Editing Josephus (section)

== Scholarship and impact on history ==
The works of Josephus provide information about the First Jewish–Roman War and also represent literary source material for understanding the context of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] and late [[Herod's Temple|Temple]] Judaism.

Josephan scholarship had traditionally identified him as a [[Pharisee]]. Some authors portrayed him as a member of the sect and as a traitor to the Jewish nation—a view which became known as the classical concept of Josephus.{{sfn|Millard|1997|p=306}} In the mid-20th century, scholars challenged this view and formulated the modern concept of Josephus. They consider him a Pharisee but describe him in part as patriot and a historian of some standing. In his 1991 book, [[Steve Mason (biblical scholar)|Steve Mason]] argued that Josephus was not a Pharisee but an orthodox Aristocrat-Priest who became associated with the philosophical school of the Pharisees as a matter of deference, and not by willing association.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mason |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Mason (biblical scholar) |date=April 2003 |title=Flavius Josephus and the Pharisees |url=https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2003/04/mas278001 |access-date=2024-02-19|website=The Bible and Interpretation}}</ref>

=== Impact on history and archaeology ===
The works of Josephus include useful material for historians about individuals, groups, customs, and geographical places. However, modern historians have been cautious of taking his writings at face value. For example, [[Carl Ritter]], in his highly influential ''Erdkunde'' in the 1840s, wrote in a review of authorities on the ancient geography of the region:
<blockquote>Outside of the Scriptures, Josephus holds the first and the only place among the native authors of Judaea; for Philo of Alexandria, the later Talmud, and other authorities, are of little service in understanding the geography of the country. Josephus is, however, to be used with great care. As a Jewish scholar, as an officer of Galilee, as a military man, and a person of great experience in everything belonging to his own nation, he attained to that remarkable familiarity with his country in every part, which his antiquarian researches so abundantly evince. But he was controlled by political motives: his great purpose was to bring his people, the despised Jewish race, into honour with the Greeks and Romans; and this purpose underlay every sentence, and filled his history with distortions and exaggerations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ritter |first=C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X70PrAtAuGUC |title=The Comparative Geographie of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula |publisher=T. & T. Clark |year=1866}}</ref></blockquote>

Josephus mentions that in his day there were 240 towns and villages scattered across [[Upper Galilee|Upper]] and [[Lower Galilee]],<ref>Josephus, ''[[Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'' § [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0150%3Awhiston+section%3D45 45]</ref> some of which he names. Josephus's works are the primary source for the chain of [[Traditional Jewish chronology#Josephus's enumeration of High Priests during the Second Temple period|Jewish high priests]] during the [[Second Temple]] period. A few of the Jewish customs named by him include the practice of hanging a [[linen]] curtain at the entrance to one's house,<ref>{{harvnb|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Book_III 3.6.4]}}:  After describing the curtain that hung in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, Josephus adds: "Whence that custom of ours is derived, of having a fine linen veil, after the temple has been built, to be drawn over the entrances."</ref> and the Jewish custom to partake of a [[Shabbat|Sabbath-day]]'s meal around the [[Relative hour|sixth-hour]] of the day (at noon).<ref>Josephus, ''[[Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'' § [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0150%3Awhiston+section%3D54 54]</ref> He notes also that it was permissible for Jewish men to marry many wives ([[Polygamy in Judaism|polygamy]]).<ref>Flavius Josephus, ''The Works of Flavius Josephus''. Translated by [[William Whiston]], A. M. Auburn and Buffalo. John E. Beardsley: 1895, s.v. ''[[The Jewish War]]'' 1.24.2 (end) ([https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D1%3Awhiston+chapter%3D24%3Awhiston+section%3D2 1.473]).</ref> His writings provide a significant, extra-Biblical account of the post-Exilic period of the [[Maccabees]], the [[Hasmonean]] dynasty, and the rise of [[Herod the Great]]. He also describes the [[Sadducee]]s, the [[Pharisees]] and [[Essenes]], the Herodian Temple, [[Quirinius]]'s census and the [[Zealots]], and such figures as [[Pontius Pilate]], [[Herod the Great]], [[Agrippa&nbsp;I]] and [[Agrippa&nbsp;II]], [[John the Baptist]], [[Josephus on Jesus#Reference to Jesus as brother of James (xx 9.1)|James the brother of Jesus]]{{Broken anchor|date=2025-05-10|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Josephus on Jesus#Reference to Jesus as brother of James (xx 9.1)|reason= The anchor (Reference to Jesus as brother of James (xx 9.1)) [[Special:Diff/44919201|has been deleted]].|diff_id=44919201}}, and [[Josephus on Jesus|Jesus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whealey |first=Alice |title=Josephus on Jesus: The Testimonium Flavianum Controversy from Late Antiquity to Modern Times |date=2003 |publisher=[[Peter Lang Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-8204-5241-8 |quote=In the sixteenth century the authenticity of the text [Testimonium Flavianum] was publicly challenged, launching a controversy that has still not been resolved today |author-link=Alice Whealey}}</ref> Josephus represents an important source for studies of immediate post-Temple [[Judaism]] and the context of [[early Christianity]].

A careful reading of Josephus's writings and years of excavation allowed [[Ehud Netzer]], an [[archaeologist]] from [[Hebrew University]], to discover what he considered to be the location of [[Herod the Great#Herod's tomb|Herod's Tomb]], after searching for 35 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kraft |first=Dina |date=May 9, 2007 |title=Archaeologist Says Remnants of King Herod's Tomb Are Found |work=[[NY Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/world/middleeast/09herod.html?_r=0 |access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>  It was above [[aqueduct (bridge)|aqueducts]] and pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to the [[Herodium]], 12&nbsp;km south of Jerusalem—as described in Josephus's writings.{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=99}} In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas challenged the identification of the tomb as that of Herod.<ref name="Hasson-2013">{{Cite news |last=Hasson |first=Nir |date=October 11, 2013 |title=Archaeological stunner: Not Herod's Tomb after all? |work=Haaretz |url=http://www.haaretz.com/life/archaeology/.premium-1.551881 |url-status=dead |access-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927144851/http://www.haaretz.com/life/archaeology/.premium-1.551881 |archive-date=27 September 2015}}</ref> According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features.<ref name="Hasson-2013" /> Roi Porat, who replaced Netzer as excavation leader after the latter's death, stood by the identification.<ref name="Hasson-2013" />

Josephus's writings provide the first-known source for many stories considered as Biblical history, despite not being found in the Bible or related material. These include [[Ishmael in Islam|Ishmael as the founder of the Arabs]],<ref>{{harvnb|Millar|2011|loc=Chapter 14: "Hagar, Ishmael, Josephus, and the origins of Islam"}}: "Josephus is thus alluding to a proposition, not yet established in his narrative, that Ishmael was the founder (''ktistēs'') of the race (''ethnos'') of the 'Arabes' and offers this as his explanation of a custom currently observed by them."</ref> the connection of [[Biblical terminology for race|"Semites", "Hamites" and "Japhetites" to the classical nations of the world]], and the story of the [[siege of Masada]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilad |first=Elon |date=17 June 2019 |title=The Myth of Masada: How Reliable Was Josephus, Anyway? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2019-06-17/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-myth-of-masada-how-reliable-was-josephus-anyway/0000017f-f6ce-d47e-a37f-fffeee360000 |url-access=registration |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Haaretz |language=en |quote=The only source we have for the story of Masada, and numerous other reported events from the time, is the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, author of the book 'The Jewish War'.}}</ref>

=== Josephus's original audience ===
Scholars debate about Josephus's intended audience. For example, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' could be written for Jews—"a few scholars from Laqueur onward have suggested that Josephus must have written primarily for fellow Jews (if also secondarily for Gentiles). The most common motive suggested is repentance: in later life he felt so bad about the traitorous ''War'' that he needed to demonstrate … his loyalty to Jewish history, law and culture."{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=66}} However, Josephus's "countless incidental remarks explaining basic Judean language, customs and laws … assume a Gentile audience. He does not expect his first hearers to know anything about the laws or Judean origins."{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=67}} The issue of who would read this multi-volume work is unresolved. Other possible motives for writing ''Antiquities'' could be to dispel the misrepresentation of Jewish origins{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=68}} or as an apologetic to Greek cities of the Diaspora in order to protect Jews and to Roman authorities to garner their support for the Jews facing persecution.{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=70}}

Later rabbinic authorities condemned or marginalized Josephus, and he is largely absent from traditional Jewish sources until [[Isaac Abarbanel]], who was fluent in Latin and differentiated between the different compositions of Josephus, one addressed to the Jews in Hebrew and another in Greek and Latin. In some places Abarbanel refers to Joseph ben Gurion but appears to be referencing the [[Sefer Yosippon]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Avioz |first=Michael |date=2019 |title=The Place of Josephus in Abravanel’s Writings |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26833120 |journal=Hebrew Studies |volume=60 |pages=357–374 |issn=0146-4094}}</ref>

=== Literary influence and translations ===
Josephus was a very popular writer with Christians in the 4th century and beyond as an independent source to the events before, during, and after the life of [[Jesus of Nazareth]].  Josephus was always accessible in the Greek-reading Eastern Mediterranean.  His works were translated into Latin, but often in abbreviated form such as [[Pseudo-Hegesippus]]'s 4th century Latin version of ''The Jewish War'' ({{lang|la|Bellum Judaicum}}).  Christian interest in ''The Jewish War'' was largely out of interest in the downfall of the Jews and the Second Temple, which was widely considered by Christians to be [[Jewish deicide|divine punishment for the crime of killing Jesus]].  Improvements in printing technology (the [[Gutenberg Press]]) led to his works receiving a number of new translations into the vernacular languages of Europe, generally based on the Latin versions.  Only in 1544 did a version of the standard Greek text become available in French, edited by the Dutch [[Humanism|humanist]] [[Arnoldus Arlenius]]. The first English translation, by [[Thomas Lodge]], appeared in 1602, with subsequent editions appearing throughout the 17th century. The 1544 Greek edition formed the basis of the 1732 English translation by [[William Whiston]], which achieved enormous popularity in the English-speaking world. It was often the book—after the Bible—that Christians most frequently owned. Whiston claimed that certain works by Josephus had a similar style to the [[Pauline Epistles|Epistles of St. Paul]].{{sfn|Maier|1999|p=1070}}<ref name="Josephus-2017">{{Cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |title=The Jewish War |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |page=xxix–xxxv |orig-date=c. 75}}.  Information is from the Introduction, by [[Martin Goodman (historian)|Martin Goodman]].</ref>  Later editions of the Greek text include that of [[Benedikt Niese]], who made a detailed examination of all the available manuscripts, mainly from France and Spain. [[Henry St. John Thackeray]] and successors such as [[Ralph Marcus]] used Niese's version for the [[Loeb Classical Library]] edition widely used today.

On the Jewish side, Josephus was far more obscure, as he was perceived as a traitor.  Rabbinical writings for a millennium after his death (e.g. the [[Mishnah]]) almost never call out Josephus by name, although they sometimes tell parallel tales of the same events that Josephus narrated.  An Italian Jew writing in the 10th century indirectly brought Josephus back to prominence among Jews: he authored the ''[[Yosippon]]'', which paraphrases Pseudo-Hegesippus's Latin version of ''The Jewish War'', a Latin version of ''Antiquities'', as well as other works.  The epitomist also adds in his own snippets of history at times.  Jews generally distrusted Christian translations of Josephus until the ''[[Haskalah]]'' ("Jewish Enlightenment") in the 19th century, when sufficiently "neutral" vernacular language translations were made. [[Kalman Schulman]] finally created a Hebrew translation of the Greek text of Josephus in 1863, although many rabbis continued to prefer the Yosippon version.  By the 20th century, Jewish attitudes toward Josephus had softened, as he gave the Jews a respectable place in classical history. Various parts of his work were reinterpreted as more inspiring and favorable to the Jews than the Renaissance translations by Christians had been.  Notably, the last stand at Masada (described in ''The Jewish War''), which past generations had deemed insane and fanatical, received a more positive reinterpretation as an inspiring call to action in this period.<ref name="Josephus-2017" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajak |first=Tessa |title=Revolt and Resistance in the Ancient Classical World and the Near East: In the Crucible of Empire |date=2016 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-33017-7 |editor-last=Collins |editor-first=John J. |editor-link=John J. Collins |pages=221–223; 230–233 |chapter=Josephus, Jewish Resistance, and the Masada Myth |doi=10.1163/9789004330184_015 |author-link=Tessa Rajak |editor-last2=Manning |editor-first2=J. G. |editor-link2=Joseph Manning (historian)}}</ref>

The standard ''editio maior'' of the various Greek manuscripts is that of [[Benedictus Niese]], published 1885–95. The text of ''Antiquities'' is damaged in some places. In the ''Life'', Niese follows mainly manuscript P, but refers also to AMW and R. Henry St. John Thackeray for the [[Loeb Classical Library]] has a Greek text also mainly dependent on P. André Pelletier edited a new Greek text for his translation of ''Life''. The ongoing Münsteraner Josephus-Ausgabe of [[Münster University]] will provide a new critical apparatus. Late Old Slavonic translations of the Greek also exist, but these contain a large number of Christian interpolations.{{sfn|Bowman|1987|p=373}}

=== Evaluation as a military commander ===
Author Joseph Raymond calls Josephus "the Jewish [[Benedict Arnold]]" for betraying his own troops at Jotapata,{{sfn|Raymond|2010|p=222}} while historian [[E. Mary Smallwood|Mary Smallwood]], in the introduction to the translation of ''The Jewish War'' by [[G. A. Williamson]], writes:{{blockquote|[Josephus] was conceited, not only about his own learning, but also about the opinions held of him as commander both by the Galileans and by the Romans; he was guilty of shocking duplicity at Jotapata, saving himself by sacrifice of his companions; he was too naive to see how he stood condemned out of his own mouth for his conduct, and yet no words were too harsh when he was blackening his opponents; and after landing, however involuntarily, in the Roman camp, he turned his captivity to his own advantage, and benefited for the rest of his days from his change of side.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |url=https://archive.org/details/jewishwaranewtr01josegoog |title=The Jewish War |date=1981 |publisher=Penguin |others=Introduction by E.&nbsp;Mary Smallwood |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/jewishwaranewtr01josegoog/page/n48 24] |translator-last=Williamson |translator-first=G.&nbsp;A. |translator-link=G. A. Williamson}}</ref>}}