The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

set up “for future security”: here Josephus obviously feels himself to be a responsible leader in
a widely extensive war. And he also appears to us as such in the vision that he reports in
section 209: when Josephus wishes to stand down from further activity in Galilee because of
the fierce enmity that he finds everywhere, a man appears to him in a dream with the
admonition that he should leave all fear behind; for that which is causing him grief at the
moment will make him great: “Therefore do not lose heart, rather remember that you must
even wage war against the Romans.” Thus here the [102] war against Rome is also mentioned,
– in an addition 35 – Josephus is portrayed as the leader responsible for [waging] it, who will
thereby gain great renown.
This same situation is assumed in the long insertion (336 ff.). There Josephus replies to
Justus that he could indeed not be at fault for the defection of the Tiberians from Rome
because the Tiberians had already taken up arms before Josephus had been appointed strategos
by the κοινόν of Jerusalem. So it is tacitly assumed here that Josephus is the leader of Galilee in
in the War (cf. pages 92 and 94).
35 Admittedly, Josephus relates the vision mentioned above in order to give the reason why he
ultimately did still persevere in his position despite all the attacks that first disposed him to
step down from the scene. But, as a matter of fact, the report reads differently. When they
learned about Josephus’ intention, the Galileans gather together with women and children in
the great plain where Josephus was staying (207). That night he saw the wonderful dream
(208/9) and arose with the intention of going down into the plain. When the Galileans – there
were women and children among them too – caught sight of him, they threw themselves down
upon the ground and begged him not to leave the land and allow it to become plunder for the
enemy. But Josephus does not allow himself to soften; only when they forced him to stay by
oath did he, moved by compassion, decide even to take risks openly for this crowd. The vision
therefore had so little influence on the course of events that afterwards Josephus was at first
still determined to step down and even later on, this decision was in no way shaken by the
memory of the vision but rather by the renewed entreaties of the Galileans. Therefore, in the
first instance, the vision [itself] is redundant, and also the report about it disrupts the entire
context later on; for according to section 207 the Galileans stream into the plain in which
Josephus was already to be found; but according to 210 Josephus was only intending to go into
the plain [at that point]; therefore the two paragraphs do not add up together, rather they
belong to different stages of development. It is easy to reconstruct the original context: ἦκον
οὖν πάντες εἰς τὸ μέγα πεδίον, ἐν ᾧ διέτριβον 207. // καὶ δακρύοντες ἱκέτευον μὴ σφᾶς
ἐγκαταλιπεῖν 210. When Josephus then made the insertion he added the doublet πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος
τῶν Γαλιλαίων, ἦσαν δ’ ἐν αὐτοῖς γυναῖκές τε καὶ παῖδες (210) to [section] 207 (πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ
πανταχόθεν μετὰ γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων), so that the wives and children took part in this
critical situation according to the expansion as well. The purpose of the entire insertion,
however, is none other than to parade Josephus before the reader in his role as leader in the
great war.
91