Bibliography
| Title: Land Theology in Josephus' Jewish Antiquities Secondary Title: JQR Volume: 71 Pages: 221-229 Type: Journal Article Year: 1980/1981 Abstract: "The purpose of this study is to begin to explore the development of land theology in Hellenistic literature through an examination of Josephus Jewish Antiquities. The comparative point of reference (and the point of departure) is the Biblical text from which, Josephus assure us, he has "recounted each detail".
"Jos. eliminates the elements of land theology and classical messianic eschatology from his biblical sources for the Ant. Instead, Judaism for Josephus is a religion of Law, or virtue, of obedience to God's statutes. To those who observe that law God grants not the classical messianic kingdom but "a renewed existence and in the revolution (of the ages) the gift of a better life" (Against Apion II,218)".
"In his Antiquities Josephus deleted the biblical theology of covenanted land, because he did not want the land of Israel to be a focal point as it was for Davidic messianism with all its evolutionary implications. At the same time, he built a theological base for his own version of a messianic era by adding (despite the patriarchal setting) promises of a great Jewish population and a Jewish diaspora. For Josephus, the land was simply not the heart of the Jewish religious". Keywords: Josephus as Theologian |