Antiquities of the Jews

[Jona Lendering]

Nothing particular there Jona. I just wonder if others enjoyed the books as much as I have. I like Jewish Wars better

I think it is just a different type of book. The Jewish Wars are (or pretend to be) a book of history, which explains why the Romans are the justified punishers of a Judaism that is rotten to the core; the Jewish Antiquities are essentially apology, trying to explain Judaism to pagans.

For various reasons, they have their charms. The battle naratives in the War are first class, and I can sympathize (not: agree with) the Jewish aristocrat who mourns the downfall of Judaism and the rise of radical sekts, but is unable to see the deeper, social causes.

I like the Antiquities because I can compare them to the original sources, and it is interesting to see how Josephus treats the same subject matter, sometimes improving the story, sometimes ignoring it, or adding something. He presents Solomon as a sorcerer: not exactly Biblical, but -wow!- what a piece of information about Jewish attitudes and beliefs in the first century!

And of course, the Antiquities contain more information than the War about the reign of Herod the Great and the two generations of Roman rule. Antiquities has more details about this century (40 BCE-66 CE) that I am grateful for: the reference to Jesus for example.