| <pb n="53" /><head><hi rend="italic">Summary</hi></head><p>Three factors might seem to complicate any attempt to read Josephus's writings as his own compositions. They are: (a) his use of sources; (b) his use of literary assistants; and (c) the Church's transmission of his works. It is impossible to rule out any of these factors<hi rend="italic">a priori</hi>as possible influences on the accounts of the Pharisees that appear in Josephus. Nevertheless, the results of recent scholarship establish a strong<hi rend="italic">prima facie</hi>case for the presumption of Josephus's authorial responsibility. We have no basis in the results of contemporary research to claim that any single passage on the Pharisees must be separated at the outset, as the work of someone other than Josephus himself.</p><p>If striking inconsistencies should appear among Josephus's Pharisee passages, they will call for an explanation. In that case, one possibility would be difference of authorship, a theme that has three variations. Our first task, however, is to try to interpret Josephus's statements about the Pharisees within the context of his own thought and writing, as his own testimony.</p> |
