LÙstai (לסטים)

sicarii (Josephus, The Jewish War 2:425 (p.166), "Sicarii – brigands who took their name from a dagger carried in their bosoms."^[1]

Josephus, The Jewish War Book 4 158 (p.246)

Notes how the underground guerrilla fighters against the Romans called themselves zealots (kana'im), "for Zealots they called themselves, as if they were devoted to good works, not zealous for all that was vile – vile beyond belief."

Who are the biblical "zealots" (kana'im)?

Numbers 25:1-13

When Israel was staying at Shittim, the people profaned themselves by whoring with the Moabite women, who invited the people to the sacrifices for their god. The people partook of them and worshiped that god. Thus Israel attached itself to Baal-peor, and the Lord was incensed with Israel. The Lord said to Moses, 'Take all the ringleaders and have them publicly impaled before the Lord, so that the Lord's wrath may turn away from Israel.' So Moses said to Israel's officials, 'Each of you slay those of his men who attached themselves to Baal-peor."

Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman over to his companions, in the sight of Moses and of the whole Israelite community who were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. When Pinchas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the assembly and, taking a spear in his hand, he followed the Israelite into the chamber and stabbed both of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. Then the plague against the Israelites was checked. Those who died of the plague numbered twenty-four thousand.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Pinchas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his zealotry for Me. so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My zealousness. Say, therefore, 'I grant him My pact of friendship. It shall be for him and his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all time, because he took zealous action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israelites.

ספר במדבר פרק כה

א וַיֵּשֶׁב יִשְֹרָאֵל בַּשִּׁטִּים וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת אֶל-בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב: ב וַתִּקְרֶאןָ לָעָם לְזִבְחֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶן וַיֹּאכַל הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶן: ג וַיִּצָּמֶד יִשְֹרָאֵל לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר וַיִּחַר-אַף יְהוָֹה בְּיִשְֹרָאֵל: ד וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה קַח אֶת-כָּל-רָאשֵׁי הָעָם וְהוֹקַע אוֹתָם לַיהוָֹה נֶגֶד הַשָּׁמֶשׁ וְיָשֹׁב חֲרוֹן אַף-יְהוָֹה מִיִּשְֹרָאֵל: ה וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-שֹׁפְטֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל הִרְגוּ אִישׁ אֲנָשָׁיו הַנִּצְמָדִים לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר: ו וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל בָּא וַיַּקְרֵב אֶל-אֶחָיו אֶת-הַמִּדְיָנִית לְעֵינֵי מֹשֶׁה וּלְעֵינֵי כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל וְהֵמָּה בֹכִים פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד: [מפטיר] ז וַיַּרְא פִּינְחָס בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן-אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן וַיָּקָם מִתּוֹךְ הָעֵדָה וַיִּקַּח רֹמַח בְּיָדוֹ: ח וַיָּבֹא אַחַר אִישׁ-יִשְֹרָאֵל אֶל-הַקֻּבָּה וַיִּדְקֹר אֶת-שְׁנֵיהֶם אֵת אִישׁ יִשְֹרָאֵל וְאֶת-הָאִשָּׁה אֶל-קֳבָתָהּ וַתֵּעָצַר הַמַּגֵּפָה מֵעַל בְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל: ט וַיִּהְיוּ הַמֵּתִים בַּמַּגֵּפָה אַרְבָּעָה וְעֶשְֹרִים אָלֶף: פ פ פ [פרשת פנחס] י וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: יא פִּינְחָס בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן-אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן הֵשִׁיב אֶת-חֲמָתִי מֵעַל בְּנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת-קִנְאָתִי בְּתוֹכָם וְלֹא-כִלִּיתִי אֶת-בְּנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל בְּקִנְאָתִי: יב לָכֵן אֱמֹר הִנְנִי נֹתֵן לוֹ אֶת-בְּרִיתִי שָׁלוֹם: יג וְהָיְתָה לּוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר קִנֵּא לֵאלֹהָיו וַיְכַפֵּר עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל:

Josephus also refers to the zealots as "the fourth school of thought" after the Pharisees, Saducees and Essenes. We would probably call them "nationalists" or "ultra-nationalists." But rather than refer to them only as they referred to themselves, as zealots, Josephus tended to use the term lÙstai or lÙstÙs (לִסְטִים is a common term in rabbinic Hebrew for brigand or thief).

Josephus, The Jewish War 2:447 (168).

[after the Roman commander of Jerusalem saw that he was bested by the Jewish insurgents] "Metilius, the Roman commander, sent officers to Eleazar to ask only that their lives should be guaranteed, as they were ready to surrender their arms and all their possessions. The Jews jumped at the proposal and sent to them Gorion, son of Nicomedes, Ananias, son of Zadok, and Judas, son of Jonathan to promise them safety on oath. On this Metilius marched the soldiers down. As long as they were armed the insurgents left them alone and gave no sign of treachery; but when as agreed they laid down their shields and swords, and without suspicion in their minds were marching away, Eleazar and his men rushed at them, surrounded them and cut them down, while they neither resisted nor begged for mercy, but merely appealed loudly to the agreement and the oaths. Thus they were all brutally murdered except Metilius, who begged for mercy and by promising to turn Jew and even be circumcised managed to save himself alone….It so happened that the massacre was carried out on the Sabbath, on which for religious reasons not even right deeds may be done."

Among the large group of nationalists who resisted Rome was a group of especially violent nature who Josephus called sicarii or "daggermen," after the Latin word, sica – dagger. "These men committed numerous murders in broad daylight in the middle of the City. their favourite trick was to mingle with festival crowds, concealing under their garments small daggers with which they stabbed their opponents. When their victims fell, the assassins melted into the indignant crowd, and through their plausibility entirely defied detection….More terrible than the crimes themselves was the fear they aroused, every man hourly expecting death, as in war." (2:264 [p.137]).

^[1] All citations from Josephus are from the Penguin Classics edition translated by G. A. Williamson, revised by E. Mary Smallwood, 1981.