Josephus' Antiquities - Volume 1: The Unabridged Paraphrase

For Christians, Flavius Josephus’ (37 to c. 100 A.D) works are one of the most essential extra-biblical chronicles written in the first century. His Jewish Antiquities are particularly valuable for Christians as a fountain of knowledge about the intertestamental period, from the destruction of Solomon’s temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 B.C. to the Roman procurator Florus in 64 A.D. But Josephus’ writings also take us back in Jewish history to God’s creation of the world, providing interesting sidelights to the Hebrew Scripture narratives from oral testimonies and other ancient, extra-biblical Jewish writings.

VOLUME 1: This first volume moves from God’s creation of the world in 4,004 B.C. to the death of Israel’s first king, Saul, in 1,055 B.C. Although Josephus follows the Bible’s timeline of the Patriarchs, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the Judges, and the prophet Samuel, all familiar to the Bible student, he adds interesting extra-biblical additions. For instance, in one segment, Josephus tells us of Moses' generalship of the Egyptian army in their war against the Ethiopians.

VOLUME 2: The second volume of Josephus' Antiquities takes us from King Saul’s death in 1,055 B.C. to the death of Judea’s Queen Alexandra in 67 B.C. Josephus’ narrative takes us through David’s rule, followed by Solomon and the kingdom’s split under Jeroboam and Rehoboam, the captivity of the ten tribes, Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel, Cyrus, Alexander the Great, Xerxes, the Maccabeans, and Queen Alexandra.

VOLUME 3: The final volume of Josephus’ Antiquities traces the history of the Jews from Queen Alexandra’s death in 67 B.C. to the procuratorship of Rome’s Florus in 64 A.D. These are years of inter-family squabbles as Aristobulus and Hyrcanus vie for the kingdom before Antipater’s son, Herod [the Great], kills Malchus, takes over as Tetrarch, and befriends Marc Antony. Herod then builds the second temple and many other works in Judea. Herod becomes king by Caesar’s proclamation, destroys his sons, and dies. Meanwhile, Jesus Christ is born, and Herod the Tetrarch rules. Caesar Caligula is assassinated, and through several perils, Agrippa is crowned the Judean king. Nero becomes Caesar in 54 A.D., and trouble roils Israel as Florus becomes procurator.