Bibliography
| Title: The Image of the Jew in Flavius Josephus' Paraphrase of the Bible Secondary Title: TSAJ 69 Type: Generic Year: 1998 Abstract: "in: NTAb 43,1 (1999) 212: The revised and expanded version of a doctoral dissertation directed by W. Horbury and submitted in 1994 to the University of Cambridge, this investigation of how Josephus presents Jews and Judaism in the biblical paraphrases in his Jewish Antiquities is divided into four main parts: the patriarchs, Moses and his opponents, from conquest to monarchy, and the divided kingdom and beyond. It summarizes Josephus' image of the Jews in ten points: an ethnic reality that must be understood in the light of its particular history, a virtuous people, having a profound knowledge of and close relationship to the true God, a people under authority, a conservative people, a harmonious and peaceable people, a+ loyal and cooperative people, a populous and international people, a people apart but not antisocial and a persecuted and hated people. // Begg, Christopher T. in: OTA 22,1 (1999) 178: This is S.'s 1994 Cambridge dissertation (W. Horbury, director). Its introduction surveys a range of preliminary matters: use of the Bible in ancient Jewish literature overall, Josephus' life and writings, the double intended audience of his Antiquities, i.e., cultivated Gentiles and fellow Jews, and Jewish coping strategies in the Diaspora context. The body of his work then treats the multi-faceted image of the Jew developed by Josephus for the benefit of his twofold readership in the biblical segment of Antiquities (Books 1-11.183) via his retelling of Scriptural history. Here, four chapters review in turn the historian's presentation of the patriarchs, Moses and his opponents, from conquest to monarchy, and the divided kingdom and beyond. In his conclusion S. summarizes his findings concerning the Josephan image of the Jewish people as presented in Antiquities 1-11 and their intended implications for his two audiences under the following ten heads: 1) the Jews are an ethnic entity that must be understood in light of its past history; 2) they are a virtuous people; 3) they have a profound knowledge of God and stand in intimate relationship to this God; 4) the Jews are a people under authority (i.e., of the law given through Moses); 5) they are a conservative people; 6) they are a harmonious and peaceable people; 7) Jews are a loyal and cooperative people; 8) they are a populous and international people; 9) they are a people apart, but should not be regarded as anti-social; and 10) the Jews are a persecuted and hated people. In short, Josephus holds up an ideal image of Judaism, one which shows Jews exemplifying the values of Greco-Roman culture and positively interacting with the wider society, even while carefully preserving their distinctiveness in the religious sphere. The work ends with an extensive bibliography, plus indexes of passages cited, modern authors, and subjects. // Paul Spilbury analysiert Josephus' Neufassung der biblischen Erzählung der Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes. Darin gibt Josephus ein Bild der Juden und des Judentums wieder, das seine persönliche Einstellung in einigen wichtigen Punkten widerspiegelt. Einerseits möchte er, daß die Nichtjuden in seinem Leserkreis die Stärke und Kultiviertheit des jüdischen Erbes schätzen, ihren Beitrag zur Kultur verstehen und ihnen das Recht gewähren, in Frieden in der Welt u leben. Andererseits liegt ihm daran, daß die Juden seine Neudefinition des Judentums in Foge und in Beantwortnung des Scheiterns des jüdischen Krieges und der Zerstörung von Jerusalem akzeptieren. Außerdem drängt er die Juden, sich mit einer erneuten Verpflichtung gegenüber Moses' Gesetzen zusammenzuschließen, die er für den Kern der jüdischen Identität hält." Keywords: Antiquities |