The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

sent to Josephus’ house from the gathering at the racetrack is a remnant from
the original context of the Life where the gathering at the racetrack is
followed by the dispatch of the hoplites who attacked Josephus’ house
according to 146 ff.
The information from section 145 corresponds to the results obtained here. When the
Dabarittans, who undertook the attack, are designated here as “robbers” who must fear their
punishment from Josephus, then this view does not belong to the administrative report but to
the War (page 58 ff.). Therefore Life 145, in fact, has its model [Vorbild] in War 2.596 where
Josephus speaks of “robbery” and severely reprimands the Dabarittans because of their
violence; therefore Life 145, which has no place beside 136 in the original text, belongs to the
expansion: Among the duplications, section 136 is the pattern according to which 145 was
shaped. Unfortunately the corruption of the text at the end of 136 precludes the original
context and the transition from being identified to the word, but our factual result is not
compromised by this: In the old administrative report section 146 directly followed section 136
and so we are in a position to sketch an outline of the original context of this report as it has
been conserved for us in sections 126 - 129; 132 - 136 and 145 ff.
The audacious Dabarittans attack Ptolemy’s wife while she is meaning to bring her
possessions to Roman territory under heavy guard. They take her property away from her and
bring [67] it to Josephus. Concerned about the law, he wishes to keep these possessions for
Ptolemy and therefore explains to the Dabarittans, as a pretext, that he intends to put aside
the plunder in order to build the walls of Jerusalem with it. The Dabarittans, however, are
infuriated because they have received no share of the plunder and they spread the rumour
that Josephus intends to betray the land to the Romans (126 - 129); the crowd is agitated by
this and gathers at the racetrack of Tarichea where notably Jesus, son of Sapphias,
distinguishes himself by his diatribe against Josephus. He takes some hoplites along in order to
kill Josephus, “the betrayer of the law”. They rush in front of the house where Josephus was
resting (132 - 136); he is deserted by all and can save himself only by guile; he climbs onto the
roof of his house and, in the hope of calming them in this way, he invites the assailants to send
people into the house who are to fetch the money. This comes to pass; they send the most
audacious man into the house; but Josephus injures him so seriously and thereby induces such
fear into the others who believed Josephus to be protected by armed [guards], that they flee in
61