Bibliography
| Title: God and Israel in Josephus: A Patron-Client Relationship Secondary Title: JSPE.S 32 Pages: 172-191 Type: Generic Year: 1998 Abstract: "Paget, James Carleton in: BJGS 25 (1999/00) 20: Paul Spilsbury begins his essay by noting the apparent tension between E.P. Sander's assertion that central to ancient Jewish theology was the idea of the covenant (diatheke) and the absence of that term from the writings of Josephus. By examining the first eleven book s of Antiquities, he shows how Josephus has sought to present the bond between God and Israel in terms of a client/patron relationship, a relationship from which Josephus himself had benefited. Such a presentation is compatible with an understanding of covenant, bus is approached in the way it is in order to make matters explicable to a Roman audience. // Feldman Louis Harry in: OTA 22,1 (1999) 138: At the most basic level it may be said with certainty that Josephus was convinced that a special relationship existed between G-d and Israel. The relationship between G-d and Israel is one in which G-d provides the Israelites with numerous benefactions, notably the law. Their requisite response is one of wholehearted gratitude and obedience. The best relational model for understanding the relevant evidence is the patron-client model so prevalent in the Graeco-Roman society in which Josephus himself was thoroughly immersed. In his paraphrase of the Bible G-d is portrayed as the ultimate patron whose goodwill and providence ensure the Jews' continued existence and welfare. As a favored client of this patron, the Jews are required to live under the constitution that G-d provides. E. P. Sanders' insistence upon the covenant as the dominant paradigm in terms of which Jews of the Second Temple period understood their relationship to G-d is, in principle, supported by the evidence of Josephus. Although Josephus seems deliberately to avoid using covenantal language, he has not abandoned the basic notion of a special relationship between G-d and Israel. As part of his general program of Hellenizing the biblical account of the origins of his people, Josephus has also Hellenized this aspect of the Bible through using the language of patron and client." Keywords: Specific Examinations of Josephus, collections of Josephus |