Josephus the Historian (Ἰώσηπος ὁ ἱστορικός)

Life Flavius Josephus (born Yosef ben Matityahu; 37 CE – c. 100 CE) was a Jewish priest, military commander, and historian. During the First Jewish-Roman War (66 CE), he commanded Jewish forces in Galilee before surrendering to the Romans [1][2]. He prophesied Vespasian’s rise to emperor, which spared his life and earned him Roman citizenship and patronage, after which he adopted the name Flavius Josephus [1][2]. He spent his later life in Rome writing historical works under Flavian protection, occupying a complex role as an interpreter of Jewish history for a Greco-Roman audience [1][3].

Works His four surviving works, written in Koine Greek prose, are: Jewish War (Περὶ τοῦ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ πολέμου), a history of the revolt of 66–73 CE [1][2]; Jewish Antiquities (Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία), a twenty-book history of the Jewish people from creation to 66 CE [1][2]; Life (Βίος), an autobiography defending his actions in Galilee [1][2]; and Against Apion (Κατὰ Ἀπίωνος), an apologetic defense of Jewish antiquity and law [1][2].

Significance Josephus is the principal literary source for Jewish history in the late Second Temple period and the First Jewish-Roman War [1][2]. His works preserve crucial historical, cultural, and sectarian information and provide important external testimony for figures in the New Testament [1][3]. They served as a foundational bridge between Jewish and Greco-Roman historiography.

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Plato.stanford.edu): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/josephus/ 2. Encyclopædia Britannica (Britannica.com): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Flavius-Josephus 3. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts.edu): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0146