Josephus and the New Testament [Paperback]

Steve Mason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

Understandably, throughout Christian history, the Works of Josephus have been indispensable in helping us reconstruct the history and world of the New Testament. After all, Josephus tells us firsthand about the Herodian family, the temple, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. He mentions James the brother of Jesus, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself. Arguably, apart from the New Testament itself, Josephus has helped us understand the life and times and world of Jesus and the apostles as much as any other document of the ancient world.

Unfortunately we have often strip-mined Josephus for selfish reasons and have left the message of this first-century Jewish historian in shambles. His relevance for Christianity has been flattened by a simplistic history=fact formula approach, and his contribution to our understanding of the ancient world has been twisted to suit modern needs and answer to questions Josephus never intended.

An internationally recognized authority on Josephus, Louis H. Feldman comments on the appearance of Steve Mason's Josephus and the New Testament:

"There can be no doubt that the best aid for understanding the background of the New Testament is its contemporary, Josephus; and there can now be no doubt that the most careful, most comprehensive, and most useful introduction to Josephus as the key to the background for the New Testament is Steve Mason's book. As one reads it, one senses that a master teacher is talking directly to one in a most delightful, even breezy, style so easy to understand. The judgement in the many disputed questions are eminently fair and always based on a fresh and insightful reading of the texts involved, so that even the most advanced student will find the book of great value."
—Louis H. Feldman, Professor of Classics, Yeshiva University

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There can be no doubt that the best aid for understanding the background of the New Testament is its contemporary, Josephus; and . . . the most careful, most comprehensive, and most useful introduction to Josephus as the key to the background for the New Testament is Steve Mason's book. As one reads it, one senses that a master teacher is talking directly to one in a most delightful, even breezy, style. . . . Even the most advanced student will find the book of great value."
--Louis H. Feldman, Yeshiva University (commenting on the first edition) -- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Steve Mason is Associate Professor of Humanities at Vanier College, York University, Ontario. He is the author of Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees: A Composition-critical Study.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0943575990
• ISBN-13: 978-0943575995
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,949,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Overall Introductions to Josephus, January 22, 2000

By 

James J. Bloom (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Josephus and the New Testament (Paperback)

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.

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a penetrating examination of the N.T's relationship to Josep, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Josephus and the New Testament (Paperback)

mason does an incredible job of comparing/contrasting Josephus and the New Testament. He flushes out the value of using Josephus as "The best aid for understanding the New Testament". At the end he makes a compelling case for the reliance on Josephus's writings by the author of Luke-Acts. If you are interested in understanding the historical/grammatical background of the New Testament, this book will be revolutionary to your exegesis.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Resource For Scripture Study, December 16, 2006

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Josephus and New Testament (Recent Releases) (Paperback)

Many people engaged in Bible study, whether it is a casual study or formal training in scripture, have found the writings of Flavius Josephus intriguing and helpful. The famous historian's writings were penned at the same time as many New Testament writings, and for this reason alone they are valuable. We hear Josephus talk about the major religious groups during New Testament times: those mentioned in the gospels and those not mentioned specifically but may have had an indirect influence on Christianity. We also find a detailed account of the fall of the Jerusalem Temple as well as references to John the Baptist, James "the brother of the Lord" (possibly dubious entries) and Jesus himself (most scholars, including Mason concede these brief and pious references were probably added by Christian copyists). The writings of Josephus are indispensable in studying scripture.

As important and helpful as the writings of Josephus can be, author Steve Mason points out that his writings have been misused over the centuries. Early Christian authors believed Josephus' account of the destruction of the Temple proved that God's favor had left Israel and had been transferred to Christians. His writings have supported many anti-Semitic campaigns in the past. He also contends that Josephus fell out of favor with many Jewish groups because he was considered a traitor during the battle with the Romans at the time of the Temple's destruction. While one could debate whether he was in fact a traitor, but most scholars do agree that Josephus did have a gift for self preservation. In this tract, Mason hopes to strip away Christian misinterpretations of Josephus and traditional historical biases and see Josephus as he intended to be seen: as a Jewish apologist defending the Jewish faith and people as an ancient and noble faith and worthy of respect in Ancient Rome. Mason contends that it is only by viewing Josephus in this light we can appreciate his writings.

The book gives a detailed biography of Josephus and provides a concise summary of Josephus' writings. He then reconstructs the New Testament world based on the historian's writings and looks at similarities and differences between the writings of Josephus and the New Testament. Perhaps what is Mason's greatest aide is that he does not favor Josephus' wrings as accurate and the New Testament as inaccurate, as can so often be the case. Instead he looks at the differences and points to why Josephus may have written what he did, keeping in mind Josephus did have an agenda and was not ashamed to admit it, and looking at why the New Testament recorded what it did. Readers will find that Mason's approach supports New Testament writings from a historical point of view.

JOSEPHUS AND THE NEW TESTAMENT is detailed, but it is an engaging read. This book will be helpful to any student engaged in New Testament studies. It's also accessible to any person who has an interest in scripture study. It makes a wonderful companion to the actual writings of Josephus and helps us to see the historian, as a historian and use his contributions appropriately.