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76th out of 354 books
—
448 voters
Josephus: The Essential Writings
An award-winning translation and condensation of The Jewish Antiquities and The Jewish War of Josephus. The historical events take on a brilliant new dimension in this revised edition now with photographs, charts, and maps.
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
July 12th 1990
by Kregel Academic & Professional
(first published December 12th 1987)
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I had heard of the writings of the ancient historian Josephus but it always seemed daunting to take on reading the words of somone who lived so long ago. I guess I thought it would be hard to understand like ancient epic poetry. But this translation and edition are actually quite simple to understand. The first part reads like a summary of what you find in your old testament, with a few differences. The second part tells what happend in between the testaments, like the story of the Maccabees and...more
Wow, wow, WOW!! Simply fascinating...simply amazing and gripping. History comes to life as you read Josephus' War on the Jews. I see the prophetic books coming to life...Matthew, Luke, Peter, Revelation...pow, pow, pow. To the Jews, the temple was referred to as the place where heaven and earth came together, so as prophesied in Isaiah 65-66, the old heaven and earth (the Temple) was destroyed; as in Daniel 12, the holy people were shattered and the city destroyed, and even Josephus acknowledges...more
This was a really cool book. Finishing now around the beginning of Hanukkah made this time of year even more meaningful, even though I'm not Jewish. This overview of the magnum opus written by Josephus around 70 AD is the best way to get a condensed version of the history behind the Old and some of the New Testament, without all that pesky (ie boring) language usage that always got in the way of my reading those books from start to end. And there are pictures of the actual places today! I learne...more
I'm going to say 3 because there were a lot of parts that were lists of people stealing their nieces away and then killing them because they were intimate with their uncles, but they really survived because they feigned death and went on to seduce the king of another country so they could come back and kill the uncle who rightly accused them of intimacy with barber who was really an uncle or something like that...it was like a really bad "Days of Our Lives" script. And,I'm a little bit sad that...more
I was prompted to read this book because Josephus was listeed in the bibliography of The Dove Keepers. I'm glad I read it. It was interesting, and not a dry read like I had feared. I especially like the fact that it was illustrated with photographs of the sites mentioned and also with pictures of busts of the romans. The busts are so well done (they are from collections from museums like the Louvre) that you really get the sense that you know what these people looked like even though they lived...more
This is a good translation and abridgement that cuts the superfluous and manages to preserve the best of Josephus. Eusebius called Josephus "the most famous Jew of his time." Not long ago many Christian homes had a copy of Josephus on the shelf next to the Bible. Whether anyone read him is another question. Josephus was not a polemicist for Christianity but an apologist for the Jewish people. His testimony to Jesus is probably doctored.
If you're a history buff, this is a great book! The first part is basically the old testament plus some of the inter-testamental history that sets the stage nicely for what was going on in the middle-east during the lifetime of Jesus. The second part is a fascinating account of the Jewish war against Rome. If you're into Biblical history, Roman history, or the history of warfare, this is a great book.
This was much easier to refer to after reading the Works. Don't get me wrong, I really recommend reading the entire works for research, but.... this is a very clear and clean translation that is easy to read and understand. I did not feel that important information was left out; his writing is highly repetitious and self-praising.
Dec 13, 2010
David Carraway
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
jewish-history
In this book historian Paul Maier has combined Josephus' works Jewish Antiquities and The Jewish War and edited them to contain the most essential parts which give the reader both a history of the Jewish people in general and the destruction of their temple and city in great detail.
This book is printed on high quality glossy paper much like a text book and contains beautiful pictures of the areas Josephus speaks about.
I was at times fascinated by how much one would have missed out on this part...more
This book is printed on high quality glossy paper much like a text book and contains beautiful pictures of the areas Josephus speaks about.
I was at times fascinated by how much one would have missed out on this part...more
Excellent book for history about the 1st century. The Jewish War info was amazing, like reading a novel. Also fascinating for a 1st century view of old testament Jewish history from a Judeo/Greek perspective. Well worth the read.
Paul Maier's translation is clear and understandable. Josephus himself relates a series of tragic events (I only read his Wars) which shock the reader in horror and sorrow. Unfortunately, he holds a few prejudices towards Titus and the Romans, and despises the Zealots and lower-class Jews in particular, which corrupts his history occasionally. Thankfully, he remains true in what he says and his biases don't really affect his work. Josephus is clearly an important historical source for the Jewish...more
I found this very interesting. While the Bible is more accurate since it's inspired by God, this book helps the reader understand the early years up to and including early Christianity from the viewpoint of a Jewish historian.
A very helpful, easy to read translation for anyone who leads Bible studies, or who just wants to understand the Jewish and/or Christian faith from an extra-biblcal eyewitness source.
I'm very interested in history, and reading the Essential Works of Flavius Josephus was very educational. This book is all about the history of the Jewish people, from the Creation to the fall of Jerusalem. It's fascinating how Josephus uses the Bible as a source but also adds other historical accounts. Although this added content is not inspired by God, it is based on something else that probably happened, though it may have been twisted over the years.
I also liked Josephus describing the real...more
I also liked Josephus describing the real...more
Nov 21, 2011
Read1000books
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
christian-history,
bible-related
An interesting and easier to read translation of Israel's early history, originally written between 70 and 100A.D..
Oct 13, 2007
Kenny
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who doubt Jewish/Christian history
Shelves:
history
Outside of the Bible, Jesus of Nazareth is mentioned in just one place: the turncoat historian Flavius Josephus, who began his notoriety as a Galilean zealot, opposing the Romans, was defeated in battle, surrendered, found his way to Rome, was enslaved and then adopted by the rich and powerful Flavians, and ultimately hired to write the definitive histories of the Jewish people. Plagued with a dry wit and a tendency to exaggerate, still the book is full of remarkable insights and details of the...more
I finally finished Josephus. I think every Christian ought to read The Jewish Antiquities, as it gives the story of the Old Testament as a story, epic in sweep. *Though Josephus does go with rabbinic interpretation rather than with the OT in some places.* Also the story of the Jewish Wars with Rome helped me understand the context of the early Church much better. By itself, I would have given this book 4 stars, but Paul Maier adds such great illustrations, photographs, and maps that the history...more
I did enjoy this book.
(the parts I read)
Oct 21, 2008
Leah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in 1st century judaism
Recommended to Leah by:
Rabbi Feldman
This is a great translation, easy to read and includes a lot of diagrams and photographs of the landscape. It is just Jewish Antiquities and the Jewish War. Jewish War is worth reading to get a feel for the first century and the drama of the destruction of the temple.
1.1 - Bible Background
The book is on loan from my step grandmother. I like history and the biblical stories in the beginning of the book have been SO MUCH EASIER to understand than any other version I've tried to read. I am finding it interesting so far.
Mar 05, 2010
Howard
marked it as pretty-good
A slog (as in history is just one fact after the other), but fascinating in the level of detail of events that happened 2000 years ago. Apparently there's nothing new in political intrigue since then.
I am almost to the half way point and I really love this book. I feel like there is such good detail supplied that I am receiving a photograph of that time.
I'm so excited about this one. History is so interesting, and the time before and after the Messiah are in dire need of some fleshing out.
a must-read for the Christian interested in early church history and the Jewish war of AD70
What I thought would be terribly dry and boring actually made history come alive in a new way.
A Good translation and collection of Josephus's writings
Fascinated by what happened during the war in 70 AD, and how all of Jesus' prophesies came true. We do not know these things because we have hardly even heard of this Jewish War.
Jun 18, 2013
Nathaniel Baake
marked it as to-read
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1st Century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer.
Titus Flavius Josephus (37 – c. A.D. 100),[2] also called Joseph ben Matityahu (Biblical Hebrew: יוסף בן מתתיהו, Yosef ben Matityahu),[3] was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War which resulted...more
More about Flavius Josephus...
Titus Flavius Josephus (37 – c. A.D. 100),[2] also called Joseph ben Matityahu (Biblical Hebrew: יוסף בן מתתיהו, Yosef ben Matityahu),[3] was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War which resulted...more
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