JOSE'PHIIS. FDAvurs, a celebrated Jewish historian, was b. at Jerusalem, 37 A.D. He was of both royal and sacerdotal lineage, being descended, on the mother's side, from the line of Asmouean princes, while his father, Matthias, officiated as a priest in the first of the twenty-four courses. The careful education he received developed his brilliant faculties at an unusually early period, and his acquirements both in Hebrew and Greek . literature—the two principal branches of his studies—soon drew public attention upon him. Having successively attended the lectures at the paramount religious schools of his time—" sects," as he inaccurately terms them—he withdrew into the desert, to a man whom he calls Banos, and who is conjectured to have been either a follower of John the Baptist or an Essene. Three years later he returned to Jerusalem, and henceforth belonged to the body of the "Pharisees," which, in fact, comprised the hulk of the people. So great was the regard for his abilities that at the age of only 26 years he was chosen delegate to Nero. When the Jews rose in their last and fatal insurrection against the Romans, Josephus was appointed governor of Galilee. Here he displayed the greatest valor and prudence; but the advance of the Roman general Vespasian (67 A.D.) made resistance hopeless. The city of Jotapata. into which Josephus had thrown himself, was taken after a desperate resistance of 47 days. Along with some others he concealed himself in a cavern, but his hiding-place was discovered, and being brought before Vespasian. he would have been sent to Nero, had he not—accord ing to his own account, for Josephus is his own and his sole biographer—prophesied that his captor would yet become emperor of Rome. Nevertheless, he was kept in a sort of easy imprisonment for about three years. Josephus was present in the Roman army at the siege of Jerusalem by Titus; and after the fall of the city (70 A.D.), was instru mental in saving the lives of some of his relatives. After this he appears to have resided at Rome, and to have devoted himself to literary studies. The exact period of his death is not ascertained. All we know is that he survived Agrippa II., who died 97 A.D. He was thrice married, and had children by his second and third wives. His
works are: History of the Jewish War, in 7 books, written both in Hebrew and Greek (the Hebrew version is no longer extant); Jewish Antiquities, in 20 books, containing the history of his countrymen from the earliest times down to the end of the reign of Nero (the fictitious-Hebrew Josippon, which for a long time was identified with Josephus's Antiquities, dates &oak the 10th c. A.D.); a treatise on the Antiquity of the Jots, against Apion, in 2 vols., valuable chiefly for its extracts from old historical writers; and an Autob?ography (37-90 A.D.), in one book, which may be considered supplementary to the Antiquities. The other works attributed to him are not believed to be genuine.
The peculiar character of Josephus is not difficult to describe. He was, in the main, honest and veracious; he had a sincere liking for his countrymen, and rather more pride And enthusiasm in the old national history than he could well justify ; but the hopeless ness of attempting to withstand the enormous power of the Romans, and an aversion to martyrdom, caused him to side with the enemy—perhaps in the faint hope of being thus of some use to the national cause. The influence of Greek philosophy and learn ing is visible in all his writings, and, as far as biblical history is concerned, infused into it a tone of "rationalism." He speaks of Moses as a human rather than a divinely inspired law-giver; he doubts the miracle in the crossing of the Red sea; the swallowing •of Jonah by the whale; and, generally speaking, whatever is calculated to teach that there was a special miraculous Providence at work on behalf of the chosen people. His .style is easy and elegant, and Josephus has often been called the Greek Livy. The editio Trinceps of the Greek text appeared at Basel (Froben) in 1544. Since then the most important editions (with notes) are those of Hudson (Oxford, 1720), Havercamp (Amst. 1726), Oberthtir (Leip. 1782-85), Richter (Leip. 1825-27), and Dindorf (Paris, 1845). .Josephns has been frequently translated; the two best known versions in English are by L'Estrangc (Lond. 1702) and Whiston (Load. 1737).