Flavius Josephus: Eyewitness to Rome's First-Century Conquest of Judaea

by Mireille Hadas-Lebel, Richard Miller (Translator)

An account of Rome's campaign against Judea--through the eyes of the Jewish priest, general, Roman captive, and historian--narrates the key first-century events in Judeo-Christian culture.

Genres: History, Biography, France, World History, Nonfiction, Jewish

286 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1989

About the author

Née le 26 septembre 1940 en Tunisie2 dans une famille juive d'origine livournaise3, elle réussit le concours d'entrée à l'École normale supérieure de jeunes filles. Après avoir obtenu l'agrégation de grammaire et un doctorat d'État (histoire antique), elle devient professeur à l'INALCO où elle dirige le département d'hébreu pendant de nombreuses années. Elle enseigne jusqu’à sa retraite à l'université de Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne) l'histoire des religions. Son cours porte sur l'histoire du judaïsme dans le monde antique et tout particulièrement sur les liens de la Judée avec le monde hellénique et romain ainsi que sur l'importance de la diaspora juive à travers l'étude de textes historiques (auteurs grecs ou romains, livres historiques de la Bible).

Également vice-présidente de l'Amitié judéo-chrétienne de France (AJCF), Mireille Hadas-Lebel est chevalier de la Légion d'honneur1 et officier de l’ordre national du Mérite4.

Reviews

[Judy]

Josephus: ".... a child prodigy, a brilliant young man trusting in his star, an eloquent intellectual repelled by the spilling of blood, an ambitious man unwilling to die at the age of thirty, a mind more political than warlike, a careful rationalist who loathed mystical exaltation, a courtier in his talent for compromise and, added to all that, a profoundly believing Jew.
To be a hero, he would have had to perish at Jotapata having written nothing, but then posterity would have known nothing about it. Should we regret that he was not a hero?" p. 238
"When he lists the three religious movements within Judaism, which he does in several instances, Josephus always gives priority to the Pharisees. He does so for (at least) three reasons: The Pharisees were the largest of the groups, they had the widest following among the people ..... and Josephus was to conclude his own spiritual quest by joining them." p. 25
"Josephus, who clearly had not wanted war in the beginning, kept his profound misgivings and apprehensions to himself for a time and apparently allowed himself to be won over by the contagious high spirits of his compatriots. How else explain his acceptance of the command of Galilee, a key region, when it was offered to him by the rebels."
"Although he is often considered to be a Jewish traitor, who history is an apologetic..."Without his testimony we would know nothing of the history of Judea between 100BCE and year 74 of our era apart from a few fragmentary words from the pens of Greek and Latin authors or the semi-legendary tales of the Talmud, from which we would vainly have to attempt to reconstruct the final days of Jewish independence - the reign of Herod, the era of the procurators and especially the full-scale war between Jews and Romans that raged from 66 to 73 and culminated in the burning of the Temple in 70 and ensuing fall the Jewish fortresses, the last being Masada." p.4
Flavius Josephus' works were largely brought to us through the centuries by the Christians because he is one of the few sources to mention Jesus, his Antiquities gave a history of the Old Testament and the Christians needed the Old Testament to be part of their history because ancient cultures had more prestige in those days.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little gem of historical writing. I didn't have access to the original (that would have been in the Aramaic language), but this 1993 critique and overview of the life & times of Flavius Josephus gave invaluable insight into what was going on, and why in the 1st Century of our current era. So interesting, that I've now moved on to the other great thinkers & doers of the period, and discovered that my public library has a wonderful collection of the works of Caesar, Tacitus, etc. I'm really looking forward to quite a reading adventure this Winter.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pleasantly written and thoughtfully structured consideration of Josephus’ life, works, and popular / academic repute. Hadas-Lebel writes in a way that carefully balances historicity and tact with approachability and pace. I also really loved the clear picture she painted of the first century Roman Empire and its complicated client state, Judea. Very happy to have read this little piece of historical non-fiction, and learn a bit more about a figure I’ve only ever seen as a cited source, on subjects I have always loved and been interested in.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to find out who Josephus, the Jewish Historian of the First Century AD to find out more about this famous author. Hadas-Lebel does not seem to be a big fan of her subject but gives what sounds like an unbiased view of his writings and allegiances during the Jewish-Roman War that ended with the sack of Rome.
Evidently I should read his own book, Antiquities, for his discussion of the Old Testament and early Christianity.

[Keith Sickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book some years ago in English and enjoyed it very much. I've just finished it in French and the pleasure was just as great.

This is both the biography of a fascinating character and the story of a critical event in world history. Author Hadas-Lebel brings ancient events to life with a deft touch, making what could be a dry recitation of facts quite lively and engrossing.

[Roy]

As Artie Johnson would say, "Verrry interesting!"

[Suzanne Auckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried to read some of Josephus' works when I was in high school and could not get into it. This is a retelling of his life based on his works and focuses on his eye witness account of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 69 - 73 AD. The situation in Jerusalem was very similar to the situation in Syria today, with fighting a civil war simultaneously with fighting an outside enemy.

The efficiency of the Roman army was amazing.

[Curtiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grim biography by what some consider to be a self-serving turncoat who betrayed his comrades during the Jewish Revolt of 66 A.D.; but never the less an insightful, first-hand chronicle by an eye witness to the dramatic events surrounding the Seige of Jerusalem and Rome's brutal suppression of the Jewish patriots/zealots.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final paragraph sums up quite nicely and effectively the argument as to whether or not Josephus was a traitor:

"To be a hero, he would have had to perish at Jotapata having written nothing, but then posterity would have known nothing about it. Should we regret that he is not a hero?"

I believe we should not.

[Xavier Alexandre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biographie methodique, structuree et extremement detaillee. Mireille Hadas-Lebel decrit les differentes facettes de la personnalite complexe de Flavius Josephe, en retracant les contenus de ses differents livres.