Bibliography
| Title: Josephus and Judaean Politics Secondary Title: CSCT 18 Type: Generic Year: 1990 Abstract: "The revised version of a doctoral dissertation directed by M. Smith and submitted to the department of history at Columbia University in New York City in 1985, this volume first provides an introduction to Josephus' life and works, and traces his intellectual development. Then it presents an evaluation of Josephus' perspectives on Judean politics with reference to the priesthood, the Herodians after A.D. 70, and the Pharisees and early rabbinic Judaism. The three appendixes concern various sources in Josephus antiquities: classical material, the Bible, and Greek and Greco-oriental authors. Schwartz contends that many features of Josephus' historiography can best be explained against the background of his shifting political conerns and social connections. // This synthetic treatment of Josephus and his times has two aims. The first is to establish Josephus' attitudes to the various Judaean aristocratic groups of the first century - priest, descendants of Herod, certain sectarians - and how these attitudes changed. The second aim is more speculative: to connect these changes with actual changes in Judaean politics and society in the ca. 30 years of Josephus' literary activity, a critical period of transformation following the destruction of Jerusalem. The first chapter examines Josephus' life from his detection to Vespasian, and suggests that Josephus always retained an interest in current public affairs, particularly those of Judaea. Chapters 2-4 discuss the changes of attitude within the Josephan corpus and place them in the context of the evidence of the coins, inscriptions, Rabbinic literature and pagan historians. It is argued that these changes allow us to trace the decline of the pre-66 aristocracy groups after 70. Chapter 5 argues that there arose a new aristocracy in the 80s and 90s, a rise which left its mark on Josephus' later work. Readership: This work will be of interest to students and specialists in ancient Judaism, Rabbinics classics /Greek historiography, imperial literature), Roman Imperial history, and Eastern Roman provinces." Keywords: Cultural and Religious History of Ancient Judaism |