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Last update - 16:47 21/05/2008 History The invaluable rebuttal By Magen Broshi Tags: Josephus, Jewish War  Hayyei Yosef (Vita) by Flavius Josephus (Hebrew translation, introduction and commentary by Daniel R. Schwartz) Yad Ben-Zvi Press, 192 pages, NIS 127 Josephus is undoubtedly the greatest of Jewish historians, following the anonymous biblical authors of the books of the Early Prophets, from Joshua to Kings. They were our greatest chroniclers of Jewish history and, in addition to the immense amount of information they supplied us with, they left the world some of its finest literary achievements. The Jews are a strange people. After contributing to world literature the finest of the ancient world's historical works, they abandoned this literary genre. The Bible provided us with a splendid autobiography too -- Nehemiah -- which is remarkable from both the historical and literary standpoints; however, there were no follow-ups in that genre either. After the Bible, only a few history books were written during the Second Temple period, the most significant of which are those produced by Josephus. The importance of his books cannot be exaggerated. Nearly everything we know about the Second Temple period, especially its last two centuries, we learned from him. Even the little that has reached us from other sources has been interpreted, clarified and authenticated by this diligent, talented author. Take, for example, the Dead Sea Scrolls: Were it not for the detailed information conveyed to us by Josephus in his writings, it is doubtful we would ever have been able to identify them. Titus Flavius Josephus (born as Yosef ben Matityahu, lived 37 C.E to approximately 100 C.E.) had many of the characteristics and conditions essential for a historian: Curiosity, leisure time (adopted by the emperor's family, he enjoyed an affluent life), and -- since he lived in Rome, famous for its libraries -- access to an abundance of books. In addition to the books that were available to everyone, he also had free access to the imperial archives, which included precise, highly-detailed military reports. Thus, he was able to provide in his books valuable information not offered by other sources -- for instance, the length of Masada's wall. Josephus had never been to Masada. During the 70 years preceding the Great Revolt, a Roman garrison was stationed there and ordinary citizens were barred from entry. Nevertheless, Josephus is able to tell us that Masada's wall is seven stadiums, or 1,300 meters, long. And he is right on the button. Archaeological studies have shown that, in other technical details (such as, for example, the length of Samaria and Jerusalem's walls and the description of the port of Caesarea), Josephus is very accurate. Apparently, he acquired all this data from military reports. Furthermore, Josephus had another important advantage: He was an active participant in -- and an eyewitness to -- many of the events of the Great Revolt, between 66-70. Best-seller in Scotland Josephus wrote four books: Two large works, "The Jewish War? and "The Antiquities of the Jews,? and the smaller ones "Against Apion? and "Vita.? These books, especially "The Jewish War,? have enjoyed immense popularity over the years, because of their dramatic content and their talented author, and also because the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was considered a fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy. A bust of Josephus even graced one of ancient Rome's libraries. In the early 20th century, "The Jewish War? in its English translation was the most popular book after the Bible in Scotland, and the same almost certainly holds true for other communities in Christian countries. The fourth book, which is autobiographical, is also the last he ever wrote. Apparently, the book's nucleus was written decades before it was completed and published. What prompted Josephus to finish and publish his Vita was an attack on him by another Jew, Justus of Tiberias, which appeared toward the end of Josephus' life. The only information we have about this book is what we know from Vita, in which he defends himself, countering his rival's accusations. Inter alia, he hurls barbs at Justus for his flawed information, which stems from the latter's not having had access to the reports in the imperial archives. The title attests to its autobiographical character. The author gives us the year of his birth, telling us about his pedigree background as the descendant of a dynasty of respected priests (Simeon the Stutterer and Mattathias the Hunchback), about a Hasmonean princess who married one of his ancestors, about his three wives (at different periods of his life), about his kind treatment at the hands of emperors, and especially about his activities as commander of the Galilee. Above all, though, the work is his brief for the defense against some very serious charges. The argumentation is convoluted: He supported the preparations for war but did not believe that the Jewish forces had any possible hope of overcoming the Roman army. In short, one contradiction after another. When Yodefat, where his headquarters were located, was captured, Josephus hid in a cave with other warriors. They decided to commit suicide, and cast lots to determine who would kill whom. Only two were left in the end -- Josephus and another individual. After persuading his colleague that they should stay alive rather than choose death, Josephus surrendered to the Romans and, appearing before their commander, Vespasian (who later became emperor), predicted success for the Roman forces. His predictions proved correct, much to his good fortune and ours -- because otherwise we would have been deprived of his books. Josephus' behavior was certainly dishonorable and he was accused of having betrayed the cause of the Jewish warriors. Justus' book stirred up old accusations and Josephus felt that he must respond to them and defend his honor. A good Hebrew translation of Vita exists; produced by Menahem Stein, it appeared 75 years ago and has seen many reprintings. It would have been sufficient to have been provided with a slight revision of this translation, primarily through a minimal updating of both the Hebrew and the spelling of names. The advantage of the book under review here lies primarily in its learned notes. Daniel R. Schwartz is certainly a true scholar as demonstrated in his introduction and illuminating appendices. As a translator, he belongs to that rare school that insists that the rendering must represent the original to the greatest extent possible. He followed that principle in his recent translation of the Second Book of Maccabees, which -- justly, I must add -- was received with a torrent of harsh criticism. In his translation of Vita as well, there are a number of needless anomalies. He sends people "to the city of the Jerusalemites.? What would have been wrong with simply saying "Jerusalem?? And why the "city of the people of Tiberias? rather than simply "Tiberias?? He sends people to "the land of their estates?; would it not have been preferable to just say "their lands?? An important and fine addition to this book is the chapter entitled "Jewish Galilee in the First Century C.E.: An Archaeological View,? by Zeev Weiss. In this long, detailed chapter (45 pages adorned with exquisite illustrations in color), we get much more than the author promises in the title: Frequent comparisons are made between the Galilee and Judea, and the reader will learn about the Jewish population in the Holy Land as a whole. This fourth book, "Hayyei Yosef," in the "Between Bible and Mishnah, David and Jemima Jesselson Library? series is very elegant. A fine book that displays a level of production that is rare for these parts: High-quality paper, beautiful binding, and an abundance of color illustrations. Magen Broshi is an archaeologist and historian who has also served as the curator of the Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fear of extinction The state of over 20 species of birds in Israel has worsened considerably. Taking advantage Jerusalem police probe possible gang rape of disabled woman.

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