Josephus' reasons for the Jewish War

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:In this thesis I will examine and discuss the reasons given for the Jewish War of AD66 - 70. Reasons put forward by modern scholars specializing in the study of theworks of Flavius Josephus are examined and discussed. However, the bulk of mystudy centres on the reasons that Flavius Josephus supplies for the war as found in hismajor work Bellum Judaicum. One is lead to the conclusion that he firmly believesthat reasons on the human and transcendent planes contributed to the catastrophicevents that lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.The worldview of this Jewish priest, general and accomplished historiographer wasstrongly influenced by the religious tenets of the Torah and the past history of theJewish nation. He cannot countenance the wicked and evil deeds committedshamefacedly by his people against the clear standards that God had given to thenation, and believes that retribution by God will follow. He cannot forget occasionson the past when God intervened in the affairs of his nation by using a pagan worldpower to accomplish the purposes of God. He sees a similar recurrence of the eventsthat lead to the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Temple in 587/6 BC beingmanifested in the Jewish War of AD 66 - 70.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University