Jordan – Josephus, Flavius

Jordan

The longest and most important river in Palestine. 1. Name. — The name ‘Jordan’ is best derived from Heb. yarad ‘to descend,’ the noun Yarden formed from it signifying ‘the descender’; it is used almost invariably with the article. In Arabic the name is esh-Sheri’ah, or ‘the watering-place.’ though Arabic writers before the Crusades called it eUVrdun. Quite fanciful is Jerome’s derivation of the name from Jot and Dan, the two main sources of the river, as no source by the name of Jor is known.

2. Geology. — The geology of the Jordan is unique. Rising high up among the foothills of Mt. Hermon, it flows almost due south by a most tortuous course, through the two lakes of Huleh and Galilee, following the bottom of a rapidly descending and most remarkable geological fissure, and finally emptying itself into the Dead Sea, which is 1292 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. In its short course of a little more than 100 miles it falls about 3000 feet, and for the greater portion of the journey runs below the level of the ocean. No other part of the earth’s surface, uncovered by water, sinks to a depth of even 300 feet below sea-level, except the great Sahara. Professor Hull, the eminent Irish geologist, accounts for this great natural cleft by supposing that towards the end of the Eocene period a great ‘fault’ or fracture was caused by the contraction from east to west of the limestone crust of the earth. Later, during the Pliocene period, the whole Jordan valley probably formed an inland lake more than 200 miles long, but at the close I of the Glacial period the waters decreased until they reached their present state. Traces of water, at heights 1 180 feet above the Dead Sea’s present level, are found on the lateral slopes of the Jordan valley.

3. Sources.* — The principal sources of the Jordan are three: (1) the river Hasbani, which rises in a large fountain on the western slopes of Mt. Hermon, near Hasbeiya, at an altitude of 1700 feet; (2) the Leddan, which gushes forth from the celebrated fountain under Tell el-Qadi, or Dan, at an altitude of 500 feet — the most copious source of the Jordan; and (3) the river Banias, which issues from an immense cavern below Banias or Csesarea Philippi, having an altitude of 1200 feet. These last two meet about five miles below their fountainheads at an altitude of 148 feet, and are joined about a half-mile farther on by the Hasbani. Their comrningled waters flow on across a dismal marsh of papyrus, and, after seven miles, empty into Lake Huleh, which is identified by some with ‘the waters of Merom’ (Joshua 11). The lake is four miles long, its surface being but 7 feet above sea-level.

4. The Upper Jordan is a convenient designation for that portion of the river between Lake Huleh and the Sea of Galilee. Emerging from Lake Huleh, the river flows placidly for a space of two miles, and then dashes down over a rocky and tortuous bed until it enters the Sea of Galilee, whose altitude is 682 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. It falls, in this short stretch of lOi miles, 689 feet. At certain seasons its turbid waters can be traced for quite a considerable distance into the sea, which is 12i miles long.

5. The Lower Jordan is an appropriate designation for that portion of the river between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The distance in a straight line between these two seas is but 65 miles, yet it is estimated that the river’s actual course covers not less than 200, due to its sinuosity. In this stretch it falls 610 feet, the rate at first being 40 feet per mile. Its width varies from 90 to 200 feet. Along its banks grow thickets of tamarisks, poplars, oleanders, and bushes of different varieties, which are described by the prophets of the OT as ‘the pride of Jordan’ (Jeremiah 12:5 49:19 50:44. Zee 11:3). Numerous rapids, whirlpools, and islets characterize this portion of the Jordan. The river’s entire length from Banias to the Dead Sea is 104 miles, measured in a straight line.

6. Tributaries. — Its most important tributaries flow into the Lower Jordan and from the East. The largest is the Yarmuk of the Rabbis, the Hieromax of the Greeks, and the Sheri’at eUManadireh of the Arabs, which drains Gilead and Bashan in part. It enters the Jordan 5 miles south of the Sea of Galilee. The Bible never mentions it . The only other tributary of considerable importance is the Jabbok of the OT, called by the natives Nahr ez-Zerka or Wady el-‘Arab. It rises near’ Amman (Philadelphia), describes a semicircle, and fiows into the Jordan at a point about equidistant from the two seas. On the west are the Nahr eUJalnd, which rises in the spring of Harod at the base of Mt. Gilboa and drains the valley of Jezreel; Wady Farah, which rises near Mt. Ebal and drains the district east of Shechem; and the Wady el-Keli, by Jericho, which is sometimes identified with the brook Cherith.

7. Fords. — The fords of the Jordan are numerous. The most celebrated is that opposite Jericho known as Makhadet et-Hajlah, where modern pilgrims are accustomed to bathe. There is another called eUGhSranlyeh near the mouth of Wady Nimrin. North of the Jabbok there are at least a score. In ancient times the Jordan seems to have been crossed almost exclusively by fords (1 Samuel 13:7, 2 Samuel 10:17) but David and his household were possibly conveyed across in a ‘ferry-boat’ (2 Samuel 19; the rendering is doubtful).

8. Bridges are not mentioned in the Bible. Those which once spanned the Jordan were built by the Romans, or by their successors. The ruins of one. with a single arch, may be seen at Jisr ed-Damieh near the moutti of the Jabbolc. Since its construction the river bed has changed so that it no longer spans the real channel. This bridge is on the direct route from Sheohem to Ramoth-gilead. There is another called Jisr eUMujamiyeh, close by that of the new railroad from Haifa to Damascus, or about 7 miles south of the Sea of Galilee. A third, built of black basalt and having three arches, is known as the Jisr Benat- Ya’gub, or ‘bridge of the daughters of Jacob,’ situated about two miles south of Lake Huleh on the direct caravan route from Acre to Damascus. A temporary wooden bridge, erected by the Arabs, stands opposite Jericho.

9. The Jordan valley .—The broad and ever-descending valley through which the Jordan flows is called by the Arabs the OhBr or ‘bottom’; to the Hebrews it was known as the ‘Arabah, It is a long plain, sloping uniformly at the rate of 9 feet to the mile, being at the northern end 3, and at the southern end 12 miles broad. For the most part the valley is fertile, especially in the vicinity of Beisan, where the grass and grain grow freely. Near the Dead Sea, however, the soil is saline and barren. The ruins of ancient aqueducts here and there all over the plain give evidence of its having been at one time highly cultivated. By irrigation the entire region could easily be brought under cultivation once more ind converted into a veritable garden. In the vicinity of Jericho, once the’ city of palms,’ a large variety of fruits, vegetables, and other products is grown. The most fertile portion under cultivation at the present time is the comparatively narrow floor-bed of the river known as the ZSr, varying from a quarter to two miles in width, and from 20 to 200 feet in depth below the GhOr proper. This is the area which was overflowed every year ‘all the time of harvest’ (Joshua 3:15). It has been formed, doubtless, by the changing of the river bed from one side of the valley to the other.

10. The climate of the Jordan valley is hot. The Lower Jordan in particular, being shut in by two great walls of mountain, the one on the east, and the other on the west, is decidedly tropical. Even in winter the days are uncomfortably warm, though the nights are cool; in summer both days and nights are torrid, especially at Jericho, where the thermometer has been known to register 130 Fahr. by day, and 110 after sunset. This accounts largely for the unpeopled condition of the Lower Jordan valley both to-day and in former times.

11. Flora and fauna. — The trees and shrubs of the Jordan valley are both numerous and varied. The retem or broom plant, thorns, oleanders, flowering bamboos, castor-oil plants, tamarisks, poplars, acacias. Dead Sea ‘apples of Sodom,’ and many other species of bush, all grow in the valley. The papyrus is especially luxuriant about Lake Huleh.

Animals such aa the leopard, jackal, boar, hysena, ibex, porcupine, and fox live in the thickets which border the banks. The lion has completely disappeared. The river abounds in fish of numerous species, many of them resembling those found in the Nile and the lakes of tropical Africa. Of the 35 species, however, known to exist, 16 are peculiar to the Jordan.

12. The Jordan as a boundary. — In view of what has been said, it is obvious that the Jordan forms a natural boundary to Palestine proper. In the earlier books of the OT we frequently meet with the expressions ‘on this side Jordan,’ and ‘on the other side of the Jordan,’ which suggest that the Jordan was a dividing line and a natural boundary. In Numbers 34:12, indeed, it is treated as the original eastern boundary of the Promised Land (cf. Joshua 22). Yet, as Lucien Gautier suggests (art. ‘Jordan’ in Hastings’ DCG), it was not so much the Jordan that constituted the boundary as the depressed OhBr valley as a whole.

13. Scripture references. — The Jordan is frequently mentioned in both the OT and the NT. Lot, for ezample, is said to have chosen ‘all the circle of the Jordan’ because ‘it was well watered everywhere’ (Genesis 13:10) Joshua and all Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry ground (Joshua 3:17) Ehud seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, cutting off their retreat (Judges 3:28) Gideon, Jephthah, David, Elijah, and Elisha were all well acquainted with the Jordan; Naaman the Syrian was directed to go wash in the Jordan seven times, that his leprosy might depart from him (2 Kings 5:10). And it was at the Jordan that John the Baptist preached and baptized, our Lord being among those who were here sacramentally consecrated (Matthew 3 and parallels). To-day thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the civilized world visit the Jordan; so that, as G. A. Smith (HGHL, p. 496) reminds us, ‘what was never a great Jewish river has become a very great Christian one.’ George L. Robinson.

Jorib

Jorib trS.— 1. (AV Joribas) 1 Esdras 8:44 = Jarib, Ezra 8:16. 2. 1 Esdras 9:19 = Jarib, Ezra 10:18.

Jor

Jor m. — An ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:29).

Jorkeam

A Judahite family name (1 Chronicles 2:44). We should perhaps read Jokdeam, the name of an unidentified place in the Negeb of Judah (Joshua 15:56).

Josabdus

Josabdus (1 Esdras 8:63) =Jozabad, No. 6.

Josaphias

Josaphias (1 Esdras 8) =Ezr 8:10 Josiphiah.

Josech

( AV Joseph). An ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:26). .

Josedek

See Jehozadak.

Joseph

(in OT and Apocr.). 1. The patriarch. See next article. 2. A man of Issachar (Numbers 13:7). 3. A son of Asaph (1 Chronicles 25:2, 9). 4. One of the sons of Bani who had married a foreign wife (Ezra 10) called in 1 Esdras 9 Josephus. 6. A priest (Nehemiah 12:14). 6. An ancestor of Judith (Judith 8:1). 7. An officer of Judas Maccabaeus (1 Mac 5). 8. In 2 Mac. 8:22. and probably also 10:19, Joseph is read by mistake for John, one of the brothers of Judas Maccabaeus.

Joseph

Jacob’s eleventh son, the elder of the two sons of Rachel; born in Haran. The name is probably contracted from Jehoseph (Psalms 81:5), ‘May God add’ (cf. Genesis 30:23 f.; where etymologies from two sources are given) . Joseph is the principal hero of the later chapters of Genesis, which are composed mainly of extracts from three documents. J and E supply the bulk of the narrative, and as a rule are cited alternately, the compiler often modifying a quotation from one document with notes derived from the other. From P some six or seven short excerpts are made, the longest being Genesis 46:6–27, where the object and the parenthetic quality are evident. For the details of analysis, see Driver LOT’, 17 fl. The occasional differences of tradition are an evidence of original independence, and their imperfect harmonization in the joint narrative is favourable to its substantial historicity .

At present the date of Joseph can be only provisionally fixed, as the account of his life neither mentions the name of the ruling Pharaoh nor refers to distinctive Egyptian manners or customs in such a way as to yield a clue to the exact period. The Pharaoh of the oppression is now generally taken to be Rameses ii. of the 19th dynasty (c. B.C. 1275-1208); and if this be correct, the addition of the years of residence in Egypt (Exodus 12:41) would bring Joseph’s term of ofBce into the reign of the later Hyksos kings (c. b.c. 2098-1587; for dates and particulars, see Petrie, History of Egypt).

With the return of Jacob to Hebron (Genesis 35:27) he ceases to be the central figure of the story, and Joseph takes his place. Of his life to the age of 17 (Genesis 37:2) nothing is told, except that he was his father’s favourite, and rather too free in carrying complaints of his brothers and telling them of his boyish dreams. Sent to Shechem, he found that his brothers had taken their flocks northwards fifteen miles, to the richer pasturage of Dothan. As soon as he came within sight, their resentment perceived its opportunity, and they arranged to get rid of him and his dreams; but the two traditions are not completely harmonized. J represents Judah as inducing his brothers to sell Joseph to a company of Ishmaelites; but E makes Reuben a mediator, whose plans were frustrated by a band of Midianites, who had in the interval kidnapped Joseph and stolen him away (40:15). The phraseology is against the identification of the two companies; and the divergent traditions point to a natural absence of real agreement among the brothers, with a frustration of their purposes by means of which they were ignorant. What became of Joseph they did not really know ; and to protect themselves they manufactured the evidence of the blood-stained coat.

In Egypt, Joseph was bought by Potiphar, a court official, whose title makes him chief of the royal butchers and hence of the body-guard; and the alertness and trustworthiness of the slave led quickly to his appointment as major domo (Egyp. mer-per), a functionary often mentioned on the monuments (Erman, Li/e in Anc. Egypt, 187 f.). Everything prospered under Joseph’s management; but his comeliness and courtesy attracted the notice of his master’s wife, whose advances, being repelled, were transformed into a resentment that knew no scruples. By means of an entirely false charge she secured the removal of Joseph to the State prison, which was under the control of Potiphar (40:3). and where again he was soon raised to the position of overseer or underkeeper. Under his charge were placed in due course the chief of the Pharaoh’s butlers and the chief of his bakers, who had for some unstated reason incurred the royal displeasure. Both were i>erplexed with dreams, which Joseph interpreted to them correctly. Two years later the Pharaoh himself had his duplicated dream of the fat and lean kine and of the full and thin ears; and as much significance was attached in Egypt to dreams, the king was distressed by his inability to find an interpreter, and ‘his spirit was troubled.’ Thereupon the chief butler recalled Joseph’s skill and his own indebtedness to him, and mentioned him to the Pharaoh, who sent for him, and was so impressed by his sagacity and foresight that exaltation to the rank of keeper of the royal seal followed, with a degree of authority that was second only to that of the throne. The Egyptian name of Zaphenath-paneah (of which the meaning is perhaps ‘The God spake and he came into life,’ suggesting that the bearer of the name owed his promotion to the Divine use of him as revealer of the Divine will) was conferred upon him, and he married Asenath, daughter of one of the most imimrtant dignitaries in the realm, the priest of the great national temple of the sun at On or Heliopolls, seven miles north-east of the modern Cairo.

So far as Egypt was concerned, Joseph’s policy was to store the surplus com of the years of plenty in granaries, and afterwards so to dispose of it as to change the system of land-tenure. Famines in that country are due generally to failure or deficiency in the annual inundation of the Nile, and several of long endurance have been recorded. Brugsch (Hist.^ i. 304) reports an inscription, coinciding in age approximately with that of Joseph, and referring to a famine lasting ‘many years,’ during which a distribution of corn was made. This has been doubtfully identified with Joseph’s famine. Other inscriptions of the kind occur, and are sufficient to authenticate the fact of prolonged famines, though not to yield further particulars of the one with which Joseph had to deal. His method was to sell com first for money (rings of gold, whose weight was certified by special offlclhls), and when all this was exhausted (47). com was given in exchange for cattle of every kind, and finally for the land. The morality of appropriating the surplus produce and then compelling the people to buy it back, must not be judged by modern standards of Justice, but is defensible, if at all, only in an economic condition where the central government was responsible for the control of a system of irrigation upon which the fertility of the soil and the produce of its cultivation directly depended, and where the private benefit of the individual had to be ignored in view of a peril threatening the community. Instead of regarding the arrangement as a precedent to be followed in different states of civilization, ground has been found in it for charging Joseph with turning the needs of the people into an occasion for oppressing them; and certainly the effect upon the character and subsequent condition of the people was not favourable. The system of tenure in existence before, by which large landed estates were held by private proprietors, was changed into one by which all the land became the property of the crown, the actual cultivators paying a rental of one-fifth of the produce (47:24). That some such change took place is clear from the monuments (cf. Erman, Life in Anc. Egypt, 102), though they have not yielded the name of the author or the exact date of the change. An exception was made in favour of the priests (.i7^), who were supported by a fixed income in kind from the Pharaoh, and therefore had no need to part with their land. In later times (cf. Diodorus Siculus, i. 73 f.) the land was owned by the kings, the priests, and the members of a military caste; and it is not likely that the system introduced by Joseph lasted long after his death. The need of rewarding the services of successful generals or partisans would be a strong temptation to the expropriation of some of the royal lands.

The peculiarity of the famine was that it extended over the neighbouring countries (41:56 f.) and tfiat is the fact of significance in regard to the history of Israel, with which the narrative in consequence resumes contact. The severity of the famine in Canaan led Jacob to send all his sons except Benjamin (42:4) to buy corn in Egypt. On their arrival they secured an interview with Joseph, and prostrated themselves before him (37:7 42) ; but in the grown man, with his shaven face [on the monuments only foreigners and natives of inferior rank are represented as wearing beards] and Egyptian dress, they entirely failed to recognize their brother. The rough accusation that they were spies in search of undefended ways by which the country might be invaded from the east, on which side lines of posts and garrisons were maintained under two at least of the dynasties, aroused their fears, and an attempt was made to allay Joseph’s suspicions by detailed information. Joseph catches at the opportunity of discovering the truth concerning Benjamin, and, after further confirming in several ways the apprehensions of his brothers, retains one as a hostage in ward and sends the others home. On their return (42:35 E), or at the first lodging-place (42:27 J) on the way, the discovery of their money in their sacks increased their anxiety, and for a time their father positively refused to consent to further dealings with Egypt. At length his resolution broke down under the pressure of the famine (43:11 ff.). In Egypt the sons were received courteously, and invited to a feast in Joseph’s house, where they were seated according to their age (43:33). and Benjamin was singled out for the honour of a special ‘mess’ (cf. 2 Samuel 11:8) as a mark of distinction. They set out homewards in high spirits, unaware that Joseph had directed that each man’s money should be placed in his sack, and his own diviningcup of silver (44; the method of divination was hydromancy — an article was thrown into a vessel of water, and the movements of the water were thought to reveal the unknown) in that of Benjamin. Overtaken at almost their fljst halting-place, they were charged with theft, and returned in a body to Joseph’s house. His reproaches elicited a frank and pathetic speech from Judah, after which Joseph could no longer maintain his incognito. He allayed the fears of his consciencestricken brothers by the assurance that they had been the agents of Providence ‘to preserve life’ (45; cf. Psalms 105:17 ff.) and in the name of the Pharaoh he invited them with their father to settle in Egypt, with the promise of support during the five years of famine that remained.

Goshen, a pastoral district in the Delta about forty miles north-east of Cairo, was selected for the new home of Jacob. The district was long afterwards known as ‘the land of Rameses’ (47) from the care spent upon it by the second king of that name, who often resided there, and founded several cities in the neighbourhood. In Egypt swine-herds and cow-herds were ‘an abomination’ to the people (46; cf. Hdt. ii. 47, and Erman, op. cU. 439f.), but there is no independent evidence that shepherds were, and the contempt must be regarded as confined to those whose duties brought them into close contact with cattle, for the rearing of cattle received much attention, the superintendent of the royal herds being frequently mentioned in the inscriptions. Joseph’s household and brothers flourished during the seventeen years (47) Jacob lived in Egypt. Before his death he blessed Joseph’s two sons, giving preference to the younger in view of the greatness of the tribe to be derived from him, and leaving to Joseph himself one portion above his brethren, viz. Shechem (48 RVra). After mourning for the royal period of seventy days (SO*; cf. Diod. Sic. i. 72), Joseph buried his father with great pomp in the cave of Machpelah, and cheered his brothers by a renewed promise to nourish and help them. He is said to have survived to the age of 110 (50:22). and to have left injunctions that his body should be conveyed to Canaan when Israel was restored. The body was carefully embalmed (50). and enclosed in a mummy-case or sarcophagus. In due course it was taken charge of by Moses (Exodus 13:19), and eventually buried at Shechem (Joshua 24:32).

Of the general historicity of the story of Joseph there need be no doubt. Allowance may be made for the play of imagination in the long period that elapsed before the traditions were reduced to writing in their present form, and for the tendency to project the characteristics of a tribe backwards upon some legendary hero. But the incidents are too natural and too closely related to be entirely a product of fiction; and the Egyptian colouring, which is common to both of the principal documents, is fatal to any theory that resolves the account into a mere elaboration in a distant land of racial pride. Joseph’s own character, as depicted, shows no traces of constructive art, but is consistent and singularly attractive. Dutifulness (1 Maccabees 2:53) is perhaps its keynote, manifested alike in the resistance of temptation, in uncomplaining patience in misfortune, and in the modesty with which he bore tiis elevation to rank and power. Instead of using opportunities for the indulgence of resentment, he recognizes the action of Providence, and nourishes the brothers (Sirach 49:15) who had lost all brotherly affection for him. On the other hand, there are blemishes which should be neither exaggerated nor overlooked. In his youth there was a degree of vanity that made him rather unpleasant company. , That his father was left so long in ignorance of his safety in Egypt may have been unavoidable, but leaves a -^-suspicion of inconsiderateness. When invested with ‘authority he treated the people in a way that would now be pronounced tyrannical and unjust, enriching and strengthening the throne at the expense of their woe; though, judged by the standards of his own day, the charge may not equally lie. On the whole, a very high place must be given him among the early founders of his race. In strength of right purpose he was second to none, whilst in the graces of reverence and kindness, of insight and assurance, he became the type of a faith that is at once personal and national (Hebrews 11:22). and allows neither misery nor a career of triumph to eclipse the sense of Divine destiny. R. W. Moss.

Joseph

(in NT). 1. 2. Two ancestors of our Lord, Luke 3:24, 30.

3 . The husband of Mary and ‘father’ of Jesus.— Every Jew kept a record of his lineage, and was very proud if he could claim royal or priestly descent; and Joseph could boast himself ‘a son of David’ (Matthew 1:20). His family belonged to Bethlehem, David’s city, but he had migrated to Nazareth (Luke 2:4). where he followed the trade of carpenter (Matthew 13:55). He was betrothed to Mary, a maiden of Nazareth, being probably much her senior, though the tradition of the apocryphal History of Joseph that he was in his ninety-third year and she in her fifteenth is a mere fable. The tradition that he was a widower and had ctiildren by his former wife probably arose in the interest of the dogma of Mary’s perpietual virginity. The Evangelists tell us little about him, but what they do tell redounds to his credit. (1) He was a pious Israelite, faithful in his observance of the Jewish ordinances (Luke 2:21–24) and feasts (Luke 2:41, 42). (2) He was a kindly man. When he discovered the condition of his betrothed, he drew the natural inference and decided to disown her, but he would do it as quietly as possible, and, so far as he might, spare her disgrace. And, when he was apprised of the truth, he was very land to Mary. On being summoned to Bethlehem by the requirements of the census, he would not leave her at home to suffer the slanders of misjudging neighbours, but took her with him and treated her very gently in her time of need (Luke 2:1–7). (3) He exhibited this disposition also in his nurture of the Child so wondrously entrusted to his care, taking Him to his heart and well deserving to be called His ‘father’ (Luke 2:33, 41, 4, Matthew 13:55, John 1:45 6:42). Joseph never appears in the Gospel story after the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus had attained the age of twelve years and become ‘a son of the Law’ (Luke 2) and since Mary always appears alone in the narratives of the pubhc ministry, it is a reasonable inference that he had died during the interval. Tradition says that he died at the age of one hundred and eleven years, when Jesus was eighteen.

4. One of the Lord’s brethren, Matthew 13, where AV reads Joses, the Greek form of the name. Cf. Mark 6:3.

6. Joseph of Arimathsa. — A wealthy and devout Israelite and a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a disciple of Jesus, but, dreading the hostility of his colleagues, he kept his faith secret. He took no part in the condemnation of Jesus, but neither did he protest against it; and the likelihood is that he prudently absented himself from the meeting. When all was over, he realized how cowardly a part he had played, and, stricken with shame and remorse, plucked up courage and ‘went in unto Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus’ (Mark 15:43). It was common for friends of the crucified to purchase their bodies, which would else have been cast out as refuse, a prey to carrion birds and beasts, and give them decent burial ; and Joseph would offer Pilate his price; in any case he obtained the body (Mark 15:45). Joseph had a garden close to Calvary, where he had hewn a sepulchre in the rock for his own last resting-place; and there, aided by Nicodemus, he laid the body swathed in clean linen (Matthew 27:57–61 = Mark 15:42–47 = Luke 23:50–56

19:38–42).

6. Joseph Barsabbas, the disciple who was nominated against Matthias as successor to Judas in the Apostolate. Hebrews 5, like James the Lord’s brother, Justus (Acts 1:23). Tradition says that he was one of the Seventy (Luke 10:1). T- See Barnabas. David Smith.

Josephus

Josephus (1 Esdras 9:34) Joseph, Ezra 10:42.

Josephus, Flavius

Jewish historian and general, born about a.d. 37 or 38, and died in the first years of the 2nd century.

1. Life. — According to his Life, Josephus was descended from a Maccabaean house, and was thus of both royal and priestly lineage. He states that he showed great precocity, and that the learned men of his race used to consult him when he was fourteen years of age. He studied successively with the Essenes and the Pharisees, as well as with the Sadducees. For three years he was a student with a hermit named Banus — very probably one of the Essenes — although Josephus does not seem to have been admitted to the higher grades of the order. At the age of 26 he went to Rome to bring about the acquittal of certain priests who had been arrested and sent to Rome for trial by Felix. In this he was successful, and even gained the favour of the Empress Poppaea.

Not long after his return from Rome the revolution of A.D. 66 broke out, and he was at once swept into its current. Of the events which follow he has given us two accounts, the earlier in the Jewish War [BJ], the later in his Life, written shortly before his death. These accounts are not always consistent, the latter showing more subservience to the Romans. In particular, he attempts to justify himself, and the Pharisees with whom he was associated, for participation in the revolt, by declaring that they judged it better for moderate men than for radicals to direct the course of events. The BJ, however, does not suggest this questionable proceeding on the part of the Jewish authorities.

The course of the war in Galilee, and particularly his own relations therewith, are minutely narrated by Josephus. His position was one of great difficulty. The Galllseans were grouped in various parties, ranging from those who opposed war with Rome to radicals like those who followed John of Giscala. The plans of Josephus and his fellow-commissioners from Jerusalem were further complicated by jealousies between the various cities, particularly Sepphoris, Tiberias, and TaricheEB. None the less, Josephus seems to have gone about the work of organizing the revolution energetically. He fortified the cities as well as he could, and attempted to introduce Roman military methods among the troops he was gathering. Whether he was, as he claims, too strict in the matter of booty, or, as his enemies claimed, too lukewarm in the cause of the revolution, complaints were lodged against him at Jerusalem, and an investigating committee was sent into Galilee. Various adventures then followed, but in the end Josephus seems to have been acquitted and to have gained a complete ascendency over his local enemies. John of Giscala, however, subsequently went to Jerusalem, and proved a persistent enemy, while the Zealot party as a whole seems never to have been satisfied with the attitude of Josephus.

The approach of Vespasian from the north at once showed how half-hearted had been the revolutionary sympathies of many of the Galilsean cities. Several of them surrendered without serious fighting, and Vespasian, after one or two desperate battles, was soon in possession of all Galilee excepting Jotapata on the east of the Sea of Gahlee, where Josephus and his surviving troops were entrenched. Reinforcements the Sanhedrin could not send, and for forty-seven days the Romans besieged the city. During that time Josephus, if his own account is to be believed, performed marvellous deeds of strategy and valour. But all to no purpose. The city fell, and was razed to the ground. Josephus was taken prisoner, after having by a trick escaped being Idlled by his own soldiers. On being brought to Vespasian he claimed prophetic ability, and saluted the general as Emperor. For this and other reasons he won favour with Vespasian, was jiven his freedom, and took his benefactor’s family name, Flavius.

When Titus undertook the siege of Jerusalem, Josephus accompanied him as interpreter or herald. By this time, however, he had become hateful to the Jews, and could accomplish nothing in the way of inducing them to make terms with the Romans. When the city was captured, he was able to render some service to the unfortunate Jews because of the favour in which he stood with Titus. He was subsequently given estates in Judaea, and was thus enabled to live during the remainder of his long life as a gentleman of leisure, devoted to the pursuit of literature. He enjoyed the friendship of Titus and of king Agrippa ii. He was several times married, and left several children.

2. Writings, — The chief importance of Josephus lies not in his career as a leader of the Jewish revolution, but in the works which have come down to us. Generally speaking, his writings are intended to disabuse his Greek and Roman contemporaries of some of the misconceptions that then existed concerning the Jews. To that end he does not hesitate to employ various ingenious interpretations of historical events, as well as legends, and even to hint that the Jewish records which he quotes have certain allegorical meanings to be disclosed in a subsequent work, which, however, he never wrote.

(1) The earliest of these writings is that Concerning the Jewish War, a work in seven books. It covers briefly the period from the time of Antiochus Epiphanes to the outbreak of the war of a.d. 66-70, and then narrates the events of the war in detail. It was originally written in Aramaic, but was re-written by Josephus in Greek. It was probably issued before 79, as it was presented to Vespasian. Because of the reference to the Temple of Peace as finished (,BJ vii. v. 7), it must have been written after 75. The work, while inaccurate at many points, and full of a tendency to present the actions of the Jews in as favourable a light as possible, is of inestimable value so far as its record of facts is concerned, and particularly for the light it throws on the state of society in the midst of which Jesus laboured. The book found favour with Vespasian and Titus and Agrippa ii.

(2) The Antiquities of the Jews. — This great work in twenty books is one of the most important monuments which have come down to us from antiquity. It was published in the year 93. It covers the history of the Jews from the earliest Biblical times to the outbreak of the revolution of a.d. 66. It is particularly interesting as an illustration of the method by which the facts of Hebrew history could be re-written for the edification of the Greeks and Romans. It abounds in legends and curious interpretations. Josephus was by no means dependent upon the OT exclusively. He constantly refers to non-Biblical writers, mentioning by name most of the Greek and Roman historians. He used constantly the works of Alexander Polyhistor, Nicholas of Damascus, and Strabo. He probably also used Herodotus. The work abounds in collections of decrees and inscriptions which make it of great value to secular as well as to Biblical historians. The later books give very full accounts of the life of Herod i., for which Josephus is largely dependent upon Nicholas of Damascus, the historiographer of Herod. In his treatment of the Maccabees he is largely dependent upon First Maccabees. His account of the successors of Herod is hardly more than a sketch, but that of the events leading up to the revolution is more complete. (3) The Idfe. — This work was written in reply to Justus of Tiberias, by whom Josephus was accused of causing the revolt. In his Life Josephus represents himself as a friend of the Romans, but many statements are disproved by his earlier work, the BJ. This Life appeared after the death of Agrippa ii., that is, in the beginning of the 2nd century.

(4) Against Avion. — This is a defence of the Jewish people against the attacks of their enemies and calumniators, chief among whom was Apion, a grammarian of Alexandria, who wrote during the first half of the 1st cent. A.D. It was written probably about the same time as the Life, and is particularly valuable as a narrative of the charges brought against the Jewish rehgion by the Greeks. It also serves as an exposition of the customs and views of the Jews of the 1st century, not only in Judfea but throughout the Dispersion.

3 . The importance of Josephus to the Biblical student. — As a contemporary of the NT writers, Josephus describes the Jewish background of Christian history as does no other writer of antiquity. The Book of Acts is particularly illuminated by his writings, while the chronology of the Apostolic period is given its fixed dates by his references to Jewish and Koman rulers. Josephus, it is true, does not add to our Isnowledge of the life of Christ. While his reference to John the Baptist is possibly authenticand while it is not impossible that he mentions Jesus, the entire passage (Ant. xviii. iii. 3) can hardly have come from Josephus in its present form. At the same time, his narrative of the events of the Gospel period and his description of the character of the various rulers of Judsea serve to corroborate the accuracy of both the Gospels and Acts. As furnishing data for our knowledge of Jewish legends, parties, practices, and literature, his importance is exceptional. Even if we did not have the Mishna, it would be possible from his passages to reconstruct a satisfactory picture of the Jewish life of NT times. His few references to the current Messianic expectations of his day are particularly valuable. On the other hand, his comments upon and explanations of the OT are of comparatively small value. Shailer Mathews.