Antiquities of the Jews
A twenty-book history by Flavius Josephus, completed around 93–94 CE, recounting Jewish history from creation to the outbreak of war with Rome.
Flavius Josephus: A first-century Jewish historian and former commander who wrote in Greek under Roman rule. He composed this history to present Jewish antiquity to a Greek-speaking audience.
Jewish–Roman War: The revolt of Judea against Roman rule from 66 to 73 CE, ending with the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple. Josephus’s earlier history stops as this conflict approaches.
Biblical paraphrase: A restatement of biblical material in different wording, often adapting it for a new audience or purpose. Josephus retells scriptural stories in polished Greek prose rather than simply reproducing a translation.
Testimonium Flavianum: A passage in Josephus’s Antiquities mentioning Jesus, whose surviving wording includes disputed Christian alterations. This passage is among the work’s most debated evidence for Jesus outside Christian texts.
Jewish historiography: The writing and interpretation of Jewish history across different periods and traditions. Josephus became an indispensable ancient source for later histories of Jewish antiquity.
Hebrew Bible: The collection of ancient Jewish scriptures, including the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Its narratives supply much of the work’s account of Jewish history before the Hellenistic age.
The Jewish War: Josephus’s account of the revolt against Rome and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. This earlier work treats the recent conflict that Antiquities places at the end of its long timeline.
Historiography: The study and practice of writing history, including its methods, sources, and interpretations. The work’s arrangement and claims belong to ancient debates about how history should be written.
James, brother of Jesus: A first-century Jewish figure identified by Josephus as the brother of Jesus called Christ. Josephus’s brief notice is a distinct passage from the disputed Testimonium Flavianum.
Christian historiography: The writing of history by Christian authors, often interpreting events through Christian theology. Christian writers preserved and cited Josephus, especially for events related to Jesus and early Christianity.