Editing Josephus on Jesus (section)

=== Arguments for authenticity ===
[[File:Oberzell Alte Kirche Decke Johannes im Kerker.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|[[Messengers from John the Baptist|John the Baptist in prison]], by [[Josef Anton Hafner|Hafner]], 1750]]
[[Craig A. Evans]] states that almost all modern scholars consider the Josephus passage on John to be authentic in its entirety, and that what Josephus states about John fits well both with the general depiction of John in the New Testament and within the historical context of the activities of other men, their preachings and their promises during that period.{{sfn|Evans|2006|pp=55–58}}

Louis Feldman, who believes the Josephus passage on John is authentic, states that Christian interpolators would have been very unlikely to have devoted almost twice as much space to John (163 words) as to Jesus (89 words).{{sfn|Feldman|2006|pp=330–331}} Feldman also states that a Christian interpolator would have likely altered Josephus's passage about John the Baptist to make the circumstances of the death of John become similar to the New Testament, and to indicate that John was a forerunner of Jesus.
<ref name="Feldman, Louis H. p. 56" />

[[James Dunn (theologian)|James Dunn]] states that the accounts of Josephus and the New Testament regarding John the Baptist are closer than they may appear at a first reading.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=377}} Dunn states that Josephus positions John as a righteous preacher ({{tlit|grc|dikaiosyne}}) who encourages his followers to practice "righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God" and that [[wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/Mark#6:20|Mark 6:20]] similarly calls John "a righteous ({{tlit|grc|dikaios}}) and holy man".{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=377}} Dunn states that Antipas likely saw John as a figure whose ascetic lifestyle and calls for moral reform could provoke a popular uprising on moral grounds, as both Josephus and the New Testament suggest.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=377}}

Justin Meggitt states that there are fundamental similarities between the Josephus portrayal of John the Baptist and the New Testament narrative in that in both accounts John is positioned as a preacher of morality, not as someone who had challenged the political authority of [[Herod Antipas]].{{sfn|Meggitt|2003|p=508}} W. E. Nunnally states that the John passage is considered authentic and that Josephus' emphasis on the egalitarian nature of John's teachings fit well into the biblical and historical traditions.<ref>W. E. Nunnally "Deeds of Kindness" in ''The Wiley–Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice'' by Michael D. Palmer and Stanley M. Burgess 2012 {{ISBN|1-4051-9547-9}} p. 303</ref>

In Origen's apologetic work ''[[Contra Celsum]]'', made an explicit reference to the Josephus passage discussing John the Baptist:
{{Blockquote|For in the 18th book of his Antiquities of the Jews, <strong>Josephus bears witness to John as having been a Baptist</strong>, and as promising purification to those who underwent the rite.|''Contra Celsum'', [[Wikisource:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IV/Origen/Origen Against Celsus/Book I/Chapter XLVII|Book I, Chapter XLVII]] (emphasis added)}}
Here, Origen provides a clear, unambiguous indication that the passage concerning John the Baptist existed in his early manuscript of ''Antiquities of the Jews''.{{sfn|Mizugaki|1987}} This implies that the John the Baptist passage would have had to have been interpolated into the ''Antiquities'' at quite an early date, before the time of Origen, if it is inauthentic.

In ''[[Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'' ([[Wikisource:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume I/Church History of Eusebius/Book I/Chapter 11|Book I, Chapter XI]]), Eusebius also discusses the Josephus reference to [[Herod Antipas]]'s killing of [[John the Baptist]], and mentions the marriage to [[Herodias]] in paragraphs 1–6.