Who was Josephus ?

When it says Jewish it means Judean living in Judah/Judea or of the religion of the Judeans. Also the word Judaism (Judeanism) appears zero times in his complete works. Josephus likely was not Christian so was synagogue of satan religion.

Flavius Josephus (c. AD 37 – c. 100) was a Jewish priest, general, historian, and later a Roman citizen whose writings are among the most important sources for Second Temple Judaism and the world of the New Testament.

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Early life (c. AD 37–66)​

• Born Yosef ben Mattityahu in Jerusalem to a priestly (Hasmonean-linked) family.
• Educated in Jewish law and traditions; claims familiarity with Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.
• By his mid-20s he was recognized for learning and sent on an embassy to Rome (c. AD 64), gaining exposure to imperial power.

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The Jewish War & turning point (AD 66–70)​

• At the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War, Josephus was appointed commander in Galilee.
• After the fall of Jotapata, he surrendered to Roman general Vespasian.
• Josephus famously predicted Vespasian’s rise to emperor. When this came true (AD 69), Josephus was spared, freed, and adopted the Roman family name Flavius.

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Life in Rome (after AD 70)​

• Lived under Flavian patronage (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian).
• Received a pension, Roman citizenship, and access to archives.
• Devoted himself to writing history to explain Jewish affairs to Greco-Roman readers and to defend Judaism against slander.

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Major works​

1. The Jewish War(c. AD 75)
   • An eyewitness-style account of the revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (AD 70).
2. Antiquities of the Jews(c. AD 93/94)
   • A sweeping history from Creation to AD 66.
   • Contains the famous passages about John the Baptist, James the brother of Jesus, and the debated Testimonium Flavianum concerning Jesus.
3. Against Apion
   • A defense of Judaism against Greek critics; argues for the antiquity and reasonableness of Jewish law and Scripture.
4. Life (Vita)
   • An autobiographical defense of his conduct, especially in Galilee.

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Beliefs & reputation​

• Identified with Pharisaic interpretations, yet wrote in a way accessible to Greeks and Romans.
• Controversial figure: viewed by some Jews as a traitor, by others as a survivor-historian whose works preserved invaluable information.
• For Christians, Josephus is crucial as a non-Christian witness to first-century Judaism and figures mentioned in the New Testament.

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Death & legacy​

• Died in Rome around AD 100.
• His writings shape modern understanding of:
  • Second Temple Judaism
  • The background of Jesus and early Christianity
  • The Jewish–Roman War and the fall of Jerusalem

If you’d like, I can walk through Josephus’s references to Jesus and James line by line, or compare his chronology with the Gospels and Acts, or assess how later Christian scribes handled his text.

All this books are free audiobook on youtube or e books online or physical books are sold online.
Here is a clear chronological timeline of the Judean–Roman Wars, consistently using “Judean” rather than “Jewish,” and keeping close to ancient historical framing (Josephus, Roman historians, later sources).

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Background (before AD 66)​

• 63 BC – Pompey the Great captures Jerusalem; Judea becomes a Roman client state.
• 37–4 BC – Reign of Herod the Great (Roman-backed king).
• AD 6 – Judea becomes a Roman province under direct rule; census of Quirinius sparks unrest.
• AD 40s–60s – Growing tension: taxation, Roman governors, priestly disputes, sectarian conflict, and messianic expectations.

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First Judean–Roman War (AD 66–73)​

(Also called the Great Revolt)

Outbreak​

• AD 66
  • Revolt begins in Jerusalem after abuses by the Roman procurator Gessius Florus.
  • Judeans defeat Roman forces at Beth Horon.
  • Roman legate Cestius Gallus retreats in defeat.

Roman counteroffensive​

• AD 67
  • Vespasian and his son Titus invade Judea.
  • Galilee falls (including Jotapata).
  • Josephus is captured.
• AD 68
  • Romans consolidate control of Judea outside Jerusalem.
  • Roman civil war begins after Nero’s death.

Fall of Jerusalem​

• AD 69
  • Vespasian becomes emperor.
  • Titus takes command of the Judean campaign.
• AD 70
  • Siege and destruction of Jerusalem.
  • Second Temple destroyed (month of Av).
  • Massive loss of life; captives taken to Rome.

Final resistance​

• AD 73
  • Masada falls to Roman forces.
  • End of the First Judean–Roman War.
    

Below is a chronological timeline of the Zealot movement, beginning in AD 6, using ancient categories and sources (Josephus foremost). I’ll distinguish Zealots proper from the closely related Sicarii, since Josephus sometimes separates them.

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Origins (AD 6–30)​

AD 6​

• Census of Quirinius when Judea becomes a Roman province.
• Judas the Galilean and Zadok the Pharisee lead resistance.
• Josephus calls this the “Fourth Philosophy” (besides Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes).
• Core ideology formed:
  • God alone is ruler
  • No tribute to Rome
  • Death preferable to slavery
• This is the birth of the Zealot ideology, though not yet a mass movement.

AD 6–30​

• Movement survives underground.
• Periodic unrest and sporadic violence.
• Leaders and followers are executed or dispersed.
• Ideology continues to spread quietly, especially in Galilee and Judea.

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Radicalization (AD 30–50)​

AD 30s​

• Roman crucifixions increase.
• Banditry (lēstai in Josephus) becomes more frequent — often ideological rather than criminal.
• Zealot ideas blend with messianic expectations.

AD 40s​

• Sons and followers of Judas the Galilean continue agitation.
• Roman procurators respond harshly.
• Seeds of organized revolt are forming, but no unified command yet.

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Rise of the Sicarii (AD 50–66)​

Early AD 50s​

• Emergence of the Sicarii (“dagger-men”).
• Assassinate collaborators in public places, especially Jerusalem festivals.
• Josephus treats them as an extreme wing of the Zealot cause.

AD 52–60​

• Sicarii active under procurators Felix and Festus.
• High priests, elites, and Roman sympathizers targeted.
• Popular fear spreads in Jerusalem.

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Open Revolt & Zealot Rule (AD 66–70)​

AD 66​

• Outbreak of the First Judean–Roman War.
• Zealots seize Jerusalem.
• Roman garrison massacred.
• Temple authorities overthrown.

AD 67​

• Zealot factions dominate Jerusalem.
• Moderate Judean leaders executed.
• Internal violence increases.
• John of Gischala emerges as a major Zealot leader.

AD 68​

• Zealots and Sicarii intensify terror.
• High priesthood corrupted and politicized.
• Civil war inside Jerusalem between rival Zealot factions.

AD 69​

• Simon bar Giora enters Jerusalem with his own armed followers.
• Three-way civil war inside the city:
  • John of Gischala
  • Simon bar Giora
  • Eleazar ben Simon
• Temple precinct becomes a battlefield.

AD 70​

• Roman siege under Titus.
• Zealot infighting continues during the siege.
• Second Temple destroyed.
• Zealot leadership annihilated or captured.
• Simon bar Giora paraded and executed in Rome.

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Final Resistance (AD 70–73)​

AD 70–73​

• Remaining Sicarii retreat to Masada.
• Conduct raids on nearby Judean settlements.
• Roman siege under Flavius Silva.

AD 73​

• Fall of Masada.
• Mass death of defenders (as reported by Josephus).
• End of organized Zealot resistance.

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Aftermath & Legacy​

Post-AD 73​

• Zealot movement ceases as an organized force.
• Roman repression eliminates ideological militancy in Judea.
• Memory of the Zealots preserved largely through Josephus, often negatively.
• Later rabbinic tradition views Zealot extremism as contributing to the Temple’s destruction.

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Summary Timeline (Compressed)​

• AD 6 – Judas the Galilean; Zealot ideology founded
• AD 6–50 – Underground resistance
• AD 50s – Sicarii assassinations
• AD 66 – Revolt begins; Zealots seize Jerusalem
• AD 67–69 – Zealot rule and civil war
• AD 70 – Jerusalem and Temple destroyed
• AD 73 – Masada falls; movement ends

Judean Zealot Sects around AD 70​

By the time of the siege of Jerusalem, the “Zealots” were not a single unified group, but multiple militant sects and warbands, often violently opposed to one another.

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1. The Zealots Proper (Temple Zealots)​

Identity​

• Core ideological heirs of Judas the Galilean (AD 6).
• Saw themselves as guardians of God’s kingship.
• Centered on Jerusalem and the Temple.
• Claimed legitimacy through zeal for the Law (qanah).

Beliefs​

• God alone is ruler; no foreign lord may reign.
• Armed resistance is a religious duty.
• Death preferable to submission.
• Temple purity more important than political compromise.

Base​

• Temple precincts (inner courts).
• Jerusalem aristocracy purged.

Leader​

Eleazar ben Simon​

• Son of Simon (possibly Simon the Zealot mentioned earlier by Josephus).
• Controlled the inner Temple.
• Zealously guarded sacrifices and access.
• Eventually fought other Zealot factions inside the Temple itself.

Fate​

• Crushed during Roman siege.
• Temple burned while they still occupied it.

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2. John of Gischala’s Zealot Faction​

Identity​

• Militarized Galilean Zealot group.
• Less priestly, more political and opportunistic.
• Used Zealot ideology but sought personal dominance.

Beliefs​

• Zeal for freedom, but flexible with violence.
• Willing to manipulate Temple institutions.
• Less concerned with ritual purity than power.

Base​

• Originally Galilee.
• Later controlled much of Jerusalem, including outer Temple courts.

Leader​

John of Gischala​

• Charismatic, ruthless, highly intelligent.
• Former Galilean commander.
• Rival of Josephus.
• Entered Jerusalem under pretense of defending the city.
• Controlled large armed forces and supplies.

Actions​

• Fought Eleazar ben Simon.
• Burned rival food stores, worsening famine.
• Eventually fought Simon bar Giora.

Fate​

• Captured alive by Romans.
• Imprisoned for life.

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3. Simon bar Giora’s Movement​

Identity​

• A mass-based revolutionary warlord, not a Temple priest.
• Represented rural and lower-class Judeans.
• Closest to a popular messianic kingship model.

Beliefs​

• Judea must be freed entirely.
• Strong anti-elite and anti-aristocracy stance.
• More openly royalist/messianic in tone.

Base​

• Countryside of Judea.
• Later controlled Upper City of Jerusalem.

Leader​

Simon bar Giora​

• Towering physical presence (per Josephus).
• Styled himself as king.
• Issued orders like a sovereign ruler.
• Wore royal garments during final defense.

Actions​

• Brought tens of thousands into Jerusalem.
• Fought both John of Gischala and Eleazar ben Simon.
• Controlled executions and food distribution.

Fate​

• Captured after Jerusalem fell.
• Paraded in Titus’ triumph in Rome.
• Executed publicly.

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4. The Sicarii (Extreme Zealots)​

Identity​

• Most radical Zealot sect.
• Named after the sica (dagger).
• Specialized in assassination and terror.

Beliefs​

• Total rejection of compromise.
• Willing to kill Judeans viewed as collaborators.
• Hostile even to other Zealots.

Base​

• Initially Jerusalem crowds.
• Later Masada.

Leader​

Eleazar ben Jair​

• Descendant of Judas the Galilean.
• Ideological purist.
• Rejected alliances with other Judean factions.

Actions​

• Public assassinations during festivals.
• Kidnappings and forced allegiance.
• After AD 70, raided Judean villages.

Fate​

• Last stand at Masada (AD 73).
• Mass death of defenders ends Sicarii resistance.

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5. Zealot-aligned Prophets & Messianic Figures​

Identity​

• Not formal commanders.
• Charismatic religious leaders.
• Promised divine intervention.

Beliefs​

• God would intervene visibly.
• Signs and wonders imminent.
• Jerusalem would not fall.

Role​

• Encouraged resistance during siege.
• Led crowds into fatal confrontations.
• Undermined rational defense.

Josephus’ View​

• Sees them as false prophets, but admits their influence was enormous.

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Internal Conflict (Critical Factor)​

By AD 69–70, Jerusalem was divided:

• Civil war during siege
• Food stores destroyed
• Thousands killed by fellow Judeans
• Romans exploited divisions

Josephus explicitly states more Judeans died by Judean hands than Roman ones during this phase.

1. False prophets promising signs in the Temple (during the siege)​

Jewish War 6.5.2 (§285–287)

“A false prophet was the occasion of these people’s destruction, who had made a public proclamation in the city that very day, that God commanded them to get up upon the temple, and that there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance.
Now there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose on the people, who denounced this to them, that they should wait for deliverance from God; and this was in order to keep them from deserting, and that they might be buoyed up above fear and care by such hopes.
Thus were the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself; while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation.”

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2. False prophets and impostors leading people to death​

Jewish War 2.13.4 (§258–259)

“For there was a certain sort of men that were innovators, and who deceived and deluded the people under pretence of divine inspiration, but were for procuring innovations and changes of the government; and these prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen, and went before them into the wilderness, as pretending that God would there show them the signals of liberty.
But Felix thought this procedure was to be the beginning of a revolt; so he sent some horsemen and footmen, both armed, who destroyed a great number of them.”

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3. Theudas – dividing the Jordan by command​

Antiquities 20.5.1 (§97–98)

“Now it came to pass, while Fadus was procurator of Judea, that a certain magician, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it.
Many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them; who, falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, and cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem.”

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4. The Egyptian prophet – walls falling at his command​

Jewish War 2.13.5 (§261–262)

“There was also another body of wicked men gotten together, not so impure in their actions, but more wicked in their intentions, which laid waste the happy state of the city no less than did these murderers. These were such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretence of divine inspiration, but were for procuring innovations and changes of the government.
These prevailed with the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, and pretended that God would there show them the signals of liberty.”

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Antiquities 20.8.6 (§169–171)

“There came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem one that said he was a prophet, and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, as it was called, which lay over against the city, and at the distance of five furlongs.
He said further, that he would show them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down; and he promised them that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls, when they were fallen down.”

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II. HOW PEOPLE DIED IN JERUSALEM (AD 70)​

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5. Famine so severe people ate refuse​

Jewish War 5.13.7 (§571–572)

“Children pulled the very morsels that their fathers were eating, out of their mouths, and what was still more to be pitied, so did the mothers do as to their infants.
And when those that were most dear were perishing under their hands, they were not ashamed to take from them the very last drops that might preserve their lives.
And while they ate after this manner, yet were they not concealed in so doing; but the robbers would come presently, and snatch away from them what they had gotten from others; and they would search the very privies and old dunghills of cattle, and eat the dung which they got there; and what they could not endure to see formerly, they now used for food.”

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6. Cannibalism: the woman Mary eats her child​

Jewish War 6.3.4 (§201–213)

“There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, whose name was Mary; her father was Eleazar, of the village Bethezub, which signifies the house of hyssop.
She was eminent for her family and her wealth; and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude, and was with them besieged therein at this time.
What she had treasured up besides, as necessary to sustain life, had been already carried off by the rapacious guards…
She then attempted a most unnatural thing; and snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, ‘O thou miserable infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine, and this sedition? … Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets.’
As soon as she had said this, she slew her son; and then roasted him, and ate the one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed.”

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7. Crucifixions: crosses ran out​

Jewish War 5.11.1 (§449–451)

“So the soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest; when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies.”

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8. People throwing themselves into the fire or killing themselves​

Jewish War 6.4.5 (§405–408)

“As the flame went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required; and as the flame went up, so did their lamentations…
Yet many of these were such as were surrounded with the flames, and burned together with the temple itself.
Others of them, as unable to endure the fire, threw themselves down headlong, and perished; and some were caught by the Romans, and were slain.”

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9. Slaughter, slavery, mines, and beasts​

Jewish War 6.9.2 (§414–418)

“Now the number of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand; as was the number of those that perished during the whole siege eleven hundred thousand…
Of these, the captives under seventeen years of age were sold for slaves; but of the rest, Titus sent the greatest part of them to the provinces, and condemned them to be destroyed in the theatres, by the sword and by the wild beasts.
But those that were of the tallest and most beautiful youth, he reserved for the triumph.”

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1. God turned away and sided with the Romans​

Jewish War 5.9.4 (§412)

“I suppose that God is fled out of his sanctuary, and stands on the side of those with whom you are now at war.”

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2. God caused the Temple to be burned​

Josephus insists the destruction was not accidental, even though Titus did not initially command it.

Jewish War 6.4.3 (§250–252)

“As for that house, God had for certain long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages.
It was, I suppose, owing to the divine providence that the fire was kindled, and that the Temple was burnt.”

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3. God rejected sacrifices and purity​

Jewish War 5.1.3 (§19)

“Neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world.
They confessed what was true, that God was angry at them, and turned away his face from them.”

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4. Internal Judean violence as the chief cause​

Jewish War 4.6.3 (§318–319)

“I venture to affirm that the sedition destroyed the city, and that the Romans afforded it no small assistance.
For had they not been divided among themselves, they could never have been conquered.”

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5. False prophets as instruments of judgment​

Jewish War 6.5.2 (§285–286)

“These false prophets persuaded the people to expect deliverance from God, while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that so plainly foretold their desolation.”

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6. Josephus’ ultimate theological summary​

Jewish War 6.10.1 (§442)

“I suppose that had the Romans made any longer delay in coming against these villains, the city would either have been swallowed up by the ground opening upon them, or else have been destroyed by thunder, as the country of Sodom was formerly.”

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