Flavius Josephus

A Pre-teaching Interpretation Paper:
Today, the word “Messiah” commonly incites George Handel’s renowned oratorio or the person of Jesus Christ, whose second name is a Greek translation of the word. This is understandable given the pervasiveness of Christianity as a religion in the world. However, not only has the word been understood differently in different circles, it has also been attributed to and claimed by different individuals throughout the history. This paper seeks to evaluate the claim made by third-century Rabbis Bar Kappara and Hillel II that King Hezekiah of Judah is the Messiah.  In order to do that, what the word means to Jews in Ancient Near Eastern and Rabbinical contexts needs to be considered.
Although Rabbi Joseph has refuted Hillel II’s claim,  it is still a worthy endeavor to give the claim a second hearing, especially as Mika Pajunen noted that “there was renewed interest in these traditions,” referring to Deuteronomistic and Chronistic traditions, “to highlight the unity of the people and hence also their common heritage” after the destruction of the second temple.  Therefore, the account of Hezekiah in Chronicles will be exegeted, highlighting its uniqueness from that in Kings and, by extension, Isaiah, and drawing implications if the thesis, “King Hezekiah is the fulfillment of Yahweh's promise for THE Messiah,” is supported by Chronistic perspective.

Paper deals with the historical story of the advent of Christianity. Examines what Christianity had to offer Rome during its war with the Jews (placation of slaves & the poor, promise of life after death & "reward", making soldiers unafraid to die, "comforting" dead soldier's family, etc.).

Tesis de Doctorado / PhD Thesis.
Since J. Parkes invented it in 1934, the expression “Parting of the Ways” has deeply rooted in the scholarship to study the distance between Jews and Christians during Antiquity. Indeed, issued from the same common background, which was the Second Temple Judaism, Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism became two opposing orthodoxies which excluded each other and, largely, based their own identity in opposition to the other one, in a process started by the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in the year 70. This doctoral thesis analyses how this parting of the ways happened throughout the first three centuries of the Common Era in the different regional realities of the Roman Empire, taking as a main source the literature of the Church Fathers, though also other ones, as the rabbinic literature, the so-called “cycle of the Talmud”. So, despite their rivalries, Judaism and Christianity form a large spectrum where, in an extreme, we find the Rabbinic Judaism, for which Jesus represents nothing, and, in the other, different forms of Gnostic Christianity, which fully denied the identification between the Jewish Jahveh and the God Father preached by Jesus Christ and, because of that, refused all the Jewish heritage of Christianity. Between both extremes became established the self-proclaimed Orthodox Christianity, over the basis of the anti-legalistic thought of the Apostle Paul. This form of Christianity also felt obliged to harmonize Hebrew Scriptures as a part of the history of salvation with the idea that the Mosaic Law had been abrogated with the coming of the Messiah. This proto-Orthodox Christianity found in the method of allegory applied to the interpretation of the Old Testament the legitimation of its doctrine and its universalistic and uniformist wishes. On the other hand, the rabbis, with the Patriarch as their leader, got the decisive support of the Roman authorities in their purpose to proclaim themselves as the leaders of Judaism, which was decapitated after the disappearance of the Temple. This Judaism found its way of expression in the so-called Talmudic literature, where the Rabbis systematized an orthodoxy that excluded from the people of Israel all those who did not share their doctrines, as we can see, for example, in the Birkat ha minim, imprecation which, included in the liturgy of the synagogue worship, was pronounced against the Followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

Paper exposes and details the usage of rhetoric & propaganda. Knowing this also exposes the purposes and motives involved in the creation of such texts. Which, in turn, leads us to information about the true authorship of these texts. Emphasis is upon the importance of recognizing literary devices.

This is the final typescript (AAM) of a chapter now published in Antony Augoustakis, Emma Buckley, and Claire Stocks, eds., Fides in Flavian Literature, “Phoenix Supplementary Series.” Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 45–67. In exploring Josephus' portraits of Vespasian and Titus, and rejecting the common view that these amount to formulaic adulation, it asks how such descriptions could have been seen as loyal and faithful.

È grazie alla modernità se possiamo oggi riscoprire la natura storica di Gesù e del cristianesimo originario. Il cristianesimo non nasce con Gesù e, quando prende forma definita, appare come una religione avversa all’ebraismo. Gesù, però, era ebreo e non voleva fondare un’altra religione.
Il libro mostra dapprima l’azione critica esercitata dalle scienze storiche moderne sulla visione del modo antiebraica creata dal cristianesimo antico. Si riscopre ad esempio la natura ebraica della Bibbia che il cristianesimo antico aveva negato cristianizzandola.
I capitoli centrali mettono in luce l’impatto della scienza moderna sul sistema teologico cristiano. Sono le concezioni politiche moderne che denunciano la deformazione politica del cristianesimo. Le dichiarazioni dei diritti dell’uomo (emerse grazie all’illuminismo) hanno avuto un impatto trasformatore positivo non solo sulle diverse forme di cristianesimo, ma anche sull’ebraismo e sull’Islam. La sterminata ricerca storica moderna su Gesù, però, non è frutto di un atteggiamento anti-cristiano, ma delle molteplici e diversificate correnti cristiane che assumono volta a volta i diversi fattori culturali della modernità.
In sostanza, ebraicità di Gesù, nascita del cristianesimo antiebraico e impatto critico della modernità sono tre aspetti inscindibili che stanno al cuore dell’interrogazione contemporanea.

Είναι κοινώς γνωστό ότι την ιστορία των πολέμων την γράφουν οι νικητές και την ιστορία του ρωμαιο-ιουδαϊκού πολέμου (66-74 μ.Χ.), ο οποίος οδήγησε στην καταστροφή του δεύτερου ναού και της Ιερουσαλήμ το 70, οι Ρωμαίοι σίγουρα θα μπορούσαν να την είχαν γράψει οι ίδιοι όπως ακριβώς την ήθελαν. Είναι ωστόσο σε έναν Ιουδαίο ιστορικό που οφείλουμε την εκτενέστερη και πληρέστερη αφήγηση των γεγονότων του πολέμου που διαθέτουμε. Η Ιστορία Περί τοῦ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ πολέμου του Φλάβιου Ιώσηπου, γραμμένη στη Ρώμη μεταξύ των ετών 75-79 μ.Χ., και ενώ ο Ιώσηπος διατελούσε υπό την προστασία των Φλαβίων, μαρτυρεί και από τον τίτλο της και μόνο την ρωμαϊκή οπτική που υιοθετεί. Εφόσον το θέμα μας είναι η εικόνα της Ρώμης, αποφεύγονται οι εκτεταμένες αναφορές στα γεγονότα και η εισήγηση κινείται γύρω από μια επιλογή χαρακτηριστικών χωρίων, κυρίως από τα βιβλία 3, 4, 5 και 6 του Ιουδαϊκού Πολέμου, τα οποία συνθέτουν την εικόνα της Ρώμης: μιας πανίσχυρης, δίκαιης και μεγαλόψυχης δύναμης που, ενώ δε γνωρίζει ήττα στη μάχη, ξέρει να συγχωρεί και να προστατεύει τους ηττημένους. Η εισήγηση αρχίζει παρουσιάζοντας την εικόνα του στρατού, στον οποίο η Ρώμη οφείλει, σύμφωνα με τον Φλάβιο Ιώσηπο, την αδιαμφισβήτητη υπεροχή της˙ εξετάζει ακολούθως την Clementia των στρατηγών και δη των δύο Φλαβίων, του Βεσπασιανού και του Τίτου, και κλείνει εστιάζοντας στην εικόνα του Τίτου, με βάση κυρίως τα γεγονότα της πολιορκίας και της καταστροφής της Ιερουσαλήμ.

Paper demonstrating the origin of Popes (or Bishops of Rome) from the Calpurnius Piso family, giving the actual identities of the first 10 Popes. 18 pages.

This paper also makes the case for the mention of Christ in the works of Flavius Josephus as being original to that work and points out the need for change in the study of ancient history.

The paper investigates some apparent analogies between Jesus's ministry and events during the Jewish War of 66-73 CE and subjects to scrutiny Atwill's claim that these point to emperor Titus being portrayed as the promised messianic world leader to come from Judea. It also proposes another explanation of these analogies and debunks the claims that Christianity and its scriptures were only invented by the Flavian imperial dynasty: the Flavian conspiracy theory.

How often was Josephus quoted before Eusebius?  Many have wondered why it would take so long for such an important passage to be quoted.  Mythicists often feel sure that Eusebius made it up himself, a view most scholars would dismiss, and something in any case that can’t be proved either way.  This study gives a brief overview of quotations of Josephus in Origen and other Early Church writers.

“Who is he (that) comes mightier than I?, the Piso/οπισω (is) me…”

During the 1st century BC, Rome’s empire spanned the entire Mediterranean, except for one part, Judea-Palestina.
This tiny province was fighting back against the institution of slavery, religious persecution, and high taxes being forced upon them by the Roman and Jewish aristocracy. The Jewish people were also fighting among themselves, but a sect called the Pharisees were gaining immense support and funding from the people, meaning they were taking the power away from the Jewish leadership in control of Jerusalem at that time, the Sadducees.
The Sadducean leadership were the sect of the Herodian/Hasmonean royal family, and the Herodian royal family were related through marriage to the Flavian Dynasty. But the Herodian family were also related to one of Rome’s most distinguished senatorial families based in Rome, the Calpurnius Pisos, and the Piso family were also related to the Flavian family. That family connection came from Emperor Vespasian’s brother, T.Flavius Sabinus II marrying a royal Jewish woman called Arria the Elder. They then had a daughter called Arria the Younger who married a man called Gaius Calpurnius Piso.

audio: https://gloria.tv/post/dSYqWS6BwRuK1Skv3DaZt8okp

https://sowafrankfurt.wordpress.com/2022/05/10/wojna-zydoska-nazistow-na-ukrainie-zech-herody-herodenspiel-von-stefan-kosiewski-fo-pand-psychozy-zr-studia-slavica-et-khazarica/

audio: https://www.mixcloud.com/stefan-kosiewski/wojna-żydoska-nazistów-na-ukrainie-zech-herody-herodenspiel-von-stefan-kosiewski-dziecko-na-macę-m33/

https://sowafrankfurt.wordpress.com/2022/05/04/dziecko-na-mace-urodzic-w-lebensborn-33-muszelki-von-stefan-kosiewski-studia-slavica-et-khazarica-fo-pand-psych-zr-zech-odzydzanie/

audio: https://odysee.com/@sowa.magazyn:0/wojna.żydoska:b

http://sowamagazyn.blogspot.com/2022/05/polscy-wolnomularze-grupy-windsor-grupy.html
https://boosty.to/mysowa/posts/292f8342-8cfb-4e22-a76d-eee12f8dbbe3
https://vk.com/wall467751157_1723

The twin stories about Roman matrons in book 18 of Josephus' Antiquities are more than historically gossip. Rather, they encapsulate Josephus' opinion of nascent Christianity on the one hand, and his criticism of Domitian's religious tendencies on the other.

The passage about Jesus Christ in Jewish historian Josephus’s writings has been debated for centuries, as concerns its authenticity totally, partially or not at all. This brief “testimonium” is proffered by Christian apologists as the “best evidence” for the historicity of Jesus, but it has been declared many times to be a forgery in toto. A recent study by a renowned linguist confirms this analysis of the entire passage as an interpolation by a Christian scribe, likely during the fourth century or later.

The royal Piso family of Rome performed "miracles" by creating them in the form of literary works. This paper explains not only what they did, but how and why they did it and more. There are many items in ancient texts that have baffled scholars for a long time; this sheds light upon a few of those. Please share this information. TY

This paper contains a list of 40 instances of corollaries between the works of Flavius Josephus & the New Testament texts; including '666'. Purpose: to demonstrate that the mention of Jesus was indeed original and could not have been a later addition, as that would render Josephus useless as a source.

This list covers many of the aliases and pen names that were used from the first century CE, up to near modern times (see my paper, 'Napoleon Bonaparte & The Holy Roman Empire', which, gives his descent from Arrius Piso and his relationship to various popes). By the way, I have often been asked to research and uncover the truth about all of the popes; all the way up to the current pope. I have no interest in revealing the family trees of later day popes. Other researchers are free to do that if they so choose. However, regarding the use of aliases and pen names by notables in history, there are many, many more that are known by me than can be listed here currently. And, many more will be listed in later updates to this list. The reason for giving this list is to help researchers to get on with their work as an aid, so that they may tell just which individual was using which names or whose biographical data was being given by authors using those names. To be able to obtain, deduce and confirm the various aliases being used is time consuming and much more complex than the vast majority of researchers are as yet prepared to do on their own. This has been a monumental task. Due to the requirements involved in uncovering these alias names, only a handful of individuals at this point in time may be able to do this. And, since we all have (at this time) a relatively short lifespan, and due to other factors; not everyone will be able to do this, nor would they want to devote what they must in order to do it correctly. Since I have been studying ancient history and religion correctly (using every required facet involved) for more than 20 years, I have this unique ability. I have already written several research papers explaining just what is needed in order to do this; but I will be writing more so as to better clarify and instruct researchers in this process. A part of this process is compiling individual 'profiles' (an example of one such profile is given near the end of this paper). In the meantime, researchers who have not yet acquired the discipline necessary to do this themselves, will have to rely upon the information which has been given them by those such as myself. Also, for now, I will give what examples I can to help fellow researchers to better understand just how these alias names and pen names have been uncovered and why they were used in the first place. At the end of this paper, you will find some links to research papers that various examples, etc. These aliases are key to understanding the true nature of ancient history and religion, and are necessary to understand ancient texts as the authors themselves did, as well as their extremely well-educated royal readership. As it happens, I have had a huge edge in getting at the truth and true nature of ancient texts, as I have made many important discoveries; including the use of a language inside of language, which is now known as 'The Royal Language'. As you may or may not know, I am the founder of new methodology and processes that comprise a whole new way of studying ancient history which is known as 'The New Classical Scholarship'. What must now be known and accepted by academia is that ancient history and all other literature written in antiquity on up to Medieval times and beyond, was being written by royalty within a synthesized environment known as an Oligarchy, a situation in which has now been termed 'Royal Supremacy'. Those who have yet to learn what I and a few others have regarding uncovering aliases is that a) this is what we were left with, and b) this is the only real means of uncovering the truth in history, and c) what is to be found and learned regarding history is not, and never has been, in our

Who was Flavius Josephus? Answering this one question, leads to answers to virtually all other questions about ancient history. The answer is that he was Arrius Calpurnius Piso, a royal Roman. He wrote under the alias of Flavius Josephus and pretended to be a Jew. He was of Jewish descent, on his mother's side. Please read on and learn.

This paper explores androcentric symbolism of the heretical woman as a literary topos to justify male superiority via the biblical interpretation of John the Baptist’s beheading and the purported influence of Herodias and Salomé, wife and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. The gospels allege that this mother and daughter manipulated Antipas to execute John, which does not align with the historicity regarding the pragmatic, political motives Antipas likely had. Nevertheless, the circumstances under which Herodias and Salomé appear in the Christian Testament have consequently framed their portrait, which church tradition has preserved as an example of sinful, deviant, and heretical behavior. This paper argues that the degree of influence these women had in the execution of John the Baptist may have been deliberately constructed to convey the “dangers” of womanly influence and unorthodox behavior.

This case study provides an analysis of extrabiblical primary source literature—including the writings of Tertullian, Justin Martyr, Josephus Flavius, Suetonius, and Bernard of Cluny—alongside the gospel narratives of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. This paper also incorporates the necessary secondary historical source material, with a special emphasis on the various perspectives from modern feminist scholars of the Bible and early Church history. Additionally, this research will briefly address this particular biblical narrative’s contribution to the femme fatale complex in art and literature and its relative feminist interpretations. Ultimately, this methodology will reveal a constructive use of Herodias, Salomé, and their alleged role in John the Baptist’s execution as a paradigm for understanding how the topos of the heretical woman developed throughout the different phases of this religious tradition, as well as within the context of Western patriarchal culture.

This is a study regarding traits that are found in clinical psychopaths and the same traits as found displayed by the ancient author known as 'Flavius Josephus'. This paper presents the need to make such information a necessary part of the study of ancient literature.

זה כמאה ושמונים שנה חלוקות דעות החוקרים בדבר מהלכן של שלוש החומות שהקיפו את ירושלים בשלהי ימי הבית השני. המקור העיקרי שעליו מתבססות הדעות השונות הוא תיאוריו השונים של פלביוס יוספוס (יוסף בן מתתיהו) בעיקר בספרו "מלחמת היהודים ברומאים". המאמר סוקר את שרידי החומה השלישית שנתגלו בחפירות ארכיאולוגיות ואת ההצעות השונות לתוואי החומה שעלו במהלך השנים במחקר. מטרת מאמר זה היא לחבר באמצעות עיגון המפות ההיסטוריות במערכת ממ"ג (מערכת מידע גיאוגראפי, GIS) את כל החפירות והתגליות הקשורים לשרידי החומה השלישית לכדי קו ביצור רציף המעוגן בנקודות ציון ויצירת מפה אחת שתציג את תוואי החומה באופן ברור ומדויק יותר. סדרת המפות ששורטטו כוללת את תוואי החומה כפי שפרסם אדוארד רובינסון במאה התשע עשרה, וכן את המפות הסכמתיות ואיורי חפירותיהם של אליעזר ליפא סוּקֶנִיק וליאו מאיר. מפות אלו יסייעו להמחיש את מהלכה של חומה זו, את מיקומם של האתרים השונים המוזכרים בתיאור ההיסטורי, את גודלה של העיר ערב החורבן ואת חשיבות הביצור הצפוני של העיר בזמן המרד. סט המפות משחזר את תוואי החומה באופן מדויק, המבוסס על חפירות תוואי החומה שנערכו לאורך השנים. באמצעות הכלים המודרניים, מרכזות המפות שהוכנו ומנגישות מידע רב שעד כה הקשה על הזיהוי של תוואי החומה השלישית.

יוסף שפייזר

The ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus is well known today, and was also very popular in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Medieval Christians read Josephus’s works in Latin translations made in the fourth to sixth centuries, and Josephus was recommended by none other than Jerome and Cassiodorus. There has, however, been relatively little study of the Latin text of Josephus, or of Josephus’s medieval reception and influence. Previous work has only hinted that the latter was vast, and that Josephus enjoyed a high reputation. This article carefully traces the reception of one Latin adaptation of Josephus’s Jewish War (the so-called “Hegesippus”) in the early Middle Ages. This heavily Christianized reworking of Josephus was read all over Europe, from Italy to England to Iberia. More importantly, because this text was invariably attributed to Josephus up to the ninth century, it becomes clear that some of Josephus’s considerable reputation in the Middle Ages was due— ironically — to a heavily Christianized perversion of his Jewish War.

A detailed explanation giving definitive proof that the mention of Christ in Josephus was original and not a later addition. Those who mistakenly thought it was a later addition speculated that it was either Origen, Eusebius or even Constantine who added it. They were ALL related to each other.

A list of problems which arise concerning the argument Christians interpolated part of whole of the Testimonium Flavianum into Josephus' Antiquities is given in this paper. The sceptical assumption is Flavius Josephus would not have written about Jesus in such an uncritical manner as appears in the Testimonium, but the problem to address of the means of how this could have happened, the short time an interpolation would have needed to have occurred following Josephus' composition, and the lack of opportunity for a Christian interpolation, are not examined enough in current historical writings which cover this matter. This list acts as a balance against the assumptions that an interpolation would have been a straightforward matter in the two centuries which separated Josephus and Eusebius, the Testimonium's first reporter. This is an extract taken from my book entitled, "Was Jesus Crucified?" (ISBN 978-1-291-91380-4) which is due in June 2016.

Julius Calpurnius Piso, a son of Arrius Piso, was the author of The Revelation. He was married to Hadrian's sister and was father-in-law of Tacitus' son. He wanted his grandson to become emperor after Hadrian, and was killed by Hadrian in 137 CE along with his grandson. Instead, his descendants became bishops of Rome & Alexander Severus, emperor.