The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

speech (chapter II.1). Indeed, the Life serves this purpose exclusively (Ant. 20.263 ff.), and when
it is therefore introduced by a presentation of Josephus’ ancestry and the course of his
education in the various Jewish schools, among which he ultimately joined the Pharisees (Life 1
- 12), then this entire material is provided only in order to be able to save his own work from
Justus by virtue [of the fact] that Josephus is proven to be the preserver of Jewish tradition in
comparison to the Hellenizing Justus. So a very obvious bias is inherent in this information,
and wherever Josephus has a bias he is in the habit of not dealing very precisely with the truth.
One will not be able to detect easily the details of how far truth and fiction have been
intermingled in Life 1 - 12; however, one should indeed be aware that despite the apparently
superb testimonial [value] of just this material, which is indiscriminately taken as a basis [by
those who] faithfully retell everything [according to] Josephus, it is absolutely the most
unsound and unreliable.
Compared to such unsound evidence and compared to the biographic essays based
upon it, I believe that by the explanations in this book I have demonstrated that a totally
different material can be provided, admittedly only indirectly, yet still with a more compelling
line of argument. During the various periods of his life Josephus presented the things that he
experienced as well as the earlier history of the Jews and Romans in a totally varying fashion,
not on the basis of any new sources but rather because he himself had gained a different view
of things. Josephus’ inner development is truly reflected in these different views
and so from the different [247] conceptions of things we obtain the material
with which we can embark upon a genuine portrayal of Josephus’ life.
Admittedly, we may not contribute anything about Josephus’ youth in this manner for we can
trace the impressions that he acquired about the outside world only from [the point] where his
literary activity began. Then, however, the material flows in rich abundance and even if this
first attempt still remains incomplete, it is yet to be hoped that further research, which will
adopt these paths, will be able to bridge the gaps.
In Jerusalem Josephus held a prestigious position when his political career began in the
26 th year of his life: in the year 64 he was sent to Rome on a diplomatic mission and he
undoubtedly fulfilled his mission to the satisfaction of those who had commissioned him; for
he had barely returned to Jerusalem when a new and particularly important responsibility was
entrusted to him. In Galilee the armed masses had evolved into a great danger for the
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