The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

idea of the war κατ’ ἐξοχήν is still completely missing.
It is hereby quite abundantly confirmed yet again that the administrative report is
older than the War; for when Josephus was composing this [War], he had already come to the
definite realization, to which he remained true later on, that his posting to Galilee followed
upon the outbreak of the great war. There is no trace of this to be found here yet. But we can
still go one step further.
The core segments of the Life that we have considered are nothing other than an
administrative report of Josephus with its apologetic bias, which lies in the nature of the
matter. It was to prove that the measures taken by Josephus in Galilee were [121] correct and
necessary. Besides verbal attacks, Josephus’ opponents had made use of their pens in order to
undermine Josephus’ position. They had sent letters (γράμματα, ἐπιστολαί) to Jerusalem in
which they had set forth their grievances against Josephus. By clever surveillance of the routes
Josephus gained possession of such writings in which he naturally, from his point of view,
could recognize only falsehood and defamation (245, 260/1). Admittedly, we learn in particular
only that the accusation was raised in these writings against Josephus that he was aspiring to
tyranny. But precisely this accusation is the one that was taken up again by the delegation
from Jerusalem (302) – evidently they therefore acquired a good part of their information from
the γράμματα of the Galileans. Now, the entire problem, which arose out of Josephus’ peculiar
relationship with the Galileans on the one side and with the robbers on the other, is essentially
contained in the accusation that Josephus is aspiring to tyranny; and for that reason Josephus’
defence writing, available to us [now], seeks to refute in detail the accusation that he is truly a
tyrant. This is why Josephus constantly stresses the love and veneration, which were his to
enjoy everywhere in Galilee, and it is quite delightful to observe in detail how the entire
writing presents a defence against the attacks levied against him. 42
If this is now the case, however, then a writing is at hand, [which has the] definite
[purpose] of producing a direct temporary effect: in it Josephus responds to the Galileans’
42 Thus Josephus responds to the accusation of an opulent [lifestyle] (284) by the reference to
his morally strict living (259); when the committee – evidently under the effect of the
γράμματα again, of course – raised the accusation of a poor administration against Josephus
(249), then he responds to this in 198; 206/7; 251. Conversely, from his constant emphasis that
he wished to settle the disputes without bloodshed (103, 244, 369), we may well draw the
conclusion that the charge was raised against him that he had prevailed only by force, as is
107