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The Jewish Wars The First and Second Jewish Revolts Against Rome

Home>The Jewish Wars The First and Second Jewish Revolts Against Rome

History of the Destruction of Jerusalem & Josephan Studies Archives Flavius Josephus

Governmental Administration of Roman Judea | Factions in Jerusalem During the Roman Siege | Visual Timeline of the Roman-Jewish War | Preterist Perspectives on Josephus | Maps of The Siege of Jerusalem

SEE ALSO: UNABRIDGED LIBRARY OF THE WORKS OF JOSEPHUS

Louis H. Feldman “As for the impiety of which Josephus accused (John of Gischala), it stems to some extent from the fact that John, like many others, gave a favorable interpretation to the Scriptural prophecies, whereas Josephus saw them as foretelling the ruin of Jerusalem” (Josephus, the Bible and History, p. 234)

HISTORICAL
SIGNIFICANCE

 

“During the Middle Ages, Josephus was the most widely read ancient author in Europe.. Josephus’ literary influence had no equals, with the sole exception of the Bible.”

Flavius Josephus, a Jewish priest and Pharisee, was put in command of the national resistance in Galilee at the time of Israel’s revolt against Rome.  When he was captured at Jotapata; his life was spared upon his prediction to rival Vespasian, that the Roman general would soon become emperor.  Upon the fulfillment of this prophecy shortly thereafter, he was commissioned to provide his captors with a history of the Jewish people, although he initially wrote a history of the Roman-Jewish war suited for both a Roman and a Jewish audience.   His works, disputed though they may be regard accuracy, are an indispensable source on the life and history in Roman Judea. THEOLOGICAL
SIGNIFICANCE

“The destruction of Jerusalem was more terrible than anything that the world has ever witnessed, either before or since. Even Titus seemed to see in his cruel work the hand of an avenging God.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

Was Flavius Josephus familiar with the Apocalypse of John?

John’s Revelation – “And there were noises and thundering and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.” (16:18)

Josephus – “for there broke out a prodigious storm in the night, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continued lightnings, terrible thunderings, and amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth, that was in an earthquake. These things were a manifest indication that some destruction was coming upon men, when the system of the world was put into this disorder; and any one would guess that these wonders foreshowed some grand calamities that were coming” (“Wars of the Jews” 4:4:5)

John’s Revelation – “Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” (16:19)

Josephus – “it so happened that the sedition at Jerusalem was revived, and parted into three factions, and that one faction fought against the other; which partition in such evil cases may be said to be a good thing, and the effect of divine justice.” (5:1:1)

John’s Revelation – “And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent.” (16:21)

Josephus –  “Now the stones that were cast were of the weight of a talent, and were carried two furlongs and further. The blow they gave was no way to be sustained, not only by those that stood first in the way, but by those that were beyond them for a great space. As for the Jews, they at first watched the coming of the stone, for it was of a white color, and could therefore not only be perceived by the great noise it made, but could be seen also before it came by its brightness;” (5:6:3)


LATEST ADDITIONS

  • The Fall of the Temple : A Study in the History of Dogma (1921 PDF)
  • Josephus Audio Files
  • Seth Schwartz – Josephus and His Judean Politics (1990 Limited Preview)
  • Pere Villalba i Varneda: The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus (1986)
  • Richard Laqueur – The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation Based on New Critical Sources (1920 PDF) “Laqueur continues to serve, justifiably and indisputably as the introduction to the literary criticism of the text of Josephus”
  • Henry Leeming: Josephus’ Jewish War and Its Slavonic Version: A Synoptic Comparison (2003) “This volume presents in English translation the Slavonic version of Josephus Flavius’ “Jewish War, long inaccessible to Anglophone readers, according to N.A. Mejerskij’s scholarly edition, together with his erudite and wide-ranging study of literary, historical and philological aspects of the work, a textological apparatus and commentary. The synoptic layout of the Slavonic and Greek versions in parallel columns enables the reader to compare their content in detail. It will be seen that the divergences are far more extensive than those indicated hitherto.”
INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS

  • 1770: Robert Findlay – A Vindication of.. Josephus, from Various Presentations and Cavils of the Celebrated Voltaire (PDF)
  • 1842: Henry Stebbing – Introductory Essay to the Works of Josephus
  • 1882: Justus von Destion – Die Quellen die Flavius Josephus (German PDF)
  • 1885: Marcus Dlikki – Flavius Josephus und die Halacha – Inaugural Disseration fur Erlangung ser Doktorwurde (Gernan PDF)
  • 1898: Boyson – Flavii Iosephi Versione Latina (Latin PDF)
  • 1973: Albert L.A. Hogeterp – Paul and God’s Temple – A Historical Interpretation of Cultic Imagery in the Corinthian Correspondence (PDF)
  • 1983: J. Julius Scott – The Effects of the Fall of Jerusalem on Christianity
  • 1985: David Chilton – Josephus on the Fall of Jerusalem
  • 1998: Honora Champan – Spectacle and Theatre in Josephus’s Bellum Judaicum  (PDF)
  • 1998: J. Julius Scott – Did Jerusalem Christians Flee to Pella?
  • 2000: Ivan Lewis – The Time of the Destruction of the Temple
  • 2002: Phil Spilsbury – Josephus on the Burning of the Temple, the Flavian Triumph and the Fall of Rome (PDF)
  • 2002: Tommaso Leoni – Josephus as a Source for the Burning of the Temple (PDF)
  • 2005: Lendon – The Roman Siege of Jerusalem
REFERENCE HELPS

  • Alphabetical Index of Josephus’ Works (PDF)
  • Old Testament References in Josephus’ Works (PDF)
  • 2,000 Years of Josephus – Exhaustive Bibliography
  • Commentaries on the Credibility and Importance of Josephus
  • Timeline of the Roman-Jewish War – Assault Maps
  • Timeline of the Roman Jewish War – Factional Perspective
  • Timeline of the Roman-Jewish War – Administrative Perspective
  • Timeline of the Roman-Jewish War – Theological Perspective
  • Timeline of the Roman-Jewish War – Military Perspective
  • Josephan Characters Confirmed in Historical Documents
  • Escapes from Jerusalem in Josephus and the Pella Flight Tradition
  • 2001: Harvard House – Scientific Date for Destruction of Herod’s Temple in AD70
  • 2005: Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome (Chapter One) “Flavian Rome has most often been studied without serious attention to its most prolific extant author, Titus Flavius Josephus. Josephus, in turn, has usually been studied for what he is writing about (mainly, events in Judaea) rather than for the context in which he wrote: Flavian Rome. Forthe first time, this book brings these two phenomena into critical engagement, so that Josephus may illuminate Flavian Rome, and Flavian Rome, Josephus. Who were his likely audiences or patrons in Rome? How did the context in which he wrote affect his writing? What do his narratives say or imply about that context? This book brings together contributions from leading international scholars of Josephus and Flavian-Roman history and literature.” (PDF Google Books)
BELLO JUDAICA

  • Exhaustive Bibliography
  • 1470: Augsburg – Publisher: Schüssler
  • 1400s: Slavonic Josephus
  • 1499: Josephus de antiquitatibus ac de bello Judaico
  • 1544: Froben : Switzerland
  • 1570: Giosefo Della Guerra et Ultima Destructione di Gierusalem
  • 1581: Josephus Flavius – Strassburg, Austria
  • 1702: The Works of Flavius Josephus compared with the Original Greek (1767 Edition PDF)  “Another large undertaking was ‘The Works of Flavius Josephus compared with the original Greek,’ with two discourses by Dr. Milles (a folio volume of 1130 pages), London, 1702; other editions 1717, 1732, and 1733. The translator received 300l. for the work, with twenty-five copies of the book in ordinary paper, and twenty-five in royal. The subscription price for the ordinary copies was 25s., and for the royal paper copies 45s. A sixth part of the profit on the sale of the whole impression was also assigned to L’Estrange (Hist. MSS. Comm. llth Rep. pt.vii. p. 113). A new edition in three volumes in Elzevir type was burnt in John Bowyer’s printing office on 30 Jan. 1712 (NICHOLS, Lit. Anecdotes, i. 66). “
  • 1704: 1704 Amsterdam: Jan and Kaspar Lyuken – Alle de Werken van Flavius Josephus
  • 1706: Basnage : Rotterdam – “L’Histoire et la Religion des Juifs Depuis Jésus Christ Jusqu’à Présent,” intended as a supplement and continuation to Josephus
  • 1737: History of the Destruction of Jerusalem in One Part  Translated by William Whiston
  • 1851: R. Traill – The Jewish war: a new tr., by R. Traill, ed. with notes by I. Taylor – Volume One (PDF)
  • 1851: R. Traill – The Jewish war: a new tr., by R. Traill, ed. with notes by I. Taylor – Volume Two (PDF)
  • 1911: Reinach: French Edition Vol. 1 (PDF)
  • 2003: Hyperlinked Edition from CCEL (Whiston Translation) (PDF)
ADAPTATIONS

  • 1823: C. Johnstone – Josephus Wars of the Jews Adapted to the Capacities of Young Persons
  • 1827: Pierre and His Family – The Destruction of Jerusalem
  • 1840: Daniel Smith – The Destruction of Jerusalem – The Whole Being Intended to Illustrate the Fulfillment of the Predictions of Moses and the Messiah
  • 1869: M.A. Hallock – Child’s History of the Fall of Jerusalem
  • 1870: The Fall of Jerusalem and The Roman Conquest of Judea
  • 1876: William Patton – The Judgment of Jerusalem
  • 1884: William Shepard – Our Young Folks’ Josephus (PDF)
  • 1890: A.L.O.E. – Stories of the Wars of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity to the Destruction of Jerusalem
  • 1902: Alfred Church – The Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem
ART & DRAMA

  • 1603: Matthew Gwinne – Nero, a New Tragedy (Drama)
  • 1677: John Crowne – The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus Vespasian (Drama)
  • 1683: Jerusalem Besieged By Titus Vespasian
  • 1882: Dawson, Aeneas McDonell – The Last Defender of Jerusalem
  • 1976: Avalon Hill – Siege of Jerusalem Board Game
  • Stephen Watson Fullom: The Last Days of Jerusalem (1871 pdf)

“To cut her off, and on the breakers thrust ?
While thus forlorn he waits, a nearer doom
Seems in a quicksand on his course to loom :
And threat’ning cloud and breakers are forgot
In fears by fate so imminent begot.
Just thus did waiting Zion now espy
A blazing Comet burst upon the sky :
In shape a sword, sword o’er the city hung,
A portent too significant is flung
And memories of all before expire
In view of this presentiment in fire!”

 

BIOGRAPHIES

  • 1910: Luther – Justus of Tiberias (PDF)
  • 1914: Bentwich – Josephus
  • 1932: Fruchtwanger – Josephus Trilogy
POETRY & FICTION

“Eichorn‘s Latin commentary, following a suggestion of Herder, interprets the Book of Revelation as a dramatic poem, in the style of Hebrew Apocalyptics, depicting the events of the historical fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 68-69″

  • 1824: John Galt – The Bachelor’s Wife
  • 1857: “Ben Asaph” – The Moriad: or, End of the Jewish State
  • 1863: The Gladiators: A Tale of Rome and Judea PDFs: Volume One | Two | Three
  • 1867: James DeMille – Helena’s Household: A Tale of Rome in the First Century
  • 1888: G.A. Henty – For The Temple : A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem
  • 1891: F.W. Farrar – Darkness and dawn, or, Scenes in the days of Nero
  • 1895: Lydia Hoyt Farmer: The Doom of the Holy City.  Christ and Caesar.
  • 1901: H. Rider Haggard – Pearl Maiden – The Fall of Jerusalem
  • 1908: Elizabeth Miller – The City of Delight
  • 1910: John Carling – The Doomed City (PDF)
  • 1920: Laqueur – The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation Based on New Critical Sources (1920 PDF) “Laqueur continues to serve, justifiably and indisputably as the introduction to the literary criticism of the text of Josephus”
  • 2005: Noleka Yvonne Bunn – Foreshadow of Desolation: O’ Jerusalem (2005) This is a story about Jesus’ prophecy for the city of Jerusalem, the greedy Procurator, the rebellion of the Zealots and the war that was considered one of the most bloody and horrendous wars in history. Our story is seen through the eyes of Joshua, Shadrack and Hannah who survive the Jerusalem holocaust. This is a story of survival, sharing, heroic acts, heartache, love and forgiveness as commanded by Jesus.
  • 2009: John Prescott – Not One Stone Upon Another (2009) “In A.D. 66, Palestine rebelled against the authority and arrogance of oppressive Roman rule. Unlikely as it was, and impossible as it was to succeed, it happened. In the spring of A.D. 70, Titus Vespasianus, son of Vespasian, the emperor of Rome, marched to Jerusalem with his legions to reestablish Roman control over the city. Titus came to the city and found an old friend who was no longer his friend. His name was Simon Gioras, and he led the Zealots, the implacable opponents of Rome. Two men, once friends, are caught up in changing times and loyalties. The war changed them both; forever. It may have destroyed them both. Not one Stone Upon Another is a novel and a story of that struggle that changed the history not only of two friends, but of the Jewish people, and therefore the world.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Fall of Jerusalem: Coleridge’s Unwritten Epic

 

“(Coleridge’s) epic would have employed the historical events of the fall of Jerusalem to show the re-creation of the ancient religious constitution of man in the new Jerusalem.”

OUTSIDE LINKS

Flavius Josephus Home Page | Works of Flavius Josephus | Relevant Maps | Historical Maps: Jerusalem | Judea Capta | Wars Between Jews and Romans | Rome and the Jews | Josephus, the Primary Source | The Credibility Of Josephus | The Fall of Jerusalem and the Future of the Jews | Illustrated History of the Roman Empire | Cross Reference Josephus | Roger of Hoveden: Fall of Jerusalem, 1187 | The Myth Of Masada | Revelation and Josephus | Josephus Unbound | A Chronology of Destruction | The Antiquities of the Jews | Jewish Revolt and Destruction of Jerusalem | Josephus and Jesus | The Jewish millionaire who surrendered to the Romans | Search inside Josephus Books at Amazon | Josephus/Whiston “Thrones of Blood” | First Century Jerusalem | Historical Maps | Maps of Jerusalem

Read on the ninth of Av in commemoration of the desolation of Jerusalem

How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!
How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations,
and princess among the provinces, How is she become tributary!
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks:
among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her.

Lamentations 1:1

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