The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

(Life 337), the unnamed author does likewise (C. Ap. 1. 53). In comparison with Justus’ attacks,
Josephus indicates
1. that he had presented his work to the emperors (αὐτοῖς ἐπέδωκα τοῖς αὐτοκράτορσι
τὰ βιβλία Life 361),
2. that he had made his book available to many others including those who had fought
in the war. Even Agrippa was included among these (καί ἄλλοις δὲ πολλοῖς εὐθὺς ἐπέδωκα τὴν
ἱστορίαν ὧν ἔνιοι καὶ παρατετεύχεισαν τῷ πολέμῳ καθάπερ βασιλεὺς Ἀγρίππας Life 362),
3. that from all sides he received confirmation of the truth of his report (μαρτυρίας ῟τῆν
ἀληθείας῏ τεύξεσθαι προσδοκήσας οὐ διήμαρτον 361; τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐμαρτύρει 367). One must
compare the almost literal correspondences to this from the combat against the unnamed
author (C. Ap. 1.51 - 52):
To 1): πρώτοις γὰρ ἔδωκα τὰ βιβλία (namely to the emperors) C. Ap. 1.51.
To 2): καὶ μετ’ ἐκείνους πολλοῖς μὲν Ῥωμαίων τοῖς [17] συμπεπολεμηκόσι, πολλοῖς δὲ
τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐπίπρασκον ... ὧν ἐστι ... ὁ θαυμασιώτατος βασιλεὺς Ἀγρίππας ibid.
To 3): οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἅπαντες ἐμαρτύρησαν, ὅτι τῆς ἀληθείας προύστην ἐπιμελῶς C. Ap.
1.52.
Whoever should, in the face of these facts, still be in doubt that the unnamed author
under attack in C. Ap. is Justus must learn otherwise from the following observation. When
Josephus emphasizes, in comparison to the unnamed author, that his readers “likewise had
benefited from Hellenic education” (ἀνδράσι καὶ τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς σοφίας μετεσχηκόσιν C. Ap.
1.51), it follows from the καὶ that his opponent had wished to write for readers who had
received a thorough Greek education. Exactly this was expressed by Justus who, as we saw, had
indicated in his preface that, by virtue of his παιδεὶα, he alone among the historians could
write for men who had participated in Greek education. Therefore the unnamed author from
Contra Apionem is none other than Justus.
But why – one must ask – did Josephus attack in Contra Apionem, without name, the
opponent whom he had specifically named in the Life? The answer to this arises from the
context in which the attack in the writing, Contra Apionem, is inserted. Josephus is dealing with
the great age of Jewish literature and hence explains the special respect that each Jew feels
towards the authentic scriptures received from God. In fact, every Jew is prepared to suffer
even death for the sake of these scriptures. In contrast to this, the reason for the indifference
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