The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

from the Antiquities and the War, which have eluded observation [166] just like everything
[else] that we are turning into a subject of our investigation.
1. According to War 187 Antipater supports Caesar and the Pergamene Mithridates,
whom he accompanied with troops on his march towards Egypt. Ant. 127 adopts this report but
adds independently that Antipater is acting “on Hyrcanus’ orders” so that he appears merely
as a tool in Hyrcanus’ hands.
2. Antipater subsequently supports Mithridates in that he persuades the Jews of Egypt
to join him (War 190). Ant. 131/2 adds to this that he managed to do this by producing letters
from Hyrcanus who requested on the basis of their common roots [Stammesgenossenschaft]
that they become Caesar’s friends. It is only when the Egyptian Jews become aware of the
concurrence of Antipater and the high priest that they join the Romans.
3. In Egypt it comes down to a battle, which is decided in favour of the Romans at the
last minute due to Antipater’s intervention. Antipater, his whole body covered by wounds, is
distinguished by Caesar in the highest degree with the prospect of a brilliant future before
him. Caesar grants him citizenship and confirms Hyrcanus in the position of a high priest “for
his own sake” (War 193 - 194). The Antiquities again adopts the factual [contents] from the War,
but imbues them with another colouring. From the glowing description (War 193) of how
Antipater “wounded over his whole body, manifests the marks of his virtue”, Ant. 136 states
the simple fact that Antipater was wounded in battle. It corresponds to this as well then, that
“the hopes” for the future (War 193) are eliminated and that in Ant. 137 the granting of the
citizenship to Antipater slips into second place compared to the confirmation of the high
priesthood for Hyrcanus, which was emphasized as most important. But then it was also no
longer acceptable that this confirmation occur “for the sake of Antipater”; the Antiquities
deletes these words. In this way Antipater is forced [into the] back[ground] again and again,
but Josephus only deals with individual symptoms; in principle the confirmation of the high
priesthood for Hyrcanus was intended as the conclusion to the report about Antipater’s deeds.
The Antiquities retains this [167] structure of the narrative even though it is henceforth
stripped of its actual sense; therefore Josephus has adopted the established framework here as
well and only changed some details: the War is the source of the Antiquities, into which
Josephus brings a new [point of] view.
4. Shortly thereafter, Aristobulus’ son Antigonus makes an accusation to Caesar and as
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