Jesus in the Writings of the First-century Jewish historian Josephus

Episode Outline:

0:00 Do Josephus’s references to Jesus actually strengthen the case for a historical Jesus?
0:59 Bart checks in, admits to being mentally exhausted, and talks with Megan about overwork, kids, cats, fish, and Nina the dog
6:19 Why Josephus matters so much for understanding first-century Judaism and Christianity
7:21 Who Josephus was: priestly aristocrat, military commander, turncoat, and court historian
12:21 Why Josephus wrote Antiquities of the Jews and who he was writing it for
13:50 Course promo: Jesus, the Secret Messiah and the Gospel of Mark
15:11 The famous longer Josephus passage about Jesus, and why it sounds too Christian to be original as-is
16:12 The three main options scholars consider: Josephus converted, the whole thing was forged, or Christians edited a real core text
20:12 Why many scholars reject the idea that the whole passage was invented from scratch
21:57 The second Josephus reference: James, “the brother of Jesus who is called the Messiah”
23:23 Where Josephus may have gotten his information about Jesus
25:23 Does Josephus count as an independent source for Jesus, or is he just repeating hearsay?
26:15 What Josephus actually contributes: confirmation more than major new detail
28:24 Weekly Update: Bart’s free course Why I Am Not a Christian
32:59 Scholar Spotlight: Paula Fredriksen and why her work on Jesus, Paul, Judaism, and Augustine matters
36:08 Final summary: Josephus is an important independent witness to Jesus, even if Christian scribes later improved the wording

Episode Description

The Antiquities of the Jews, written by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in 93 CE, is our most important resource for knowing about the history of Israel around the time of Jesus and his earliest followers. This twenty-volume work contains two brief references to Jesus himself, and are in fact the only two mentions of Jesus in any non-Christian writing of the entire first century. But there are many questions surrounding these statements. Are they authentic to Josephus? Were they added to his writings by later Christian scribes? Could the be authentic in part but altered by scribes. If they are authentic do they strengthen the case for the historicity of Jesus, or are they merely records of hearsay? Do they provide us with any valuable informatioin about Jesus that we otherwise would never know?

Also watch these episodes:
Was Jesus a CopyCat? The Role of John the Baptist in the Ministry of Jesus.
Was Jesus a CopyCat? The Role of John the Baptist in the Ministry of Jesus.

What Did the Prophet Isaiah Say About Jesus?
What Did the Prophet Isaiah Say About Jesus?

But Could Peter Write Anything?
But Could Peter Write Anything?

Megan asks Bart:

- Why is this an important topic?

- Who is Josephus, and when did he write?

- What purpose was he writing for?

- This doesn’t read as a Jewish person talking to another Jewish person, can you comment on what’s going on here?

- Why don’t you think the whole passage was forged?

- What kind of sources would Josephus have been working with?

- Do these references strengthen the case for an historical Jesus at all, or is he merely recording hearsay?

- Can historians learn anything about Jesus from Josephus’ writings?