Bibliography
| Title: Josephus. Jewish Historian and Translator of Sacred Scripture Type: Generic Year: 1993 Abstract: "Taking seriously Josephus's claim to be a follower of the Pharisees, this study evaluates Josephus as a translator in light of his work as an historian of the Jewish people. As an historian, Josephus wrote to give an accurate historical account of the Jewish past. To do so, he relied on the sacred writings of the Jews, which he deemed reliable for accurate historical data. As a follower of the Pharisees, however, Josephus understood the sacred writings to include more than just the written biblical text: Sadducees, not Pharisees, accepted only the written part. The Pharisees also accepted the Paradosis of the Fathers--traditions handed down from at least the time of John Hyrcanus - as equally authoritative and binding; indeed, even more so than written scripture. This included not only halakah, but also aggadah - lore - through which the Pharisees transmitted their unique beliefs by a retelling of the written biblical story. Thus, as a follower of the Pharisees, Josephus would have accepted the Pharisaic Paradosis of the Fathers, with its aggadic transformation of the biblical story, as part of sacred Scripture, hence historically accurate and true, a most reliable source for historical data regarding the biblical period. It is this which Josephus translates, and from which he draws his historical data regarding the biblical period. Thus the additions to the written biblical story which one finds in Josephus's Antiquities may not be of his own making; rather, they may be part and parcel of the Pharisaic Paradosis of the Fathers, added to the written story long before Josephus's time. As an historian, Josephus recounts Jewish history as he believed it to be, having learned it thus from his Pharisaic sources which he translates for his audience." Keywords: Examination of the Complete work, Jos as historian |