A Jew Among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus
Yigadel Yadin, the Israeli general and renowned archaeologist, referred to Josephus as a “great historian and a bad Jew.“ Undoubtedly, many of the Jewish contemporaries of Josephus would have agreed with the latter assertion. Fortunately, Raphael, a novelist and classicist, provides a more nuanced portrayal of the first-century-CE soldier, politician, and historian. When the cataclysmic Jewish War began in 66, Josephus, a governor of Galilee, tried to mediate between his fellow Jews and their Roman overlords. When that effort failed, Josephus joined the rebellion. Apparently sensing the futility of the revolt, he switched sides, became a translator for the Roman general Vespasian, and later became a friend and court favorite of the Emperor Titus. Yet, as Raphael demonstrates, it would be unfair and wrong to see Josephus as simply an opportunistic turncoat and Roman lackey. In his later writings, he proudly defended the culture of the Jews. Like countless other Jews from antiquity to the present, Josephus tried to navigate between commitment to Judaism and the broader, often hostile gentile world. This is a well-done account of his life and works. --Jay Freeman