Chapter 8 the works of flavius josephus bible study tools. Josephus, being a classical historian, need not subscribe to the school of naturalists. Josephus reports that at this time, nebuchadnezzar occupied all syria, with the exception of judaea, as far as pelusium on the egyptian border 5. On doing history with scripture article pdf available in hts teologiese studies theological studies 711 march 2015 with 7,029 reads. Second, josephus placed this event in 332 bc, so josephus believed that the book of daniel had been written by then. Josephus, antiquities book x early jewish writings.
He was actively involved in the jewish war with the romans that climaxed in the destruction of jerusalem in 70 ce. Why did alexander the great like the book of daniel. What is the best works and edition of josephus to read. Jan 19, 2019 audio book 024 daniel explained note on josephus the book of daniel in preterist perspective jcr4runner. Josephus believed that the book of daniel was shown to alexander the great, when he came to jerusalem in 330 bc. It was inserted into josephus book by a later christian copyist, probably in the third or fourth century.
The influence of josephus daniels may still be seen today. The following is from antiquities of the jews, by flavius josephus, book 10, chapter 11. Josephus daniels was born on may 18, 1862 in washington, north carolina, usa. Josephus, wars, book 6, chapter 5, section 3 the preterist. Audio book 024 daniel explained note on josephus the. This site is dedicated to the works of the jewish historian flavius josephus 37 ce circa 100 ce for centuries josephus works were more widely read in europe than any book other than the bible. The book of daniel is the apocalyptic book of the hebrew bible. This date is very difficult to reconcile with the actual historical evidence. His major books are history of the jewish war 7579, the antiquities of the jews 93, and against apion. And in fact the book of revelation is largely a christian interpretation of the. Nov 26, 2010 josephus on alexander the great and the book of daniel by jmh on november 26, 2010 in bible and theology, history a good deal of biblical scholarship on the book of daniel assumes that daniel 712 was written after 165 b. Josephus and the old testament scriptures of the jewish. But before we look at josephus we need to look at a couple of other old friends, namely aristotle and isaac newton.
Accordingly arioch informed the king of what daniel desired. The historian josephus makes no mention of the hebrew and aramaic chiasms, but he provides an overview of the events of the books of. Alexander reads about himself in the book of daniel. A story from josephus s writings confirms that daniel s prophecies were received centuries before alexander the great conquered the world. Persians by a king of the greeks daniel book of daniel closely follows josephus.
A good deal of biblical scholarship on the book of daniel assumes that daniel 712 was written after 165 b. Flavius josephus, jewish priest, scholar, and historian who wrote valuable works on the jewish revolt of 6670 and on earlier jewish history. First, in regard to the book of daniel, josephus expressed the thencommon jewish belief that daniel was a prophetic book that belonged among the scriptures or sacred writings. In other words, josephus had access to the book of daniel in addition to other apparent writings ascribed to daniel. Now, after this, when a famine had invaded the land of canaan, and abram had discovered that the egyptians were in a flourishing condition, he was disposed to go down to them, both to partake of the plenty they enjoyed, and to become an auditor of their priests, and to know what they said concerning the gods. Although alexander the great conquered syria, lebanon, egypt and surrounding countries, modern historians have little to say of him. A vast literature was produced over the centuries debating the authenticity of the testimonium flavianum, the testimony of flavius josephus. We see that around 100 ad josephus plainly states the contents of the old testament was written between the time of moses and the days of artaxerxes i king of persia from 465 to 424 bc. The book of daniel, particularly, is the subject of many such sensational writers on prophecy. Josephus on alexander the great and the book of daniel for his. Complete and unabridged, new updated edition josephus, flavius, whiston, william on.
Josephus daniels may 18, 1862 january 15, 1948 was an american newspaper editor and publisher from the 1880s until his death. Library the father william most theological collection. One argument is that alexander is shown a book that was not yet written. Josephus believes the little horn of daniel 8 who was to make war on the jewish nation was antiochus epiphanes antiquities book 10. Alexander reads about himself in the book of daniel united church of god. Maier does not leave out any pertinent information and where something has been omitted he informs the reader. Aug 03, 2008 josephus records that when alexander the great arrived to attack jerusalem, jaddua the high priest went out to meet him and showed him a copy of the book of daniel, wherein daniel declared that one of the greeks should destroy the empire of the persians ant.
Josephus on alexander the great and the book of daniel for. To further unlock the book of daniel involves a look again at our good friend josephus. Flavius josephus jewish priest, scholar, and historian. Antiquities of the jews librivox recording, public domain by josephus flavius 37100 ad. But now nebuchadnezzar, king of babylon, took some of the most noble of the jews that were children, and the kinsmen of zedekiah their king, such as were remarkable for the beauty of their bodies, and the comeliness of their countenances, and delivered them into the hands of tutors, and to the improvement to be made by them. Josephus on alexander the great and the book of daniel. Daniels was born in washington, north carolina on may 18, 1862. The jewish antiquities, his largest historical enterprise, is an account in twenty books of jewish history from the creation to the outbreak of the jewish revolt against rome in ad 66. Chapter 10 the works of flavius josephus bible study tools. A good deal of biblical scholarship on the book of daniel assumes that daniel 7 12 was written after 165 b. A brief look at whether or not josephus considered daniel and his companions to have been castrated. Josephus s against apion is a twovolume defence of judaism as classical religion and philosophy, stressing its antiquity, as opposed to what josephus claimed was the relatively more recent tradition of the greeks.
He concluded that a person who wanted to know certain aspects of prophecy should be diligent in reading the book of daniel, which he will find among the sacred. Flavius josephus 37100 ce was a 1stcentury jewish army captain and later became an author. That is, josephus mentions the events from chapters 16 in detail with editorial commentary but mentions only partial details from chapter 8, 9, 11, 12 with editorial commentary. Immediately afterward, his father died, and he hurried back to babylon to take control of the kingdom. This abridged version gets right to the heart of what you are looking for. He excelled in his studies of jewish law and studied with the sadducees, pharisees, and the essenes, eventually aligning himself with the pharisees. Josephus also tells us that when alexander the great, who is foretold in daniel s prophecies dan. A democrat, he was appointed by united states president woodrow wilson to serve as secretary of the navy during world war i. He died on january 15, 1948 in raleigh, north carolina. This is being done to promote a modern system of bible interpretation. The book of daniel, typological exegesis, jubilee, jewish interpretation, josephus, i enoch. Jan 31, 2005 a story from josephuss writings confirms that daniels prophecies were received centuries before alexander the great conquered the world. Jul 17, 2017 tremendous confusion has been produced by modern christians who refuse to acknowledge the fulfillment of daniel s prophecy 408 years after it was made.
Flavius josephus was a famous jewish historian, priest, and scholar. Which means, according to josephus, that the book of daniel was written about b. So the king bid them delay the slaughter of the magicians, till he knew what daniels promise would. Josephus daniels father, also named josephus, was a shipbuilder for the confederacy and was killed before his son reached three years. Flavius josephus complete works and writings bible study tools. As to this intended work of josephus concerning the reasons of many of the jewish laws, and what philosophical or allegorical sense they would bear, the loss of which work is by some of the learned not much regretted, i am inclinable, in part, to fabriciuss opinion, ap.
The book of daniel is a very important one, and it has therefore been the object of special attack by satan in the same way that the book of isaiah has been. For instance, even archskeptic richard carrier assumes a sixth century date for the book of ezekiel. This book is worth the price for the story of the fall of jerusalem alone. His complete writings, books, and antiquities were translated by william whiston. The book of daniel agrees that nebuchadnezzar did not occupy judah in 605. According to josephus, the jews recognized 22 books as the scriptures of the jewish bible.
The works of the jewish writer flavius josephus represent one of the most important records of judaism and the jews that survive from the ancient world. Pdf josephus, daniel, and the flavian house steve mason. The jewish historian josephus was thirty to sixty years off in his dating of events in persian. Pdf josephus and castration in daniel shawn c madden. Alexander reads about himself in the book of daniel united. A story from josephuss writings confirms that daniels prophecies were received centuries before alexander the great conquered the world. Prophet daniel antiquities of the jews josephus flavius. Josephus on alexander the great and the book of daniel a good deal of biblical scholarship on the book of daniel assumes that daniel 712 was written after 165 b.
282 77 830 922 239 511 1404 41 48 1389 1300 1031 204 1172 371 993 674 396 695 1356 1507 1372 1461 1367 613 1266 1214 452 1319 212 687 157 1483 487 957 1495 1033 429 896 258 1483 44 486 27 1316 1113