The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

We also understand, however, that Josephus did not save his work by such means. The
Greek grammarians, one of whom — Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Comp. 4) — counted Polybius
among unbearable authors, had to give preference at all times to the skilful belletrist and
formalist Justus, even should they have been as convinced of Josephus’ objectivity and love of
truth as we are — not. Thus Josephus never could release the new presentation of the war
together with the continuation into the present as he had envisaged in 93/94. Justus’
competition had beaten him.
[36] For our subsequent investigation, however, we shall bear in mind that in the year
93 Josephus retained the thought of publishing his war history in a modified form. Had he
perhaps drafted some preparatory work for this in the years 93 – 100?
3. Justus in Josephus’ self-portrayal
One error tends to induce more. If, as a start, Josephus’ battle against Justus is
transferred to the political arena, then it was inevitably associated with the observation,
unavoidable to any reader, that the bulk of the Life is a writing of political defence. Hence the
conclusion: outside the insertion as well, i.e. even where he does not name him, Josephus turns
against Justus, and the entire self-portrayal is nothing but a reply to Justus’ political attacks.
The conclusion collapses with the supposition: should one encounter in Justus the literarybookselling
competitor, whose writing provoked Josephus’ train of thought now familiar to us,
and should the remainder of the self-portrayal be pursuing the goal of political defence above
all, then the two have nothing to do with each other, and the παρέκβασις, which the author
himself senses as disruptive (367), is that which its name already proclaims, [namely] an
insertion that does not belong to the surrounding [text and] that has some other purpose. We
may entertain even fewer doubts about this since the same attacks against Justus can also be
detected in the writing against Apion and it is out of the question here that the contents of the
writing had been influenced by the combat against Justus. If conversely, the combat against
Justus is designated as παρέκβασις also in the writing against Apion (57), then we may
conclude from the parallel designations that the insertions have the same character: they have
nothing to do with the theme that is actually under discussion [within those writings].
35