Josephus and the Jewish sources

Program / Course 16: Historical Defense / Lesson 2.2

What you will learn

• Describe who Josephus was and what he wrote about Jesus, John the Baptist and James.
• Explain the debate over the Testimonium Flavianum and the three main views of it.
• Describe what the rabbinic literature says and why its value is limited.
• State what the Jewish sources can add to the historical case.

The big idea

Josephus, a Jewish historian writing in the 90s of the first century, mentions Jesus twice in his Antiquities of the Jews. One passage, the Testimonium Flavianum, is heavily debated because it appears to contain Christian claims that a non-Christian Jew would hardly make. Most scholars think it contains an authentic core that was later expanded. The other passage, about James, is widely accepted. The rabbinic writings are later and polemical, and offer little early evidence. The Jewish sources show that Jesus was known, but they add little detail.

Key terms

Josephus

Flavius Josephus (born about AD 37), a Jewish priest and military commander in the revolt against Rome who later wrote histories under Roman patronage.

Testimonium Flavianum

The passage in Antiquities 18 that speaks of Jesus. The name means the testimony of Flavius.

Interpolation

A later addition inserted into an existing text by a copyist or editor.

Partial authenticity theory

The view that Josephus wrote a short neutral passage about Jesus, and that Christian copyists later added parts.

Rabbinic literature

Jewish writings such as the Mishnah and the Talmuds, compiled from about AD 200 to the sixth century, which preserve earlier traditions of the rabbis.

Polemic

Writing that attacks an opposing view. Both Christian and Jewish polemic can distort the facts.

Background

The Jewish world produced two kinds of writing that bear on Jesus. The first is the work of Josephus, a contemporary of the apostolic generation, who wrote in Greek for a Roman audience. The second is the rabbinic literature, which was put in writing generations later and was shaped by debates between Jews and Christians.

Josephus is the most important non-Christian author for the period. He gives detailed information about the Roman governors, the high priests and the popular movements of Judea, and he mentions Jesus in passing as part of that story. Because the manuscripts of Josephus were copied for centuries by Christians, the question of later alteration has to be faced directly.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Josephus the historian

Josephus was born in Jerusalem into a priestly family, took part in the Jewish revolt of AD 66 to 70 as a commander in Galilee, surrendered to the Romans and later settled in Rome under imperial patronage. His Jewish War was written in the 70s, and the Antiquities of the Jews, a history of the Jewish people in twenty books, was finished about AD 93 or 94.

His accuracy is a matter of study. He wrote with his own interests in mind, defending his people and himself. Historians use him with care, but he is regarded as an important source for the period.

Step 2: The Testimonium Flavianum

In Antiquities 18.63-64, in a section on events under Pontius Pilate, Josephus calls Jesus a wise man, a doer of startling deeds and a teacher, says that Pilate condemned him to the cross on the accusation of the leading men of the Jews, and says that those who had loved him did not give up. The passage as it stands in the manuscripts also says that he was the Christ, and that he appeared on the third day alive again, as the prophets had foretold.

These last statements are the problem. It is hard to believe that Josephus, who remained a Jew and never became a Christian, would write that Jesus was the Christ and had risen. Also, the passage is quoted by Eusebius in the fourth century, but is not clearly used by earlier Christian writers such as Origen, who said that Josephus did not believe Jesus to be the Christ.

Step 3: Three views

A small number of scholars hold that the whole passage is authentic. A small number hold that all of it was inserted by a Christian. The majority position is that Josephus wrote a shorter passage about Jesus that was altered by a Christian scribe. Support for this comes from the vocabulary and style, which in the rest of the passage resemble Josephus, and from a tenth century Arabic version quoted by the Christian writer Agapius, in which the text says only that Jesus was perhaps the Messiah and that his disciples reported that he had appeared alive.

Skeptics reply that the Arabic text may itself be a Christian paraphrase, that the argument from style is uncertain, and that the sum of the doubts makes the passage a weak foundation. Defenders reply that the core would still stand as a plain, neutral report.

Step 4: James and John the Baptist

In Antiquities 20.200 Josephus describes the death of James, the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, who was stoned on the order of the high priest Ananus around AD 62. Most scholars accept this passage as authentic, since it is brief, unemotional, and is not the sort of thing a Christian would likely add. A minority question it. Josephus also tells of John the Baptist (Antiquities 18.116-119), giving a different account of his death and of the reason for it than the Gospels, but agreeing that he was a real and respected preacher who baptized.

A Slavonic version of Josephus’ Jewish War contains additional statements about Jesus, but scholars regard these as medieval and unreliable.

Step 5: The rabbinic sources

The Babylonian Talmud, in a passage in tractate Sanhedrin 43a, says that Yeshu was hanged on the eve of Passover for sorcery and for leading Israel astray. Scholars disagree about whether this refers to Jesus of Nazareth, but many think it does. The text was composed centuries after the events and is polemical. Later writings such as the medieval Toledot Yeshu are even more clearly legends.

These sources are no independent record. They show that Jewish tradition remembered a Jesus who was executed and who was thought to have done wonders, which it explained as sorcery. They are not early evidence for his life. They do, however, show that his opponents did not deny that he performed unusual deeds.

1. How close to the events is this source, and what was the author’s purpose?
2. Could a later copyist have altered the text, and how would one know?
3. Does the passage sound like something this author would write?
4. Is the report independent of the Gospels, or could it depend on Christian sources?
5. What does a hostile source admit, and is that significant?
6. How much weight should a passing mention carry?

Examples

Different perspectives

Most critical scholars (consensus on partial authenticity)

A majority, believing and unbelieving, hold that the Testimonium has an authentic core with Christian additions, and that the James passage is genuine. This is the view of scholars such as John P. Meier and Louis Feldman, though they differ on details.

Defenders of full authenticity

A few Christian scholars have argued that the text, perhaps read in a particular way, could be authentic as it stands, and that earlier Christian writers may simply not have needed to cite it. This is a minority view.

Skeptics who reject the passage

Some scholars argue that the whole Testimonium is a Christian forgery or that the evidence is too uncertain to rely on. They accept that Jesus is attested by Paul and the Gospels and treat Josephus as a secondary matter.

Catholic and Orthodox writers

These traditions have long cited Josephus as evidence that outsiders knew of Jesus, while their scholars generally accept the textual problems. Their faith does not depend on the Josephus passage, and they recognize that the case for Jesus does not rest on it.

Jewish scholars

Jewish historians such as Geza Vermes and Louis Feldman have studied Josephus closely and generally accept that he mentioned Jesus, while debating how much of the Testimonium is his. They read the rabbinic passages as polemic and as late.

Why it matters

Outside testimony is often claimed to prove a great deal or dismissed as worthless. A calm reading shows a more modest result. Josephus, whose account has been altered but not invented, indicates that Jesus was known as a teacher and miracle worker, that he was crucified under Pilate, and that his movement survived. That is not much, but it is independent and it is useful.

Common misunderstandings

Knowledge check

Think it through

1. Why might it matter that a source outside the church mentions Jesus at all?
2. How should a historian treat a text that has certainly been copied by interested parties?
3. What does it tell you that opponents explained Jesus’ deeds as sorcery and did not deny them?
4. Are you more inclined to trust or distrust a passage that suits your own view? Why?

Independent assignment

Weighing a disputed passage

In your own notebook, write 300 to 500 words. State the three views of the Testimonium Flavianum, give the best argument for each, and say which you find most persuasive. Then state what remains true about Jesus even if the whole passage is set aside. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study

• F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Read how an older defense used the outside sources, then compare it with the cautious view in this lesson.
• Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Use for the political setting of Roman Judea.
• Jewish Publication Society, The Hebrew Bible in English (JPS translation) Read for the Hebrew scriptures that formed the background of Jewish expectations.
• Origen, On First Principles (De Principiis) Read for an early Christian thinker who knew Josephus and the debates about Christ.
• Matthew 14:3 The Gospel account of John the Baptist’s imprisonment, which can be compared with Josephus.
• Galatians 1:19 Paul meets James the Lord’s brother.