The Literal Meaning of Genesis
prophecies when they spoke them out. And this has happened not only to those who intended something quite different, as in the case of Caiphas, the high priest, who prophesied though he had no intention of prophesying,!©° but also to those who undertook to pronounce a divination about some future event.
46. A certain group of youths on a journey, wishing to play a hoax in a spirit of jest, pretended to be astrologers—though they knew nothing at all about the twelve signs.'°! Observing that their host listened to their talk with amazement and affirmed that it was quite true, they went on confidently with further pronouncements. Still he remained spellbound and agreed to it all. Finally, he asked them about the lot of his son, who had been away a long time. He was anxious about the boy and feared some mishap, because the delay was unforeseen. Thinking only of making the father happy for the moment, they gave no thought to the fact that he would discover the truth after their departure; and since they were soon to depart, they replied that he was safe, was on his way home, and would arrive that very day. They had no fear that after the lapse of a day the man might follow them and expose them. But to come to the point— while they were still in the house and were just getting ready to go, the son himself suddenly appeared.
47. On another occasion, while a certain pagan festival was being celebrated in a place where there were many idols, a young man was dancing to the accompaniment of a flute.!° Though not frenzied by any spirit, he was giving a comic imitation of the frenzied devotees, and his audience understood this. At these festivals it was customary for the sacrifices to be offered and for the worshipers to go through their wild rites before the midday meal; afterwards any young men who wished to give a mock performance were allowed to do so. It was thus that the man on this day was entertaining the smiling crowd that surrounded him, when in a spirit of fun he called for silence. He then predicted that on that very night in the nearby forest a man would be killed by a lion and that at dawn the next day everyone would desert the place of the festival and gather to see the body of the dead man. And it turned out exactly that way, although from his antics it had been quite clear to the by-