All About Josephus
In this 20-book work, Josephus traced the trajectory of his people from Creation forward.
What is the Antiquities of the Jews (or Judaean Antiquities)?
This synonymous term for the Hebrew Bible is an acronym standing in for Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim.
What is Tanakh?
The Second Temple complex was massively expanded under this Rome-backed Idumean king.
Who is Herod the Great?
This king conquered Jerusalem and made it the capital of his United Monarchy ca. 1000 BCE.
Who is David?
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, beginning in 1946-47, in caves near this site.
What is Qumran?
Josephus found favour with this Roman imperial dynasty, even adopting its name as part of his own.
What is the Flavian dynasty?
The term Pentateuch refers to these first five biblical books.
What are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy?
This prolific scholar from the Diaspora in Egypt observed from his pilgrimage to Jerusalem: "Countless multitudes from countless cities come, some over land, others over sea, from east and west and north and south at every feast. They take the temple for their port as a general haven and safe refuge from the bustle and great turmoil of life."
Who is Philo of Alexandria?
After defeating the Neo-Babylonian empire, this Persian emperor permitted the return of Jews to "Yehud" and the construction of a new Temple in Jerusalem.
Who is Cyrus II (the Great)?
This term refers to the veneration of a deity without the use of images depicting that deity.
What is aniconic worship?
Rather like Goldilocks, Josephus tells his readers that he tested out all the major Jewish sects of his time, ultimately finding this sect "just right."
What are the Pharisees?
The modern abbreviations E, J, P, and D stand for these hypothesized authors, or groups of authors, for different parts, or "strands," of the Hebrew Bible.
Who are the Elohist, the Jahwist, the Priestly Source, and the Deuteronomist?
This figure, from whom familial descent would be traced for many centuries, was the first High Priest at the Temple constructed under King Solomon.
Who is Zadok?
This son of Herod the Great became Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea following his father's death. In the New Testament, he is most notably associated with the execution of John the Baptist.
Who is Herod Antipas?
This early Christian apologist authored the Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, which developed some anti-Judaic tropes that would become commonplace in late antique Christian discourse adversus Iudaeos.
Who is Justin Martyr?
In Against Apion, Josephus supplies the earliest-surviving attestation to this Egyptian priest and author of an anti-Judaic alternate Exodus story.
Who is Manetho?
The Song of this "judge" is widely considered one of the earliest-composed texts included in the Hebrew Bible?
Who is Deborah?
Some time after the destruction of the First Temple, a Jewish temple was established on this island in the Nile.
What is Elephantine?
Per the biblical book bearing her name, this Jewish woman was the Queen of Persia, and helped to avert the murderous plot of the grand vizier Haman.
Who is Esther?
This war in Judaea – the name of which derives from the Roman governor Lusus Quietus – is traditionally considered in tandem with the contemporary Diaspora Revolt of the mid 110s CE.
What is the Kitos War?
This Latin term refers to Josephus's attestation to the existence and execution of Jesus of Nazareth, often cited by New Testament scholars as the strongest first-century CE evidence outside the texts that would become the New Testament.
What is the Testimonium Flavianum?
These 150 (or so) "praises" traditionally have been attributed to King David, though some, like #29, may actually predate David.
What are the Psalms?
The construction of the Second Temple was completed ca. 516 BCE under this governor of Yehud.
Who is Zerubbabel?
This Queen of Judea reigned effectively in the late Hasmonean period; a conflict between her sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, led ultimately to Rome's takeover of Jud(a)ea.
Who is Salome I (or Salome Alexandra)?
Inscriptions and objects dedicated to this Canaanite goddess have been cited as evidence for early Israelite polytheism.
Who is Asherah?