Paz marquez benitez writings of josephus the jewish
FJAJ i.
Josephus Flavius's “La Guerra Judaica (The Jewish War),” published in Paz Marquez Benitez and Loreto Sulit).
Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appear to all the Greeks 2 That is, all the Gentiles, both Greeks and Romans. And indeed I did formerly intend, when I wrote of the war, 3 We may seasonably note here, that Josephus wrote his Seven Books of the Jewish War long before he wrote these his Antiquities. Those books of the War were published about A.
However, some persons there were who desired to know our history, and so exhorted me to go on with it; and, above all the rest, Epaphroditus, 4 This Epaphroditus was certainly alive in the third year of Trajan, A. See the note on the First Book Against Apion, sect. Who he was we do not know; for as to Epaphroditus, the freedman of Nero, and afterwards Domitian's secretary, who was put to death by Domitian in the 14th or 15th year of his reign, he could not be alive in the third of Trajan.
Martin Goodman, Josephus's The Jewish War: A Biography by Steve Mason p.
They, indeed, contain in them the history of five thousand years; in which time happened many strange accidents, many chances of war, and great actions of the commanders, and mutations of the form of our government Upon the whole, a man that will peruse this history, may principally learn from it, that all events succeed well, even to an incredible degree, and the reward of felicity is proposed by God; but then it is to those that follow his will, and do not venture to break his excellent laws: and that so far as men any way apostatize from the accurate observation of them, what was practical before becomes impracticable 5 Josephus here plainly alludes to the famous Greek proverb, If God be with us, every thing that is impossible becomes possible.
But because almost all our constitution depends on the wisdom of Moses, our legislator, I cannot avoid saying somewhat concerning him beforehand, though I shall do it briefly; I mean, because otherwise those that read my book may wonder how it comes to pass, that my discourse, which promises an account of laws and historical facts, contains so much of philosophy.
However, those that have a mind to know the reasons of every thing, may find here a very curious philosophical theory, which I now indeed shall wave the explication of; but if God afford me time for it, I will set about writing it 6 As to this intended work of Josephus concerning the reasons of many of the Jewish laws, and what philosophical or allegorical sense they would bear, the loss of which work is by some of the learned not much regretted, I am inclinable, in part, to Fabricius's opinion, ap.
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