Bibliography
| Title: Josephus and Jewish Apocalypticism Secondary Title: Understanding Josephus. Seven Perspectives Pages: 35-61 Type: Book Section Year: 1998 Abstract: Paget, James Carleton in: BJGS 25 (1999/2000), 20: "Per Bilde makes out a good case for seeing Josephus' works as partially reflecting some aspects of apocalyptic, not least in Josephus' opinion of himself as in some sense a prophet and dreamer of significance".
Feldman, Louis Harry in: OTA 22.1 (1999), 131-132: "Although Josephus does not use the term apokalyptein in the technical "apocalyptic" sense, he is interested in related verbs, and, consequently, in the "apocalyptic" idea of divine disclosure of hidden secrets through chosen prophetic mediators. He was very much absorbed by the "apocalyptic" Essenes, their studies of the Bible, their emphasis on priesthood, and their prophetic power. He is our best witness to the important role of Jewish prophetism in the Hellenistic-Roman period, a phenomenon known also from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. In this context belongs the growing recognition in recent years of Josephus' picture of himself as a divinely inspired prophet. Because Josephus relates his prophetic abilities to his qualifications as a priest and to his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, his type of prophecy appears to be closely related to that of the Qumran-Essenes. As his own prophecies are closely connected to his interpretations of the biblical, prophetic, eschatological oracles concerning contemporary events, they appear to be similar not only to Essene prophecy, but also to "Zeiotic" and early Christian prophecy. As Josephus1 prophecies are related to the revelation of divine secrets concerning contemporary history, we may also call them "apocalyptic". Josephus' claim to prophetic power is also connected with his historiographical work. Josephus' works reveal knowledge of well-known apocalyptic ideas and figures, and of the legends that grew up about them in the Hellenistic-Roman period. Josephus was very much interested in prophetic and "apocalyptic" figures as "mediators" between G-d and the human world. At the same time, he describes such figures with great reserve, partly for political-apologetic reasons because of the close connections between the "apocalyptic" world view and the Jewish revolt against Rome, and partly because of the genre and nature of his writings, which are primarily historical". Keywords: Groups and Religious Movements in Palestinian Judaism |