Flavius Josephus
Foreword
by Mikael Knighton
Flavius Josephus is widely regarded as one of the most
influential historians in all of Jewish history. Born in 37 A.D.
in Jerusalem, Josephus became a scholar of Jewish law and
studies routinely with the Sadducees and Essenes of the time.
However, Josephus would eventually align himself with the
Pharisees as the chief, scholarly entity in all of Judea and
Samaria. At the age of 25, Josephus travelled to Rome in an
attempt to free several, imprisoned high priests. He
accomplished this with the help of the wife of Nero, whose name
was Poppaea. Upon accomplishing his objective, Josephus would
return to Jerusalem only to discover the entire country in the
throws of a revolt in 65 A.D.
In 66 A.D., with Roman legions on the march in pursuit of
Jewish zealots who had taken control of the fortress of Masada,
Josephus was appointed commander of the Galilee. In 67 A.D.,
Josephus and several of his countrymen--rebels who aligned
themselves against the Roman legion were cornered by the Romans
whilst seeking refuge from inside of a cave. All rebels vowed to
commit suicide instead of surrendering. All of the rebels
died--except Josephus, who survived and was eventually taken
hostage by the Roman legion led by Vespasian, who would later
become the emperor of Rome. This is important for one
reason--Josephus accurately predicted it, and was subsequently
set free.
Over the next several years, Josephus would join the Romans,
while acting as a liason between the Romans and the Jewish
rebels. In this regard, Josephus was widely regarded as a
"traitor" by his fellow countrymen. Unable to convince the
Jewish rebels to surrender to the Roman armies, Josephus sat and
watched as the eternal city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70
A.D. Being a free man, Josephus chose to relocate to and become
a citizen of Rome, taking the Vespasian name of "Flavius". It
was during this time--specifically in 75 A.D., the Josephus was
commissioned by Vespasian to write a historical record of the
war. In 78 A.D., Josephus concluded his literary journey,
entitling it, "The Jewish War".
Other literary works by Flavius Josephus include "The
Antiquities of the Jews" (93 A.D.), "Against Apion"(97
A.D.), and his autobiography, "The Life of Josephus",
which he completed at the age of 100, shortly before his death.
In "The Antiquities of the Jews", Josephus provides
an historical record of the Jewish people, beginning with the
creation of man, and the timeline parallels many of the
historical records found in the Hebrew Bible. Of particular
interest in this particular literary work, is the inclusion of
two passages pertaining to Jesus Christ. One of the passages,
dubbed "Testimonium Flavianum" reads as follows:
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it
be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful
works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with
pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many
of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at
the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had
condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the
first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive
again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold
these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning
him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not
extinct at this day.
If authentically-crafted, as it widely is believed to be,
Josephus is the author of the earliest, historical record of
Jesus in all of Jewish history. Many apologists seeking to prove
the existence of Jesus Christ use the "Testimonium Flavianum" as
historical support refuting the arguments that maintain Jesus
never existed.
Read "Antiquities
of the Jews", by Flavius Josephus.
Click to go directly to the
The Antiquities of the Jews - Table of Contents
Return to the
Christians Standing with Israel
*******************************************************************
Christians Standing with Israel
About Christians Standing with Israel
Israel Resources
Israel Media
Israel News
Israel Blog
Israel Pictures
Friends of Israel
Contact Christians Standing with Israel
site map
http://www.christiansstandingwithisrael.com/