JOSEPHUS,
FLAVIUS
seem
to
have
been
admitted
to
the
higher
grades
of
the
order.
At
the
age
ol
26
he
went
to
Rome
to
bring
about
the
acquittal
of
certain
priests
who
had
been
arrested
and
sent
to
Rome
for
trial
by
Felix.
In
this
he
was
successful,
and
even
gained
the
favour
of
the
Empress
Poppaea.
Not
long
after
his
return
from
Rome
the
revolution
of
A.D.
66
broke
out,
and
he
was
at
once
swept
into
its
current.
Of
the
events
which
follow
he
has
given
us
two
accounts,
the
earlier
in
the
Jewish
War
[BJ],
the
later
in
his
Life,
written
shortly
before
his
death.
These
accounts
are
not
always
consistent,
the
latter
showing
more
subservience
to
the
Romans.
In
particular,
he
attempts
to
justify
himself,
and
the
Pharisees
with
whom
he
was
associated,
for
participation
in
the
revolt,
by
declaring
that
they
judged
it
better
for
moderate
men
than
for
radicals
to
direct
the
course
of
events.
The
BJ,
however,
does
not
suggest
this
questionable
proceeding
on
the
part
of
the
Jewish
authorities.
The
course
of
the
war
in
GaUlee,
and
particularly
his
own
relations
therewith,
are
minutely
narrated
by
Josephus.
His
position
was
one
of
great
difficulty.
The
Galllseans
were
grouped
in
various
parties,
ranging
from
those
who
opposed
war
with
Rome
to
radicals
like
those
who
followed
John
of
Giscala.
The
plans
of
Josephus
and
his
fellow-commissioners
from
Jerusalem
were
further
complicated
by
jealousies
between
the
various
cities,
particularly
Sepphoris,
Tiberias,
and
TaricheEB.
None
the
less,
Josephus
seems
to
have
gone
about
the
work
of
organizing
the
revolution
energetically.
He
fortified
the
cities
as
well
as
he
could,
and
attempted
to
introduce
Roman
military
methods
among
the
troops
he
was
gathering.
Whether
he
was,
as
he
claims,
too
strict
in
the
matter
of
booty,
or,
as
his
enemies
claimed,
too
lukewarm
in
the
cause
of
the
revolution,
complaints
were
lodged
against
him
at
Jerusalem,
and
an
investigating
committee
was
sent
into
Galilee.
Various
adventures
then
followed,
but
in
the
end
Josephus
seems
to
have
been
acquitted
and
to
have
gained
a
complete
ascendency
over
his
local
enemies.
John
of
Giscala,
however,
subsequently
went
to
Jerusalem,
and
proved
a
persistent
enemy,
while
the
Zealot
party
as
a
whole
seems
never
to
have
been
satisfied
with
the
attitude
of
Josephus.
The
approach
of
Vespasian
from
the
north
at
once
showed
how
half-hearted
had
been
the
revolutionary
sympathies
of
many
of
the
GaUlsean
cities.
Several
of
them
surrendered
without
serious
fighting,
and
Vespasian,
after
one
or
two
desperate
battles,
was
soon
in
possession
of
all
GaUlee
excepting
Jotapata
on
the
east
of
the
Sea
of
Gahlee,
where
Josephus
and
his
surviving
troops
were
entrenched.
Reinforcements
the
Sanhedrin
could
not
send,
and
for
forty-seven
days
the
Romans
besieged
the
city.
During
that
time
Josephus,
if
his
own
account
is
to
be
believed,
performed
marvellous
deeds
of
strategy
and
valour.
But
all
to
no
purpose.
The
city
fell,
and
was
razed
to
the
ground.
Josephus
was
taken
prisoner,
after
having
by
a
trick
escaped
being
Idlled
by
his
own
soldiers.
On
being
brought
to
Vespasian
he
claimed
prophetic
abiUty,
and
saluted
the
general
as
Emperor.
For
this
and
other
reasons
he
won
favour
with
Vespasian,
was
jiven
his
freedom,
and
took
his
benefactor's
family
name,
Flavius.
When
Titus
undertook
the
siege
of
Jerusalem,
Josephus
accompanied
him
as
interpreter
or
herald.
By
this
time,
however,
he
had
become
hateful
to
the
Jews,
and
could
accomplish
nothing
in
the
way
of
inducing
them
to
make
terms
with
the
Romans.
When
the
city
was
captured,
he
was
able
to
render
some
service
to
the
unfortunate
Jews
because
of
the
favour
in
which
he
stood
with
Titus.
He
was
subsequently
given
estates
in
Judaea,
and
was
thus
enabled
to
live
during
the
remainder
of
his
long
Ufe
as
a
gentleman
of
leisure,
devoted
to
the
pursuit
of
literature.
He
enjoyed
the
friendship
of
Titus
and
of
king
Agrippa
ii.
He
was
several
times
married,
and
left
several
children.
JOSEPHUS,
FLAVIUS
2.
Writings,
—
The
chief
importance
of
Josephus
lies
not
in
his
career
as
a
leader
of
the
Jewish
revolu-tion,
but
in
the
works
which
have
come
down
to
us.
Generally
speaking,
his
writings
are
intended
to
dis-abuse
his
Greek
and
Roman
contemporaries
of
some
of
the
misconceptions
that
then
existed
concerning
the
Jews.
To
that
end
he
does
not
hesitate
to
employ
various
ingenious
interpretations
of
historical
events,
as
well
as
legends,
and
even
to
hint
that
the
Jewish
records
which
he
quotes
have
certain
allegorical
meanings
to
be
disclosed
in
a
subsequent
work,
which,
however,
he
never
wrote.
(1)
The
earliest
of
these
writings
is
that
Concerning
the
Jewish
War,
a
work
in
seven
books.
It
covers
briefly
the
period
from
the
time
of
Antiochus
Epiphanes
to
the
outbreak
of
the
war
of
a.d.
66-70,
and
then
narrates
the
events
of
the
war
in
detail.
It
was
origi-nally
written
in
Aramaic,
but
was
re-written
by
Josephus
in
Greek.
It
was
probably
issued
before
79,
as
it
was
presented
to
Vespasian.
Because
of
the
reference
to
the
Temple
of
Peace
as
finished
(,BJ
vii.
v.
7),
it
must
have
been
written
after
75.
The
work,
wliile
inaccurate
at
many
points,
and
full
of
a
tendency
to
present
the
actions
of
the
Jews
in
as
favourable
a
Ught
as
possible,
is
of
inestimable
value
so
far
as
its
record
of
facts
is
concerned,
and
particularly
for
the
light
it
throws
on
the
state
of
society
in
the
midst
of
which
Jesus
laboured.
The
book
found
favour
with
Vespasian
and
Titus
and
Agrippa
ii.
(2)
The
Antiquities
of
the
Jews.
—
This
great
work
in
twenty
books
is
one
of
the
most
important
monu-ments
which
have
come
down
to
us
from
antiquity.
It
was
pubUshed
in
the
year
93.
It
covers
the
history
of
the
Jews
from
the
earliest
Biblical
times
to
the
out-break
of
the
revolution
of
a.d.
66.
It
is
particularly
interesting
as
an
illustration
of
the
method
by
which
the
facts
of
Hebrew
history
could
be
re-written
for
the
edification
of
the
Greeks
and
Romans.
It
abounds
in
legends
and
curious
interpretations.
Josephus
was
by
no
means
dependent
upon
the
OT
exclusively.
He
constantly
refers
to
non-BibUcal
writers,
mentioning
by
name
most
of
the
Greek
and
Roman
historians.
He
used
constantly
the
works
of
Alexander
Polyhistor,
Nicholas
of
Damascus,
and
Strabo.
He
probably
also
used
Herodotus.
The
work
abounds
in
collections
of
decrees
and
inscriptions
which
make
it
of
great
value
to
secular
as
well
as
to
Biblical
historians.
The
later
books
give
very
full
accounts
of
the
life
of
Herod
i.,
for
which
Josephus
is
largely
dependent
upon
Nicholas
of
Damascus,
the
historiographer
of
Herod.
In
his
treatment
of
the
Maccabees
he
is
largely
dependent
upon
First
Maccabees.
His
account
of
the
successors
of
Herod
is
hardly
more
than
a
sketch,
but
that
of
the
events
leading
up
to
the
revolution
is
more
complete.
(3)
The
Idfe.
—
This
work
was
written
in
reply
to
Justus
of
Tiberias,
by
whom
Josephus
was
accused
of
causing
the
revolt.
In
his
Life
Josephus
represents
himself
as
a
friend
of
the
Romans,
but
many
statements
are
disproved
by
his
earlier
work,
the
BJ.
This
Life
appeared
after
the
death
of
Agrippa
ii.,
that
is,
in
the
beginning
of
the
2nd
century.
(4)
Against
Avion.
—
This
is
a
defence
of
the
Jewish
people
against
the
attacks
of
their
enemies
and
calumnia-tors,
chief
among
whom
was
Apion,
a
grammarian
of
Alex-
andria,
who
wrote
during
the
first
half
of
the
1st
cent.
A.D.
It
was
written
probably
about
the
same
time
as
the
Life,
and
is
particularly
valuable
as
a
narrative
of
the
charges
brought
against
the
Jewish
rehgion
by
the
Greeks.
It
also
serves
as
an
exposition
of
the
customs
and
views
of
the
Jews
of
the
1st
century,
not
only
in
Judfea
but
throughout
the
Dispersion.
3
.
The
importance
of
Josephus
to
the
Biblical
student.
—
As
a
contemporary
of
the
NT
writers,
Josephus
describes
the
Jewish
background
of
Christian
history
as
does
no
other
writer
of
antiquity.
The
Book
of
Acts
is
particularly
illuminated
by
his
writings,
while
the
