Blackwell Reference Online

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(b. ad 37) Josephus was a Jewish priest from an aristocratic family that could claim royal blood, since his father's grandfather had married a princess of the Hasmonean rulers of Palestine. He was also a Pharisee and wrote extensively on Jewish history, religion and culture, notably in the Antiquities of the Jews , published in 93/4. Although his native languages were Aramaic and Hebrew, he could speak Greek, and in Judaea at this time the influence of Hellenistic culture was still relatively strong. Josephus went on an embassy to Rome in 64 and was prominent enough in Jerusalem to be chosen by the Sanhedrin to take charge of Galilee in the Jewish revolt from Roman rule which began in 66. But he was not in sympathy with the views of extreme Jewish nationalists and was sceptical of the revolt's chances of success. As a military commander he was mainly on the defensive and he employed a skilful stratagem to prevent the defection of the town of Tiberias from his command; he brought up a large fleet and then kept it so far away that it was impossible for the inhabitants to see that each ship was manned by only four men. In 67 Josephus organized the defence of Jotapata against the Roman commander Vespasian. When he was eventually captured he won Vespasian's favour by predicting that he would become emperor. When this prophecy came true in 69 Josephus remained closely tied to the favour ... log in or subscribe to read full text