Smoodock's Blog

Josephus was a Jewish historian who wrote during the first century AD. His works include: Wars of the Jews (an account of many of the Jews’ conflicts, beginning with the Hasmonean kings of the first and second centuries BC and ends with details of the Jews’ war with Rome: AD 66-70), Antiquities of the Jews (an historical account of Israel, which ends just prior to the Jews’ war with Rome, and goes back beyond Abraham, the father of the nation, to the creation, itself) and Life (an autobiography of Josephus that records his efforts during the Jews’ war with Rome). Much has been said about the Testimonium Flavianum, vis-à-vis “the Testimony of Flavius Josephus:”

“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”[1]

Some scholars argue that all or parts of Josephus’ testimony about Jesus was inserted into his works, probably by Eusebius, in his “Ecclesiastical History,” which is quoted essentially as it is above:

“About the same time, there was a certain Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it is proper to call him a man. For he was a performer of extraordinary deeds; a teacher of men, that received his doctrine with delight; and he attached to himself many of the Jews, many also of the Greeks. This was Christ. Pilate having inflicted the punishment of the cross upon him, on the accusation of our principal men, those who had been attached to him before did not, however, afterwards cease to love him: for he appeared to them alive again on the third day, according to the holy prophets, who had declared these and innumerable other wonderful things respecting him. The race of the Christian, who derive their name from him, likewise still continues.”[2]

The suggestion that Eusebius inserted part or all of the citation into Josephus’ work for the purpose of providing outside Jewish authority for the life (existence) of Jesus is unfounded, since Jesus’ existence was never seriously doubted until the time of the Enlightenment (movement of the 17^th and 18^th centuries AD) and afterward. That Eusebius or some other Christian writer/copyist inserted part or all of the citation to show Jesus was God or to prove he was the Christ is another matter entirely, but to suggest that the citation was altered or invented for the purpose of proving the historical Jesus is completely illogical.

For various literary reasons, the Testimonium Falvianum does appear to be altered (at least), because it puts Christian phraseology into the writings of Josephus, the Jew. Moreover, certain use of individual words in the citation points to Eusebius’ manner of writing rather than that of Josephus. So, the argument for at least an alteration seems well founded. Moreover, Origen, a church father of the third century AD, mentions Josephus in his works eleven times, but he never mentions the Testimonium Flavianum, which would be surprising, if it is completely authentic. He does say, however, that Josephus did not believe Jesus was the Christ. Therefore, since Eusebius is the only Christian authority the mentions the Testimonium Flavianum for almost three centuries after Josephus is said to have penned the words, it is generally believed that Josephus’ original mention of Jesus was of a neutral nature and didn’t contain principles that might have been beneficial to Christian apologetics of that period. Of course, that has changed for our own time, since many skeptics challenge the historicity of Jesus. In this case the Testimonium Flavianum is, indeed, helpful for the Christian cause.

Another version of the Tiemonium Flavianum appears in the tenth century AD, and is referred to as the Arabic Version. It was discovered in the 1970s and lacks the Christian terminology of the version in general use up to that time. This latter version, however, does contain the essential elements of the previously accepted version of Josephus’ works.

At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct1* was good, and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.

It would be difficult to believe, at least for me, that Josephus mentioned no one of the Christian movement that began in Judea and Galilee with the Jews, and which arose in his lifetime and survived the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. It makes no sense to completely ignore the movement, unless one is so biased against it that one seeks to remove all mention of it in history.

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[1] JOSEPHUS; Antiquities of the Jews (18.3.3); written c. AD 90.

[2] EUSEBIUS: Ecclesiastical History (1.11.7-8); written c. AD 320-4