
The Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 1
'The Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 1' Summary
Josephus' Judean Antiquities is a vital source for the history of the Intertestamental period and the Jewish war against Rome.
In the preface of Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus provides his motivation for composing such a large work. He writes:
Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appear to all the Greeks worthy of their study; for it will contain all our antiquities, and the constitution of our government, as interpreted out of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Josephan scholar Louis Feldman highlights several of the misconceptions about the Jewish people that were being circulated in Josephus' time. In particular, the Jews were thought to lack great historical figures and a credible history of their people. They were also accused of harboring hostility toward non-Jews, and were thought to be generally lacking in loyalty, respect for authority, and charity. With these harsh accusations against the Jews fluttering about the Roman empire, Josephus, formerly Joseph ben Matthias, set out to provide a Hellenized version of the Jewish history. Such a work is often called an "apologia," as it pleads the case of a group of people or set of beliefs to a larger audience.
In order to accomplish this goal, Josephus omitted certain accounts in the Jewish narrative and even added a Hellenistic "glaze" to his work. For example, the "Song of The Sea" sung by Moses and the people of Israel after their deliverance at the Red Sea is completely omitted in Josephus' text. He does mention, however, that Moses composed a song to God in hexameter—a rather unusual (and Greek) metrical scheme for an ancient Hebrew. Josephus also writes that Abraham taught science to the Egyptians, who in turn taught the Greeks, and that Moses set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which like Rome resisted monarchy. Thus, in an attempt to make the Jewish history more palatable to his Greco-Roman audience, the great figures of the biblical stories are presented as ideal philosopher-leaders.
In another example, apparently due to his concern with pagan antisemitism, Josephus omitted the entire episode of the golden calf from his account of the Israelites at Mount Sinai. It has been suggested that he was afraid that the biblical account might be employed by Alexandrian antisemites to lend credence to their allegation that the Jews worshiped an ass's head in the Temple (cf. Apion 2:80, 114, 120; Tacitus, Histories 5:4). He also made discredited allegations that the Ancient Egyptians forced the Jewish slaves to build the pyramids, writing “They [the Egyptian taskmasters] set them also to build pyramids.”.
Josephus also adds a short account of his personal life, Vita, as an appendix to the Judean Antiquities.
Antiquities of the Jews contains a good deal of valuable, sometimes unique, historical material. This applies, for example, to the history of the Hellenistic states, Parthia, Armenia, the Nabatean kingdom. Roman power, to the history of Rome's conquest of the states of Western Asia. It is no accident that in the Middle Ages and in modern times this book of Josephus was considered one of the most important sources in ancient Roman history, along with the works of Titus Livius, Tacitus, Suetonius, and one of the most erudite Christian authors of the 4th–5th centuries, Jerome called Josephus Flavius "Titus Livius of the Greeks".
The extant copies of this work, which all derive from Christian sources, contain two disputed passages about Jesus. The long one has come to be known as the Testimonium Flavianum. If genuine, it is an early extrabiblical record of Jesus, and as such is sometimes cited as independent evidence for the historical existence of Jesus.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
GreekPublished In
1544Genre/Category
Tags/Keywords
Authors

Flavius Josephus
Italy
Titus Flavius Josephus was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestr...
Books by Flavius JosephusDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Pioneers of France in the New World by Francis Parkman
Parkman's biases, particularly his attitudes about nationality, race, and especially Native Americans, has generated criticism. The Canadian historian...

Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, volume 13 by Various
The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a monumental work of literature that brings together the best writing from all time...

History of a Lie: "The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion" by Herman Bernstein
A presentation and analysis of the Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion, a controversial work created to portray Jewish people as a threat, depicting an...

War Memories of an Army Chaplain by Henry C. Trumbull
This memoir by Henry C. Trumbull offers a poignant and personal account of his experiences as a chaplain in the U.S. Army during World War I. Trumbul...

The History of the Church of Christ: Century III by Joseph Milner
The book covers the history of Christianity in the third century AD, a period marked by significant developments and controversies within the Church....

The History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages, Volume 1 by Hartmann Grisar
"The History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages, Volume 1" by Hartmann Grisar takes you on a riveting journey through the complex and often myst...

The Passing of the Great Race by Madison Grant
First published in 1916, this eye-opening treatise became a touchstone for the dark undercurrents of society's belief in racial superiority and the co...

Lesser Hippias by Plato (Πλάτων)
Hippias Minor or On Lying, is thought to be one of Plato's early works. Socrates matches wits with an arrogant polymath, who is also a smug literary c...

Dry Dock of a Thousand Wrecks by Philip Ilott Roberts
This book chronicles the early 20th century experiences of the Ole Jerry McAuley Mission in New York City, a haven for recovering alcoholics and addic...

The Chronicles of America Volume 15 - Jefferson and his Colleagues by Allen Johnson
Unravel the extraordinary lives and political intrigue of America's founding fathers as they forge a nation on the principles of liberty and democracy...
Reviews for The Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 1
No reviews posted or approved, yet...