This book brings to light an extraordinary connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jewish historian Josephus. Writing in 93/4 ce, Josephus composed an account of Jesus known as the Testimonium Flavianum. Despite this being the oldest description of Jesus written by a non-Christian, scholars have long doubted its authenticity due to the alleged pro-Christian claims it contains. The present book, however, authenticates Josephus’ authorship and then reveals a startling discovery. First, the opening chapters demonstrate that ancient Christians read the Testimonium Flavianum quite differently from modern scholars, considering it to be basically mundane or even vaguely negative, and hence far from the pro-Christian rendering that most scholars have interpreted it to be. This suggests that the Testimonium Flavianum was indeed written by a non-Christian. The book then employs stylometric analysis to demonstrate that the Testimonium Flavianum closely matches Josephus’ style. The Testimonium Flavianum appears, therefore, to be genuinely authored by Josephus. The final chapters explore Josephus’ sources of information about Jesus, revealing a remarkable discovery: Josephus was directly familiar with those who attended the trials of Jesus’ apostles and even those who attended the trial of Jesus himself. The book concludes by describing what Josephus tells us about the Jesus of history, particularly regarding how the stories of Jesus’ miracles and his resurrection developed.
Online ISBN:9780191957697Print ISBN:9780192866783Publisher:Oxford University PressFront Matter
Introduction Part 1 The Authenticity of the Testimonium Flavianum
1 The Greek Reception 2 The Western and Eastern Reception 3 An Authorial Commentary on the Testimonium Flavianum Part 2 The Sources of Josephus and the Meaning of the Testimonium Flavianum
5 Josephus’ Sources: Clues in His Background 6 Identifying the ‘First Men among Us’: Possible Candidates End Matter
Appendix 1 Eusebius, His Citational Practices, and the Testimonium Flavianum Appendix 2 James the Brother of Jesus: Antiquities 20.200 Appendix 3 The Trial of Jesus and Passover Appendix 4 Ananus II and the Trial of Jesus Appendix 5 The Great Sanhedrin and Its Records of the Trial of Jesus Appendix 6 Josephus’ Silence Regarding Jesus in the War Bibliography
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