Antiquities of the Jews

Flavius Josephus

Description

This engaging early history of the Jewish people was written in the first century AD. Though deeply steeped in myth, legend, and the chronology of events set forth in sacred texts such as the Bible, this encyclopedic scholarly effort is a must-read for those with an interest in Jewish history dating back to its earliest origins.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Judaism

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 5
• EAN13: 9781776677238
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS
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FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS
Translated by
WILLIAM WHISTON
 
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The Antiquities of the Jews From a 1737 edition Epub ISBN 978-1-77667-723-8 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77667-724-5 © 2008 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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The Antiquities of the Jews Preface Book I - From the Creation to the Death of Isaac. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Book II - From the Death of Isaac to the Exodus Out of Egypt. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Book III - From the Exodus Out of Egypt, to the Rejection of that Generation. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Book IV - From the Rejection of that Generation to the Death of Moses. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Book V - From the Death of Moses to the Death of Eli. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Book VI - From the Death of Eli to the Death of Saul. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Book VII - From the Death of Saul to the Death of David. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Book VIII - From the Death of David to the Death of Ahab. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Book IX - From the Death of Ahab to the Captivity of the Ten Tribes. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Book X - From the Captivity of the Ten Tribes to the First Year of Cyrus. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Book XI - From the First of Cyrus to the Death of Alexander the Great. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Book XII - From the Death of Alexander the Great to the Death of Judas Maccabeus. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Book XIII - From the Death of Judas Maccabeus to the Death of Queen Alexandra. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Book XIV - From the Death of Queen Alexandra to the Death of Antigonus. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Book XV - From the Death of Antigonus to the Finishing of the Temple by Herod. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Book XVI - From the Finishing of the Temple by Herod to the Death of Alexander andAristobulus. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Book XVII - From the Death of Alexander and Aristobulus to the Banishment ofArchelaus. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Book XVIII - From the Banishment of Archelus to the Departure from Babylon. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Book XIX - From the Departure Out of Babylon to Fadus, the Roman Procurator. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Book XX - From Fadus the Procurator to Florus. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Endnotes
The Antiquities of the Jews [1]
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Preface
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1. Those who undertake to write histories, do not, I perceive, take thattrouble on one and the same account, but for many reasons, and thosesuch as are very different one from another. For some of them applythemselves to this part of learning to show their skill in composition,and that they may therein acquire a reputation for speaking finely:others of them there are, who write histories in order to gratify thosethat happen to be concerned in them, and on that account have spared nopains, but rather gone beyond their own abilities in the performance:but others there are, who, of necessity and by force, are driven towrite history, because they are concerned in the facts, and so cannotexcuse themselves from committing them to writing, for the advantageof posterity; nay, there are not a few who are induced to draw theirhistorical facts out of darkness into light, and to produce them for thebenefit of the public, on account of the great importance of the factsthemselves with which they have been concerned. Now of these severalreasons for writing history, I must profess the two last were my ownreasons also; for since I was myself interested in that war which weJews had with the Romans, and knew myself its particular actions, andwhat conclusion it had, I was forced to give the history of it,because I saw that others perverted the truth of those actions in theirwritings.
2. Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appearto all the Greeks [2] worthy of their study; for it will contain all ourantiquities, and the constitution of our government, as interpreted outof the Hebrew Scriptures. And indeed I did formerly intend, when I wroteof the war, [3] to explain who the Jews originally were,—what fortunesthey had been subject to,—and by what legislature they had beeninstructed in piety, and the exercise of other virtues,—what wars alsothey had made in remote ages, till they were unwillingly engaged inthis last with the Romans: but because this work would take up a greatcompass, I separated it into a set treatise by itself, with a beginningof its own, and its own conclusion; but in process of time, as usuallyhappens to such as undertake great things, I grew weary and went onslowly, it being a large subject, and a difficult thing to translate ourhistory into a foreign, and to us unaccustomed language. However, somepersons there were who desired to know our history, and so exhorted meto go on with it; and, above all the rest, Epaphroditus, [4] a man whois a lover of all kind of learning, but is principally delighted withthe knowledge of history, and this on account of his having been himselfconcerned in great affairs, and many turns of fortune, and having showna wonderful rigor of an excellent nature, and an immovable virtuousresolution in them all. I yielded to this man's persuasions, who alwaysexcites such as have abilities in what is useful and acceptable, tojoin their endeavors with his. I was also ashamed myself to permit anylaziness of disposition to have a greater influence upon me, than thedelight of taking pains in such studies as were very useful: I thereuponstirred up myself, and went on with my work more cheerfully. Besides theforegoing motives, I had others which I greatly reflected on; and thesewere, that our forefathers were willing to communicate such things toothers; and that some of the Greeks took considerable pains to know theaffairs of our nation.
3. I found, therefore, that the second of the Ptolemies was a kingwho was extraordinarily diligent in what concerned learning, and thecollection of books; that he was also peculiarly ambitious to procurea translation of our law, and of the constitution of our governmenttherein contained, into the Greek tongue. Now Eleazar the high priest,one not inferior to any other of that dignity among us, did not envy theforenamed king the participation of that advantage, which otherwise hewould for certain have denied him, but that he knew the custom of ournation was, to hinder nothing of what we esteemed ourselves from beingcommunicated to others. Accordingly, I thought it became me both toimitate the generosity of our high priest, and to suppose there mighteven now be many lovers of learning like the king; for he did not obtainall our writings at that time; but those who were sent to Alexandriaas interpreters, gave him only the books of the law, while there were avast number of other matters in our sacred books. They, indeed, containin them the history of five thousand years; in which time happenedmany strange accidents, many chances of war, and great actions of thecommanders, and mutations of the form of our government. Upon the whole,a man that will peruse this history, may principally learn from it, thatall events succeed well, even to an incredible degree, and the rewardof felicity is proposed by God; but then it is to those that follow hiswill, and do not venture to break his excellent laws: and that so far asmen any way apostatize from the accurate observation of them, what waspractical before