The story of
Lucius Flavus is based on a narrative by
Josephus, set around the
First Jewish-Roman War. Rabbi Ben Sadoc, a wealthy
rabbi from Antioch, has a 16-year-old daughter, Thamar, and 8-year-old son. Ananus, the son of
Caiaphas, invites the rabbi to Jerusalem, offering to marry Thamar to his son, Eleazar. He intends, however, to do away with the rabbi and possibly his son, to seize their fortune. While traveling to Jerusalem, the rabbi and his family are attacked near
Bethany by robber chieftain
Ben Gioras, the leader of the Sicarii. While Gioras is working with Ananas, he also has a plot of his own. He leaves Sadoc for dead and prepares to kidnap his children, but a band of
Roman soldiers, led by centurion Lucius Flavus, defeats the bandits and rescues Sadoc's daughter. They bring the rabbi and his family to a Christian family in Bethany, who takes them in. ==References==