The Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 2
'The Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 2' 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
Author
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...
More on Flavius JosephusDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Golem: A legend of old Prague by Rudolf Lothar
Rabbi Loeb creates a clay man to house a perfect soul that he hopes will not be blighted by human prejudices. The plan does not go as he hoped... This...
The Australian Explorers - Their Labours, Perils, and Achievements by George Grimm
"Embark on a thrilling expedition through the untamed Australian wilderness as George Grimm unveils the remarkable tales of the courageous explorers w...
The Chronicles of America Volume 01 - The Red Man's Continent by Ellsworth Huntington
"In the depths of time, a continent pulsates with the beating heart of its first inhabitants. Unravel the captivating tale of 'The Red Man's Continent...
Famous Assassinations Of History by Francis Johnson
Covers assassinations in history from Philip of Macedon to Alexander I of Serbia, mostly focusing on the motives and intrigues. The author left out th...
History of Rome from the Earliest Times Down to 476 AD by Robert F. Pennell
History of Rome from the Earliest times down to 476 AD. This compilation is designed to be a companion to the author's History of Greece. It is hoped...
A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great, Vol 1 by John Bagnell Bury
The book covers artistic and literary development, as well as politics and war, and its field of view includes western Asia Minor, the Agean archipela...
The Chronicles of America Volume 03 - Elizabethan Sea-Dogs by William Wood
"Amidst the tempestuous seas, daring adventurers rise like sea-dogs to sail under the banner of a formidable queen. Unleash the thrill of maritime esc...
A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times vol 4 by Francois Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolutio...
A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Vol 1 by Francois Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolutio...
The Houses of Lancaster and York with the Conquest and Loss of France by James Gairdner
The Houses of Lancaster and York with the Conquest and Loss of France by James Gairdner "Step into the treacherous world of power struggles, betrayals...
Reviews for The Antiquities of the Jews, Volume 2
No reviews posted or approved, yet...