Josephus and Jesus New Evidence for the One Called Christ

This book brings to light an extraordinary connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jewish historian Josephus. Writing in 93/94 CE, Josephus composed an account of Jesus known as the Testimonium Flavianum. Despite this being the oldest description of Jesus by a non-Christian, scholars have long doubted its authenticity due to the alleged pro-Christian claims it contains. This book, however, authenticates Josephus' authorship of the Testimonium Flavianum and reveals a startling observation: Josephus was directly familiar with those who put Jesus on trial. Consequently, Josephus would have had access to highly reliable information about the man from Nazareth. The book concludes by describing what Josephus tells us about the Jesus of history, his miracles, and his resurrection.

An open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.

T. C. Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Religious Studies Department, Fairfield University

T. C. Schmidt (Yale PhD) has broad interests that touch upon the historical Jesus, the formation of the New Testament, the history of Christianity in Syriac and Arabic contexts, and the origin of Christmas. Notably, Professor Schmidt has produced peer-reviewed translations from Latin, Greek, Syriac, and Arabic texts. These include works from ibn Katib Qaysar (a twelfth-century Arabic Christian writer), Isho'dad of Merv (a ninth-century Syriac Bishop), and Hippolytus of Rome (a third-century theologian). His books have been published with academic presses such as Cambridge, Fordham, Catholic University, and Gorgias. He currently teaches at Fairfield University.

INTRODUCTION1. The Authenticity of the Testimonium Flavianum1. The Greek Reception2. The Western and Eastern Reception3. An Authorial Commentary on the Testimonium Flavianum4. Authenticity and Possible Translations of the Testimonium Flavianum2. The Sources of Josephus and the Meaning of the Testimonium Flavianum5. Josephus’ Sources: Clues in His Background6. Identifying the ‘First Men among Us’: Possible Candidates7. Summary and Conclusion: The Jesus of HistoryAppendix 1. Eusebius, His Citational Practices, and the Testimonium FlavianumAppendix 2. James the Brother of Jesus: Antiquities 20.200Appendix 3. The Trial of Jesus and PassoverAppendix 4. Ananus II and the Trial of JesusAppendix 5. The Great Sanhedrin and Its Records of the Trial of JesusAppendix 6. Josephus’ Silence Regarding Jesus in the War