the best way to act according to the rules of war, [and demolish it,] because the Jews would never leave off rebelling while that house was standing; at which house it was that they used to get all together. Others of them were of opinion, that in case the Jews would leave it, and none of them would lay their arms up in it, he might save it; but that in case they got upon it, and fought any more, he might burn it; because it must then be looked upon not as a holy house, but as a citadel; and that the impiety of burning it would then belong to those that forced this to be done, and not to them. But Titus said, that "although the Jews should get upon that holy house, and fight us thence, yet ought we not to revenge ourselves on things that are inanimate, instead of the men themselves;" and that he was not in any case for burning down so vast a work as that was, because this would be a mischief to the Romans themselves, as it would be an ornament to their government while it continued. So Fronto, and Alexander, and Cerealis grew bold upon that declaration, and agreed to the opinion of Titus. Then was this assembly dissolved, when Titus had given orders to the commanders that the rest of their forces should lie still; but that they should make use of such as were most courageous in this attack. So he commanded that the chosen men that were taken out of the cohorts should make their way through the ruins, and quench the fire.

Titus’ intention, therefore Roman policy, is to save the Tabernacle despite the structure’s new function, that of a fort. Titus', we’re told, rationale being, "although the Jews should get upon that holy house, and fight us thence, yet ought we not to revenge ourselves on things that are inanimate, instead of the men themselves”.

Tacitus’ account, though shorter, is similar to Josephus’ in that Titus calls a council of his general officers to discuss the fate of the tabernacle: 

It is said that Titus first called a council and deliberated whether he should destroy such a mighty temple. For some thought that a consecrated shrine, which was famous beyond all other works of men, ought not to be razed, arguing that its preservation would bear witness to the moderation of Rome, while its destruction would for ever brand her cruelty. Yet others, including Titus himself, opposed, holding the destruction of this temple to be a prime necessity in order to wipe out more completely the religion of the Jews and the Christians; for they urged that these religions, although hostile to each other, nevertheless sprang from the same sources; the Christians had grown out of the Jews: if the root were destroyed, the stock would easily perish.

It should be understood by the reader that this account is a fragment that is said, by most scholars, to come from Tacitus’ lost portion of the fifth book of his Histories. This article will not digress into a discourse as to whether portions of the fragment are forged, but will establish that the entire fragment is fraudulent.

Firstly, Titus would never had made the imbecilic observation that by destroying the Tabernacle Judaism and Christianity would be destroyed, “if the root [Judaism] were destroyed, the stock [Christianity] would easily perish.” Titus would have known from his own education that Judaism survived the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC, and this knowledge would have been transmitted to him by his Jewish allies, inclusive of Josephus and Herod Agrippa II. 

Secondly, Josephus, Herod Agrippa II, and former Jewish rebels that crossed over to Titus, not to mention Jews throughout the Roman Empire, would have correctly assessed it was indeed time to vanquish an empire that wanted to vanquish them. 

Thirdly, Jesus predicted the destruction of the Tabernacle (in fact, the destruction of the whole Temple complex) half a century earlier, a prediction Josephus and Herod Agrippa II would have impressed on Titus with the utmost urgency. So if Titus’ intention is to “perish” Christianity, the preservation of the Tabernacle is his greatest concern.

Fourthly, when Titus became the operational commander of suppressing the Jewish Revolt, replacing his father General Vespasian, he chose as his Chief of Staff an aristocratic Egyptian Jew who had close family connections to Judean aristocracy, Tiberius Julius Alexander, who when prefect of Egypt in 68 AD was involved in a Jewish revolt there. Attempting to mediate what had become a recalcitrant rebel Jewish leadership that refused to demobilize, Alexander sent two Roman legions into the Jewish section of Alexandria called Delta: 

But still conflicts perpetually arose with the Greeks, and although the Roman governors did every day punish many of them, yet the violence grew worse.

But at this time, when there were tumults in other places as well, the disorders among the Greeks and Jews became even more violent. The Alexandrines had once organized a public assembly to deliberate about an embassy to Nero, and a great number of Jews came flocking to the amphitheater.

When their adversaries saw them, they immediately cried out, and called them their enemies, and said they came as spies. Then they rushed out, and laid violent hands upon the Jews, and as for the rest, they were slain as they ran away. There were three men whom they caught and hauled along, to burn them alive.

At that moment, all the Jews came to defend them, and at first threw stones at the Greeks, but later they took lamps and rushed with violence into the theater, and threatened that they would burn the people to a man. They would certainly have done so. However, Tiberius Julius Alexander, the governor of the city, restrained their passions.

He did not begin to teach them wisdom by arms, but privately sent for the principal men, and convinced them to be quiet, and not provoke the Roman army against the Jews. But the seditious did not take the threat seriously, and reproached him for so uttering threats.

Because the governor now understood that those who were most riotous would not be pacified unless some great calamity would overtake them, he sent out the two Roman legions that were in the city, note together with 5,000 other soldiers, who had recently arrived from Libya, to punish the Jews. They were permitted not only to kill them, but to plunder them of what they had, and to set fire to their houses.

The soldiers rushed violently into that part of the city that was called Delta, where the Jewish people lived together, and did as they were ordered, though not without bloodshed on their own side too. For the Jews organized themselves, set those that were the best armed among them in the forefront, and offered resistance for a great while. But when once they were forced back, they were unmercifully and completely destroyed.

Some were caught in the open field, others forced into their houses, which were plundered and then set on fire. The Romans showed no mercy to the infants, had no regard for the aged, and went on in the slaughter of persons of every age until all the place was overflowed with blood, and 50,000 Jews lay dead. And the remainder would have perished as well, had they not put themselves at the mercy of Alexander. He felt pity and gave orders to the legionaries to retire.”

If Titus’ intention is to employ the most drastic punishments he can met out to the rebels and their sacred House, then the last Roman officer he wants for his Chief of Staff is a man (1) who will negotiate with fanatics still engaging in hostilities with Rome; or (2) who’s heart is affected by pleas of mercy from the enemy. 

Fifthly, the immobilization of the Roman guard in Judea for three years while Jesus went about with His disciples performing what Rome termed agitation/insurrection is empirical proof of Jesus' divinity. Jesus and disciples were the only ones Roman governors in Judea refused to arrest for agitation.** That would be ten governors of Judea between 30 AD and the Jewish revolt of 66 AD:

Pontius Pilate 26–36  Roman Prefect

Marcellus 36–37  Roman Prefect

Marullus 37–41 4 Roman Prefect

Cuspius Fadus 44–46  Roman Procurator

Tiberius Julius Alexander 46–48  Roman Procurator

Ventidius Cumanus 48–52  Roman Procurator

Marcus Antonius Felix 52–60  Roman Procurator

Porcius Festus 60–62 2 Roman Procurator

Lucceius Albinus 62–64  Roman Procurator

Gessius Florus 64–66  Roman Procurator

These ten Roman governors neither arrested or accosted any of Jesus' disciples (nor the disciples' disciples), and Pilate didn't arrest  Jesus,*** proving that the 'hands off Jesus and disciples policy' in Judea was Imperial policy, not the inexplicable ad hoc policies of ten Roman governors. As such, Titus would never have threatened the existence of Christianity when Christianity in Judea was protected by Rome. 

Josephus describes an incident of this Imperial policy where a new Roman governor of Judea puts an end to an illegal Sanhedrin assembly that is executing Christians, instead of giving Rome's imprimatur for the assembly and allowing the executions to proceed: 

And now Cæsar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king [Herod Agrippa II] deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus. Now the report goes that this eldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons who had all performed the office of a high priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had never happened to any other of our high priests. But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, 23 who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent. 24 Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest.

Notice too that Jewish nobility are aghast that followers of Jesus are being executed. Why would this be? Why would they object to the execution of blasphemers who elevated Jesus to the position of Messiah? Why would they care if the Sanhedrin was an illegal assembly according to Rome, when this assembly can take advantage once and for all in exterminating the Christians. 

Not all Jews who accepted Christ as the Messiah moved to the new Christian sect, preferring to remain within their own traditions. 

As such, we discern a fragment attributed to Tacitus that is a historically ludicrous forgery. 

Steps leading up to the Antonia Fortress, from which Roman soldiers earlier had ran down to investigate the chaos taking place in the Temple courtyards. There they found Saul in imminent pain of  stoning. Saul was arrested because Jews from Asia had falsely charged Saul with teaching, "...everyone everywhere against our people and our law", and bringing, "...Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” Saul wasn't arrested for proselytizing Jesus' ministry. The Roman soldiers took Saul into custody.

Regarding Point Four Above, Titus Chose For His Chief of Staff An Officer Whose Temperament In War Matched His

Titus Has Josephus Appeal To Rebel Leader John of Giscala:

And now Titus gave orders to his soldiers that were with him to dig up the foundations of the tower of Antonia, and make him a ready passage for his army to come up; while he himself had Josephus brought to him, [for he had been informed that on that very day, which was the seventeenth day  of Panemus, [Tamuz,] the sacrifice called "the Daily Sacrifice" had failed, and had not been offered to God, for want of men to offer it, and that the people were grievously troubled at it,] and commanded him to say the same things to John that he had said before, that if he had any malicious inclination for fighting, he might come out with as many of his men as he pleased, in order to fight, without the danger of destroying either his city or temple; but that he desired he would not defile the temple, nor thereby offend against God. That he might, if he pleased, offer the sacrifices which were now discontinued by any of the Jews whom he should pitch upon. Upon this Josephus stood in such a place where he might be heard, not by John only, but by many more, and then declared to them what Caesar had given him in charge, and this in the Hebrew language.  So he earnestly prayed them to spare their own city, and to prevent that fire which was just ready to seize upon the temple, and to offer their usual sacrifices to God therein. At these words of his a great sadness and silence were observed among the people. But the tyrant himself cast many reproaches upon Josephus, with imprecations besides; and at last added this withal, that he did never fear the taking of the city, because it was God's own city. In answer to which Josephus said thus with a loud voice: "To be sure thou hast kept this city wonderfully pure for God's sake; the temple also continues entirely unpolluted! Nor hast thou been guilty of any impiety against him for whose assistance thou hopest! He still receives his accustomed sacrifices! Vile wretch that thou art! if any one should deprive thee of thy daily food, thou wouldst esteem him to be an enemy to thee; but thou hopest to have that God for thy supporter in this war whom thou hast deprived of his everlasting worship; and thou imputest those sins to the Romans, who to this very time take care to have our laws observed, and almost compel these sacrifices to be still offered to God, which have by thy means been intermitted! Who is there that can avoid groans and lamentations at the amazing change that is made in this city? since very foreigners and enemies do now correct that impiety which thou hast occasioned; while thou, who art a Jew, and wast educated in our laws, art become a greater enemy to them than the others. But still, John, it is never dishonorable to repent, and amend what hath been done amiss, even at the last extremity. Thou hast an instance before thee in Jechoniah,  the king of the Jews, if thou hast a mind to save the city, who, when the king of Babylon made war against him, did of his own accord go out of this city before it was taken, and did undergo a voluntary captivity with his family, that the sanctuary might not be delivered up to the enemy, and that he might not see the house of God set on fire; on which account he is celebrated among all the Jews, in their sacred memorials, and his memory is become immortal, and will be conveyed fresh down to our posterity through all ages. This, John, is an excellent example in such a time of danger, and I dare venture to promise that the Romans shall still forgive thee. And take notice that I, who make this exhortation to thee, am one of thine own nation; I, who am a Jew, do make this promise to thee. And it will become thee to consider who I am that give thee this counsel, and whence I am derived; for while I am alive I shall never be in such slavery, as to forego my own kindred, or forget the laws of our forefathers. Thou hast indignation at me again, and makest a clamor at me, and reproachest me; indeed I cannot deny but I am worthy of worse treatment than all this amounts to, because, in opposition to fate, I make this kind invitation to thee, and endeavor to force deliverance upon those whom God hath condemned. And who is there that does not know what the writings of the ancient prophets contain in them,—and particularly that oracle which is just now going to be fulfilled upon this miserable city? For they foretold that this city should be then taken when somebody shall begin the slaughter of his own countrymen. And are not both the city and the entire temple now full of the dead bodies of your countrymen? It is God, therefore, it is God himself who is bringing on this fire, to purge that city and temple by means of the Romans, 8 and is going to pluck up this city, which is full of your pollutions.

Titus Appeals To John Of Giscala: 

Now Titus was deeply affected with this state of things, and reproached John and his party, and said to them, "Have not you, vile wretches that you are, by our permission, put up this partition-wall before your sanctuary? Have not you been allowed to put up the pillars thereto belonging, at due distances, and on it to engrave in Greek, and in your own letters, this prohibition, that no foreigner should go beyond that wall.  Have not we given you leave to kill such as go beyond it, though he were a Roman? And what do you do now, you pernicious villains? Why do you trample upon dead bodies in this temple? and why do you pollute this holy house with the blood of both foreigners and Jews themselves? I appeal to the gods of my own country, and to every god that ever had any regard to this place; [for I do not suppose it to be now regarded by any of them;] I also appeal to my own army, and to those Jews that are now with me, and even to yourselves, that I do not force you to defile this your sanctuary; and if you will but change the place whereon you will fight, no Roman shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront to it; nay, I will endeavor to preserve you your holy house, whether you will or not."

Josephus Explains How The Tabernacle Came To Destruction

So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia, and resolved to storm the temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to encamp round about the holy house. But as for that house, God had, for certain, long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month Lous, [Ab,] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus's retiring, the seditious lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded the holy house fought with those that quenched the fire that was burning the inner [court of the] temple; but these Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the holy house itself. At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered any thing to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard about it.

And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent after the last battle; whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake so loud, having their ears already dimmed by a greater noise another way; nor did they attend to the signal he made with his hand neither, as still some of them were distracted with fighting, and others with passion. But as for the legions that came running thither, neither any persuasions nor any threatenings could restrain their violence, but each one's own passion was his commander at this time; and as they were crowding into the temple together, many of them were trampled on by one another, while a great number fell among the ruins of the cloisters, which were still hot and smoking, and were destroyed in the same miserable way with those whom they had conquered; and when they were come near the holy house, they made as if they did not so much as hear Caesar's orders to the contrary; but they encouraged those that were before them to set it on fire. As for the seditious, they were in too great distress already to afford their assistance [towards quenching the fire]; they were every where slain, and every where beaten; and as for a great part of the people, they were weak and without arms, and had their throats cut wherever they were caught. Now round about the altar lay dead bodies heaped one upon another, as at the steps 16 going up to it ran a great quantity of their blood, whither also the dead bodies that were slain above [on the altar] fell down.

And now, since Caesar was no way able to restrain the enthusiastic fury of the soldiers, and the fire proceeded on more and more, he went into the holy place of the temple, with his commanders, and saw it, with what was in it, which he found to be far superior to what the relations of foreigners contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves boasted of and believed about it. But as the flame had not as yet reached to its inward parts, but was still consuming the rooms that were about the holy house, and Titus supposing what the fact was, that the house itself might yet be saved, he came in haste and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to quench the fire, and gave order to Liberalius the centurion, and one of those spearmen that were about him, to beat the soldiers that were refractory with their staves, and to restrain them; yet were their passions too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, and the dread they had of him who forbade them, as was their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehement inclination to fight them, too hard for them also. Moreover, the hope of plunder induced many to go on, as having this opinion, that all the places within were full of money, and as seeing that all round about it was made of gold. And besides, one of those that went into the place prevented Caesar, when he ran so hastily out to restrain the soldiers, and threw the fire upon the hinges of the gate, in the dark; whereby the flame burst out from within the holy house itself immediately, when the commanders retired, and Caesar with them, and when nobody any longer forbade those that were without to set fire to it. And thus was the holy house burnt down, without Caesar's approbation.

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* But when the people of Antioch were informed that Titus was approaching, they were so glad at it, that they could not keep within their walls, but hasted away to give him the meeting; nay, they proceeded as far as thirty furlongs, and more, with that intention. These were not the men only, but a multitude of women also with their children did the same; and when they saw him coming up to them, they stood on both sides of the way, and stretched out their right hands, saluting him, and making all sorts of acclamations to him, and turned back together with him. They also, among all the acclamations they made to him, besought him all the way they went to eject the Jews out of their city; yet did not Titus at all yield to this their petition, but gave them the bare hearing of it quietly. However, the Jews were in a great deal of terrible fear, under the uncertainty they were in what his opinion was, and what he would do to them. For Titus did not stay at Antioch, but continued his progress immediately to Zeugma, which lies upon the Euphrates, whither came to him messengers from Vologeses king of Parthia, and brought him a crown of gold upon the victory he had gained over the Jews; which he accepted of, and feasted the king's messengers, and then came back to Antioch. And when the senate and people of Antioch earnestly entreated him to come upon their theater, where their whole multitude was assembled, and expected him, he complied with great humanity; but when they pressed him with much earnestness, and continually begged of him that he would eject the Jews out of their city, he gave them this very pertinent answer: "How can this be done, since that country of theirs, whither the Jews must be obliged then to retire, is destroyed, and no place will receive them besides?" Whereupon the people of Antioch, when they had failed of success in this their first request, made him a second; for they desired that he would order those tables of brass to be removed on which the Jews' privileges were engraven. However, Titus would not grant that neither, but permitted the Jews of Antioch to continue to enjoy the very same privileges in that city which they had before, and then departed for Egypt; and as he came to Jerusalem in his progress, and compared the melancholy condition he saw it then in, with the ancient glory of the city, and called to mind the greatness of its present ruins, as well as its ancient splendor, he could not but pity the destruction of the city, so far was he from boasting that so great and goodly a city as that was had been by him taken by force; nay, he frequently cursed those that had been the authors of their revolt, and had brought such a punishment upon the city; insomuch that it openly appeared that he did not desire that such a calamity as this punishment of theirs amounted to should be a demonstration of his courage. Yet was there no small quantity of the riches that had been in that city still found among its ruins, a great deal of which the Romans dug up; but the greatest part was discovered by those who were captives, and so they carried it away; I mean the gold and the silver, and the rest of that most precious furniture which the Jews had, and which the owners had treasured up under ground, against the uncertain fortunes of war.

** "Jesus would have represented a kind of activist and resister in Pontius Pilate's experience that he had been dealing with for years, and with varying degrees of success and effectiveness, obviously. Jesus would have been a blip on the screen of Pontius Pilate, because the unrest and the uprisings were so common, part of daily life for the Roman administration of Judea, that Jesus would have been seen, I think, as very little out of the ordinary." (Fast-forward to 49:00 minutes in Part 1 of the PBS Frontline documentary, From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians).

"Now I don't for a moment think that Pilate would have been worried that Jesus could have challenged the power of the emperor. That's not the point. The point is, any challenge to Roman authority...any challenge to the peace of Rome would have been met with a swift and violent response."  (Fast-forward to 49:36 minutes in Part 1 of the PBS Frontline documentary, From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians).

Fast-forward to 37:10 minutes ending at 41:20 minutes in Part I of the Frontline documentary, for two additional New Testament academicians' accounts.

Notice that these New Testament academicians have contradicted themselves without realizing it, in that Pilate refused to initiate any reaction towards Jesus' agitation/insurrection, let alone "swiftly", and, along with the next nine governors of Judea, refused to react as Jesus' disciples kept up the agitation/insurrection soon after Jesus' resurrection. 

*** Jesus was brought to Pilate by the Sanhedrin after Jesus made it known He was about to die. Pilate did all he could to extricate himself from this dilemma, going so far as to send Jesus to Herod Antipas for adjudication.