Who was Flavius Josephus?
Flavius Josephus, was born Joseph the son of Matthias in Jerusalem in 37 C.E.and became a young commander in Galilee during the Great Jewish Revolt (66- 70 C.E.) against the Romans. Roman citizenship was granted to Josephus after his surrender, in controversial circumstances, to Emperor Vespasian. As his life as a Jewish soldier ended, he became a successful writer and historian but his conversion made him a traitor in the eyes of most Jews. Josephus provides some background to Masada. Herod the Great, proclaimed King of Judea by his Roman masters, built (31-37 B.C.E.) the fortress that perched on top of the rock. Inside were all the facilities needed for survival in such a bleak place, including living quarters, storerooms and giant cisterns, which could be filled with rainwater. For his protection he surrounded it with a casemate wall and a series of towers. Eleazer ben Yair and his followers made this seemingly unassailable place their base and home while they set about raiding and
Josephus, as he is commonly known, was the historian Flavius Josephus, born Joseph bar Matthew (Greek: Matthias), and changing his name to Flavius later in life when he found himself a Jew in a Roman world. He was the son of a Jewish priest, and was a scholarly youth. His intense religious training began at the age of 16 where he studied the principles of the three primary Judean factions — Pharisees, Sadducees and the Essenes. He then spent some time with an ascetic hermit know as Bannus, who was a proponent of the natural lifestyle in the wilderness of Judea. When he returned to Jerusalem in 57 AD he associated himself with the majority party of the Pharisees. At the age of 30 he was taken hostage in the great Jewish Revolt(66-73AD) and spent much of his life thereafter defending the Jewish tradition. Much of the history of Judaism during the First Century BC we can attribute to the dedication of Josephus in chronicling them. We have a better understanding of modern Judaism and of th
Josephus, Flavius —————————— Josephus (jo-s’fes), Flavius A.D. 37-100? Jewish general and historian who took part in the Jewish revolt against the Romans. His History of the Jewish War is the major source of information about the siege of Masada (72-73). The American Heritager Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright c 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved. Josephus, Flavius —————————— Josephus, Flavius (jos’fes), A.D. 37-A.D. 95?, Jewish historian. A soldier, he took part in the war between the Romans and Jews and won the favor of the Roman general VESPASIAN. His works include The Jewish War, Antiquities of the Jews, and Against Apion (a defense of the Jews). The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright c 1995 by Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Return to Josephus Permutation Problems Return t
