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This version of the famous works are complete with over 1010 pages of the works of Flavius Josephus and his writings about the jews.
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Updated text and new maps bring this standard introduction up to date.Throughout Christian history, the works of Josephus have been mined for the light they shed on the world of the New Testament. Josephus tells us about the Herodian family, the temple, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. He mentions James the brother of Jesus, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself. In Josephus and the New Testament, an internationally acknowledged authority on Josephus introduces this first-century Jewish historian to readers who want to begin to explore his witness to environment in which early Judaism and Christianity took shape. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Insightful Interpretation
I have read most of Josephus' works but have never before read an interpretive study by a Josephus' scholar.It really helped and also helped to straighten out some of my thinking on this fascinating man.I must admit that my previous readings led me to conclude that Josephus was, at the same time, a cynic and opportunist but Mason's work has expanded my outlook.

Mason believes that Josephus was walking a remarkable tightrope between his personal distain for a number of Jewish groups--make that Sadducees, Phariasees, and rebels--and deep respect for Jewish tradition as upheld by his own aristocratic and priestly class.While writing for the benefit of a primarily gentile audience, he attempts to promote the status of ancient Jewish belief and Mosaic Law directly in the face of--even then--widespread antisemitism.This was, as Josephus surely knew a 'hard sell' given the circumstances of the recent Jewish rebellion--an antiRoman rebellion concluding with the destruction of the Temple and crucifixion/enslavement of thousands.

A difficult needle to thread but Josephus makes quite an argument for his point of view which leads us to the conclusion that Judaism--at least some forms of Judaism--in Josephus' day, differed from the Conservative and Hasidic forms of Judaism of today.It seems that gentile converts to Judaism were more-or-less welcomed during the time of Josephus with the all important proviso that converts followed Mosaic Law.

Mason's entire exposition gives us insights as to the power struggles between Jewish factions and the relationship between the same factions with the overweening reality of Roman power and governance.Josephus has little good to say about the various Roman governors, including Pontius Pilate, an attitude that he seems to share with his gentile audience.Pilate is an interesting study.In the NT Pilate is the victim of circumstances--even a sympathetic figure.Josephus paints an entirely 'other' man, given to corruption and unnecessary violence.No doubt Josephus' portrait is correct.

Mason's direct opinions about Josephus' mentioning of John the Baptist, Jesus and his brother James are also fascinating especially in that they are but bit players in Josephus' largely Jewish tale.On the other hand--if these people need 'proof' beyond their appearance in the NT, Josephus definitely provides it.

Josephus on the scholarly map
As a student of the Classics with little prior knowledge of Josephus I fully agree with the above reviews. The book is fascinating and detailed, without missing to give a broader perspective of Josephus' writings and his time. I can fully recommend it to people who wish to learn about a fascinating historian and histurbulent times.

Review of Josephus and the New Testament
The book is insightful and give lots of information, but unfortunately it is a boring read.The author states in the book that reading the original work is tedious, if that is the case it does not seem that he made reading his book any less tedious.So my approach to reading the book is a little at a time. I believe that this book is helpful depending on the type of research you are doing.Maybe you want to just get information - it is good for that as well.Just know that it will be a laborius task.

An Excellent Resource For Scripture Study
Many people engaged in Bible study, whether it is a casual study or formal training in scripture, have found the writings of Flavius Josephus intriguing and helpful. The famous historian's writings were penned at the same time as many New Testament writings, and for this reason alone they are valuable. We hear Josephus talk about the major religious groups during New Testament times: those mentioned in the gospels and those not mentioned specifically but may have had an indirect influence on Christianity. We also find a detailed account of the fall of the Jerusalem Temple as well as references to John the Baptist, James "the brother of the Lord" (possibly dubious entries) and Jesus himself (most scholars, including Mason concede these brief and pious references were probably added by Christian copyists). The writings of Josephus are indispensable in studying scripture.

As important and helpful as the writings of Josephus can be, author Steve Mason points out that his writings have been misused over the centuries. Early Christian authors believed Josephus' account of the destruction of the Temple proved that God's favor had left Israel and had been transferred to Christians. His writings have supported many anti-Semitic campaigns in the past. He also contends that Josephus fell out of favor with many Jewish groups because he was considered a traitor during the battle with the Romans at the time of the Temple's destruction. While one could debate whether he was in fact a traitor, but most scholars do agree that Josephus did have a gift for self preservation. In this tract, Mason hopes to strip away Christian misinterpretations of Josephus and traditional historical biases and see Josephus as he intended to be seen: as a Jewish apologist defending the Jewish faith and people as an ancient and noble faith and worthy of respect in Ancient Rome. Mason contends that it is only by viewing Josephus in this light we can appreciate his writings.

The book gives a detailed biography of Josephus and provides a concise summary of Josephus' writings. He then reconstructs the New Testament world based on the historian's writings and looks at similarities and differences between the writings of Josephus and the New Testament. Perhaps what is Mason's greatest aide is that he does not favor Josephus' wrings as accurate and the New Testament as inaccurate, as can so often be the case. Instead he looks at the differences and points to why Josephus may have written what he did, keeping in mind Josephus did have an agenda and was not ashamed to admit it, and looking at why the New Testament recorded what it did. Readers will find that Mason's approach supports New Testament writings from a historical point of view.

JOSEPHUS AND THE NEW TESTAMENT is detailed, but it is an engaging read. This book will be helpful to any student engaged in New Testament studies. It's also accessible to any person who has an interest in scripture study. It makes a wonderful companion to the actual writings of Josephus and helps us to see the historian, as a historian and use his contributions appropriately.

good overview of Josephus
I'm no scholar, just a layperson. But I enjoy learning and facts. I was familiar with Josephus in a vague type of way and knew his writings gave us much background and history for understanding New Testament life and times. And I wanted to learn more about Josephus and his writings. This book seemed the best option. It was somewhat "hard" reading for me, but I feel it was worth my efforts. The author, in my opinion, is somewhat on the theological liberal side. (I'm very conservative...)But I felt the book gave me a good overview of Josephus. It was what I was looking for... ... Read more

Product Description
It takes place in the year 95 C.E. (A.D.) at the home of Flavia Sabena — a cousin to
Emperor Domitian — on the last night of the Festival of Saturnalia. The hostess has
invited eminent Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, as guest of honor, to give
readings from his works while they wait up all night in their annual solar vigil celebrating
the mid-Winter Solstice. Among the guests are P. Cornelius Tacitus, the leading voice
among Roman historians, and Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus the biographer of the Caesars.
Opening with the “Star & Scepter” prophecy and a fl ashback to Isaiah, the action shifts to
Josephus, who explains that what encouraged the zealot bandits who fomented this war,
was an ambiguous oracle of a world ruler coming out of their country that was supported
by their scriptural writings. But as it turned out, the oracle foretold the elevation of
Vespasian, who was proclaimed Roman Emperor while he was in Judea. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A fine read that will prove entertaining
The relationship between Rome and the Jews was never an easy one. "The Gospel: The Good News According to Josephus" is a novel set in classical times following historian Flavius Josephus and his business with the other thinkers and intellectuals of his era. The coming tide of war and the prophecy of the oracles however, look to make Josephus' time far more interesting than he desires. "The Gospel" is a fine read that will prove entertaining to many a reader.
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Customer Reviews (1)

A Bizarre Conspiracy Theory.
Abelard Reuchlin's "The True Authorship of the New Testament" (1979) is a strange little pamphlet.I bought it over two years ago when I saw it advertised in a secular humanist periodical as a definitive debunking of the accuracy of the New Testament.The pamphlet's arguments are not exactly scientific (like secular humanism itself) but belong to pseudo-science, speculation, theory and the occult.It has a portrait of the notable first century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus labeled "Arius Calpurnius Piso, pen name Flavius Josephus, a Roman."The introduction to the book welcomes the reader to the "inner circle."Reuchlin's "inner circle" includes those who know about the true authorship of the New Testament and he states his work was originally intended for Jews only (to prevent them from converting to Christianity) but is now seeking a wider audience.In this introduction, Reuchlin also rants and raves against perceived enemies of the Jewish people such as Messianic Jews, anybody who is opposed to the state of Israel (any criticism of Israel inherently hateful and "anti-Semitic," of course), Christian-Identity believers (an arrayed group of Christians who believe northern Europeans like the Anglo-Saxons, Germans, Scandinavians and Celts are descended from the lost tribes of Israel), and Arabs and Communists because they frequently attack Israeli/Jewish political interest through the auspices of the UN.

Reuchlin then goes on to concoct one of the most far-fetched conspiracy theories ever put into print.This might be farther out there than Jesus' secret bloodline but I guess not as far-fetched as black UN helicopters, mind-control technology and weather manipulation devices.According to Reuchlin, the ancient Roman aristocratic family of Arius Calpurnius Piso conspired to gain political and spiritual control of the Roman Empire by forging an entirely new religion based on Jewish Scriptures-and make this religion combat the growing popularity of Judaism and the political power of Jews, who made up ten percent of the Empire's population in the first century.The writings the Piso family produced were encoded in various places through names and hidden symbolism (for example Piso [Pisces] refers to a fish on the zodiac and was a symbol for Christianity).Reuchlin contends that Arius Calpurnius Piso made up the pen name "Flavius Josephus" to write his histories of both the Hebrew people and the Jewish War in Palestine during AD 70 when the Temple was razed by Titus' forces.Other writings were forged by the Piso family and their cronies, which included the Roman philosopher Seneca and the historians Pliny and Tacitus.The entire Greek New Testament; various Messianic prophecies in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures; the "Apocryphal" books like Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Bel and the Dragon and I Maccabees; the writings of the early Church Fathers like Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Polycarp of Smyrna; second century Christian texts like the Shepard of Hermas, Barnabas, the Didache and the Martyrdom of Polycarp-all of these were forgeries.Jesus and St. Paul were made up characters and the later Church writings were composed as a form of "self-fulfilling prophecy."The "Apocrypha" was forged to bridge the gap in Scriptural history from 400 BC (the time of the exiles return from Babylon) until the time of Christ.Reuchlin then goes on for several pages using cabbalistic numerology (he adds 2 and 2 to get 22, that how numerology works!) in the Greek and Latin texts to prove how Christianity has been a giant, millennium long conspiracy against the Jews.He believes Christianity to be inherently anti-Semitic because its savior, Jesus, is brought to trial by Jewish religious leaders.Reuchlin also takes potshots against the Koran because it mentions Jesus as a "prophet" of God and speculates that whoever wrote the Koran and backed Muhammad was connected to the same multi-generational conspiracy that created Christianity.

Go ahead and read this book.It does not contain any cogent revelations or information-just hypothetical conclusions drawn from perceived "coincidences" and letter codes--that will shatter Christianity ("and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"). ... Read more

Product Description
Includes a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from the beginnings of Old Testament history through the complete suppression of the Jews by the iron hand of Rome in A.D. 73. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

No linked table of contents
Joseph is a valuable work to have in electronic format. However, without a linked table of contents it is quite difficult to use.

This is added to my Kindle library as a reference book
I am pleased by how well the Kindle works with books that are kept in memory as references. ... Read more

Product Description
Josephus (A.D. 37-?100), a pro-Roman Jew closely associated with the emperor Titus, is the earliest systematic commentator on the Bible, as well as one of the foremost historians of the beginning of the Christian era. Politically, Josephus was pro-Roman, and although he had no sympathy for extreme Jewish nationalism, he was a zealous defender of Jewish religion and culture. Louis H. Feldman examines the principles that guided Josephus in his understanding of the Bible, investigating his creative contribution in the rewriting of biblical accounts. This comprehensive study evaluates Josephus as a historian and demonstrates the originality and consistency of his work as an author.The first part of Feldman's work attempts to understand Josephus's purposes and techniques in retelling the Bible. The second part reviews Josephus's treatment of twelve key biblical figures. In addition to its reevaluation of an important early historian, this unique compendium provides a mine of information on the reassessment of the most important biblical figures. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: London : Houlston and StonemanPublication date: 1847Subjects: Jews -- History 586 B.C.-70 A.DNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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This collection of articles honoring eminent classicist and historian Louis H. Feldman brings together a host of prominentscholars from all over the world writing on such fields as biblical interpretation, Judaism and Hellenism, Jews and Gentiles, Josephus, Jewish Literatures of the Second Temple, Mishnah and Talmud periods, History of the Mishnah and Talmud periods, Jerusalem and much more. ... Read more

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This volume presents in English translation the Slavonic version of Josephus Flavius' Jewish War, long inaccessible to Anglophone readers, according to N.A. Mešèerskij's scholarly edition, together with his erudite and wide-ranging study of literary, historical and philological aspects of the work, a textological apparatus and commentary. The synoptic layout of the Slavonic and Greek versions in parallel columns enables the reader to compare their content in detail. It will be seen that the divergences are far more extensive than those indicated hitherto. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1888 edition by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. ... Read more