Nobody annotates a translation like William Whiston did. This book was first published in 1737. The text Whiston had was less complete and had many transcription errors that hadn't yet been detected. At one point in his life, Whiston fell afoul of the church because he proudly adopted Arianism. This translation is a wonderful accomplishment and has made an impact on contemporary translators who surely compare their results with his.
There can be no doubt that Flavius Josephus was a monumental historian. Without his works, we would know very much less about Judea and Israel than we do. In 'Antiquities of the Jews', we begin with the creation of the world and end up during the Maccabean revolt. Most of this longest history is drawn directly from books of the Bible. I hesitate to use the word 'summary', but it is also an explication of the Biblical text. For me, the most interesting parts are the story about Alexander the Great's visit to Jerusalem, the way the Septuagint was written. There are brief passages about Jesus Christ, St. John the Baptist, and St. James the Just. The authenticity of these passages was challenged even by Eusebius of Caesarea in 324 CE. Whiston defends the hypothesis that they are authentic.
'The Wars of the Jews' takes us from the Maccabean revolt through the autobiography of Flavius Josephus. This work was originally written in his 'paternal tongue' (Aramaic). He then translated it into classical Greek. Only the Greek text survives. This is an autobiography written 400 years before its subject was born. Josephus became the governor of Galilee as a fairly young man. He was a bibliophile, a Pharisee, and a politician destined to witness Jerusalem destroyed in 70AD. The word 'Flavius' in his name meant he had been adopted by the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus. He was a member of the imperial household because he remained loyal to Rome.
There are some minor works and a very early Christian sermon as well in this complete works. Whether you agree with Whiston that Flavius Josephus converted to Christianity is up to you. I'm not convinced that he did, and have developed the strong opinion that he did not.
I like some contemporary translations better than this. Whiston wrote and translated well, but it is an 18th century idiom throughout. There's a degree to which this is delightful, but it's almost the fault of Josephus for using very odd grammar that this is a harder read than necessary. He was trying to imitate classical Greek authors in the original. This leads to an awkward style that can't always be improved by a translator.
This is a good deep-cut and has a nice index. It has some wild opinions, of both Josephus and Whiston, and will be sure to raise many questions for you.
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Very rich reference material
The book, the hard cover version, came as advertised. The binding is well made, sturdy and should last long with proper handling. The paper is white about 60/70 gsm but strong enough for normal use. The printing is really tiny because there are two columns per page, and that makes the reading very tiring to the eyes. If this is not an issue, then this single volume will suffice. I have not tried to finish reading this book, it’s really voluminous. But the book is very rich in contents, and I use it as reference. It makes a very valuable addition to any library and to those thirsting to acquire additional knowledge.
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Peter B.
A great reference volume with a nice hard cover.
Reviewed in Australia on July 16, 2021
