The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

And yet this finding appears to be contradicted by the fact that Justus is mentioned in
the Life outside the παρέκβασις as well, such that one would like to assume that the combat
forms an inherent part of the work. It is all the more necessary to examine how these other
segments concerning Justus [37] relate to their surrounding [text]. Nobody will be surprised
that the long insertion dealing with Justus can be removed from its context without disrupting
[the text]; contrariwise, 368 joins to 335 so outstandingly that we would gladly forego the
insertion, stylistically [speaking]. However, since this belongs to the nature of the insertion,
we should not yet in principle draw any conclusions from this. It becomes quite different,
though, if we consider the other passages that concern Justus, and firstly indeed the
fundamental part in which alone — apart from the long insertion — the literary activities of
Justus are mentioned and he himself is introduced to us (32 - 42).
The passage belongs within the broader context of sections 32 to 62. Josephus had
previously (30/31) spoken about his arrival in Galilee and his measures in Sepphoris.
Subsequent to this we are informed about the conditions in Tiberias (32 - 42), Gischala (43 - 45)
and Gamala (46 - 61). Thereafter Josephus summarizes this presentation with the words: ἐπεὶ δ’
εἰv τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ἀφικόμην ἐγὼ καὶ ταῦτα παρὰ τῶν ἀπαγγειλάντων ἔμαθον, γράφω τῷ
συνεδρίῳ τῶν Ἱεροσολυμιτῶν περὶ τούτων καὶ τί με πράττειν κελεύουσιν ἐρωτῶ. Thus
according to these words, when he entered the territory of Galilee, Josephus received news
about the Galilean conditions from a third party (through messengers); he reports this to
Jerusalem and awaits precise instructions from there. Now, here lies a complete contradiction
to 30/31: first of all we observe that Josephus’ arrival in Galilee is reported two times (30 and
62) without there being some possibility of a recapitulation in the second passage; for in 30/31
Josephus has already arrived in Sepphoris; insomuch that the words εὗρον and ἀπήλλαξα do
not really in and of themselves presume presence in the actual place, but that they must have
this meaning in our case follows ineluctably from section 64 (ἄρας οὖν ... ἀπὸ τῆς Σεπφωριτῶν
πόλεως). But an author can never append a recapitulation of a fact (arrival in Galilee) when
this has already been long eclipsed by a new fact (journey to Sepphoris). And it leads to total
nonsense when, in continuing the narrative, he does not resume from this “recapitulated” fact,
but rather immediately again in section 64 makes the assumption [38] that Josephus was in
Sepphoris. Thus it is beyond all doubt that the direct continuation of 30/31, which deal with
the Josephus’ arrival in Sepphoris and his conduct there, is to be found in section 64, and that
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