I was wandering the majority Jewish opinion of Josephus. I know that most Christians call him a credible source, but I've wondered if the only reason they call him credible was because he said something about Jesus. I came hear because I knew this place is generally well-reasearched and won't pump me with closed-minded junk.
If he mentioned Jesus then i'm sure christians would give him credibility because it would give some shred of tangible evidence to the historical Jesus. But how credible was Josephus? From what i gather he was a scholar and wrote alot that survives to this day. But he was stuck in the middle of a political war ... can we believe what he wrote was his genuine perception, or was there some propoganda slipped in there? BTW, What DID he say about jesus?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus It is complicated. The main declaration by Christians is that Josephus mentioned Jesus and said that "He was the christ", but that doesn't make much sense cause Josephus was a strict Jew. It was most likely a later addition by Christians. There are passages about James (brother of Jesus) and John (the Baptist), but I do not know as much about them. I think it is mostly accepted that the stuff about Jesus being the Christ are later additions.
The only stuff i've read before from Josephus is about the siege of Jurusalem. Reading that translation from your link (thanks) ... it just sounds like 'biblical rhetoric' ... not how i think Josephus would write.
I ask because I am doing a bit of research of my own and I know that his dates from Adam to Moses are a bit off from the Tanakh. I also know that Christians don't quote him for anything other than Jesus, but If I mention the "Pillar of Enoch," they get upset with me because I used their own source that's not Canon. Also, I'm not surrounded by any Jewish community to ask them any questions. For me, I think the best way to see if what he says is credible is to have a second non-Christian source, but I don't know where I can find Oral Tradition or anything of that nature to cross reference Josephus. In that sense, I'm completely lost.
I'd find someone at a local university who is in religious studies who knows this stuff. That would be your bes direct source...
Josephus (37 – sometime after 100 AD),[1], also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph, son of Matthias), who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus,[2] was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70. His works give an important insight into first-century Judaism. Josephus's two most important works are Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94).[3] Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-70). Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective. These works provide valuable insight into the background of 1st-century Judaism and early Christianity.[3]
"..who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus." - non romans would often adopt the name of the governer who gave them citizenship, who in this case was Titus.
Josephus is a great original source. Of course he had biases, but so does everyone, and it is always better to read original sources than to read someone else's interpretation. I loved this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140444203/"]The Jewish War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics): Flavius Josephus, Betty Radice: 9780140444209: Amazon.com: Books
I'm a Christian, and certainly can't claim to be bias free, but I became interested in Josephus because of what he says not only about Jesus but of James the Justand John the Baptist, as well. We should keep in mind that all ancient historians fell considerably short of modern professional standards of objective scholarship, and that Josephus was something of a sell-out to the Romans. He initially had a prominent role as rebel leader of Jewish forces in Galilee in the First Jewish-Roman War, but after he surrendered to the Romans, he managed to ingratiate himself with Vespasian by claiming that Jewish prophecy predicted that Vespasian would become Emperor. When that "prophecy" was fulfilled, Josephus' star ascended and he took the Emperor's family name of "Flavius". He remained a Pharisee, and generally had good things to say about the major factions of Judaism of the time, except the openly anti-Roman "fourth philosophy" (Zealots). Many scholars are convinced that the so-called "Testamonium Flavianum" (Book 18, chp. 3,3) of his Antiquities made some reference to Jesus but was embellished by Christian scribes. According to G.A. Wells in The Jesus Legend (1996): "This is the view argued by Meier as by most scholars today particularly since S. Pines..." (p. 48) But there is another passage referring to Jesus (Book 20, chp. 9,1) referring to James "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ", that is "almost universally acknowledged" to be authentic. (L. Feldman and G.Hata, eds. Josephus , Judaism and Christianity, 1987, p. p. 55-57;also,R. Bauckham , in B.Chilton and C.A.Evans,James the Just and Christian origins (1999), pp. 199-203. Having a real brother is some evidence that Jesus at least existed, and Josephus goes on at great length to describe James the Just as a major player in the first century scene of Jewish religious politics. James was the acknowledged leader of the Jerusalem Church, and the portrait given by Josephus fills in gaps and details missing from the New Testament Acts of the Apostles. Interestingly, James and the earliest Church seem to have been staunch ultra-orthodox Jews who were strict observers of the Law of Moses and accepted Jesus as the Jewish Messiah but not as a divine being. James was respected by the Pharisees, Essenes and Zealots, and according to Aslam's book Zealot his assassination by a faction of Herodian-allied Sadducees helped to trigger a general uprising of Jews against the Romans and their collaborators. After the Romans won, the Jerusalem church was mostly eradicated, and Christianity became a Hellenized predominately Gentile movement following Paul, who knew Jesus only through visions and whose relations with James were strained at best. Thanks to Josephus, we have a picture of early Christianity that is much more Jewish than the version in Acts.
