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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2017 Studies in Sefer Yosippon: The Reception of Josephus in Medieval Hebrew, Arabic, and Ethiopic Literature Yonatan Binyam Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES STUDIES IN SEFER YOSIPPON: THE RECEPTION OF JOSEPHUS IN MEDIEVAL HEBREW, ARABIC, AND ETHIOPIC LITERATURE By YONATAN BINYAM A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2017 Yonatan Binyam defended this dissertation on July 17, 2017. The members of the supervisory committee were: David B. Levenson Professor Directing Dissertation Peter P. Garretson University Representative Matthew J. Goff Committee Member Nicole E. Kelley Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to express my deep gratitude for David Levenson, who deserves much credit for both the scope and thoroughness of this project. It was while working with him on the Ethiopic versions of the legends of Alexander the Great that I came across the Zena Ayhud and the fascinating tradition of Sefer Yosippon, of which it is a part. Prof. Levenson’s expertise on Josephus studies in general and the Latin receptions of the story of Maria in particular was invaluable to my tracing of the reception history from the Jewish War to the Zena Ayhud. I am also indebted to and very grateful for his erudition and guidance in translating the Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic texts that were central to the analysis of this reception history. His attention to detail while reading both my translations and my commentaries helped to significantly improve the quality of my work. Any mistakes that remain are my own. I would also like to thank Matthew Goff, who worked with me to refine my Ethiopic translation of the selected passages from Zena Ayhud that appear in this text. He also provided some valuable insights during my analysis of the Ethiopic text, especially with respect to biblical motifs that appear in the text and with respect to ancient scribal traditions concerned with the transmission of scriptural texts. I want to thank Nicole Kelley as well. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with her on early Christian literature during my time at Florida State, and very much appreciate her role as part of my dissertation committee. I am extremely grateful for all three of these scholars and their guidance academically and professionally, which I found both challenging and rewarding. More than that, however, I am grateful for their friendships, which helped foster an enjoyable atmosphere for me as I worked toward a doctorate degree. iii I would also like to extend my gratitude to several other scholars who have helped me in conducting this research project. I want to thank Peter Garretson, who agreed to be a member of my dissertation committee despite his retiring from FSU just after my arrival. He has also been a good friend and mentor during my time here. I have also received help from outside FSU while working on this project. Daniel Assefa was kind enough to share his expertise on medieval Ethiopic literature with me. He also very graciously sent me an Amharic translation of the text from Ethiopia, a copy which would have been very difficult to procure without his help. Ted Erho shared with me his impressive knowledge of Ethiopic manuscripts, and pointed me to the known manuscripts of the Zena Ayhud that are located in the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library. The Florida State University Graduate School provided me with a research grant that allowed me to purchase several resources that were crucial to my work. I am very grateful for the aid I have received from all of these institutions and scholars. I would not have been able to complete this project without their assistance. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................................x CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1 1.1 From the Jewish War to the Zena Ayhud ......................................................................1 1.2 Major Trends in the Study of the Reception of Josephus .............................................4 1.3 Contributions to the Field .............................................................................................9 1.4 Chapter Outline ...........................................................................................................11 CHAPTER TWO – INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXTS ............................................................14 2.1 The Textual Transmission of the Jewish War .............................................................14 2.1.1 The Jewish War of Josephus ........................................................................14 2.1.2 The Text, Date, and Background of the Jewish War ...................................15 2.1.3 Overview of the Jewish War ........................................................................17 2.2 The De Excidio Hierosolymitano and the Reception of Josephus in Late Antiquity ................................................................................................................20 2.2.1 The Text of the De Excidio Hierosolymitano ..............................................21 2.2.2 The Date, Authorship, and Background of the De Excidio Hierosolymitano ......................................................................23 2.2.3 Overview of the De Excidio Hierosolymitano .............................................28 2.3 Sefer Yosippon and the Reception of Josephus in Medieval Hebrew Literature ........32 2.3.1 The Text of the Sefer Yosippon ....................................................................33 2.3.2 The Various Recensions of Sefer Yosippon .................................................34 2.3.3 The Date, Authorship, and Background of the Sefer Yosippon ...................40 2.3.4 Overview of the Sefer Yosippon ..................................................................47 2.4 The Receptions of Sefer Yosippon in Medieval Arabic Literature .............................49 2.4.1 Evaluation of the Source-Critical Hypotheses of Sela and Dönitz ..............53 2.4.2 The Date, Authorship, and Background of the Arabic Versions of Sefer Yosippon .....................................................................................................55 2.4.3 Overview of the Kitāb akhbār al-yahūd ......................................................58 2.5 The Zena Ayhud and the Reception of Sefer Yosippon in Ethiopia ............................60 2.5.1 The Text, Date, and Authorship of the Zena Ayhud ....................................60 2.5.2 The Background of the Zena Ayhud ............................................................62 CHAPTER THREE – THE RECEPTION OF THE FAMINE IN JERUSALEM ........................68 3.1 Introduction to the Reception of the Famine in Jerusalem .........................................68 3.2 The Famine in Jerusalem in the BJ .............................................................................69 3.3 The Famine in Jerusalem in the DEH .........................................................................76 3.4 The Famine in Jerusalem in the SY .............................................................................80 3.5 The Famine in Jerusalem in the KAY/ZA ....................................................................85 v 3.6 List of Parallel Passages on the Famine in Jerusalem .................................................89 3.7 Conclusion: The Reception of the Famine in Jerusalem ..........................................127 CHAPTER FOUR – THE RECEPTION OF THE STORY OF MARIA ...................................129 4.1 Introduction to the Reception of the Story of Maria .................................................129 4.2 List of Parallel Passages on the Story of Maria ........................................................132 4.3 Conclusion: The Reception of the Story of Maria ....................................................208 CHAPTER FIVE – THE RECEPTION OF THE DISCOURSE OF TITUS ..............................213 5.1 Introduction to the Reception of the Discourse of Titus ...........................................213 5.2 List of Parallel Passages on the Discourse of Titus ..................................................214 5.3 Conclusion: The Reception of the Discourse of Titus ..............................................229 CHAPTER SIX – CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................231 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................238