Bibliography
| Title: Josephus's Interpretation of the Bible Secondary Title: Hellenistic culture and society 27 Type: Book Year: 1998 Abstract: in: NTAb 43.2 (1999), 421: "Feldman, professor of classics at Yeshiva University and author of Studies in Hellenistic Judaism (1996) and Studies in Josephus' Rewritten Bible (1998), first attempts to explain Josephus' purposes and techniques in retelling the Bible in five chapters: Josephus' historiographical predecessors, Josephus as rewriter of the bible, the qualities of biblical heroes, Josephus as apologist to non-Jews and to Jews, and stylistic and other changes. Then he presents case studies of twelve key biblical figures to test the degree to which these purposes and techniques are fulfilled: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, and Daniel. He concludes that >Josephus emerges as a historian in the grand manner, deserving of Jerome's tribute to him as a second Livy, combining the best of the two great schools of historiography - the Isocatean with its stress on moralizing, psychologizing, and dramatizing, and the Aristotelian with its emphasis on scientific, empirical investigation".
Begg, Christopher T. in: OTA 22.3 (1999), 542: "This work complements an earlier, similar volume by F. that appeared in 1997 (see OTA 20 [1997] #1217). It comprises two main parts. The first part ("General Considerations") represents a reworking of a discussion ofJosephus's use of Scripture originally published in 1988. F.'s "considerations" in this part concern Josephus's historiographical predecessors; Josephus as rewriter of the Bible; the qualities of the biblical heroes; Josephus as apologist to non-Jews and to Jews; and stylistic and other changes. The volume's second part consists of revised versions of twelve detailed studies published by F. in the years 1968-1995 concerning Josephus's treatment of assorted biblical figures in relation both to the Scriptural Vorlage and the wider Jewish-Christian tradition. The twelve figures featured here are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, and Daniel. In each instance, F. devotes particular attention to the questions of what messages Josephus intends to convey to his double audience, i.e., cultivated Gentiles and fellow Jews, via his various modifications of the Bible's account of a given figure. F.'s brief conclusion, synthesizing the findings of his individual case studies, is followed by a list of abbreviations, extensive bibliography, and elaborate indexes: passages from ancient writers (this divided into eleven sub-divisions); general; Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic words; and modem scholars". Keywords: Antiquities Josephus, Flavius. Judaism, apologetic works, history and criticism. Jews, history to 70 A.D., historiography. Heroes in the Bible, biography. |