Josephus: The Essential Works [Hardcover]

Flavius Josephus (Author), Paul L. Maier (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 1995

(Updated, full-color edition) Jewish Antiquities and The Jewish War take on a brilliant new dimension in this revised edition of the award-winning translation and condensation. Now with color photographs, charts, and maps. (20040603)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Maier has done something for ordinary Christian pastors and lay people. He's brought the earliest years of the church back to life. (Michael L. Sherer Metro Lutheran News )

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Academic & Professional; Revised edition (May 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082543260X
• ISBN-13: 978-0825432606
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > History of Religion

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best translation ever of Josephus for normal people, January 23, 2004

By 

Robert Wormley (lakebay, wa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Josephus: The Essential Works (Hardcover)

The works of Josephus are the most important writings we have to understand the background and history of the Bible. Yet, trying to read Josephus' wordy prose is one of the most excruciating experiences I ever encountered.

Dr. Maier's translation and commentary on Josephus is one of 3 modern translations I own, but is the only one I have used for the last 5 years. It brought Josephus to life for me and allowed me to read and understand this valuable primary source.

Dr. Maier's work is generously accented with maps and illustrations and features a translation of Josephus that is abridged and therefore readable. Dr. Maier can be trusted to weed out the useless verbosity of the original text, as he is a leading scholar on early Roman Imperial history.

Sell your other versions of Josephus and buy this one and then you may actually start to use Josephus to accent your study of the Bible.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your Choice, January 16, 2008

By 

David E. Blair (Columbia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Josephus: The Essential Works (Hardcover)

I have long owned a translation by Thackeray of the complete works of Josephus in nine volumes from the Loeb Classical Library. Later, I purchased this abridgement and translation by Paul L. Maier of Flavius Josephus' "Jewish Antiquities" and "The Jewish War" which will be useful to many. Please note, this book is available in a 1990 edition and a 1995 edition. Recently, I obtained a copy of "The New Complete Works of Josephus," with Maier as commentator and editor published in 1999. So, in large measure the question I will try to answer here is, who will be served by owning one or the other of these books. With one exception, I no longer recommend the Loeb series as they are superseded in my opinion by Maier's "new complete works." The exception would be for a scholar using these works for research where the multiple volumes format is very convenient albeit expensive. The "essential works" come in at four hundred and sixteen pages of easy to read prose. The "new complete works" is eleven hundred and fifty two pages long. Substantial extra material including Josephus's "Against Apion" and "Vita" are included along with useful commentary by Maier. The translation is the original to English by William Whiston from the 18th Century. However, Maier has brought it linguistically and grammatically up to date which makes it accessible to most readers.

Josephus is by far our most important ancient source outside of the Bible regarding the history of Judaism and the Israelites up until the end of the first great Jewish Revolt circa 70 CE. On the one hand, if what you are looking for is a narrative history that parallels the Bible through the Babylonian captivity plus a basic history of Judea thereafter up to about 70 CE including Judea's interactions with the Hellenistic Empires and the Roman Empire, the "essential works" should suffice. On the other hand, if you need to back check Josephus against other scholarly works or need substantially more detail in either the pre or post exilic eras, the "complete works" ought to be your choice. In the event that you do not accept the Bible as a reliable source of the pre-exilic history of Israel, the first two hundred pages of the "essential works" may amount to, at worst in the opinion of some readers, no more than a paraphrased rendition of sacral mythology.

That many if not most still view the Old Testament as an accurate presentation of history from the creation up to the Babylonian exile and the return should be self evident. Therefore, if you subscribe to the position that the Old Testament is historically relevant and you need to fill in the blanks from the exile to the end of the first great Jewish revolt against the Romans, the "essential works" will be an invaluable read. If your interests are scholarly in any way, the "new complete works" is mandatory. The "essential works" will be way too stripped out of detail to serve as a useful reference source. Furthermore, the extra material and commentary in the "new complete works" may provide you with a fuller appreciation of Josephus and his place in historiography. Regardless of which of the two books you choose to suit your purposes, you will be reading the work of a fine scholar and a most significant ancient historian. In my opinion, each work will be edifying to its appropriate audience. Just make sure you pick the right book to fit your needs.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Translation, April 20, 2000

By 

"not_emo_nick" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Josephus: The Essential Works (Hardcover)

This is a good introduction to the works of Josephus that are really quite crucial to understanding Second Temple Judaism, the Qumran sect, and the fate of the Jews in the War with Rome. Scholars of both history and religion alike will benefit from this book.