Josephus's The Jewish War: A Biography

by Martin Goodman

An essential introduction to Josephus’s momentous war narrative

The Jewish War is Josephus's superbly evocative account of the Jewish revolt against Rome, which was crushed in 70 CE with the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. Martin Goodman describes the life of this book, from its composition in Greek for a Roman readership to the myriad ways it touched the lives of Jews and Christians over the span of two millennia.

The scion of a priestly Jewish family, Josephus became a rebel general at the start of the war. Captured by the enemy general Vespasian, Josephus predicted correctly that Vespasian would be the future emperor of Rome and thus witnessed the final stages of the siege of Jerusalem from the safety of the Roman camp and wrote his history of these cataclysmic events from a comfortable exile in Rome. His history enjoyed enormous popularity among Christians, who saw it as a testimony to the world that gave rise to their faith and a record of the suffering of the Jews due to their rejection of Christ. Jews were hardly aware of the book until the Renaissance. In the nineteenth century, Josephus's history became an important source for recovering Jewish history, yet Jewish enthusiasm for his stories of heroism—such as the doomed defense of Masada—has been tempered by suspicion of a writer who betrayed his own people.

Goodman provides a concise biography of one of the greatest war narratives ever written, explaining why Josephus's book continues to hold such fascination today.

Genres: History

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Martin David Goodman is a historian and writer on Roman history and the history of the Jews in the Roman period.

Reviews

[Lynda]

I read The Jewish War for a project back in college. I remember parts of the history, but not about writing. This was a very informative biography. I wish I was young again There is so much new to read.

[Tim Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read the hardback version and definitely recommend this treat of a classic -- Flavius Josephus account of Jewish Wars in the first century. It may actually be dated and incomplete without mention of a Brill Publishers new annotated English language version of the works of this ancient author and eyewitness. 5* out of 5. Helpful for those who want to understand how his account of the destruction of Jerusalem and its inhabitants might be trustworthy and historiographically important.

[∂ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short & great book on the reception history of Josephus