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{{Short description|Roman–Jewish historian and military leader (c. 37 – c. 100)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox scholar
| name = Flavius Josephus
| image = Joseph, son of Gorian, called Flavius Josephus (cropped).jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Engraving by [[John Sartain]], 1880
| birth_name = Yosef ben Matityahu
| birth_date = {{circa|AD 37}}{{sfn|Mason|2000}}
| birth_place = [[Jerusalem]], [[Judea (Roman province)|Roman Judea]]
| death_date = {{circa|AD 100}}{{sfn|Mason|2000}} (aged 62–63)
| death_place = 
| children = {{Collapsible list 
 | titlestyle = font-weight: normal; background: inherit; font-style: italic; text-align: left;
 | title = 5 sons, including:{{sfn|Schürer|1973|p=46}}
 |Flavius Hyrcanus
 |Flavius Justus
 |Flavius Simonides Agrippa}}
| known_for = 
| alma_mater = 
| era = [[Hellenistic Judaism]]
| main_interests = {{plainlist|
* [[Jewish history]]
* [[Maccabean Revolt]]
* [[Jewish–Roman wars]]
* [[Herodian dynasty]]
* [[Hasmonean dynasty]]}}
| notable_works = {{plainlist|
* ''[[The Jewish War]]''
* ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]''}}
| influences = {{plainlist|
* [[Philo of Alexandria]]{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Book_XVIII 18.8.1]}}
* [[Pharisees]]
* [[Greco-Roman world]]}}
| influenced = {{plainlist|
* [[Early Christianity]]
* [[Josephus problem]]}}
}}

'''Flavius Josephus'''{{Efn|{{IPAc-en|dʒ|oʊ|ˈ|s|iː|f|ə|s}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Josephus |url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/josephus |website=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers}}</ref>}}{{Efn|{{langx|grc|Ἰώσηπος|Iṓsēpos}}}} (born '''Yosef ben Mattityahu''';{{Efn|{{langx|he|יוֹסֵף בֵּן מַתִּתְיָהוּ}}}}{{efn|Modern authors give his birth name, including [[patronymic]], as "Yosef ben Mattityahu", “Yoseph bar Mattityahu" or "Yosef ben Matityahu",<ref name="Hollander-2014" /><ref name="Collins-2012" /><ref name="Ben-Ari-2003">{{Cite journal |last=Ben-Ari |first=Nitsa |date=2003 |title=The double conversion of ''Ben-Hur'': a case of manipulative translation |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/~nitsaba/Publications/papers/NBA-DoubleConversionBen-Hur2002.pdf |journal=Target |volume=14 |pages=263–301 |doi=10.1075/target.14.2.05ben |access-date=28 November 2011 |quote=The converts themselves were banned from society as outcasts and so was their historiographic work or, in the more popular historical novels, their literary counterparts. Josephus Flavius, formerly Yosef Ben Matityahu (34–95), had been shunned, then banned as a traitor. |number=2}}</ref>{{sfn|Goodman|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=38eXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 186]}} literally meaning "Joseph son of Matthias". That is what he calls himself at the start of ''[[The Jewish War]]'' ({{lang|el|Ἰώσηπος Ματθίου παῖς}}, {{Transliteration|el|Iósipos Matthíou país}}). "Flavius" was not part of his birth name, and was only adopted later.<ref name="Hollander-2014" />}} {{circa|AD 37|100}}) was a [[History of the Jews in the Roman Empire|Roman–Jewish]] historian and military leader.  Best known for writing ''[[The Jewish War]]'', he was born in [[Jerusalem]]—then part of the [[Judaea (Roman province)|Roman province of Judea]]—to a father of [[Kohen|priestly descent]] and a mother who claimed [[Hasmonean]] royal ancestry.

He initially fought against the [[Roman Empire]] during the [[First Jewish–Roman War]] as [[general]] of the Jewish forces in [[Galilee]], until surrendering in AD&nbsp;67 to the [[Roman army]] led by [[Vespasian]] after the six-week [[siege of Yodfat]]. Josephus claimed the [[Messiah in Judaism|Jewish messianic]] [[Bible prophecy|prophecies]] that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming [[Roman emperor]]. In response, Vespasian decided to keep him as a slave and presumably [[interpreter]]. After Vespasian became emperor in AD&nbsp;69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor's family name of ''[[Flavian dynasty|Flavius]]''.{{sfn|Mimouni|2012|p=133}}

Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman side and was granted [[Roman citizenship]]. He became an advisor and close associate of Vespasian's son [[Titus]], serving as his translator during Titus's protracted [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|siege of Jerusalem]] in AD 70, which resulted in the near-total razing of the city and the destruction of the [[Second Temple]].

Josephus recorded the Great Jewish Revolt (AD 66–70), including the [[siege of Masada]]. His most important works were ''The Jewish War'' ({{circa|75}}) and ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'' ({{circa}}&nbsp;94).{{sfn|Harris|1985}} ''The Jewish War'' recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation. ''Antiquities of the Jews'' recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Greek and Roman audience. These works provide insight into first-century Judaism and the background of [[Early Christianity]].{{sfn|Harris|1985}} Josephus's works are the chief source next to the Bible for the history and antiquity of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel]], and provide an independent extra-biblical account of such figures as [[Pontius Pilate]], [[Herod the Great]], [[John the Baptist]], [[James, brother of Jesus]], and [[Josephus on Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]].<ref name="Whiston Maier" />

== Biography ==
{{See also|First Jewish–Roman War|Siege of Yodfat|Vespasian}}[[File:Ancient Galilee.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Galilee]], site of Josephus's governorship, before the First Jewish–Roman War]]
Josephus was born into one of Jerusalem's elite families.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodman|2007|p=8}}: "Josephus was born into the ruling elite of Jerusalem"</ref><ref>Poole, Gary William. "Flavius Josephus". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Flavius-Josephus. Accessed 1 June 2025.</ref><ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Flavius Josephus summary". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Flavius-Josephus. Accessed 1 June 2025.</ref><ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "What was Flavius Josephus’s childhood like?". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/question/What-was-Flavius-Josephuss-childhood-like. Accessed 1 June 2025.</ref> He was the second-born son of Matthias, a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]]. His older full-blooded brother was also, like his father, called Matthias.{{sfn|Mason|2000|pp=12–13}} Their mother was an aristocratic woman who was descended from the royal and formerly ruling [[Hasmoneans|Hasmonean dynasty]].{{sfn|Nodet|1997|p=250}} Josephus's paternal grandparents were a man also named Joseph(us) and his wife—an unnamed Hebrew noblewoman—distant relatives of each other.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2012 |title=Josephus Lineage |url=http://www.historyofthedaughters.com/38.pdf |website=History of the Daughters |publisher=L P Publishing |pages=349–350 |edition=Fourth |location=Sonoma, California}}</ref> Josephus's family was wealthy. He descended through his father from the priestly order of the [[Jehoiarib]], which was the first of the 24 orders of priests in the [[Temple in Jerusalem]].{{sfn|Schürer|1973|pp=45–46}} Josephus calls himself a fourth-generation descendant of "[[High Priest of Israel|High Priest]] Jonathan", referring to either [[Jonathan Apphus]] or [[Alexander Jannaeus]].{{sfn|Schürer|1973|pp=45–46}} He was raised in Jerusalem and educated alongside his brother.{{sfn|Mason|2000|p=13}}

At around 26 years old, Josephus traveled to [[Rome]] to negotiate the release of Jewish priests imprisoned there by [[Nero]]. With the assistance of Nero's wife, [[Poppaea Sabina|Poppaea]], and a Jewish actor, he succeeded in securing their freedom.<ref>Josephus, ''[[Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'' § [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0150%3Awhiston+section%3D3 3]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JaneBjork |date=2021-12-03 |title=Who Was Flavius Josephus, the Jewish Historian? |url=https://www.patternsofevidence.com/2021/12/03/flavius-josephus-jewish-historian/ |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=Patterns of Evidence |language=en-US}}</ref> Upon his return to Jerusalem, at the outbreak of the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], Josephus was appointed the military governor of [[Galilee]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldberg |first=G. J. |title=The Life of Flavius Josephus |url=http://www.josephus.org/life.htm |access-date=2012-05-18 |publisher=Josephus.org}}</ref> His arrival in Galilee, however, was fraught with internal division: the inhabitants of [[Sepphoris]] and [[Tiberias]] opted to maintain peace with the Romans; the people of Sepphoris enlisted the help of the Roman army to protect their city,<ref name="Vita-67">Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;67</ref> while the people of Tiberias appealed to [[Agrippa II|King Agrippa]]'s forces to protect them from the insurgents.<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;68</ref> Josephus trained 65,000 troops in the region.<ref name="Whiston Maier">{{cite book |last1=Josephus |first1=Flavius |last2=Whiston |first2=William |last3=Maier |first3=Paul L. |title=The New Complete Works of Josephus |date=1999 |publisher=Kregel Publications |location=Grand Rapids, MI |isbn=9780825429484 |pages=7–8}}</ref>

Josephus also contended with [[John of Gischala]] who had also set his sight over the control of Galilee. Like Josephus, John had amassed to himself a large band of supporters from [[Gischala]] (Gush Halab) and [[Arraba, Israel|Gabara]],{{efn|A large village in Galilee during the 1st century AD, located to the north of Nazareth. In antiquity, the town was called "Garaba", but in Josephus's historical works of antiquity, the town is mentioned by its Greek corruption, "Gabara".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Klausner |first=J. |date=1934 |title=Qobetz |journal=Journal of the Jewish Palestinian Exploration Society |language=he |volume=3 |pages=261–263}}</ref>{{sfn|Rappaport|2006|loc=p. 44 [note 2]}}<!-- Maybe? This page ref is to an unofficial translation, no guarantee it is page 44 in original book.-->{{sfn|Safrai|1985|pp=59–62}}}} including the support of the [[Sanhedrin]] in Jerusalem.<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;25; §&nbsp;38; {{Cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |url=http://www.loebclassics.com/view/josephus-life/1926/pb_LCL186.47.xml?result=1&rskey=3RlR3w |title=The Life of Josephus |year=1926 |doi=10.4159/DLCL.josephus-life.1926 |access-date=31 May 2016}} {{Subscription required|via=[[Loeb Classical Library|digital Loeb Classical Library]]}}</ref> Meanwhile, Josephus fortified several towns and villages in [[Lower Galilee]], among which were Tiberias, [[Bersabe]], [[Selamin]], [[Yafa an-Naseriyye|Japha]], and [[Tarichaea]], in anticipation of a Roman onslaught.<ref name="Vita-37">Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;37</ref> In [[Upper Galilee]], he fortified the towns of [[Jamnith]], [[Safed|Seph]], [[Meron, Israel|Mero]], and [['Akbara#Location|Achabare]], among other places.<ref name="Vita-37" /> Josephus, with the Galileans under his command, managed to bring both Sepphoris and Tiberias into subjection,<ref name="Vita-67" /> but was eventually forced to relinquish his hold on Sepphoris by the arrival of Roman forces under [[Iulius Placidus|Placidus the tribune]] and later by [[Vespasian]] himself. Josephus first engaged the Roman army at a village called [[Garis (Galilee)|Garis]], where he launched an attack against Sepphoris a second time, before being repulsed.<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'', §&nbsp;71</ref> At length, he resisted the Roman army in its [[siege of Yodfat]] (Jotapata) until it fell to the Roman army in the lunar month of [[Tammuz (Hebrew month)|Tammuz]], in the thirteenth year of [[Nero]]'s reign.

After the Jewish garrison of Yodfat fell under siege, the Romans invaded, killing thousands; the survivors committed suicide. According to Josephus, he was trapped in a cave with 40 of his companions in July 67 AD. The Romans (commanded by Flavius Vespasian and his son Titus, both subsequently [[Roman emperor]]s) asked the group to surrender, but they refused. According to Josephus's account, he suggested a method of collective suicide;<ref>Josephus, ''The Jewish War''. Book 3, Chapter 8, par. 7</ref> they drew lots and killed each other, one by one, and Josephus happened to be one of two men that were left who surrendered to the Roman forces and became prisoners.{{efn|This method as a mathematical problem is referred to as the [[Josephus problem]], or Roman roulette.<ref>Cf. this example, [http://acm.uva.es/p/v1/130.html ''Roman Roulette'']. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221165652/http://acm.uva.es/p/v1/130.html |date=February 21, 2007 }}</ref>}} In 69 AD, Josephus was released.<ref>[[s:The War of the Jews/Book IV|Jewish War&nbsp;IV.622–629]]</ref> According to his account, he acted as a negotiator with the defenders during the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|siege of Jerusalem]] in 70 AD, during which time his parents were held as hostages by [[Simon bar Giora]].<ref>Josephus, ''[[The Jewish War]]'' ([https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D5%3Awhiston+chapter%3D13%3Awhiston+section%3D1 5.13.1.] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D5%3Awhiston+chapter%3D13%3Awhiston+section%3D3 5.13.3.])</ref>

While being confined at [[Yodfat]] (Jotapata), Josephus claimed to have experienced a divine revelation that later led to his speech predicting Vespasian would become emperor. After the prediction came true, he was released by Vespasian, who considered his gift of prophecy to be divine. Josephus wrote that his revelation had taught him three things: that God, the creator of the Jewish people, had decided to "punish" them; that "fortune" had been given to the Romans; and that God had chosen him "to announce the things that are to come".{{sfn|Gray|1993|pp=35–38}}{{sfn|Aune|1991|p=140}}{{sfn|Gnuse|1996|pp=136–142}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=den Hollander |first=William |date= 2015|title=Jesus, Josephus, and the fall of Jerusalem: On doing history with Scripture |journal=HTS Theological Studies |language=en |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=01–09 |doi=10.4102/HTS.V71I1.2942 |issn=0259-9422|doi-access=free |hdl=2263/51005 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> To many Jews, such claims were simply self-serving.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodman|2007|p=9}}: "Later generations of Jews have been inclined to treat such claims as self-serving"</ref>

Josephus interpreted the destruction of the Temple as a sign that God had turned to the Romans due to Jewish sins, urging submission to Roman authority. However, he also believed that the covenant between God and Israel remained intact, with restoration dependent on Jewish repentance, echoing biblical interpretations of the [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]]'s destruction.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-judaism/3F4F0A32983FC0DCDB414553888DC394 |title=The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-77248-8 |editor-last=Katz |editor-first=Steven T. |volume=4 |location=Cambridge |pages=31 |doi=10.1017/chol9780521772488}}</ref>

In 71 AD, he went to Rome as part of the entourage of Titus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Imagining Jerusalem : Josephus |url=https://exhibits.uflib.ufl.edu/imaginingjerusalem/josephus.html |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=exhibits.uflib.ufl.edu}}</ref> There, he became a Roman citizen and client of the ruling [[Flavian dynasty]]. In addition to [[Roman citizenship]], he was granted accommodation in the conquered [[Iudaea Province|Judaea]] and a pension. While in Rome and under Flavian patronage, Josephus wrote all of his known works. Although he only ever calls himself "Josephus" in his writings, later historians refer to him as "Flavius Josephus", confirming that he adopted the ''[[Nomen gentilicium|nomen]]'' [[Flavia gens|Flavius]] from his patrons, as was the custom amongst [[freedmen]].<ref name="Hollander-2014">{{Cite book |last=Hollander |first=William den |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPjYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |title=Josephus, the Emperors, and the City of Rome: From Hostage to Historian |date=2014 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-26683-4 |pages=1–4}}</ref><ref name="Collins-2012">{{Cite book |last1=Collins |first1=John J. |title=Early Judaism: A Comprehensive Overview |last2=Harlow |first2=Daniel C. |date=2012 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-1-4674-3739-4 |chapter=Josephus |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXByCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP198}}</ref>

[[Vespasian]] arranged for Josephus to marry a captured Jewish woman, whom he later divorced. Around the year 71, Josephus married an [[History of the Jews in Alexandria|Alexandrian Jewish]] woman as his third wife. They had three sons, of whom only Flavius Hyrcanus survived childhood. Josephus later divorced his third wife. Around 75, he married his fourth wife, a Greek Jewish woman from [[Crete]], who was a member of a distinguished family. They had two sons, Flavius Justus and Flavius Simonides Agrippa.

Josephus's life story remains ambiguous. He was described by Harris in 1985 as a [[Torah Judaism|law-observant Jew]] who believed in the compatibility of [[Judaism]] and [[Graeco-Roman]] thought, commonly referred to as [[Hellenistic Judaism]].{{sfn|Harris|1985}} ''Josippon'', the Hebrew version of Josephus, contains changes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Neuman |first=Abraham A. |date=1952 |title=Josippon and the Apocrypha |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1452910 |journal=The Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.2307/1452910 |jstor=1452910 |issn=0021-6682|url-access=subscription }}</ref> His critics were never satisfied as to why his suicide attempt did not kill him in Galilee, and after his capture, accepted the patronage of Romans.

== Scholarship and impact on history ==
The works of Josephus provide information about the First Jewish–Roman War and also represent literary source material for understanding the context of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] and late [[Herod's Temple|Temple]] Judaism.

Josephan scholarship had traditionally identified him as a [[Pharisee]]. Some authors portrayed him as a member of the sect and as a traitor to the Jewish nation—a view which became known as the classical concept of Josephus.{{sfn|Millard|1997|p=306}} In the mid-20th century, scholars challenged this view and formulated the modern concept of Josephus. They consider him a Pharisee but describe him in part as patriot and a historian of some standing. In his 1991 book, [[Steve Mason (biblical scholar)|Steve Mason]] argued that Josephus was not a Pharisee but an orthodox Aristocrat-Priest who became associated with the philosophical school of the Pharisees as a matter of deference, and not by willing association.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mason |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Mason (biblical scholar) |date=April 2003 |title=Flavius Josephus and the Pharisees |url=https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2003/04/mas278001 |access-date=2024-02-19|website=The Bible and Interpretation}}</ref>

=== Impact on history and archaeology ===
The works of Josephus include useful material for historians about individuals, groups, customs, and geographical places. However, modern historians have been cautious of taking his writings at face value. For example, [[Carl Ritter]], in his highly influential ''Erdkunde'' in the 1840s, wrote in a review of authorities on the ancient geography of the region:
<blockquote>Outside of the Scriptures, Josephus holds the first and the only place among the native authors of Judaea; for Philo of Alexandria, the later Talmud, and other authorities, are of little service in understanding the geography of the country. Josephus is, however, to be used with great care. As a Jewish scholar, as an officer of Galilee, as a military man, and a person of great experience in everything belonging to his own nation, he attained to that remarkable familiarity with his country in every part, which his antiquarian researches so abundantly evince. But he was controlled by political motives: his great purpose was to bring his people, the despised Jewish race, into honour with the Greeks and Romans; and this purpose underlay every sentence, and filled his history with distortions and exaggerations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ritter |first=C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X70PrAtAuGUC |title=The Comparative Geographie of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula |publisher=T. & T. Clark |year=1866}}</ref></blockquote>


Josephus mentions that in his day there were 240 towns and villages scattered across [[Upper Galilee|Upper]] and [[Lower Galilee]],<ref>Josephus, ''[[Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'' § [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0150%3Awhiston+section%3D45 45]</ref> some of which he names. Josephus's works are the primary source for the chain of [[Traditional Jewish chronology#Josephus's enumeration of High Priests during the Second Temple period|Jewish high priests]] during the [[Second Temple]] period. A few of the Jewish customs named by him include the practice of hanging a [[linen]] curtain at the entrance to one's house,<ref>{{harvnb|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Book_III 3.6.4]}}:  After describing the curtain that hung in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, Josephus adds: "Whence that custom of ours is derived, of having a fine linen veil, after the temple has been built, to be drawn over the entrances."</ref> and the Jewish custom to partake of a [[Shabbat|Sabbath-day]]'s meal around the [[Relative hour|sixth-hour]] of the day (at noon).<ref>Josephus, ''[[Life of Flavius Josephus|Vita]]'' § [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0150%3Awhiston+section%3D54 54]</ref> He notes also that it was permissible for Jewish men to marry many wives ([[Polygamy in Judaism|polygamy]]).<ref>Flavius Josephus, ''The Works of Flavius Josephus''. Translated by [[William Whiston]], A. M. Auburn and Buffalo. John E. Beardsley: 1895, s.v. ''[[The Jewish War]]'' 1.24.2 (end) ([https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D1%3Awhiston+chapter%3D24%3Awhiston+section%3D2 1.473]).</ref> His writings provide a significant, extra-Biblical account of the post-Exilic period of the [[Maccabees]], the [[Hasmonean]] dynasty, and the rise of [[Herod the Great]]. He also describes the [[Sadducee]]s, the [[Pharisees]] and [[Essenes]], the Herodian Temple, [[Quirinius]]'s census and the [[Zealots]], and such figures as [[Pontius Pilate]], [[Herod the Great]], [[Agrippa&nbsp;I]] and [[Agrippa&nbsp;II]], [[John the Baptist]], [[Josephus on Jesus#Reference to Jesus as brother of James (xx 9.1)|James the brother of Jesus]], and [[Josephus on Jesus|Jesus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whealey |first=Alice |title=Josephus on Jesus: The Testimonium Flavianum Controversy from Late Antiquity to Modern Times |date=2003 |publisher=[[Peter Lang Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-8204-5241-8 |quote=In the sixteenth century the authenticity of the text [Testimonium Flavianum] was publicly challenged, launching a controversy that has still not been resolved today |author-link=Alice Whealey}}</ref> Josephus represents an important source for studies of immediate post-Temple [[Judaism]] and the context of [[early Christianity]].

A careful reading of Josephus's writings and years of excavation allowed [[Ehud Netzer]], an [[archaeologist]] from [[Hebrew University]], to discover what he considered to be the location of [[Herod the Great#Herod's tomb|Herod's Tomb]], after searching for 35 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kraft |first=Dina |date=May 9, 2007 |title=Archaeologist Says Remnants of King Herod's Tomb Are Found |work=[[NY Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/world/middleeast/09herod.html?_r=0 |access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>  It was above [[aqueduct (bridge)|aqueducts]] and pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to the [[Herodium]], 12&nbsp;km south of Jerusalem—as described in Josephus's writings.{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=99}} In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas challenged the identification of the tomb as that of Herod.<ref name="Hasson-2013">{{Cite news |last=Hasson |first=Nir |date=October 11, 2013 |title=Archaeological stunner: Not Herod's Tomb after all? |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/life/archaeology/.premium-1.551881 |url-status=dead |access-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927144851/http://www.haaretz.com/life/archaeology/.premium-1.551881 |archive-date=27 September 2015}}</ref> According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features.<ref name="Hasson-2013" /> Roi Porat, who replaced Netzer as excavation leader after the latter's death, stood by the identification.<ref name="Hasson-2013" />

Josephus's writings provide the first-known source for many stories considered as Biblical history, despite not being found in the Bible or related material. These include [[Ishmael in Islam|Ishmael as the founder of the Arabs]],<ref>{{harvnb|Millar|2011|loc=Chapter 14: "Hagar, Ishmael, Josephus, and the origins of Islam"}}: "Josephus is thus alluding to a proposition, not yet established in his narrative, that Ishmael was the founder (''ktistēs'') of the race (''ethnos'') of the 'Arabes' and offers this as his explanation of a custom currently observed by them."</ref> the connection of [[Biblical terminology for race|"Semites", "Hamites" and "Japhetites" to the classical nations of the world]], and the story of the [[siege of Masada]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilad |first=Elon |date=17 June 2019 |title=The Myth of Masada: How Reliable Was Josephus, Anyway? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2019-06-17/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-myth-of-masada-how-reliable-was-josephus-anyway/0000017f-f6ce-d47e-a37f-fffeee360000 |url-access=registration |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Haaretz |language=en |quote=The only source we have for the story of Masada, and numerous other reported events from the time, is the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, author of the book 'The Jewish War'.}}</ref>

=== Josephus's original audience ===
Scholars debate about Josephus's intended audience. For example, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' could be written for Jews—"a few scholars from Laqueur onward have suggested that Josephus must have written primarily for fellow Jews (if also secondarily for Gentiles). The most common motive suggested is repentance: in later life he felt so bad about the traitorous ''War'' that he needed to demonstrate … his loyalty to Jewish history, law and culture."{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=66}} However, Josephus's "countless incidental remarks explaining basic Judean language, customs and laws … assume a Gentile audience. He does not expect his first hearers to know anything about the laws or Judean origins."{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=67}} The issue of who would read this multi-volume work is unresolved. Other possible motives for writing ''Antiquities'' could be to dispel the misrepresentation of Jewish origins{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=68}} or as an apologetic to Greek cities of the Diaspora in order to protect Jews and to Roman authorities to garner their support for the Jews facing persecution.{{sfn|Mason|1998|p=70}}

Later rabbinic authorities condemned or marginalized Josephus, and he is largely absent from traditional Jewish sources until [[Isaac Abarbanel]], who was fluent in Latin and differentiated between the different compositions of Josephus, one addressed to the Jews in Hebrew and another in Greek and Latin. In some places Abarbanel refers to Joseph ben Gurion but appears to be referencing the [[Sefer Yosippon]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Avioz |first=Michael |date=2019 |title=The Place of Josephus in Abravanel's Writings |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26833120 |journal=Hebrew Studies |volume=60 |pages=357–374 |jstor=26833120 |issn=0146-4094}}</ref>

=== Literary influence and translations ===
Josephus was a very popular writer with Christians in the 4th century and beyond as an independent source to the events before, during, and after the life of [[Jesus of Nazareth]].  Josephus was always accessible in the Greek-reading Eastern Mediterranean.  His works were translated into Latin, but often in abbreviated form such as [[Pseudo-Hegesippus]]'s 4th century Latin version of ''The Jewish War'' ({{lang|la|Bellum Judaicum}}).  Christian interest in ''The Jewish War'' was largely out of interest in the downfall of the Jews and the Second Temple, which was widely considered by Christians to be [[Jewish deicide|divine punishment for the crime of killing Jesus]].  Improvements in printing technology (the [[Gutenberg Press]]) led to his works receiving a number of new translations into the vernacular languages of Europe, generally based on the Latin versions.  Only in 1544 did a version of the standard Greek text become available in French, edited by the Dutch [[Humanism|humanist]] [[Arnoldus Arlenius]]. The first English translation, by [[Thomas Lodge]], appeared in 1602, with subsequent editions appearing throughout the 17th century. The 1544 Greek edition formed the basis of the 1732 English translation by [[William Whiston]], which achieved enormous popularity in the English-speaking world. It was often the book—after the Bible—that Christians most frequently owned. Whiston claimed that certain works by Josephus had a similar style to the [[Pauline Epistles|Epistles of St. Paul]].{{sfn|Maier|1999|p=1070}}<ref name="Josephus-2017">{{Cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |title=The Jewish War |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |page=xxix–xxxv |orig-date=c. 75}}.  Information is from the Introduction, by [[Martin Goodman (historian)|Martin Goodman]].</ref>  Later editions of the Greek text include that of [[Benedikt Niese]], who made a detailed examination of all the available manuscripts, mainly from France and Spain. [[Henry St. John Thackeray]] and successors such as [[Ralph Marcus]] used Niese's version for the [[Loeb Classical Library]] edition widely used today.

On the Jewish side, Josephus was far more obscure, as he was perceived as a traitor.  Rabbinical writings for a millennium after his death (e.g. the [[Mishnah]]) almost never call out Josephus by name, although they sometimes tell parallel tales of the same events that Josephus narrated.  An Italian Jew writing in the 10th century indirectly brought Josephus back to prominence among Jews: he authored the ''[[Yosippon]]'', which paraphrases Pseudo-Hegesippus's Latin version of ''The Jewish War'', a Latin version of ''Antiquities'', as well as other works.  The epitomist also adds in his own snippets of history at times.  Jews generally distrusted Christian translations of Josephus until the ''[[Haskalah]]'' ("Jewish Enlightenment") in the 19th century, when sufficiently "neutral" vernacular language translations were made. [[Kalman Schulman]] finally created a Hebrew translation of the Greek text of Josephus in 1863, although many rabbis continued to prefer the Yosippon version.  By the 20th century, Jewish attitudes toward Josephus had softened, as he gave the Jews a respectable place in classical history. Various parts of his work were reinterpreted as more inspiring and favorable to the Jews than the Renaissance translations by Christians had been.  Notably, the last stand at Masada (described in ''The Jewish War''), which past generations had deemed insane and fanatical, received a more positive reinterpretation as an inspiring call to action in this period.<ref name="Josephus-2017" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajak |first=Tessa |title=Revolt and Resistance in the Ancient Classical World and the Near East: In the Crucible of Empire |date=2016 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-33017-7 |editor-last=Collins |editor-first=John J. |editor-link=John J. Collins |pages=221–223; 230–233 |chapter=Josephus, Jewish Resistance, and the Masada Myth |doi=10.1163/9789004330184_015 |author-link=Tessa Rajak |editor-last2=Manning |editor-first2=J. G. |editor-link2=Joseph Manning (historian)}}</ref>

The standard ''editio maior'' of the various Greek manuscripts is that of [[Benedictus Niese]], published 1885–95. The text of ''Antiquities'' is damaged in some places. In the ''Life'', Niese follows mainly manuscript P, but refers also to AMW and R. Henry St. John Thackeray for the [[Loeb Classical Library]] has a Greek text also mainly dependent on P. André Pelletier edited a new Greek text for his translation of ''Life''. The ongoing Münsteraner Josephus-Ausgabe of [[Münster University]] will provide a new critical apparatus. Late Old Slavonic translations of the Greek also exist, but these contain a large number of Christian interpolations.{{sfn|Bowman|1987|p=373}}

=== Evaluation as a military commander ===
Author Joseph Raymond calls Josephus "the Jewish [[Benedict Arnold]]" for betraying his own troops at Jotapata,{{sfn|Raymond|2010|p=222}} while historian [[E. Mary Smallwood|Mary Smallwood]], in the introduction to the translation of ''The Jewish War'' by [[G. A. Williamson]], writes:{{blockquote|[Josephus] was conceited, not only about his own learning, but also about the opinions held of him as commander both by the Galileans and by the Romans; he was guilty of shocking duplicity at Jotapata, saving himself by sacrifice of his companions; he was too naive to see how he stood condemned out of his own mouth for his conduct, and yet no words were too harsh when he was blackening his opponents; and after landing, however involuntarily, in the Roman camp, he turned his captivity to his own advantage, and benefited for the rest of his days from his change of side.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |url=https://archive.org/details/jewishwaranewtr01josegoog |title=The Jewish War |date=1981 |publisher=Penguin |others=Introduction by E.&nbsp;Mary Smallwood |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/jewishwaranewtr01josegoog/page/n48 24] |translator-last=Williamson |translator-first=G.&nbsp;A. |translator-link=G. A. Williamson}}</ref>}}

== Historiography and Josephus ==
[[File:Nuremberg chronicles f 110r 3.png|thumb|Josephus in the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'', 1493 ]]
In the Preface to ''Jewish Wars'', Josephus criticizes historians who misrepresent the events of the [[Jewish–Roman wars|Jewish–Roman War]], writing that "they have a mind to demonstrate the greatness of the Romans, while they still diminish and lessen the actions of the Jews."<ref>''JW'' preface. 3.</ref> Josephus states that his intention is to correct this method but that he "will not go to the other extreme&nbsp;... [and] will prosecute the actions of both parties with accuracy."<ref name="JW preface">''JW'' preface. 4.</ref> Josephus confesses he will be unable to contain his sadness in transcribing these events; to illustrate this will have little effect on his historiography, Josephus suggests, "But if any one be inflexible in his censures of me, let him attribute the facts themselves to the historical part, and the lamentations to the writer himself only."<ref name="JW preface" />

His preface to ''Antiquities'' offers his opinion early on, saying, "Upon the whole, a man that will peruse this history, may principally learn from it, that all events succeed well, even to an incredible degree, and the reward of felicity is proposed by God."{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Preface preface §3]}} After inserting this attitude, Josephus contradicts Berossus: "I shall accurately describe what is contained in our records, in the order of time that belongs to them&nbsp;... without adding any thing to what is therein contained, or taking away any thing therefrom."{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Preface preface §3]}} He notes the difference between history and philosophy by saying, "[T]hose that read my book may wonder how it comes to pass, that my discourse, which promises an account of laws and historical facts, contains so much of philosophy."{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Preface preface §4]}}

In both works, Josephus emphasizes that accuracy is crucial to historiography. [[Louis Feldman|Louis H. Feldman]] notes that in ''Wars'', Josephus commits himself to critical historiography, but in ''Antiquities'', Josephus shifts to rhetorical historiography, which was the norm of his time.{{sfn|Feldman|1998|p=9}} Feldman notes further that it is significant that Josephus called his later work "Antiquities" (literally, archaeology) rather than history; in the Hellenistic period, archaeology meant either "history from the origins or archaic history."{{sfn|Feldman|1998|p=10}} Thus, his title implies a Jewish peoples' history from their origins until the time he wrote. This distinction is significant to Feldman, because "in ancient times, historians were expected to write in chronological order," while "antiquarians wrote in a systematic order, proceeding topically and logically" and included all relevant material for their subject.{{sfn|Feldman|1998|p=10}} Antiquarians moved beyond political history to include institutions and religious and private life.{{sfn|Feldman|1998|p=13}} Josephus does offer this wider perspective in ''Antiquities''.

== Works ==
[[File:Josephus flavius, english 1602.jpg|thumb|The works of Josephus translated by [[Thomas Lodge]] (1602)]]
The works of Josephus are major sources of our understanding of Jewish life and history during the first century.{{sfn|Ehrman|1999|pp=848–849}}
* ({{circa}}&nbsp;75) ''War of the Jews'', ''[[The Jewish War]]'', ''Jewish Wars'', or ''History of the Jewish War'' (commonly abbreviated ''JW'', ''BJ'' or ''War'')
* ({{circa}}&nbsp;94) ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', ''Jewish Antiquities'', or ''Antiquities of the Jews/Jewish Archeology'' (frequently abbreviated ''AJ'', ''[[AotJ]]'' or ''Ant.'' or ''Antiq.'')
* ({{circa}}&nbsp;97) ''Flavius Josephus Against Apion'', ''[[Against Apion]]'', ''Contra Apionem'', or ''Against the Greeks, on the antiquity of the Jewish people'' (usually abbreviated ''CA'')
* ({{circa}}&nbsp;99) ''[[The Life of Flavius Josephus|Life of Josephus]]'', or ''Autobiography of Josephus'' (abbreviated ''Life'' or ''Vita'')

=== ''The Jewish War'' ===
His first work in Rome was an account addressed to certain "upper barbarians"—usually thought to be the Jewish community in [[Mesopotamia]]—in his "paternal tongue" (''War'' I.3), arguably the Western [[Aramaic language]]. In AD 78 he finished a seven-volume account, written in [[Greek language|Greek]], known as  ''[[The Jewish War]]'' ({{langx|la|Bellum Judaicum}} or ''{{lang|la|De bello Judaico}}''). The history starts with the period of the [[Maccabees]] and concludes with accounts of the fall of Jerusalem, and the subsequent fall of the fortresses of Herodion, Macharont and Masada and the Roman victory celebrations in Rome, the mopping-up operations, Roman military operations elsewhere in the empire and the uprising in [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]]. Together with the account in his ''Life'' of some of the same events, it also provides the reader with an overview of Josephus's own part in the events since his return to Jerusalem from a brief visit to Rome in the early 60s (''Life'' 13–17).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Josephus: The Life of Flavius Josephus |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/autobiog.html#S13 |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>
[[File:Von alten jüdischen Geschichten. Vom jüdischen Krieg.jpg|thumb|1581 German translation of Josephus's ''[[The Jewish War]]'' in the collection of the [[Jewish Museum of Switzerland]]]]
In the wake of the suppression of the Jewish revolt, Josephus would have witnessed the marches of [[Titus]]'s triumphant legions leading their Jewish captives, and carrying treasures from the despoiled [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. It was against this background that Josephus wrote his ''War''. He blames the Jewish War on what he calls "unrepresentative and over-zealous fanatics" among the Jews, who led the masses away from their traditional aristocratic leaders (like himself), with disastrous results. For example, Josephus writes that "[[Simon bar Giora|Simon [bar Giora]]] was a greater terror to the people than the Romans themselves."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Josephus |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Jews/Book_IV#Chapter_9 |title=The War of the Jews}}</ref> Josephus also blames some of the [[Roman governor]]s of [[Iudaea Province|Judea]], representing them as corrupt and incompetent administrators.

=== ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ===
The next work by Josephus is his 21-volume ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', completed during the last year of the reign of the Emperor Flavius [[Domitian]], around 93 or 94 AD. In expounding Jewish history, law and custom, he is entering into many philosophical debates current in Rome at that time. Again he offers an ''apologia'' for the antiquity and universal significance of the Jewish people. Josephus claims to be writing this history because he "saw that others perverted the truth of those actions in their writings",{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Preface preface §1]}} those writings being the history of the Jews. In terms of some of his sources for the project, Josephus says that he drew from and "interpreted out of the Hebrew Scriptures"{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Preface preface §2]}} and that he was an eyewitness to the wars between the Jews and the Romans,{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Preface preface §1]}} which were earlier recounted in ''Jewish Wars''.

He outlines Jewish history beginning with the creation, as passed down through Jewish historical tradition. [[Abraham]] taught [[science]] to the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], who, in turn, taught the [[Greeks]].{{sfn|Feldman|1998|p=232}} [[Moses]] set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which, like that of Rome, resisted [[monarchy]]. The great figures of the [[Tanakh]] are presented as ideal philosopher-leaders. He includes an autobiographical appendix defending his conduct at the end of the war when he cooperated with the Roman forces.

Louis H. Feldman outlines the difference between calling this work ''Antiquities of the Jews'' instead of ''History of the Jews''. Although Josephus says that he describes the events contained in ''Antiquities'' "in the order of time that belongs to them,"{{sfn|Josephus|1737|loc=[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Preface preface §3]}} Feldman argues that Josephus "aimed to organize [his] material systematically rather than chronologically" and had a scope that "ranged far beyond mere political history to political institutions, religious and private life."{{sfn|Feldman|1998|p=13}}

=== ''Life of Flavius Josephus'' ===
{{Main|The Life of Flavius Josephus}}
An autobiographical text written by Josephus in approximately 94–99 AD – possibly as an appendix to his ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (cf. Life 430) – where the author for the most part re-visits the events of the War and his tenure in Galilee as governor and commander, apparently in response to allegations made against him by Justus of Tiberias (cf. Life 336).

=== ''Against Apion'' ===
Josephus's ''[[Against Apion]]'' is a two-volume defence of Judaism as classical religion and philosophy, stressing its antiquity, as opposed to what Josephus claimed was the relatively more recent tradition of the Greeks. Some [[anti-Judaic]] allegations ascribed by Josephus to the Greek writer [[Apion]] and myths accredited to [[Manetho]] are also addressed.

=== Spurious works ===
* (date unknown) ''[[Josephus's Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades]]'' (spurious; adaptation of "Against Plato, on the Cause of the Universe" by [[Hippolytus of Rome]])

== See also ==
* [[Josephus on Jesus]]
* [[Josephus problem]] – a mathematical problem named after Josephus
* [[Josippon]]
* [[Pseudo-Philo]]

== Notes and references ==

=== Explanatory notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited sources ==
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Aune |first=David Edward |title=Prophecy In Early Christianity and the Ancient Mediterranean World |date=1991 |publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |isbn=0-8028-0635-X |author-link=David Aune |orig-year=first published 1983}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bowman |first=Steven |title=Josephus, Judaism and Christianity |date=1987 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=90-04-08554-8 |editor-last=Feldman |editor-first=Louis H. |editor-link=Louis Feldman |chapter=Josephus in Byzantium |editor-last2=Hata |editor-first2=Gōhei}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |title=Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium |title-link=Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-512474-3 |edition=Kindle |author-link=Bart D. Ehrman}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Eisler |first1=Robert |url=https://archive.org/details/themessiahjesusand/page/n1/mode/2up |title=The Messiah Jesus and John the Baptist according to Flavius Josephus' recently rediscovered 'Capture of Jerusalem' and other Jewish and Christian sources |last2=Krappe |first2=Alexander Haggerty |date=1931 |publisher=L. MacVeagh, The Dial Press |location=New York |oclc=839607 |access-date=2021-10-28}}
* {{Cite book |last=Feldman |first=Louis H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eIlDQAAQBAJ |title=Josephus's Interpretation of the Bible |date=1998 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-20853-7 |location=Berkeley |author-link=Louis Feldman}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gnuse |first=Robert Karl |title=Dreams & Dream Reports in the Writings of Josephus: A Traditio-Historical Analysis |date=1996 |publisher=[[E. J. Brill]] |isbn=90-04-10616-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Goodman |first=Martin |title=Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilisations |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7139-9447-6 |author-link=Martin Goodman (historian)}}
*{{Cite book |last=Goodman |first=Martin |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/67737 |title=Josephus's The Jewish War: A Biography |date=15 October 2019 |volume=33 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13739-1 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvg252gj |jstor=j.ctvg252gj |url-access=subscription |s2cid=242695900}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gray |first=Rebecca |title=Prophetic Figures in Late Second Temple Jewish Palestine: The Evidence from Josephus |date=1993 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-507615-X}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Stephen L. |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingbib0000harr_w2l8 |title=Understanding the Bible |date=1985 |publisher=Mayfield |isbn=978-0-87484-696-6 |location=Palo Alto |author-link=Stephen L. Harris}}
* {{Cite wikisource |first= Flavius |last= Josephus |title=The Antiquities of the Jews |translator-first=William |translator-last=Whiston |translator-link= William Whiston |year=1737}}
* {{Cite book |title=The New Complete Works of Josephus |date=1999 |publisher=Kregel Academic |isbn=978-0-8254-9692-9 |editor-last=Maier |editor-first=Paul L. |page=1070 |chapter=Appendix: Dissertation 6 (by Whiston) |access-date=2013-05-07 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pTY4kBRIVQYC&pg=PA1070}}
* {{Cite book |title=Understanding Josephus: Seven Perspectives |date=1998 |publisher=[[Sheffield Academic Press]] |isbn=1-85075-878-6 |editor-last=Mason |editor-first=Steve |editor-link=Steve Mason (biblical scholar) |location=Sheffield |pages=64–103 |chapter=Should Any Wish to Enquire Further (''Ant.'' 1.25): The Aim and Audience of Josephus's ''Judean Antiquities/Life''}}
* {{Cite book |title=Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary |date=2000 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |editor-last=Mason |editor-first=Steve |editor-link=Steve Mason (biblical scholar) |edition=10 vols. in 12 |location=Leiden}}{{ISBN?}}
*{{Cite book |last=Millar |first=Fergus |url=https://www.perlego.com/book/539864/rome-the-greek-world-and-the-east-volume-3-the-greek-world-the-jews-and-the-east-pdf |title=Rome, the Greek World, and the East: Volume 3: The Greek World, the Jews, and the East |date=2011-05-01 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-7665-7 |editor-last=Cotton |editor-first=Hannah M. |language=English |oclc=646793155 |access-date=2023-09-28 |editor-last2=Rogers |editor-first2=Guy M. |url-access=subscription |author-link=Fergus Millar |editor-link1=Hannah Cotton}}
* {{Cite book |last=Millard |first=Alan Ralph |title=Discoveries From Bible Times: Archaeological Treasures Throw Light on The Bible |date=1997 |publisher=Lion Publishing |isbn=0-7459-3740-3 |author-link=Alan Millard}}
* {{Cite report |url=https://www.academia.edu/7166117 |title=Le judaïsme ancien du VIe siècle avant notre ère au IIIe siècle de notre ère: des prêtres aux rabbins |last=Mimouni |first=Simon Claude |date=2012 |publisher=[[Presses Universitaires de France]] |location=Paris |language=fr |trans-title=Ancient Judaism from the 6th century BCE to the 3rd century CE: from priests to rabbis |author-link=Simon Claude Mimouni}}
* {{Cite book |last=Murphy |first=Catherine M. |url=https://archive.org/details/historicaljesusf00cath |title=The Historical Jesus For Dummies |date=2008 |publisher=Wiley Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-0-470-16785-4 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nodet |first=Etienne |title=A Search for the Origins of Judaism: From Joshua to the Mishnah |date=1997 |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-0-615-35508-5}}
* {{Cite book |title = יוחנן מגוש חלב : מהרי הגליל אל חומות ירושלים (Yoḥanan mi-Gush ḥalav : me-hare ha-Galil el ḥomot Yerushalayim) |trans-title=John of Gischala, from the mountains of Galilee to the walls of Jerusalem |last=Rappaport |first=Uriel |author-link=Uriel Rappaport |date=2006 }} (see https://www.academia.edu/2383453 for unofficial translation )
* {{Cite book |last=Raymond |first=Joseph |title=Herodian Messiah: Case For Jesus As Grandson of Herod |date=2010 |publisher=Tower Grover Publishing |isbn=978-0-615-35508-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Safrai |first=Ze'ev |title=פרקי גליל בתקופת המשנה והתלמוד, מעלות|trans-title=The Galilee in the time of the Mishna and Talmud |date=1985 |edition=2nd |publisher= |location=Jerusalem |language=he |author-link=Ze'ev Safrai |isbn=}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schürer |first=Emil |title=The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. – A.D. 135) |date=1973 |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]] |isbn=9780567022424 |editor-last=Vermes |editor-first=Géza |editor-link=Géza Vermes |oclc=912175 |author-link=Emil Schürer |editor-last2=Millar |editor-first2=Fergus |editor-link2=Fergus Millar |editor-last3=Black |editor-first3=Matthew |editor-link3=Matthew Black |orig-year=1891}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Josephus |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* [https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/9793 Josephus by Norman Bentwich]
* Chapman, Honora and Zuleika Rodgers (2016). ''A Companion to Josephus'', Oxford.
* Cohen, Shaye J. D. (1979). ''Josephus in Galilee and Rome: his vita and development as a historian''. Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition; 8. Leiden: Brill.
* [[Louis Feldman|Feldman, Louis]] (1984). "Flavius Josephus revisited: the man, his writings, and his significance". In: ''[[Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt]]'' 21.2.
* Feldman, Louis H. and Gohei Hata (1988): ''Josephus, the Bible, and History''. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
* Hadas-lebel, Mireille (2001) '' Flavius Josephus Eyewitness to Rome's first-century conquest of Judea''. Simon and Schuster 2001.
* den Hollander, William (2014). ''Josephus, the Emperors, and the City of Rome: From Hostage to Historian''. Boston: Brill.
* {{Cite journal |last=Hillar |first=Marian |date=2005 |title=Flavius Josephus and His Testimony Concerning the Historical Jesus |journal=[[Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism]] |location=Washington, DC |publisher=American Humanist Association |volume=13 |pages=66–103}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kókai-Nagy |first1=Viktor |last2=Vér |first2=Ádám |title=Peace and war in Josephus. |date=2023 |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin; Boston |isbn=9783111146034}}
* {{Cite book |last=O'Rourke |first=P. J. |url=https://archive.org/details/givewarchanceeye00orou |title=Give War A Chance |date=1993 |publisher=Vintage |isbn=978-0-679-74201-2 |chapter=The 2000 Year Old Middle East Policy Expert |author-link=P. J. O'Rourke |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |title=Flavius Josephus: Interpretation and History |date=2011 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-19126-6 |editor-last=Pastor |editor-first=Jack |location=Leiden |issn=1384-2161 |editor-last2=Stern |editor-first2=Pnina |editor-last3=Mor |editor-first3=Menahem}}
* Mason, Steve (1991). ''Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees: a composition-critical study''. Leiden: Brill.
* Mason, Steve (2003). ''Josephus and the New Testament: Second Edition'', Hendrickson Publishers.
* Rajak, Tessa (2002). ''Josephus: the Historian and His Society''. 2nd ed. London. (Oxford D.Phil. thesis, 2 vols. 1974.)
* Raphael, Frederic (2013). ''A Jew Among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus''. New York: Pantheon Books.
* Rodgers, Zuleika (2007). ''Making History: Josephus and Historical Method''. Boston: Brill.
* St. John Thackeray, H. (1967). ''Josephus: The Man and the Historian''. New York: Ktav Publishing House.
* {{Cite book |title=The Works of Josephus, Complete and Unabridged New Updated Edition |date=1987 |publisher=M.&nbsp;A. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. |isbn=0-913573-86-8 |edition=Hardcover |translator-last=Whiston |translator-first=William |translator-last2=Peabody |translator-first2=A. M. |translator-link=William Whiston}} ({{Cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |title=The Works of Josephus, Complete and Unabridged New Updated Edition |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |year=1987 |isbn=1-56563-167-6 |edition=Paperback}})
* {{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=T C |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/60034 |title=Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ |date=2025-06-03 |publisher=Oxford University PressOxford |isbn=978-0-19-195769-7 |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/9780191957697.001.0001}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links |1=Josephus |display=Josephus |author=yes |b=no |commons=Category:Flavius Josephus |n=no |q=Flavius Josephus |s=Josephus |v=no |wikt=no}}

=== Works ===
{{wikisourcelang|el|Συγγραφέας:Ιώσηπος|Josephus}}
* [http://pace-ancient.mcmaster.ca/york/york/texts.htm PACE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016001804/http://pace-ancient.mcmaster.ca/york/york/texts.htm |date=16 October 2015 }} Josephus: text and resources in the Project on Ancient Cultural Engagement at York University, edited by [[Steve Mason (biblical scholar)|Steve Mason]].
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=flavius+josephus Works by Flavius Josephus] at [[Perseus digital library]] – Greek (Niese) and English (Whiston) 1895 editions
* {{Gutenberg author |id=1050}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{Librivox author |id=509}}
* [http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/JOSEPHUS.HTM The Works of Flavius Josephus] at [[Christian Classics Ethereal Library]] (Whiston, lacks Loeb numbers)
* [http://roderic.uv.es/uv_ms_0836 '' De bello judaico'']  digitized codex (1475) at [http://roderic.uv.es/handle/10550/43 Somni]
* Lecture, {{YouTube|fCyXTuFboGM|Dr. Henry Abramson (historian): Josephus: First-Person Accounts of Jewish History}}, June 2020.

=== Other ===
* [http://josephus.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ The AHRC Reception of Josephus in Jewish Culture Project and Josephus Reception Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928152502/http://josephus.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ |date=2019-09-28 }}
* [http://www.josephus.org/ Josephus.org], G. J. Goldberg
* [https://archive.today/20060901094205/http://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryid=433&rsid=478 Flavius Josephus] The Jewish History Resource Center – Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050819101002/http://www.adath-shalom.ca/josep-ds.htm Flavius Josephus, Judaea and Rome: A Question of Context]
* [https://www.livius.org/sources/content/josephus/ Josephus] at livius.org

{{Josephus}}
{{First Jewish–Roman War}}
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[[Category:Josephus| ]]
[[Category:1st-century historians]]
[[Category:1st-century Jews]]
[[Category:1st-century people]]
[[Category:1st-century Romans]]
[[Category:1st-century writers]]
[[Category:37 births]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Jewish writers]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Jews]]
[[Category:Jewish apologists]]
[[Category:Jewish historians]]
[[Category:Jewish Roman (city) history]]
[[Category:People from Roman Judea]]
[[Category:Greek-language historians from the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Historians of Phoenicia]]
[[Category:Writers from Jerusalem]]
[[Category:People of the First Jewish–Roman War]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Jerusalem]]