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Title: Turbulent Times?: Josephus and Scholarship on Judaea in the First Century Ce (Jsp Supplement Series, 29) by James S. McLaren ISBN: 1-85075-891-3 Publisher: Sheffield Academic Pr Pub. Date: May, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $107.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: Decoding Josephus: Handbook for a history on Judaean Revolt
Comment: It is widely held that Josephus Flavius, virtually our sole comprehensive contemporary source for the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-73 CE, and -- not so incidentally-- the historical background to the Gospels, was a deceiver. His narrative in The Jewish War, as well as the relevant portions of his "Life" and "Jewish Antiquities", is tainted by his need to remove the twin accusations of traitor (by the Jewish people) and wiley agitator (by his Roman patrons).

McLaren shows how most modern scholarship tends to accept that Josephus' narrated "events" were basically factual but the spin that he puts on causes and effects is designed to foster his world-view. However, M rejects this approach. Instead, one has to question the very presentation of Josephus' facts and try to subject each and every passage to the test of "inherent probability" in conjunction with all other sources and an understanding about what was likely to have actually happened. Then one can go back and in effect rewrite Josephus by using a "case study" approach, isolating each separate incident from Josephus' action-reaction cycle.

McLaren demonstrates how Josephus' description of a spiralling cycle of Roman misrule and Jewish reaction tries to explain the outbreak of rebellion in 66. However, McLaren doubts that the pattern was so direct and neat. He believes that Josephus tends to cover up sincere religious eschatology (which the his own priestly caste had ignored), and messianism. The latter were quite prevalent, but don't fit in with the aristocratic/priestly world view underlying their continued claim on Jewish loyalties even after the destruction of the Temple...their power base. Josephus posits Roman perfidy at the local level and Jewish intransigence as the twin culprits.

This approach is novel, but has some problems. For example, one reviewer notes that Tacitus, who certainly doesn't share Josephus' world view, has essentially the same spin on the causes.

McLaren does show us three examples at the end of the book: (1) the cessation of Temple sacrifices on behalf of the emperor as casus bellum; (2) the siege of Masada; and (3) the assault on fortress Machaerus. However, it's not clear that this method will work in all cases, leaving much of Josephus version intact.

Nonetheless, the review of recent scholarship alone --over 1/3 of the book-- is quite valuable.

The proof will be in McLaren's promised full scale history of the Revolt using his methodology.

Meanwhile, Josephus buffs or anyone interested in First Century CE Judaea, Roman Empire or early Christianity will profit from reading this fascinating exploration in historiography.