Josephus was born as the son of Matthias in Jerusalem in 37 AD; he was the combination of priestly descent on his father’s side and supposedly a royal blood line on his mother’s side. Although he claims to have studied all three Jewish political/religious movements including the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Pharisees, we see that this was not possible within the time frame he suggests. He was however, born as an aristocrat and a Sadducee which was the more conservative movement of the three and largely comprised of wealthy Jews. Josephus has a tendency to twist the truth and we see he likes to align his interests with those of the prevalent movement at any given time. This is evident as he is not very fond of the Pharisees in some of his earlier works such as The Jewish War, but he becomes a Pharisee as the movement becomes popular. Josephus witnesses the beginning of the Jewish revolt against the Roman governor at the time, Gessius Florus. Contrary to his roots as an aristocrat, he joins the rebels in the revolution against the Roman oppression of the Jews. The rebel destruction of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem was an important event in this revolt and shortly after Josephus was assigned by Temple authorities to organize and lead the resistance in Galilee. The Romans approaching Galilee were led by Vespasian who would later become emperor of Rome and an important alliance in Josephus’ life. In 67 AD while under siege in Jotapata, Josephus surrenders to Vespasian after a strange twist of fate in which he and his countrymen drew lots to determine who would kill the rest and then commit suicide, Josephus by the will of God (or so it is suggested) comes out the lucky one and decides against suicide.
"However, in this extreme distress, he was not destitute of his usual sagacity; but trusting himself to the providence of God, he put his life into hazard [in the manner following]: 'And now,' said he, 'since it is resolved among you that you will die, come on, let us commit our mutual deaths to determination by lot. He whom the lot falls to first, let him be killed by him that hath the second lot, and thus fortune shall make its progress through us all; nor shall any of us perish by his own right hand, for it would be unfair if, when the rest are gone, somebody should repent and save himself.' This proposal appeared to them to be very just; and when he had prevailed with them to determine this matter by lots, he drew one of the lots for himself also. He who had the first lot laid his neck bare to him that had the next, as supposing that the general would die among them immediately; for they thought death, if Josephus might but die with them, was sweeter than life; yet was he with another left to the last, whether we must say it happened so by chance, or whether by the providence of God. And as he was very desirous neither to be condemned by the lot, nor, if he had been left to the last, to imbrue his right hand in the blood of his countrymen, he persuaded him to trust his fidelity to him, and to live as well as himself. "(Book III, Sec. 387)
He manages to escape death after surrender by convincing Vespasian of an oracle (believed to refer to the Messiah) implying Vespasian would become emperor. Vespasian likes his idea and decides to keep Josephus under detention instead of crucifying him. Josephus befriends Titus, Vespasian’s son, and begins to create ties that would ensure his well-being. In 69 AD, Vespasian becomes emperor and makes Josephus an advisor to Titus and awards him with Roman citizenship, a wife, etc. Titus is tasked with ending the war and so begins to lay siege to Jerusalem with Josephus at his side. From this viewpoint, Josephus sees the war from the Roman perspective while witnessing the atrocities like the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. He then follows Titus back to Rome and lives under the protection of the house of Vespasian until the murder of Domitian in 98 AD, after which we have no record of Josephus.
An overview of Josephus’ life is important to note in order to set the context for his book The Jewish War in which he gives us a detailed description of the events leading up to the Jewish War of 66-73 CE and those of the war itself. Including the period beginning with the capture of Jerusalem by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (in 164 BC), and up to the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. The causes of this war are a great example of the greed involved in Roman imperialism as the Romans had been taxing the Jews for 60 years before the Roman emperor Nero needed money and demanded Gessius Florus (a representative in Judaea) to confiscate it from the Temple treasure. This and underlying class divisions contributed the most to the actual cause of the war. Aside from the connection to greed, this book also gives an interesting look at conquest from different perspectives. Josephus begins on the side of the Jews during the revolution against the Romans and then gives us a look at the war from the Roman perspective as he accompanied Titus on his siege and sacking of Jerusalem. Josephus as both a general (elected by temple authorities) and a historian looking with hindsight gives an account of the causes of the war, events of the war, and the horrific destruction of Jerusalem. It should be taken into account though, that there are many inaccuracies in Josephus’ tale of the war and that he was under the censorship of the Roman Empire as he wrote this book, granted permission by Vespasian.
An overview of Josephus’ life is important to note in order to set the context for his book The Jewish War in which he gives us a detailed description of the events leading up to the Jewish War of 66-73 CE and those of the war itself. Including the period beginning with the capture of Jerusalem by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (in 164 BC), and up to the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. The causes of this war are a great example of the greed involved in Roman imperialism as the Romans had been taxing the Jews for 60 years before the Roman emperor Nero needed money and demanded Gessius Florus (a representative in Judaea) to confiscate it from the Temple treasure. This and underlying class divisions contributed the most to the actual cause of the war. Aside from the connection to greed, this book also gives an interesting look at conquest from different perspectives. Josephus begins on the side of the Jews during the revolution against the Romans and then gives us a look at the war from the Roman perspective as he accompanied Titus on his siege and sacking of Jerusalem. Josephus as both a general (elected by temple authorities) and a historian looking with hindsight gives an account of the causes of the war, events of the war, and the horrific destruction of Jerusalem. It should be taken into account though, that there are many inaccuracies in Josephus’ tale of the war and that he was under the censorship of the Roman Empire as he wrote this book, granted permission by Vespasian.
Josephus, F. (n.d.). The Jewish War.
An excellent and chilling summary of Josephus' life--his escape from the pact of suicide, changing sides, the brutal retaliation of Rome against Judea. The Jewish Wars is one of those really depressing books, all the more so because as you suggest, it is written by Jew.
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