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BASSUS, LUCILIUS: Governor of Judea after the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus (70). He had formerly been prefect of the fleet at Ravenna, and tbok the oath of allegiance to Vitellius; but. dissatisfied with not having been promoted to the dignity of prefect of the pretorium, he betrayed his master and delivered the fleet into the hands of Vespasian (compare Tacitus, iii. 12, 36, 40). Such a service could not remain unrewarded, and Vespasian appointed him governor of Judea and gave him the task of subjugating the fortresses that were still in arms, Herodium, Macherus, and Masada. Bassus displayed in this exploit more courage than strategHerodium surrendered at once without Macherus, however, offered a stubborn resistance, and Bassus would have been unable to conquer this place, but for the fact that the young commandant, Eleazar, was captured by the Romans. Bassus ordered him to be scourged before their eyes and the besieged, desiring to save their chief, offered to give up the citadel if his life should be spared. Bassus agreed to this proposal and spared the garrison; but he inhumanly butchered the inhabitants,

ical skill.

fighting.

to the

number

of 1,700,

and sold the women and

chil-

dren into slaver}-. Bassus died at the siege of Masada; and the difficult task of subduing that fortress devolved upon his successor, Silva.

Bibliography Josephus, B.

den, 3d ed.,

J. vii. 6



Gratz, Gesch. der Ju-

iv. 548.

6.

I.

Br.

BASTARD

In the English use of the word, a child neither born nor begotten in lawful wedlock an illegitimate child. There is no Hebrew word of

The mamzer, rendered " bastard " in something worse than an illegitimate child. He is the offspring of a father and mother between whom there could be in law no binding betrothal issuing either from adultery between a married woman and a man other than her husband, or from incest within the forbidden degrees of kinship The child or affinity defined in Lev. xviii. and xx. of a marriage simply forbidden, as that between a cohen and a divorced woman, is legitimate but " profane " that is, a son can not officiate as a priest, a daughter is not eligible to marry a priest. But a mamzer, according to Deut. xxiii. 3, must not " enter the congregation of the Lord," that is, marry an Israelite woman, "nor shall his tenth generation enlike

meaning.

the A. V.,

is





which includes also the female mamzer Mak. iii. 1). The older Halakah, howwas more rigorous, Akiba declaring any child

ter," etc.,

(Kid. ever,

iii.



disputed both among the early sages, down to Rabbi Judah the Patriarch, and among the later teachers But in Palestine and in Babylonia (Yeb. 23a, 45a). the rule finally adopted is that such a child is not a mamzer, even when the mother is a married woman. This is the decision in the modern code (Shulhan 'Aruk, Eben ha-'Ezer, 4. 19), though it is admitted that the child is unfit for the priesthood. Maimonides decides to the same effect (Issure Biah. xv. 3).

Basurto

The law laid down in Deuteronomy against the mamzer and against his distant offspring seemed so harsh that every opportunity was taken to confine it to the

Where

narrowest

limits.

among Genand the offspring embraces Judaism, the flaw his descent is ignored. He is not deemed a mamincest or adultery takes place

tiles,

in

Eben ha-'Ezer, 4, 21). The child of an Israelite by an unconverted Gentile mother is a Gentile, and when converted becomes an Israelite to all purposes, without regard to his father. As shown under Agnates, the illegitimate child of a Jew (unless born of a Gentile woman or a bondzer (Shulhan 'Aruk,

woman), even a mamzer, father and other kindred

from

inherits (for

his natural

example, his father's

legitimate sons), just as if he were legitimate; the words of Scripture, " if he have no son " (Xum. xxvii.

8),

being taken

literally

"a son from any

source," except the son of a Gentile or bondwoman, who follows the status of his mother (Yeb. ii. 5); and the child being bound by all duties flowing from his or her natural kinship. This construction of the law runs counter to ancient popular sentiment, which crops out in the hisThe legitimate sons of Gilead drove toric books. Jephthah from his home because he was the " son Where a child of another woman" (Judges xi. 2). is born in wedlock, the presumption in favor of its being the offspring of the husband is very strong, The Roman law says: as in other systems of law. "pater est quern justce nuptire demonstrant. " But the Jewish law, unlike the English common law, does not uphold this presumption when the child is born so soon after the nuptials ("nissu'im") that been begotten before them. Even it must have when the date of birth points to conception after the betrothal (" erusin ") which in olden times preceded the wedding by several months the presump-

—

—

tion of the betrothed man being the father is comparatively weak, as a connection between him and the bride while she is " at her father's house, " though

not a deadly sin on the part of either, is an act of lewdness (Shulhan 'Aruk, Eben ha-'Ezer, 4, 27 see

Ket. 36a). On the general principle that a person's confession of his or her own turpitude is not admissible as legal testimony, the wife and mother can not, by her assertion, stamp her offspring as an adulterine For the rules of presumption and eviBastard. dence in cases of doubt, see Shulhan 'Aruk, Eben ha-'Ezer,

12;

of a forbidden connection a mamzer (Yeb. iv. 12, 13 Yer. ib. 6b Bab. ib. 44a, 49a). Whether the child of a daughter of Israel and of a Gentile or bondman is a mamzer or not, was hotly

Bassevi

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

j.

4,

14-16. L.

sr.

BASURTO, DIEGO ENRIQUEZ



X. D.

Marano

born in Spain. poet of the seventeenth century Like his father— the poet Antonio Enriquez Gomez he resided several years at Rouen, and finally setThe following curious description tled in Holland. of him is given by the Marano poet Miguel de

—

Barrios " Basurto had a broad nose, which was never clean small sunken eyes, hidden behind a large pair of spectacles and a mouth comparable to a mill in constant motion. He was short and stout very carelessly attired, and always carried a cane."





Basurto was the author of " El Triumpho de la Virtud y Paciencia de Job " (Rouen, 1646), a poem