Scripture References: Matthew 2 (Flight to Egypt, massacre of the innocents, life in exile)
3758 AM (6 CE) – LIFE IN ALEXANDRIA
Eustathius looked up from reviewing his ledger as his good friend and colleague Agapetus walked in.
“Agapetus! Ah, dear friend! Such a pleasant morning. What news do you bring?”
Agapetus did not have his usual aura of joviality but seemed rather gloomy.
“I have grave news. We lost another one,” Agapetus reported reluctantly.
“Another one? My wondrous Agapetus, no! We cannot afford to lose another one! We are already behind. Dear gods! I grow tired of this! Doesn’t anyone know how to work anymore? It’s not all about merriment and revelry.”
“I am afraid the news is even worse than that,” Agapetus hesitantly offered, with his voice low and his head bowed.
“Worse than that? In what way?” Eustathius demanded.
“I am afraid it was the foreman, Menander, who left. Like you, he said he cannot work in an environment such as this. Just as fast as someone is put to work, they either complain or loaf or quit.”
Eustathius stroked his mustache. “Well, well, I understand. The feeling is certainly mutual. But unlike Menander, I cannot leave. I am bonded, and I will forfeit my life if this project fails. You have to find me people, Agapetus, you just have to. Quality people. All our lives depend on it, not just our livelihoods, you understand, but our actual lives.”
Agapetus knew all too well that not just their future freedom, but their very lives, were in the hands of the Roman Prefect. Petronius was not a man to be trifled with. His request was not a request at all. No request from Rome was any sort of “request.”
“Alright,” Agapetus capitulated with a sigh, “I will see what I can find.”
“And hurry. We cannot fall even more behind. I don’t know. Maybe try a different guild, maybe a different part of the city. Don’t worry about wages – money we have.”
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“I don’t know you, sir; you are clearly not from Alexandria,” Shimon said to a very tired and very dirty Joseph. “Besides, if you want to work in Alexandria, you have to join a guild. Do you have any skills? Where are you from? Why did you come here?”
Joseph, disheveled and exhausted, spoke humbly. “We, uh, my wife and child and I, we just came from Israel.”
“Israel?” Shimon wondered aloud. “How is it that you have left the land flowing with milk and honey for the land of the Pharaohs?”
“Oh, well, complicated story, really,” Joseph said with a smile.
“Hopefully not too complicated. As you might guess, being a Jew in Alexandria is, well, honestly, it’s like being a Jew anywhere, I suppose. My point is, I don’t have the time or inclination to deal with complicated. Try to simplify your story, if you can. Nothing to do with Rome, I would hope?”
“S-simplify?” Joseph stammered incredulously. “Well, yeah, I mean, no, nothing to do with Rome. I mean, in a nutshell, I suppose, we had to leave Israel because of the Idumean dynasty. He, uh, sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem two years old and younger. It happened in the dead of night. My wife and I were up—only Hashem knows—and we just left everything.”
“Why would Herod want to kill so many children?” Shimon questioned harshly. “We all know he’s crazy, but what threat to him could little children be? Was he after someone in particular?”
“Well, yes. Maybe. I mean…” Joseph did not know what to say. He was starting to panic. There were not many guilds that would take Jews, and even fewer in his specialty.
“Come on, Joseph, what are you hiding? Was he coming after you, personally? How did you know to leave? Are you an informant? The last thing I need is a Roman informant. You understand…” Shimon said with a gesture to the door.
The interview was over.
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Agapetus was walking briskly through the streets of Alexandria, trying not to offend a Roman, but trying desperately to get to yet another guild office to be told yet again that there were no available human resources. The problem was, this latest guild was not where he had been told it would be, and Agapetus was immeasurably frustrated.
Stopping for a moment where he swore he was supposed to be, Agapetus looked all about, seeing nothing but people busy with the business of life. Suddenly, a man caught his eye. He was older and large, with the kind of hands he was looking for.
Quickly, Agapetus approached him as the man slowly descended the last few steps of a building to the street.
“Greetings, sir,” Agapetus started, “you look like the kind of man I am looking for! Do you happen to know a foreman for a stoneworkers’ guild?”
“Ah, in a guild, no. You see, I am new in town and haven’t joined a guild. But I am a capable foreman for stone masonry and–”
“Fine, fine, fine! Come with me. You can join our guild. We are desperate, you see!” Agapetus bleated. “I am Agapetus, what is your name?”
“I am Joseph.”
“Joseph? That’s a Jewish name? Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Follow me, if you want to work. But you had better work hard! I will fill you in on the details on the way.”
Agapetus looked about, and quickly departed, with Joseph right on his heels.
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Eustathius gazed out from his portico, which opened to his balcony and the street below. He heard Agapetus come in and turned around. Before him was his beloved Agapetus and a dirty, disheveled man.
“Agapetus?” Eustathius said in an almost amused tone, “And who do we have here?”
“Sir, this is Joseph from Bethlehem. He came all the way down here for the weather.”
“The weather?” Eustathius said, still a bit bemused. “Well, I certainly cannot complain about the weather in Alexandria. Um,” Eustathius started saying as he turned to Agapetus, “I guess you have some work to do?”
Agapetus nodded, looked at Joseph, and left to take him to the work site.
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Joseph and Agapetus found themselves once again walking briskly along the congested bustle of the great city.
It was Joseph who shouted to Agapetus, “What was all that about?”
Agapetus just smiled. “Oh, you know. That was your interview, actually. Eustathius is quite picky, but you clearly have the demeanor of a competent foreman, and, quite frankly,” he said as he made a quick right down an alleyway, “we don’t have the luxury of being picky. And we need you. The project is … overwhelming, and it has the eyes of the Prefect on it, so we cannot fail.”
Agapetus made another turn, and they were out on the Heptastadion causeway, where people were scattered about watching the many ships being loaded and unloaded with cargo. The air was alive with the sounds of birds, people, and water washing against the stones of the walkway.
“Where are we headed?” Joseph finally had a chance to ask.
“The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse of Alexandria. Ever heard of it? About a month ago, there was an earthquake. Some think it was Zeus, or rather Jupiter, coming to inspect our work here in the city. Problem is, the quake caused structural cracks in the foundation, and you can see the Lighthouse tilting ever so slightly. We are meeting up with the surveyor. The previous foreman could not stand the pressure and quit today, in fact. So, we have some catching up to do.”
Turning one last corner, they came to the base of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Standing there was the surveyor. Agapetus walked up to the surveyor and kissed him on the cheek. “Ah, Antilysis! So glad you got my message. This is Jo- uh … Josephus. He’s a friend who is stepping in for Menander after his little meltdown this morning. Can you get Josephus up to date?”
“Uh, sure,” Antilysis said, looking at Joseph skeptically. “Well, the issue began with the quake. It caused much of the material under the structure to pack in a way I have never seen. Some places dropped as much as half a cubit. We are seeing cracks beginning to form under some of the cornerstones. The stress is just too much. You can see where we have scaffolded to relieve some pressure. Menander did an excavation and tried to pack with limestone, and–”
“Limestone?” Joseph interrupted. “No, no, no, that will not do. As you release the pressure, it will just be crushed to powder. We have to use granite. Why would he…”
“Already did, actually, and it’s a bigger mess than before. Menander meant well, but, yeah,” Agapetus finished, “your team is over here. Thanks, Antilysis, it sounds like he has what he needs.”
They continued their way around the massive structure, toward the back where most of the damage was located. The team was already re-bracing and removing the failed first attempt. Joseph watched the men work. They were skilled and most were motivated.
Agapetus looked at Joseph somewhat pleased. “Do you think you can take this over the finish line?”
“Yeah,” Joseph said confidently. “Yeah, I can.”
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Miriam held little Yeshua tightly. She did not like this city. She was grateful they had the gold, incense, and myrrh with them, so that they could afford a small room and provisions. But compared to prices in Israel, the gifts from the eastern wise men would not last them long at all, especially if Joseph couldn’t find work.
The day was starting to wane, and there had not been much for them to do but wait and see. Outside, she once again heard footsteps. And once again, she hoped they would keep moving on, since, as a Jewess, she didn’t want any trouble. But at the same time, she was getting ever more anxious and wished desperately that they would be the feet of her husband.
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Joseph sighed. He wasn’t sure what he had gotten himself into. This project was enormous in scale. They would have to move a mountain nearly a cubit in distance, hold it in place, fill in with granite, lock it in with a special watery mixture of lime and volcanic ash, and set it back into place as gently as a bird landing on a post.
Joseph reached down and grabbed the door handle. Opening the door, he quickly scanned the sparse area and saw Miriam and little Yeshua waiting for him. He quickly entered, securing the door behind him. Miriam was already standing and moving to him for an embrace.
“Oh, I missed you. You don’t know what it was like!” Miriam said through tears. Looking up, she asked gently, “Did you find anything?”
Joseph looked at his extremely young bride. “I did, and you know what else?” he asked, as he lifted a handful of coins. “It’s a guild job, so they pay you at the end of every day.”
Miriam’s eyes brightened as her tears continued. Hashem had provided Joseph work, as she knew He would. Hashem always provided what they needed. Always would. Still, it never ceased to overwhelm her senses.
“Be not afraid, Miriam,” Joseph said.
Miriam looked up at her strong and handsome groom. “I know, Joseph, I know.”
Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels
