The Antiquities of the Jews

By Flavius Josephus

Josephus in his twenty-one volume Antiquities of the Jews, completed during the last year of the reign of the Emperor Flavius Domitian. 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. He outlines Jewish history beginning with the creation, as passed down through Jewish historical tradition. Abraham taught science to the Egyptians, who in turn taught the Greeks. 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. The works of Josephus provide crucial information and also represent important literary source material for understanding the context of the Dead Sea Scrolls and late Temple Judaism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781300336723

Reviews for The Antiquities of the Jews

[william345 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Jewish War started strong and I wondered at first if it might hold a candle to Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. It doesn't in the end. Much of it comes across as a piece of special pleading. Josephus wrote the book during a time of growing hostility under Roman Emperor Domitian (reigned 81-96 CE) toward those of the Jewish faith. The Jews had long had an official exemption from participation in the state rites, yet the increasingly tyrannical Domitian firmly believed in the traditional Roman religion, and personally saw to it that ancient customs and morals were observed throughout his reign as a means of justifying the divine nature of Flavian rule. Josephus's friends and protectors, the Flavian emperors Vespasian and Titus, were dead by this time. Moreover, Josephus was writing against a work by Justin of Tiberias that portrayed him as an instigator of the revolt in Galilee. So The Jewish War is very much Josephus' apologia. He loses no opportunity to excoriate the character of his fellow Jews, though he grudgingly admires their fighting ability, or to praise the valor, insight, patience, fair play, discipline, and training of the Romans. All the Jews by contrast are murderous banditti who pollute their own sanctuary, and turn on each other in a heinous fratricidal civil war that precedes the arrival of the Romans. The Jewish leaders--John, Simon, the Zealots, the Idumeans--are the scum of the earth. Josephus often uses that very phrase. They, he says, possess no conscience or moral bearing. It all gets to be a bit much in the end. Though the book lacks crucial balance I nevertheless recommend it for two reasons: (1) its uniqueness as a document; and (2) it's detailed and vivid depictions of ancient Judea. Nothing I've read has ever provided me with such a detailed look at both ancient Jerusalem and the broader landscape of Judea.

[leonardgmokos · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

People... what a bunch of bastards.

[benedict8-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is quite a story of real life events by an eyewitness.

Tho book has has some of the most powerful writing about events to be found anywhere.

The author was there at Masada.

[frans_j_vermeiren · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A marvellous edition of one of the greatest books ever written by a historian. This edition contains a lot of photographs and other illustrations and - even more important - extensive first-class commentary.

[ffifield-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story of how and why the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD four years after a Jewish revolt.

[endersreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Josephus is as entertaining a writer, if not more so, than the other popular historians. Some of you may know that Tacitus relates to us some of Josephus' work pertaining to the datum on Jerusalem. Anyone interested in Christianity, Judaism, Rome's conquests, Warfare, or simply being a witness to utter destruction, should read Josephus' "Jewish War". Josephus proves to be as tricky as his intellectual progeny, Machiavelli. He amazes us by out-witting the Romans at every turn and when finally cornered, we are taken aback by his very wise defection to the Romans! What makes him even more of an enjoyable character is his tendancy to exagerrate a bit. I'll leave it to you to find out the details, they are quite worth finding! Enjoy this delectable piece of history!