JOSE'PHUS, FLAVIUS (37-?). A celebrated Jewish historian. He was horn at Jerusalem in the year A.D. 37. of both royal and sacerdotal lineage, being descended, on the mother's side, from the line of Asmonean princes. while his father, Mat thias, officiated as a priest in the first of the twenty-four courses. He received a good educa tion, and became familiar with both Hebrew and Greek literature. Having attended the lectures at the paramount religious schools of his time— 'sects,' as he 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 be longed to the T'harisees. At the age of twenty-six he was chosen delegate to Nero. At the out break of the great war between the Jews and Romans Josephus was appointed governor of Galilee. here he displayed valor and pru dence: but the advance of the Roman gen eral Vespasian (17) made resistance hopeless. The city of Jotapata. into which Josephus had thrown himself, was taken after a despe rate resistance of forty-seven days. Along with some others he concealed himself in a cavern, hut his biding-place was discovered, and being brought before Vespasian, he would have been sent to Nero, had he not—according to his own account, for Josephus is his own and his sole biographer—prophosied that his captor would yet become Emperor of Rome. Nevertheless, he was kept in a sort of easy imprisonment for about three years. It was then that he adopted the Latinizect name by which he is known. Josephus was present in the Roman army at the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, and after the „fall of the city (70) was instrumental in saving the lives of some of his relatives. After this he appears to have resided in 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 Herod Agrippa II., who died in 100. His works are: History of the Jewish War, in 7 books, written both in Hebrew and Greek (the Hebrew version 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; an Apology of the Jews against Apion, valuable chiefly for its extracts from old historical writers; and an Autobiography, which may be considered supple mentary to the Antiquities. The other works
attributed to him are not believed to be genuine. Josephus ill the main was 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 hopelessness 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 learning is visible in all his writ ings, 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 cditio prineeps of the Greek text appeared at Basel (Froben) in 1544. Since then the most important edition (with note) is that of B. Niese (7 vols.. Berlin. 1855-95: the text alone, 0 vols., 1885-95). Consult: 115r wald. Topographisch-historisehes Le.rieon zu den Rehriften des Josephus (Leipzig, 1379) Flaying Josephus and die Halaeha (Leipzig, 1856) ; Destinon. Die Quelleu des Flarins Jose phus (Kiel, 1882) Krenkel. Josephus znxl Lukas (Leipzig, 18941 : Schmidt. De •larii Jo sephi Eloeutione (Leipzig, 1894) ; Driiner, ruler suchungen iiber Josephus (31arburg, 1897). The best known version in English is by W. Whiston (London. 1737), revised by A. E. Shilleto, in Bohn's Library (London, ISS8.89, 5 vols.) ; especially valuable is the translation of the Jewish Way and the Autobiography by II. Trail! (London, 1862).