Editing Josephus (section)

== Biography ==
[[File:Ancient Galilee.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Galilee]], site of Josephus's governorship, before the First Jewish–Roman War]]
Josephus was born into one of Jerusalem's elite families.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodman|2007|p=8}}: "Josephus was born into the ruling elite of Jerusalem"</ref> He was the second-born son of Matthias, a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]]. His older full-blooded brother was also, like his father, called Matthias.{{sfn|Mason|2000|pp=12–13}} Their mother was an aristocratic woman who was descended from the royal and formerly ruling [[Hasmoneans|Hasmonean dynasty]].{{sfn|Nodet|1997|p=250}} Josephus's paternal grandparents were a man also named Joseph(us) and his wife—an unnamed Hebrew noblewoman—distant relatives of each other.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2012 |title=Josephus Lineage |url=http://www.historyofthedaughters.com/38.pdf |website=History of the Daughters |publisher=L P Publishing |pages=349–350 |edition=Fourth |location=Sonoma, California}}</ref> Josephus's family was wealthy. He descended through his father from the priestly order of the [[Jehoiarib]], which was the first of the 24 orders of priests in the [[Temple in Jerusalem]].{{sfn|Schürer|1973|pp=45–46}} Josephus calls himself a fourth-generation descendant of "[[High Priest of Israel|High Priest]] Jonathan", referring to either [[Jonathan Apphus]] or [[Alexander Jannaeus]].{{sfn|Schürer|1973|pp=45–46}} He was raised in Jerusalem and educated alongside his brother.{{sfn|Mason|2000|p=13}}

In his mid twenties, he traveled to negotiate with Emperor [[Nero]] for the release of some Jewish priests.<ref>Josephus, ''[[Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'' § [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0150%3Awhiston+section%3D3 3]</ref> Upon his return to Jerusalem, at the outbreak of the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], Josephus was appointed the military governor of [[Galilee]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldberg |first=G. J. |title=The Life of Flavius Josephus |url=http://www.josephus.org/life.htm |access-date=2012-05-18 |publisher=Josephus.org}}</ref> His arrival in Galilee, however, was fraught with internal division: the inhabitants of [[Sepphoris]] and [[Tiberias]] opted to maintain peace with the Romans; the people of Sepphoris enlisted the help of the Roman army to protect their city,<ref name="Vita-67">Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;67</ref> while the people of Tiberias appealed to [[Agrippa II|King Agrippa]]'s forces to protect them from the insurgents.<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;68</ref> Josephus trained 65,000 troops in the region.<ref name="Whiston Maier">{{cite book |last1=Josephus |first1=Flavius |last2=Whiston |first2=William |last3=Maier |first3=Paul L. |title=The New Complete Works of Josephus |date=1999 |publisher=Kregel Publications |location=Grand Rapids, MI |isbn=9780825429484 |pages=7–8}}</ref>

Josephus also contended with [[John of Gischala]] who had also set his sight over the control of Galilee. Like Josephus, John had amassed to himself a large band of supporters from [[Gischala]] (Gush Halab) and [[Arraba, Israel|Gabara]],{{efn|A large village in Galilee during the 1st century AD, located to the north of Nazareth. In antiquity, the town was called "Garaba", but in Josephus's historical works of antiquity, the town is mentioned by its Greek corruption, "Gabara".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Klausner |first=J. |date=1934 |title=Qobetz |journal=Journal of the Jewish Palestinian Exploration Society |language=he |volume=3 |pages=261–263}}</ref>{{sfn|Rappaport|2006|loc=p. 44 [note 2]}}<!-- Maybe? This page ref is to an unofficial translation, no guarantee it is page 44 in original book.-->{{sfn|Safrai|1985|pp=59–62}}}} including the support of the [[Sanhedrin]] in Jerusalem.<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;25; §&nbsp;38; {{Cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |url=http://www.loebclassics.com/view/josephus-life/1926/pb_LCL186.47.xml?result=1&rskey=3RlR3w |title=The Life of Josephus |year=1926 |doi=10.4159/DLCL.josephus-life.1926 |access-date=31 May 2016}} {{Subscription required|via=[[Loeb Classical Library|digital Loeb Classical Library]]}}</ref> Meanwhile, Josephus fortified several towns and villages in [[Lower Galilee]], among which were Tiberias, [[Bersabe]], [[Selamin]], [[Yafa an-Naseriyye|Japha]], and [[Tarichaea]], in anticipation of a Roman onslaught.<ref name="Vita-37">Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;37</ref> In [[Upper Galilee]], he fortified the towns of [[Jamnith]], [[Safed|Seph]], [[Meron, Israel|Mero]], and [['Akbara#Location|Achabare]], among other places.<ref name="Vita-37" /> Josephus, with the Galileans under his command, managed to bring both Sepphoris and Tiberias into subjection,<ref name="Vita-67" /> but was eventually forced to relinquish his hold on Sepphoris by the arrival of Roman forces under [[Iulius Placidus|Placidus the tribune]] and later by [[Vespasian]] himself. Josephus first engaged the Roman army at a village called [[Garis (Galilee)|Garis]], where he launched an attack against Sepphoris a second time, before being repulsed.<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;71</ref> At length, he resisted the Roman army in its [[siege of Yodfat]] (Jotapata) until it fell to the Roman army in the lunar month of [[Tammuz (Hebrew month)|Tammuz]], in the thirteenth year of [[Nero]]'s reign.

After the Jewish garrison of Yodfat fell under siege, the Romans invaded, killing thousands; the survivors committed suicide. According to Josephus, he was trapped in a cave with 40 of his companions in July 67 AD. The Romans (commanded by Flavius Vespasian and his son Titus, both subsequently [[Roman emperor]]s) asked the group to surrender, but they refused. According to Josephus's account, he suggested a method of collective suicide;<ref>Josephus, ''The Jewish War''. Book 3, Chapter 8, par. 7</ref> they drew lots and killed each other, one by one, and Josephus happened to be one of two men that were left who surrendered to the Roman forces and became prisoners.{{efn|This method as a mathematical problem is referred to as the [[Josephus problem]], or Roman roulette.<ref>Cf. this example, [http://acm.uva.es/p/v1/130.html ''Roman Roulette'']. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221165652/http://acm.uva.es/p/v1/130.html |date=February 21, 2007 }}</ref>}} In 69 AD, Josephus was released.<ref>[[s:The War of the Jews/Book IV|Jewish War&nbsp;IV.622–629]]</ref> According to his account, he acted as a negotiator with the defenders during the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|siege of Jerusalem]] in 70 AD, during which time his parents were held as hostages by [[Simon bar Giora]].<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Jewish War]]'' ([https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D5%3Awhiston+chapter%3D13%3Awhiston+section%3D1 5.13.1.] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D5%3Awhiston+chapter%3D13%3Awhiston+section%3D3 5.13.3.])</ref>

While being confined at [[Yodfat]] (Jotapata), Josephus claimed to have experienced a divine revelation that later led to his speech predicting Vespasian would become emperor. After the prediction came true, he was released by Vespasian, who considered his gift of prophecy to be divine. Josephus wrote that his revelation had taught him three things: that God, the creator of the Jewish people, had decided to "punish" them; that "fortune" had been given to the Romans; and that God had chosen him "to announce the things that are to come".{{sfn|Gray|1993|pp=35–38}}{{sfn|Aune|1991|p=140}}{{sfn|Gnuse|1996|pp=136–142}} To many Jews, such claims were simply self-serving.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodman|2007|p=9}}: "Later generations of Jews have been inclined to treat such claims as self-serving"</ref>

Josephus interpreted the destruction of the Temple as a sign that God had turned to the Romans due to Jewish sins, urging submission to Roman authority. However, he also believed that the covenant between God and Israel remained intact, with restoration dependent on Jewish repentance, echoing biblical interpretations of the [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]]'s destruction.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-judaism/3F4F0A32983FC0DCDB414553888DC394 |title=The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-77248-8 |editor-last=Katz |editor-first=Steven T. |series=The Cambridge History of Judaism |volume=4 |location=Cambridge |pages=31 |doi=10.1017/chol9780521772488}}</ref>

In 71 AD, he went to Rome as part of the entourage of Titus. There, he became a Roman citizen and client of the ruling [[Flavian dynasty]]. In addition to [[Roman citizenship]], he was granted accommodation in the conquered [[Iudaea Province|Judaea]] and a pension. While in Rome and under Flavian patronage, Josephus wrote all of his known works. Although he only ever calls himself "Josephus" in his writings, later historians refer to him as "Flavius Josephus", confirming that he adopted the ''[[Nomen gentilicium|nomen]]'' [[Flavia gens|Flavius]] from his patrons, as was the custom amongst [[freedmen]].<ref name="Hollander-2014">{{Cite book |last=Hollander |first=William den |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPjYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |title=Josephus, the Emperors, and the City of Rome: From Hostage to Historian |date=2014 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-26683-4 |pages=1–4}}</ref><ref name="Collins-2012">{{Cite book |last1=Collins |first1=John J. |title=Early Judaism: A Comprehensive Overview |last2=Harlow |first2=Daniel C. |date=2012 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-1-4674-3739-4 |chapter=Josephus |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXByCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP198}}</ref>

[[Vespasian]] arranged for Josephus to marry a captured Jewish woman, whom he later divorced. Around the year 71, Josephus married an [[History of the Jews in Alexandria|Alexandrian Jewish]] woman as his third wife. They had three sons, of whom only Flavius Hyrcanus survived childhood. Josephus later divorced his third wife. Around 75, he married his fourth wife, a Greek Jewish woman from [[Crete]], who was a member of a distinguished family. They had two sons, Flavius Justus and Flavius Simonides Agrippa.

Josephus's life story remains ambiguous. He was described by Harris in 1985 as a [[Torah Judaism|law-observant Jew]] who believed in the compatibility of [[Judaism]] and [[Graeco-Roman]] thought, commonly referred to as [[Hellenistic Judaism]].{{sfn|Harris|1985}} ''Josippon'', the Hebrew version of Josephus, contains changes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Neuman |first=Abraham A. |date=1952 |title=Josippon and the Apocrypha |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1452910 |journal=The Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.2307/1452910 |jstor=1452910 |issn=0021-6682}}</ref> His critics were never satisfied as to why his suicide attempt did not kill him in Galilee, and after his capture, accepted the patronage of Romans.