Josephus and the New Testament

Rating:
Summary: Connects Luke to Josephus
Review: As a Jew, I was not looking for a pietistic Christian work, but one that would give me insights into how Josephus was received and utilized by the Church Fathers. I found Steve Mason to be an amicable and informative guide to the Christian perspective as well as a wonderful introduction to Josephus' life, works and world in general. I have read all of Josephus in the annotated Loeb editions and found new insights throughout this excellent little survey. Further, it contains one of the most incisive and reasonable discussions of the highly controversial Testimonium Flavianum -- Josephus' alleged witness to the life and mission of Jesus. I have since have had the pleasure of reading other books by Steve Mason on Josephus and have corresponded with Dr. Mason by e-mail. He is, along with Louis Feldman (who focuses on Old Testament issues) a leading authority on Josephus. This book illustrates why he is not only a great authority but a most effective instructor. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Connects Luke to Josephus
Review: Great book that tells the affect that the Jewish revolt in A.D. 70 had on the Roman Empire and the writers of the time. Talks about the different groups within the Jewish Community. Gives a comparison between Luke and Josephus in treatment of events and N.T. characters. It describes how Josephus contradicts himself and sometimes seems to change his view on an event. So reading a single one of Josephus' books may not give a clear picture. This book does. I have never read Josephus, but I feel that I know what to expect.

Rating:
Summary: Fair enough, but what about the slavonic text?
Review: I give here the viewpoint of a general reader, however interested in the subject matter, but not that of an erudite. The book is excellent and outstanding, conceived by the author as a map to penetrate the intricate world of Josephus' works and their relation to the NT. He highlights some of the main issues, focusing the attention on the works themselves, the literary aims of Josephus, how persons and events are reflected in the NT and in one and another of Josephus' books, and finally the significant insight or conclusion, drawn elegantly and scholarly, that probably Luke -that is to say, the autor of the gospel according to Luke and the Acts- knew Josephus' works, had them in mind while writing, and that he depends on those in many a place. I think that Mr. Mason establishes this result without trying to push it to hard.

However, I've been let down by his silence concerning the "slavonic" version of the War. He confines his comments to a footnote, only to say that the slavonic additions are considered to be Christian embellishments. Accepting the conclusion -I find the author quite honest, reliable and devoid of biases-, I would have liked it a bit more elaborated. Because according to G.A. Williamson -who offers some of these puzzling "slavonic additions" in the Penguin edition (1970) of the "War"-, they seem to come as a traslation of a Greek text into old Russian, are sometime irreconciliable with Christian interests and possess a particular strength of their own. Maybe the complete text is a primitive form of the established Greek versions. As I read them, I'm able to guess some arguments to support even further critical points whence Luke could derive from Josephus, from these particular passages. Maybe the matter is academically resolved, but at any rate, a discussion of it would have been welcome.

Rating:
Summary: good overview of Josephus
Review: I'm no scholar, just a layperson. But I enjoy learning and facts. I was familiar with Josephus in a vague type of way and knew his writings gave us much background and history for understanding New Testament life and times. And I wanted to learn more about Josephus and his writings. This book seemed the best option. It was somewhat "hard" reading for me, but I feel it was worth my efforts. The author, in my opinion, is somewhat on the theological liberal side. (I'm very conservative...) But I felt the book gave me a good overview of Josephus. It was what I was looking for...

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to Josephus and NT writings
Review: Recommended!! Written by an author who is a specialist in the literary traditions and content of first century authors like Josephus. Provides useful detailed insights and commentary on the comparitive style and content of Josephus and NT writers. For most of the book the author stays on-topic, and readers will find the Luke/Acts chapter one of the best in the book. The author should have pruned some of the off-topic wandering into biblical interpretation of the NT with no real connection to Josephus; fundamentalists might find the author's comments annoying, but there are enough plain interesting quirks in the NT text that the author cites to be useful nevetheless.

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to Josephus and NT writings
Review: Recommended!! Written by an author who is a specialist in the literary traditions and content of first century authors like Josephus. Provides useful detailed insights and commentary on the comparitive style and content of Josephus and NT writers. For most of the book the author stays on-topic, and readers will find the Luke/Acts chapter one of the best in the book. The author should have pruned some of the off-topic wandering into biblical interpretation of the NT with no real connection to Josephus; fundamentalists might find the author's comments annoying, but there are enough plain interesting quirks in the NT text that the author cites to be useful nevetheless.