Reviewed Book: Mason, Steve. Josephus and the New Testament. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Pubs, 1992

Reimer, David J.

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 19Issue 1 Martin Luther and Spirituality Article 125-1-1993Josephus and the New TestamentDavid J. ReimerFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationReimer, David J. (1993) "Josephus and the New Testament," Consensus: Vol. 19 : Iss. 1 , Article 12.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol19/iss1/12172 ConsensusAccording to Batto the Priestly writer used the Babylonian combatmyth of Enuma elish to advance his theology of monotheism. The Priestlywriter reworks the story of creation by replacing the floundering God of theYahwist with a perfect one. Thus the view of the fall replaces the Yahwist ’sview of God slowly coming to terms with his flawed creations. The Priestlywriter uses the combat myth as the foundation for his account of Israel’scaptivity in Egypt and their crossing of the Red Sea. Both are seen ashaving cosmic signiflcance. Yahweh’s victory over Pharaoh as depicted inthe dividing of the Red Sea was actually a reworking of the primeval mythof Yahweh’s victory over the water of chaos as evident in both the creationand the flood stories.Batto’s book is presented in a clear fashion. He keeps his reader in-formed of both the content and the development of his argument by pre-senting the data from which his conclusions are drawn and by summarizingthese conclusions at the end of each chapter, building on them as the bookdevelops. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the develop-ment of ancient Israelite religion in general, and to those who are interestedin the primeval and exodus stories in particular. This book contributes toour understanding of these stories and helps to place them within the con-text of the ancient Near East.The main disappointment is the absence of any discussion on the impli-cations for both the believer and the scholar of viewing myth as a mediumof revelation. For those who view history and myth as antithetical and forthose who have little background knowledge of the Babylonian myths usedin the analysis, Batto’s conclusions may be disturbing and perhaps evenoffensive.Catherine de BoerUniversity of TorontoJosephus and the New TestamentSteve MasonPeabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992248 pp. U.S. $9.95The New Testament has been the object of intensive scrutiny for cen-turies. The drive to understand the fundamental text of Christianity hasmeant that nearly every angle has been tried, nearly every scrap of evi-dence pressed into service. It seems strange, then, that arguably the mostimportant extra-biblical writer for understanding the NT has never untilnow had a book for general readers relating his work to the NT itself. Thewriter is the first century Jewish historian Josephus; the book is Josephusand the New Testament, and it was worth the wait.Book Reviews 173Steve Mason, Associate Professor of Humanities at Toronto’s York Uni-versity, presents here a reliable, innovative, and highly readable guide to thewritings of Josephus and his importance for understanding the NT. Jose-phus, who was born in the year 37 CE and died about the year 100, claimsan aristocratic pedigree. He was active in the war of the Jews against Rome(66-73 CE) first as a general on the Jewish side. Later, having defected tothe enemy, he acted for the Romans in the siege of Jerusalem. Josephussoon enjoyed the patronage of the Roman emperor, Vespasian, and wrote ahistory of the war with Rome the Jewish War = (War). His account wasthoroughly contextualized, beginning with the earlier (successful) revolt ofthe jews against the Seleucids (167 B.C.E.), and thus traverses the periodof Jesus’ lifetime and the beginnings of Christianity. Josephus also wrote avast history of the Jewish people from creation to his own day the Antiq-uities of the Jews = (A.J.) in 20 “books” (Bks. XII-XX covering the timefrom Alexander the Great to the Jewish War), as well as an account of hislife (Vita) and a polemical work known as Against Apion (= Ag.Ap.).It is not a simple matter to know whether or how far Josephus can betrusted. He seems to have been a slippery customer, as his defection tothe Romans suggests (a fascinating story in its own right); he even makesa point of parading his deceptions. Yet even this datum has its ambiguity,for if his deceptions strike us as reprehensible, he (and his readers, wemust assume) finds in these details demonstration of his resourcefulness!The question of Josephan credibility has usually been discussed fact byfact: is Josephus here or there to be trusted? Mason argues that thisapproach is deeply flawed, turning Josephus’s large corpus into a mere grab-bag of facts, too easily distorted. Rather, we should begin with a thoroughunderstanding of Josephus’s reasons for writing each of his works, for evenif he appears at times disingenuous, he nonetheless has clear theses thatare relentlessly pursued.In the War, for example, Josephus has a very tricky job on his hands.On the one hand, he has to write as a Jew who has alienated his fellowJews; he can to some extent redeem himself in this history of the conflictwith Rome. On the other hand, Josephus writes not simply as a Jew, but as“Flavius Josephus”, enjoying the patronage of the imperial Flavian familyin Rome. But Josephus excels at squeezing through the cracks between therock and the hard place. As Josephus constructs his history, the pictureemerges of a few “tyrants” among the Jews who incite the peace-lovingpopulace to war. The Romans, on their part, are depicted as acting withrestraint and even become the caretakers of the Jewish cult. Thus Jose-phus can account for the war, acquit the vast majority of Jews of willingparticipation, and place the Romans on “God’s” side, all in one fell swoop!The whole of this history, then, must be read with this purpose in mind:otherwise one inevitably distorts the evidence. This “wholistic” approachto Josephus’s writings is a hallmark of Mason’s work.Mason deftly introduces the reader to Josephan scholarship, and toJosephus’s life and writings, always keeping the methodologial focus clear.174 ConsensusOnly after having approached Josephus on his own terms does Mason turnto look at the light Josephus’s writings can shed on the NT. He first exam-ines groups prominent in both Josephus and the NT (Herod and his family;Roman governors; Jewish high priests; the Pharisees and Saducees), andthen looks at briefer notices in Josephus on three key figures: John theBaptist, Jesus, and James, the brother of Jesus. Despite the minimal inter-est of Josephus in these figures, they have attracted the greatest attentionon the part of scholars (and provided the motivation for Christian scribesto preserve the writings of this Jewish traitor!). Mason moves with confi-dence through the complex arguments that surround these texts, and offerspersuasive and independent interpretations. Finally, Mason looks at thespecial case of the relationship between the writings of Josephus and thewritings of “Luke” (Luke-Acts) in the NT. Mason sets out a plausible casefor supposing that “Luke” in some way “knew” and was influenced by Jose-phus’s writings.There is a powerful subtext that runs through this book. Mason makesa forceful case for the “wholistic” handling of Josephus; the same has tobe true of the NT itself. If it is illegitimate to pry “facts” out of Josephus,it is equally misguided to pry “verses” out of the NT and to understandthem apart from their larger literary context. But familiarity to this degreewith NT writings should probably not be assumed of Mason’s intendedaudience. Rather, this volume offers incentive to read the NT writings withgreater integrity, as well as those of Josephus. Mason’s own readings offerstimulating examples of how this process can deepen one’s understandingof the biblical text.The book is rounded off with maps, charts, tables, illustrations, andindices. Each chapter concludes with notes and suggestions for furtherreading so that one is pointed beyond Mason’s own works to Josephus, theNT itself, and a larger world of scholarship. This volume is well suited toadult church study groups and pastors’ libraries, as well as to undergraduateand seminary courses on the NT or early Judaism. Although this is awork of “popularization”, it is a fine example of the genre, and professionalscholars will find time spent with Mason’s work rewarding. Finally, in a dayof escalating book prices, the publisher should be commended for makingit so affordable!David J. ReimerWilfrid Laurier University

Josephus and the New Testament

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 19
Issue 1 Martin Luther and Spirituality Article 12
5-1-1993
Josephus and the New Testament
David J. Reimer
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Reimer, David J. (1993) "Josephus and the New Testament," Consensus: Vol. 19 : Iss. 1 , Article 12.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol19/iss1/12
172 Consensus
According to Batto the Priestly writer used the Babylonian combat
myth of Enuma elish to advance his theology of monotheism. The Priestly
writer reworks the story of creation by replacing the floundering God of the
Yahwist with a perfect one. Thus the view of the fall replaces the Yahwist ’s
view of God slowly coming to terms with his flawed creations. The Priestly
writer uses the combat myth as the foundation for his account of Israel’s
captivity in Egypt and their crossing of the Red Sea. Both are seen as
having cosmic signiflcance. Yahweh’s victory over Pharaoh as depicted in
the dividing of the Red Sea was actually a reworking of the primeval myth
of Yahweh’s victory over the water of chaos as evident in both the creation
and the flood stories.
Batto’s book is presented in a clear fashion. He keeps his reader in-
formed of both the content and the development of his argument by pre-
senting the data from which his conclusions are drawn and by summarizing
these conclusions at the end of each chapter, building on them as the book
develops. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the develop-
ment of ancient Israelite religion in general, and to those who are interested
in the primeval and exodus stories in particular. This book contributes to
our understanding of these stories and helps to place them within the con-
text of the ancient Near East.
The main disappointment is the absence of any discussion on the impli-
cations for both the believer and the scholar of viewing myth as a medium
of revelation. For those who view history and myth as antithetical and for
those who have little background knowledge of the Babylonian myths used
in the analysis, Batto’s conclusions may be disturbing and perhaps even
offensive.
Catherine de Boer
University of Toronto
Josephus and the New Testament
Steve Mason
Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992
248 pp. U.S. $9.95
The New Testament has been the object of intensive scrutiny for cen-
turies. The drive to understand the fundamental text of Christianity has
meant that nearly every angle has been tried, nearly every scrap of evi-
dence pressed into service. It seems strange, then, that arguably the most
important extra-biblical writer for understanding the NT has never until
now had a book for general readers relating his work to the NT itself. The
writer is the first century Jewish historian Josephus; the book is Josephus
and the New Testament, and it was worth the wait.
Book Reviews 173
Steve Mason, Associate Professor of Humanities at Toronto’s York Uni-
versity, presents here a reliable, innovative, and highly readable guide to the
writings of Josephus and his importance for understanding the NT. Jose-
phus, who was born in the year 37 CE and died about the year 100, claims
an aristocratic pedigree. He was active in the war of the Jews against Rome
(66-73 CE) first as a general on the Jewish side. Later, having defected to
the enemy, he acted for the Romans in the siege of Jerusalem. Josephus
soon enjoyed the patronage of the Roman emperor, Vespasian, and wrote a
history of the war with Rome the Jewish War = (War). His account was
thoroughly contextualized, beginning with the earlier (successful) revolt of
the jews against the Seleucids (167 B.C.E.), and thus traverses the period
of Jesus’ lifetime and the beginnings of Christianity. Josephus also wrote a
vast history of the Jewish people from creation to his own day the Antiq-
uities of the Jews = (A.J.) in 20 “books” (Bks. XII-XX covering the time
from Alexander the Great to the Jewish War), as well as an account of his
life (Vita) and a polemical work known as Against Apion (= Ag.Ap.).
It is not a simple matter to know whether or how far Josephus can be
trusted. He seems to have been a slippery customer, as his defection to
the Romans suggests (a fascinating story in its own right); he even makes
a point of parading his deceptions. Yet even this datum has its ambiguity,
for if his deceptions strike us as reprehensible, he (and his readers, we
must assume) finds in these details demonstration of his resourcefulness!
The question of Josephan credibility has usually been discussed fact by
fact: is Josephus here or there to be trusted? Mason argues that this
approach is deeply flawed, turning Josephus’s large corpus into a mere grab-
bag of facts, too easily distorted. Rather, we should begin with a thorough
understanding of Josephus’s reasons for writing each of his works, for even
if he appears at times disingenuous, he nonetheless has clear theses that
are relentlessly pursued.
In the War, for example, Josephus has a very tricky job on his hands.
On the one hand, he has to write as a Jew who has alienated his fellow
Jews; he can to some extent redeem himself in this history of the conflict
with Rome. On the other hand, Josephus writes not simply as a Jew, but as
“Flavius Josephus”, enjoying the patronage of the imperial Flavian family
in Rome. But Josephus excels at squeezing through the cracks between the
rock and the hard place. As Josephus constructs his history, the picture
emerges of a few “tyrants” among the Jews who incite the peace-loving
populace to war. The Romans, on their part, are depicted as acting with
restraint and even become the caretakers of the Jewish cult. Thus Jose-
phus can account for the war, acquit the vast majority of Jews of willing
participation, and place the Romans on “God’s” side, all in one fell swoop!
The whole of this history, then, must be read with this purpose in mind:
otherwise one inevitably distorts the evidence. This “wholistic” approach
to Josephus’s writings is a hallmark of Mason’s work.
Mason deftly introduces the reader to Josephan scholarship, and to
Josephus’s life and writings, always keeping the methodologial focus clear.
174 Consensus
Only after having approached Josephus on his own terms does Mason turn
to look at the light Josephus’s writings can shed on the NT. He first exam-
ines groups prominent in both Josephus and the NT (Herod and his family;
Roman governors; Jewish high priests; the Pharisees and Saducees), and
then looks at briefer notices in Josephus on three key figures: John the
Baptist, Jesus, and James, the brother of Jesus. Despite the minimal inter-
est of Josephus in these figures, they have attracted the greatest attention
on the part of scholars (and provided the motivation for Christian scribes
to preserve the writings of this Jewish traitor!). Mason moves with confi-
dence through the complex arguments that surround these texts, and offers
persuasive and independent interpretations. Finally, Mason looks at the
special case of the relationship between the writings of Josephus and the
writings of “Luke” (Luke-Acts) in the NT. Mason sets out a plausible case
for supposing that “Luke” in some way “knew” and was influenced by Jose-
phus’s writings.
There is a powerful subtext that runs through this book. Mason makes
a forceful case for the “wholistic” handling of Josephus; the same has to
be true of the NT itself. If it is illegitimate to pry “facts” out of Josephus,
it is equally misguided to pry “verses” out of the NT and to understand
them apart from their larger literary context. But familiarity to this degree
with NT writings should probably not be assumed of Mason’s intended
audience. Rather, this volume offers incentive to read the NT writings with
greater integrity, as well as those of Josephus. Mason’s own readings offer
stimulating examples of how this process can deepen one’s understanding
of the biblical text.
The book is rounded off with maps, charts, tables, illustrations, and
indices. Each chapter concludes with notes and suggestions for further
reading so that one is pointed beyond Mason’s own works to Josephus, the
NT itself, and a larger world of scholarship. This volume is well suited to
adult church study groups and pastors’ libraries, as well as to undergraduate
and seminary courses on the NT or early Judaism. Although this is a
work of “popularization”, it is a fine example of the genre, and professional
scholars will find time spent with Mason’s work rewarding. Finally, in a day
of escalating book prices, the publisher should be commended for making
it so affordable!
David J. Reimer
Wilfrid Laurier University


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