A general in the Great Jewish Revolt before becoming an adviser to his erstwhile Roman enemies and thereafter a historian in Rome, Josephus Flavius (c. 37-c. 100 CE) and his writings have aroused intense interest and controversy across nearly two millennia. Whether maligned as a traitor to the Jews, celebrated as their shrewd defender, and/or even presented as a proto-Christian, Josephus—our most important source for the Jewish history of the first century C.E.—is simply indispensable. This three-part series seeks both to account for and to engage with Josephus’s ongoing fascination.

By closely examining:

1) Josephus’s articulation of a hybrid Judeo-Roman identity.

2) Josephus’s reinterpretation of the Jewish past in a Greco-Roman cultural context

3) The immense influence Josephus’s writings have enjoyed—first on Christians, eventually also among Jews

These lectures, taken together, will offer a compelling answer to the perennial question: Why Josephus?

Please register for each lecture separately by clicking on the links below.  Each program can be watched independently or as part of the series.

Jan 24, 2024

7pm MST

Why Josephus Part Three

Whose Josephus? The First-Century Historian’s Afterlives Among Christians and Jews, Daniel Stein Kokin, ASU