The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

hold? It is understandable that Josephus himself did not shed any light on this with a clear
statement; but whoever is able to read between the lines can still come to a firm decision.
Josephus repeatedly stresses how Galilee remained protected from the robbers by his clever
strategy (198, 251, 206), and how he was acclaimed by the Galileans as benefactor and saviour
(244, 259) for precisely that reason. When Josephus’ departure [seemed] imminent, the
Galileans are horrified and implore him to remain since they would perish if they were to be
deprived of his leadership (205); they are afraid of being delivered over to the robbers after his
departure (206). But how was Josephus capable of achieving such results since he did not
even report anything in the least about any fighting with the robbers? – We
receive our answer to this in section 77 ff.: Josep hus’ [109] tried and tested strategy
against the robbers consisted in his convincing the Galileans to pay the
robbers a fee in return for which they were to promise Josephus that they
would only enter the land of the Galileans if they were summoned or if the
relevant fees were withheld from them.
Josephus gained a double advantage by this recruitment of the robbers: for one thing
he secured the land of the Galileans against devastation, for another he won
free rein for himself in Galilee, because the Galilean population had to obey Josephus
out of fear of the robbers whom Josephus could summon into the land at any moment. And the
pecuniary resources for this were delivered to him by none other than the Galileans
themselves whom he kept under control through [their] fear of his robbers. Truly the
statement of Josephus’ opponents ὅτι τυραννεῖν ἐπεθύμησε καὶ τὰ τῶν
Γαλιλαίων πλήθη λόγοις ἀπατήσας (cf. in addition: ἔπεισα τὸ πλῆθος μισθοφορὰν αὐτοῖς
παρέχειν ἄμεινον εἶναι λέγων ἕκοντας ὀλίγα διδόναι μᾶλλον ἢ τὰς χτήσεις διαρπαζομένας ὑπ’
αὐτῶν περιορᾶν 77) τὴν ἀρχὴν αὑτῷ αὑτῷ κατεκτήσατο 302 is literally correct: he
pointed out to the Galileans the great advantage of paying the fees, thereby
truly binding them to himself completely. It even seems probable to me that Josephus’
bodyguards (τοὺς σὺν ἐμαυτῷ στρατιώτας 213) were recruited from these very robbers who
were paid by the Galileans; because in the place cited this force of 3000 men was expressly
compared to the 5000 men who were drawn from Galilee. So we are evidently dealing with a
bodyguard [consisting] of people from the mob to whom the Galileans paid fees; for Josephus
did not come into contact with [any] other masses [of people].
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