The Causes of the Jewish War According to Josephus by P

THE CAUSES OF THE JEWISH WAR ACCORDING TO JOSEPHUS

P. BILDE Aarhus

It is possible to see the main reason for the Jewish Revolt against Rome in the socio-economic conditions in Judaea in the first century A.D. 1). Likewise one could point primarily to the maladministration of the Roman government under the prefects and procurators 2). A third possibility is to concentrate one's attention on the Jewish people's religio-national aspirations towards autonomy, especially in the sense of theocracy and Messianic age 3). Other interpretations have also been brought forward whereas the majority of scholars have preferred different combinations of these possibilities. They all, however, rely on the same source material: mainly Josephus and, especially, his 1) Such as ED. MEYER,Ursprung und Anfänge des Christentums, Berlin 4-61924, rp. Darmstadt 1962, III, p. 74, note 2, and, in particular, H. KREISSIG,Die rozialen Zusammenhängedes judäischenKrieges, Berlin 1970, p. 14-15 and passim. 2) So e.g. H. GRAETZ,Geschichte der Juden-von den ältesten Zeitenbir auf dieGegen- wart, Leipzig 31878, III, pp. 472-474; J. W. JACK,The Historic Christ. An Exami- nation of Dr. Robert Eisler's TheoryAccording to the Slavonic Version of Josephusand the other Sources, London 1933, p. 273; G. WEBSTER,The Roman Imperial Army of the First and SecondCenturies A.D., London 1969, rp. London 1973, p. 60; M. STERN,"The Herodian Dynasty and the Province of Judea at the End of the Period of the Second Temple", in: The World History of the Jewish People, VII, The Herodian Period, ed. M. AVI-YONAH,London 1975, 124-178, pp. 150 and 161 ff.; E. M. SMALLWOOD,The Jewsunder Roman Rule, Leiden 1976, pp. 256-257 and 284, and G. THEISSEN,Soziologie der Jesusbewegung,München 1977, pp. 44 and 63-64. 3) Thus e.g. TH. MOMMSEN,Römiscbe Geschichte, Berlin 1885,V, 487-552, p. 530; W. WEBER, josepbusund Vespasian, Stuttgart 1921, rp. Hildesheim 1973, pp. 27-30, 35-36 and elsewhere; A. MOMIGLIANO,"The Roman Government of Palestine", CAH, Cambridge 21952, X, 850-887, pp. 850-852; S. G. F. BRANDON,The Fall of Jerusalemand the Christian Church, London 1951, 21957, p. 155; W. R. FARMER, Maccabees,Zealots, and Josephus,New York 1956, rp. Westport, Connecticut 1973, p. IX and passim; M. HENGEL,Die Zeloten, Leiden-Köln 1961, pp. 145-150, 190, 224 ff. and passim; U. RAPAPORT,A History of Israel in the Period of the Second Temple (Hebr.), Tel-Aviv 1967, pp. 203-205; P. PRIGENT,La fin de Jérusalem, Neuchâtel 1969, p. 8-9 and passim, and V. NIKIPROWETZKY,"La mort d'Eléazar fils de Jaire et les courants apologétiques dans le De Bell Judaico de Flavius Jo- sephe", Hommagea A. Dupont Sommer, Paris 1971, 461-490, p. 464 and passim. 180

Jewish War (Bellum). There should, therefore, be good reason to analyse more systematically the reasons for the war, given by the historian himself 4). Such an analysis seems to be a necessary precon- dition for further progress in the learned discussion about the histori- cal background of the Jewish rebellion 5). Such an analysis is, however, equally important for the general assessment of Josephus and his works. In the light of his own difficult position between Judaea and Rome-and of the veritable conflicting interpretations of this position and its consequences for his writing-it would be fruitful to trace his own evaluation of the responsability for the disastrous war 6). Is any consistent conception to be found in his works? What, especially, is his view of the role, played by Rome and the Roman governors ? P 4) This is necessary also if one believes, as R. LAQUEUR,Der jüdischeHistoriker Flavius Josephus,Giessen 1920, rp. Darmstadt 1970, p. 251-252, that Josephus in Bell. knew nothing about the causes of the war, and that his account in this work is a pure falsification. A similar position is represented by H. DREXLER,"Unter- suchungen zu Josephus und zur Geschichte des jüdischen Aufstandes 66-70", Klio, 19, 1923-1925, 277-312, p.287, and by R. EISLER, Heidelberg 1929-1930, I, p. 297. The position of these scholars cannot be properly assessed without a systematic survey of Josephus' own interpretation of the causes of the war. 5) To my mind it is a major weakness in H. KREISSIG'Swork that such an analysis of Josephus' own conception of the causes of the war is not carried out. When KREISSIGwrites that the underground guerilla-war-fare "nur in wenigen, flüchtigen Wendungen zwischen den Berichten über Hof- und Staatsaffären bei Josephus aufblitzt" (op. cit., p. 124), then it is only an assertion, hanging in the air, because a criterion of distinction between fact and tendency in Josephus has not been worked out. But such a criterion presupposes first and foremost a clear picture of Josephus' own conception of the events he is describing. 6) According to the classical, "negative" school of Josephus-research the historian was a traitor to his people and a bribed flatterer of the Romans, especially of the Flavian Dynasty. So e.g. H. GRAETZ,op. cit., III, pp. 513-532; N. BENT- WICH,Josephus, Philadelphia 1914, rp. 1926, p. 57, and passim; G. HÖLSCHER, "Josephus", P.- W., R.E., IX, 1916, 1934-2000, sp. 1943; R. LAQUEUR,op. cit., pp. 255 ff.; W. WEBER,op. cit., pp. 22 ff., and R. EISLER,op. cit., I, pp. XXXV-XLIX and 261 ff. On the other hand Josephus is seen as a realistic moderate, whose main concern was the defence of the Jewish people. Thus e.g. B. NIESE, "Der jüdische Historiker Josephus", Historische Zeitschrift, 40, 1896, 193-237, p. 201- 202; S. DUBNOW,Weltgeschichte des jüdischen Volkes von seinen Uranfängen bis zur Gegenwart,Berlin 51925, III, 105-111, p. 108; H. ST. J. THACKERAY,Josephus, the Man and the Historian, New York 1929, rp. New York 1967, p. 29 and elsewhere; J. KLAUSNER,History of the SecondTemple (Hebr.), Jerusalem 21950, rp. Jerusalem 1968, V, 167-192, pp. 170-172 and 185 ff.; W. R. FARMER,op. cit., pp. 16-19; S. ZEITLIN,"A Survey of Jewish Historiography: From the Biblical Books to the 'Sefer ha-Kabbalah' with special Emphasis on Josephus", JQR, 59, 1968-1969, 171-214; 60, 1969-1970, 37-68, 59, pp. 180, 182, and passin, and B. NOACK, Jesus Ananiasson og Jesusfra Nazareth. En af Josefus, BellumJudaicum VI, 5, 3, Kobenhavn 1975, pp. 15-22. Likewise most of the articles in Josephusstudien,Fs. O. MICHEL,ed. O. BETZ,K. HAACKERund M. HENGEL,Göttingen 1974.