Editing Josephus on Jesus (section)

=== Arguments against authenticity ===
[[File:Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, 1842.djvu|page=7|thumb|upright=0.7|An 1842 copy of Eusebius' ''[[Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'']]
A comparative argument made against the authenticity of the James passage by scholars such as [[Tessa Rajak]] is that the passage has a negative tone regarding the High Priest [[Ananus ben Ananus|Ananus]], presenting him as impulsive while in the ''Jewish Wars'' Josephus presents a positive view of Ananus and portrays him as prudent.{{sfn|Eddy|Boyd|2007|pp=128–130}}{{sfn|Feldman|Hata|1987|p=56}}

A textual argument against the authenticity of the James passage is that the use of the term "Christos" there seems unusual for Josephus.{{sfn|Eddy|Boyd|2007|pp=128–130}} An argument based on the flow of the text in the document is that given that the mention of Jesus appears in the ''Antiquities'' before that of John the Baptist, a Christian interpolator may have inserted it to place Jesus in the text before John.{{sfn|Eddy|Boyd|2007|pp=128–130}} A further argument against the authenticity of the James passage is that it would have read well even without a reference to Jesus.{{sfn|Eddy|Boyd|2007|pp=128–130}}