Josephus

In the past the works of Josephus have suffered widespread misunderstanding and misuse.[5] They owe their survival initially to their Imperial patronage, and then to their appropriation by the Christian church, which treasured them for their references to Jesus, John the Baptist, and other New Testament characters and places.[6] They were also used to support the belief that God has rejected Judaism,[7] despite the fact that this was the exact opposite of what Josephus set out to demonstrate! His writings were used widely in the early church.[8] A late tradition held that he actually became a Christian, but Origen specifically denied this.[9] Origen is thought to have based his apologetic work Against Celsus on the model provided by Josephus' Against Apion.[10] His Life is seen by many as the first Western biography,[11] but its stylistic nature means that it is not always factually accurate.

Studies by scholars of Josephus' works have shown that he had both a thorough understanding of Hebrew and Palestinian exegetical techniques.[12] Faced with the challenge of writing for a foreign audience he did not relapse into wholesale allegory[13] or omit large parts of the biblical account. Rather he strove always to be as faithful to the text as possible, omitting material only when absolutely necessary.[14] Even some of his more unusual interpretation are not without precedent and are possible renderings of the Hebrew text. The envious motive of the serpent,[15] while not explicitly stated in Genesis, is nonetheless implied and Josephus' interpretation is quite plausible.[16] For this reason we can be relatively confident that his interpretations were representative of Palestinian Judaism in the first century

The use made of the works of Josephus by the early church fathers varied greatly. In the western church only Tertullian utilised him to any great extent.[17] Minucius Felix cites him in support of his argument that the Jews foresook God before He forsook them.[18] Josephus was more widely read in the eastern church, but it was not until the time of Origen that his works had any influence on biblical exegesis.[19] Origen found in Josephus an extra-biblical source of historical information, and adopted many of Josephus' additions to the biblical accounts.[20] When compared to the influence that Philo had on biblical exegesis, Josephus' contribution was small. He was seen as a historical witness (particularly valuable in his contributions to chronology)[21] whereas Philo was viewed as a pattern for the allegorical method. For this reason it is unwise (as some Creationists are in the habit of doing) to exaggerate the impact of Josephus' interpretation of Genesis on the early church simply because he is a more favourable witness.

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References