Category:Josephus Studies

Josephus Studies is a field of research in Second Temple Judaism, that specializes in the study of Josephus and his Works. It includes scholarly works by international specialists, as well as selected fictional and non-fictional works by authors who have influenced the development of scholarship in the field.

Besides a (lost) first edition of the Jewish War in Aramaic, Josephus composed all his works in Greek. With the exception of the Vita, all works of Josephus were translated into Latin by Cassiodurus. In the Middle Ages, however, Josephus was known mostly through a Latin paraphrases (named Hegesippus) and a 10th cent. Hebrew summary (named Josippon).

Editions of the Greek text

The 'editio princeps of the Greek text was published in 1544 by Arnoldus Arlenius. This text was the basis of the Seneven (1611 & 1634) and Leipzig editions (1691 by Iffig). A more correct text was published by Hudson (Oxford, 1720). The edition by Havercamp (1726) became the textus receptus, followed by Oberthur (1782-85) and Richter (1825-27). An improved edition of the Havercamp text was made by Wilhelm Dindorf (Parsi 1845-47, followed by Bekker (Leipzig 1855-56). Critical edition were completed by Naber (Leipzig 1888-96) and Niese (editio maior, Berlin 1887-95; editio minor, Berlin 1888-96

Editions of the Old Latin text

The editio princeps of the Latin text appeared more than 70 years before the publication of the Greek text, in 1470 in Augsburg by John Schlusser. Editions of the Latin text continued to be published regularly until 1617, then more sporadically.

Editions of the Hegesippus

The editio princeps of Hegesippus appeared in Paris in 1510, and was reprinted in Gallandi's Bibliotheca patrum (tom. vii) and in Migne's Patrologia latina (tom. xv). A critical editition of the text was completed by Weber and Julius Caesar in Marburg in 1864.

Editions of the Josippon

The best earlier edition is the one published, with a Latin translation, by J.F. Breithhaupt in 1707.

The first printed translations of Josephus (in Italian and German) were based on the Latin text. By the end of the 16th century however the Greek text became the basis of all translations

Italian Translations

The first Italian translations were based on the Latin text: the Jewish War (1493) and the Jewish Antiquities (1544). In 1580-81 Francesco Baldelli authored the first Italian translation based on the Greek text.

The 17th century saw only a reprint of the Lauro's translation in 1620.

Francesco Angiolini completed in 1779-80 a translation of all the works of Josephus.

The Jewish War was translated again by Luigi Calori in 1878-79, and Giusepppe Ricciotti in 1937.

The interest on Flavius Josephus arose again in the 1970 with the translation of the Jewish War by Giovanni Vitucci in 1974 and Againt Apion by Lucio Troiani in 1977.

New translations came in the 1990s: the Vita by Giorgio Jossa (1992) and Elvira Migliario (1994); Against Apion by Francesca Calabi (1993). After Luigi Moraldi published another version of the Jewish Antiquities in 1998, different portions of the same work have been translated also by Alessandro Galimberti (2001), Silvia Castelli (2002), and Manlio Simonetti (2002).

German Translations

The first German translation also (Caspar Hedio, 1531) was based on the Latin text, but was revised in 1561 based on the Greek text, as all the following translations by Ott (Zurich 1736); Cotta (Tubingen 1736) and Demme (7th ed. 1868-69).

French translations

a French translation was issued by Burgoing in Lyons in 1558.

English translations

The first English translation ILondon 1683; Cambridge 1693) was made from the French. Whinston (London 1737) became the standard English edition, revised by Shilleto in 1888-89). Then came the Loeb edition by Henry St. John Thackeray et al. (1926-81).

Other Translations

There are translations of Josephus in all major European language.

English -- French -- German -- Italian -- Spanish -//- Bulgarian -- Czech -- Danish -- Czech -- Hebrew -- Hungarian -- Japanese -- Korean -- Latin -- Polish -- Portuguese -- Romanian -- Serbian -- Swedish -- Yiddish

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• Josephus -- Josephus Topics -- Josephus Biblio
• Josephus Scholars
• See also: Hellenistic-Jewish Studies

• Josephus' Works
• Bellum Iudaicum / Jewish War
• Antiquitates Iudaicae / Jewish Antiquities
• Contra Apionem / Against Apion
• Vita / Life

Second Temple Studies -- Enochic Studies -- Apocalyptic Studies -- Qumran Studies -- OT Apocrypha Studies -- Wisdom Studies -- OT Pseudepigrapha Studies -- Hellenistic-Jewish Studies -- Philo Studies -- Josephus Studies -- Historical Jesus Studies -- Pauline Studies -- Johannine Studies -- Petrine Studies -- Gospels Studies -- Christian Origins Studies -- New Testament Studies -- Early Christian Studies -- Early Jewish Studies -- Early Islamic Studies -- Early Samaritan Studies -- Hebrew Bible Studies