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 Hebrew–Latin edition ofThe Jewish War (Basle, 1559) | |
| Author | Josephus |
|---|---|
| Original title | Flavius Josephus's Books of the History of the Jewish War Against the Romans |
| Language | Aramaic (lost),Greek |
| Genre | History |
Publication date | c. AD 75 |
| Publication place | Roman Empire |
| Followed by | Antiquities of the Jews |
The Jewish War[a][b] is a work ofJewish history written byJosephus, a first-centuryRoman-Jewishhistorian.[1][2][3] It has been described by the biblical historianSteve Mason as "perhaps the most influential non-biblical text of Western history".[4]
Divided into seven books, it opens with a summary ofJewish history from the capture ofJerusalem by theSeleucid emperorAntiochus IV Epiphanes in 168 BC to the first stages of theFirst Jewish–Roman War, books I and II. The next five books detail the unfolding of the war, under Roman generalsVespasian andTitus, to the death of the lastSicarii. The book was written about 75 AD, originally in Josephus' "paternal tongue" – eitherAramaic orHebrew[5] – though this version has not survived. It was later translated into Greek, probably under the supervision of Josephus himself. Buth and Pierce wrote, "The current Greek edition does not appear to be a translation, but must be considered a new edition, a complete re-working of the first writing and likely a considerable expansion."[6]
The sources of theFirst Jewish–Roman War are this account of Josephus, theBabylonian Talmud tractateGittin 57b,Lamentations Rabbah, the Hebrew inscriptions on theFirst Jewish Revolt coinage, and Book V ofTacitus'Histories.[7]
The text also survives inan Old Slavonic version, as well as Hebrew, which contains material not found in the Greek version and lacking other material in the Greek version.[8]
Josephus recounts the story of Mary of Bethezuba,[9] which describescannibalism as a consequence of famine and starvation during the siege of Jerusalem. Josephus relates that there was a Mary, daughter of Eleazar originally from the village of Bethezuba in the district ofPerea, east of theJordan River, who had previously fled to Jerusalem. Distinguished in family and fortune, her property, treasures and food had been plundered by the Jewish defenders of the city during the siege. Famine was "eating her heart out, and rage consuming her still faster". Maddened by hunger she took the infant at her breast and said to him: "Poor little mite! In war, famine, and civil strife why should I keep you alive? With the Romans there is only slavery and that only if alive when they come; but famine is forestalling slavery, and the partisans are crueler than either. Come you must be food for me, to the partisans an avenging spirit, and to the world a tale, the only thing left to fill up the measure of Jewish misery". And in "defiance to all natural feeling" she killed her son, then roasted him and ate one half, hiding the rest.
Almost immediately the rebels appeared ("sniffing the unholy smell") and threatened to kill her on the spot unless she revealed what she had prepared. As she uncovered what was left of the child she offered them a share. They left her in horror and the "entire city could not stop thinking of this crime and abomination". When the news reached the Romans, "some refused to believe, some were distressed but on most the effect was to add enormously to their detestation" of the enemy at hand. Titus disclaimed all responsibility as he had repeatedly offered peace and amnesty for surrender.
Josephus was a popular writer among Christians in the fourth century and beyond as an independent historian to the events before, during, and after the life ofJesus of Nazareth. Josephus was always accessible in the Greek-reading Eastern Mediterranean.The Jewish War was translated into Latin (Bellum Judaicum) in the fourth century byPseudo-Hegesippus in abbreviated form as well as by an unknown other in full, and both versions were widely distributed throughout the Western Roman Empire and its successor states. Christian interest inThe Jewish War was largely out of interest in the downfall of the Jews and the Second Temple, which was interpreted as divine punishment foralleged responsibility for Jesus' death. Improvements in printing technology (theGutenberg Press) led to the work receiving a number of new translations into the vernacular languages of Europe; the original Greek text was also published in Basel in 1544. In English, the most influential translations wereThomas Lodge's 1602 translation (The Tragic History of the Jews), followed byWilliam Whiston's 1760s translation (The Wars of the Jews).[10]
On the Jewish side, Josephus was far more obscure, as he was perceived as a traitor. Rabbinical writings for a millennium after his death (e.g. theMishnah) almost never call out Josephus by name, although they sometimes tell parallel tales of the same events that Josephus narrated. An Italian Jew writing in the 10th century indirectly brought Josephus back to prominence among Jews: he authored theYosippon, which paraphrases Pseudo-Hegesippus's Latin version ofThe Jewish War (among other works), and included additional historical snippets at times. Jews generally distrusted Christian translations of Josephus until the 19th century, when sufficiently "neutral" vernacular language translations were made.Kalman Schulman finally created a translation of the Greek text of Josephus into Hebrew in 1863, although many rabbis continued to prefer the Yosippon version. By the 20th century, Jewish attitudes toward Josephus had softened, as Jews found parts ofThe Jewish War inspiring and favorable to the Jews. The last stand at Masada was seen as inspirational rather than tragic, for example. A 1938 / 1941 play,Jerusalem and Rome, was loosely based onThe Jewish War, and various novels were written.[11] These 20th century interpretations inevitably reflected the concerns of the era, unsurprisingly, such as thepersecution of Jews in Russia and Nazi-era Europe, the nascentZionist movement, and the situation of Jewish settlers in theBritish Mandate of Palestine.[10]
For scholars, Josephus is and remains an invaluable resource for study of the Jewish-Roman war. While he is clearly deferential toward hisFlavian dynasty Roman patrons, he is generally considered a relatively neutral source.[10]
The Wars of the Jews public domain audiobook atLibriVoxPart of theJewish–Roman wars | |||||||||||
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