Throughout Christian history, Joshephus’ works have been mined for the light they shed on the New Testament world. Josephus tells us about the Herodian family, the temple, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. He mentions James the brother of Jesus, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself. In Josephus and the New Testament, Steve Mason, an internationally acknowledged authority on Josephus, introduces readers to this first-century Jewish historian, allowing them to explore Josephus’ witness to the formative environment of early Judaism and Christianity.
The Logos Bible Software edition of this volume is designed to encourage and stimulate your study and understanding of Scripture. Biblical passages link directly to your English translations and original-language texts, and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. In addition, you can perform powerful searches by topic and find what other authors, scholars, and theologians have to say about the Word of God.
“The nt stood by itself as a serene island of divine revelation, while ‘history’ swirled around it.” (Page 301)
“He wrote, as we shall see, in order to explain Judaism to outsiders and to demonstrate its virtues in a world that was often hostile. But Christian authors took over his most self-critical work, in which he castigates a small number of Jews for their failure to live up to the standards of Judaism, and turned that work against the Jewish people as a whole, thus exactly reversing Josephus’s intention.” (Page 20)
“I cannot prove beyond doubt that Luke knew the writings of Josephus. If he did not, however, we have a nearly incredible series of coincidences, which require that Luke knew something that closely approximated Josephus’s narrative in several distinct ways.” (Page 292)
“The nt reader in particular must resist the temptation to assimilate Josephus too quickly to the nt environment.” (Page 300)
“He seems deliberately to play up his own duplicity and deviousness, for rhetorical effect.” (Page 299)
Steve Mason is widely recognized as one of the foremost authorities on Josephus today. In this thoroughly revised introduction, he sets out his understanding of the Jewish author and his writings as well as how his works may be responsibly used in the study of Christian origins. The result is the finest introduction to Josephus for students of the New Testament that has been written to date.
—Gregory E. Sterling, dean, Yale Divinity School, Yale University
There can be no doubt that the best aid for understanding the background of the New Testament is its contemporary, Josephus; and . . . the most careful, most comprehensive, and most useful introduction to Josephus as the key to the background for the New Testament is Steve Mason’s book. As one reads it, one senses that a master teacher is talking directly to one in a most delightful, even breezy, style. . . . Even the most advanced student will find the book of great value.
—Louis H. Feldman, Abraham Wouk Family Professor of Classics and Literature, Yeshiva University
One of the most important and interesting personalities in extra-biblical history of the New Testament era is Flavius Josephus (ca AD 37–100). . . . [Mason] is widely regarded as a leader among living Josephan scholars. . . . This new edition is well designed and includes a new series of charts and maps that are helpful in sorting out the various personalities and groups. . . . Mason has written an overview and a lucid and detailed introduction that deals with a quite complicated corpus of work from a singularly unique individual. . . . This work is well indexed (particularly the index of Josephus’ works cited) and provides excellent bibliographic references.
—Master’s Seminary Journal
Mason . . . improves upon the first edition of his work on Josephus and the New Testament by substantially rewriting parts of it, notably chapter three on the writings of Josephus, by far the longest chapter at nearly a hundred pages, reflecting the explosion of scholarship in this field. . . . Mason is overly modest in describing the intention of this book as making Josephus accessible to the New Testament reader. This book is now the best one-volume introduction to Josephus for anyone, presenting in language both clear and deft the contemporary appreciation of a master rhetorician whose project bore many similarities to the gospel writers, for whom he provided a foundation and model. . . . The clear introductions and conclusions to each chapter, charts summarizing dynasties and important contemporary events, together with new maps, make this volume especially enjoyable to read.
Mason presents a balanced and informed analysis of Josephus and his writings, presenting fresh, thoughtful assessments of Josephus’ purposes for writing his four known works, contrary to traditional interpretations and frank admission to the limits of present knowledge. . . . This volume is a helpful examination of the writings of an important literary figure who impacts biblical studies.
—Southwestern Journal of Theology