Antiquities of the Jews

by Flavius Josephus, William Whiston

Overview

Antiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume work by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. It contains an account of history of the Jewish people. In the first ten volumes, Josephus follows the events of the historical books of the Hebrew Bible beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve. The second ten volumes continue the history of the Jewish people beyond the biblical text and up to the Jewish War.

Antiquities of the Jews, along with Josephus's other major work, Wars of the Jews, provides valuable background to historians wishing to understand 1st-century AD Judaism and the early Christian period.

Josephus was born Jerusalem of a priestly and royal family. He excelled in his studies of Jewish law and studied with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, eventually aligning himself with the Pharisees. He went to Rome to free some imprisoned priests. After accomplishing this mission through the intercession of Nero's wife, Poppaea, he returned to Jerusalem to find the country in revolt against Rome.

Josephus wrote a history of the Jewish War (Wars of the Jews). His second major work was Antiquities of the Jews, his third Against Apion and The Life of Josephus, his autobiography. He was an eyewitness to history, and his writings are considered authoritative.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612034492
Publisher:	Bottom of the Hill Publishing
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Pages:	836
Sales rank:	673,526
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Josephus Flavius (ca. 37-100) was a Jewish historian, diplomat, and military leader, and the sole source of information concerning numerous events in the final centuries of the Jewish state.

According to his own account, Josephus was born to an aristocratic, priestly family in Jerusalem. He was well educated in Judaism and in the Greek disciplines. At the age of 16 he became interested in the principal Jewish sects of his time and lived 3 years in the wilderness with a hermit, probably an Essene. At 19 Josephus became a Pharisee. At 26 he went on a mission to Rome and succeeded in securing the release from prison of several Judean priests. He came home impressed with the grandeur and might of Rome, only to find that the Jewish revolt had started.

Josephus was appointed governor of Galilee with responsibility for its defense. After his defeat at Jotapata, he escaped but later surrendered to the Romans. They treated him well, largely because his prediction that Vespasian would become emperor came true. Formerly known as Joseph ben Mattathias, Josephus took the Emperor's family name, Flavius. He was an eyewitness to the siege and fall of Jerusalem, after which he returned to Rome, where Vespasian granted him Roman citizenship and a pension. Subsequently, Josephus devoted himself to writing.