Josephus and the New Testament

Understandably, throughout Christian history, the Works of Josephus have been indispensable in helping us reconstruct the history and world of the New Testament. After all, Josephus tells us firsthand about the Herodian family, the temple, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. He mentions James the brother of Jesus, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself. Arguably, apart from the New Testament itself, Josephus has helped us understand the life and times and world of Jesus and the apostles as much as any other document of the ancient world.

Unfortunately we have often strip-mined Josephus for selfish reasons and have left the message of this first-century Jewish historian in shambles. His relevance for Christianity has been flattened by a simplistic history=fact formula approach, and his contribution to our understanding of the ancient world has been twisted to suit modern needs and answer to questions Josephus never intended.

An internationally recognized authority on Josephus, Louis H. Feldman comments on the appearance of Steve Mason's Josephus and the New Testament:

"There can be no doubt that the best aid for understanding the background of the New Testament is its contemporary, Josephus; and there can now be no doubt that the most careful, most comprehensive, and most useful introduction to Josephus as the key to the background for the New Testament is Steve Mason's book. As one reads it, one senses that a master teacher is talking directly to one in a most delightful, even breezy, style so easy to understand. The judgement in the many disputed questions are eminently fair and always based on a fresh and insightful reading of the texts involved, so that even the most advanced student will find the book of great value."
—Louis H. Feldman, Professor of Classics, Yeshiva University

Steve Mason is Associate Professor of Humanities at Vanier College, York University, Ontario. He is the author of Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees: A Composition-critical Study.