Authors: Rebecca Gray
ISBN-13: 9780195076158, ISBN-10: 019507615X
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: May 1993
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Davidson College
Isolated passages from the writings of Josephus are routinely cited in general studies of early Jewish prophecy, but the present work is the first comprehensive examination of this material. Gray begins with a discussion of the significance of the beliefwidely attested in Jewish sources from the late Second Temple periodthat prophecy had ceased. She proceeds to outline a general theory about the nature and status of prophecy in this period. Giving careful consideration to the prophetic claims that Josephus makes for himself, she argues that these claims are more substantial and more important for understanding Josephus than is usually thought. Gray goes on to examine Josephus' reports concerning prophecy among the Essenes and Pharisees, and his accounts of the activities of the "sign prophets" and other figures. In every instance, Gray interprets the evidence about prophecy in relation to Josephus' personal career and his thought and work as a whole. Drawing on a range of evidence, much of which has not played a significant role in other studies of early Jewish prophecy, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in Josephus, the history of prophecy in Israel, or the historical Jesus.
A Note on Translation | xiii | |
Abbreviations | xv | |
Introduction | 3 | |
Biographical Sketch | 4 | |
The Plan of the Present Work | 4 | |
1. | Josephus and the Belief that Prophecy Had Ceased | 7 |
Evidence that Josephus Believed that Prophecy Had Ceased | 8 | |
Against Apion 1.41: Prophecy and the Writing of History | 8 | |
Antiquities 3.218: John Hyrcanus and the End of Priestly Divination | 16 | |
Josephus' Use of [characters not reproducible] and Related Terms | 23 | |
The Continuation of Prophecy After Its Supposed Cessation | 26 | |
Dreams and Prophetic Inspiration | 27 | |
Prophecy as Prediction | 30 | |
Conclusion | 34 | |
2. | Josephus as Prophet | 35 |
The Revelation at Jotapata | 35 | |
The Content of the Revelation | 37 | |
The Apologetic Purpose of the Narrative | 41 | |
Josephus' Defense of His Decision to Surrender | 44 | |
The Revelatory Experience Described in War 3.351-54 | 52 | |
Priestly Expertise in the Interpretation of Scripture | 53 | |
Revelatory Dreams and Visions and Their Interpretation in Josephus | 58 | |
The Mechanics of Interpretation in War 3.351-54 | 69 | |
Typological Correspondences Between Josephus and the Ancient Prophets | 70 | |
Jeremiah | 72 | |
Daniel | 74 | |
Joseph | 77 | |
Conclusion | 78 | |
3. | The Essenes | 80 |
The General Statement in War 2.159 | 83 | |
The Study of "Sacred Books" | 83 | |
The Meaning of the Phrase "Various Purifications" | 86 | |
The Study of "Sayings of Prophets" | 89 | |
Conclusion | 89 | |
Josephus' Reports Concerning Individual Essene Prophets | 92 | |
Judas (War 1.78-80; Antiquities 13.311-13) | 92 | |
Menahem (Antiquities 15.373-79) | 95 | |
Simon (War 2.112-13; Antiquities 17.345-48) | 101 | |
Josephus' Essene Prophets and Pesher Interpretation at Qumran | 105 | |
Josephus' Use of [characters not reproducible]-Terminology in Connection with the Essenes | 107 | |
Conclusion | 110 | |
4. | The Sign Prophets | 112 |
Josephus' Reports Concerning the Sign Prophets | 114 | |
Theudas (Antiquities 20.97-99) | 114 | |
The Egyptian (War 2.261-63; Antiquities 20.169-72) | 116 | |
Unnamed Figures Under Felix (War 2.258-60; Antiquities 20.167-68) | 118 | |
Unnamed Prophet of 70 C.E. (War 6.283-87) | 120 | |
Jonathan the Sicarius (War 7.437-50; Life 424-25) | 121 | |
Unnamed Figure Under Festus (Antiquities 20.188) | 122 | |
The Meaning of Josephus' Sign Terminology | 123 | |
[characters not reproducible] as Omens or Portents | 123 | |
[characters not reproducible] as Authenticating Miracles | 125 | |
[characters not reproducible] Josephus' Accounts of the Sign Prophets | 131 | |
Characteristic Features of the Sign Prophet as a Type | 133 | |
Conclusion: Josephus and the Sign Prophets | 143 | |
5. | Other Prophetic Figures | 145 |
Onias (Antiquities 14.22-24) | 145 | |
Prophetic Figures Among the Pharisees | 148 | |
Pollion and Samaias (Antiquities 14.172-76; 15.3-4, 370) | 148 | |
Pharisaic Intrigues in the Court of Herod the Great (Antiquities 17.41-45) | 152 | |
Jesus Son of Ananias (War 6.300-309) | 158 | |
Conclusion | 164 | |
Notes | 168 | |
Bibliography | 213 | |
Index of Passages | 222 | |
Author Index | 234 | |
Subject Index | 236 |