The Jewish War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)

The Jewish people rose up against mighty Rome in 66 A.D.; and for seven improbable years, against all odds, they defied the seemingly invincible legions of the Roman Empire. It is an epic story – one of courage and folly combined – and Flavius Josephus tells it well in his book "The Roman-Jewish War." Josephus, who was born in 37 A.D. in what was then Roman Judea, was in his late twenties and early thirties when the events of the Roman-Jewish War unfolded; he wrote his history of the war around 75 A.D., shortly after the war’s end, when his memories of the war’s blood and horror were no doubt quite vivid. And he quite literally saw the war from both sides – initially a leader of the Jewish resistance, he decided after being captured by the Romans that the war was unwinnable, and spent the rest of the war as a sort of hostage negotiator, trying to convince his fellow Jewish rebels to lay down their arms. It was a turn of events that put him in a uniquely propitious position to tell this story. The early passages of "The Roman-Jewish War" go all the way back to Herod’s predecessors in Judea, and Josephus quickly proceeds to a consideration of the rule of Herod himself – Herod I, or “Herod the Great,” as he no doubt liked to call himself. "Game of Thrones" fans may derive a familiar frisson from Josephus’ chapters on Herod’s murder of his wife Mariamme and various other family members including his heir Antipater. Small wonder, with the members of the ruling family scheming against each other and killing each other off, that little practical administration of Judea was getting done, or that the Judea of that time was a chaotic place; and when Rome instituted direct rule, the stage was set for a full-scale uprising by the Jewish people. The Roman-Jewish War began toward the end of the reign of the emperor Nero, and continued through the chaos of 69 A.D., the “Year of the Four Emperors,” when Galba, Otho, and Vitellius each ruled for a short time before being overthrown, until the emperor Vespasian finally established some stability at the capital. Josephus, who befriended both Vespasian and Vespasian’s son Titus (leading Roman general throughout the war, and a future emperor himself), unsurprisingly speaks of both these Roman leaders in terms of the highest praise, as when he writes how wise it was, how divinely inspired, that during the political turmoil at Rome Vespasian and Titus “held up operations against the Jews, feeling that while they were so anxious about things at home the invasion of a foreign country would be inopportune” (p. 274). Josephus no doubt knew that he would be accused by some of his former fellow rebels of having turned traitor. It is almost certainly for that reason that Josephus emphasizes his attempts to keep the Jewish people from bringing destruction upon themselves, as when he remonstrates with the rebels during the Siege of Jerusalem: “Who doesn’t know the writings of the old prophets and the oracle pronounced against this unhappy city and now about to be fulfilled? They foretold the day of her fall….And aren’t the City and Temple full of your dead bodies? It is God then, God Himself, who is bringing with the Romans fire to purge the Temple and is blotting out the City, brimful of corruption, as if it had never been” (p. 345). It is scarring to read the passages from "The Roman-Jewish War" that chronicle the final fall of Jerusalem to the Romans and the destruction of the Second Temple: “As the flames shot into the air the Jews sent up a cry that matched the calamity and dashed to the rescue, with no thought now of saving their lives or husbanding their strength; for that which hitherto they had guarded so devotedly was disappearing before their eyes” (p. 357). It is comparably painful to read of the looting of the Temple, with its irreplaceable and sacred artifacts of what was already, in 70 A.D., a millennia-old faith – “Most of the spoils that were carried were heaped up indiscriminately, but more prominent than all the rest were those captured in the Temple at Jerusalem” (p. 359). And then there is Josephus’ account of the mass suicide of the last Jewish defenders in the fortress at Masada. Like Herodotus and Thucydides before him, Josephus will quote at length a masterpiece of rhetoric, whether he was there to hear a particular speech or not. In this case, the speaker is one Eleazar; and after acknowledging that the Jewish war against Rome failed in part because of infighting among the Jewish rebels, he speaks as follows: “For those wrongs let us pay the penalty not to our bitterest enemies, the Romans, but to God – it will be easier to bear. Let our wives die unabused, our children without knowledge of slavery: after that, let us do each other an ungrudging kindness, preserving our freedom as a glorious winding-sheet….One thing only let us spare – our store of food: it will bear witness when we are dead to the fact that we perished, not through want but because, as we resolved at the beginning, we chose death rather than slavery.” (p. 399) When I read this passage, I thought of how, for many years, members of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) swore at Masada an oath that “Masada shall not fall again.” And it never has, and I don’t think it ever will. For this Penguin Books edition of "The Roman-Jewish War," E. Mary Smallwood of Cambridge University has provided helpful footnotes, along with appendices, maps, and a chronological table of events of that time. It was 1,878 years, it occurs to me, between the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the establishment of מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medinat Yisra’el, the State of Israel, in 1948. Josephus’ "The Roman-Jewish War" captures well the unconquerable spirit that sustained the Jewish people through two thousand years of exile and persecution, until their homeland could be restored.

The five stars are for the translator. Josephus is what he is: a first century Jew, soldier, historian, and opportunist. Without him we have virtually no record of the first thirty years of the Church, or the lead-up, execution, and clean-up of the Jewish rebellion against Rome, the most horrendous experience any nation, before or since, says the author - the worst possible war. There are stories of those who wanted to placate Rome to save lives and treasure; those who wanted to kill all Romans; horrible Jewish crime bosses who butchered the innocent; women eating their children within the walls of Jotapata while Roman siege-works (broken only by the bald heroism and brilliance of the author, so he says), starved thousands; breaking down Jerusalem's walls and Romans becoming sick at seeing what Jews had done to Jews, with blood running in high rivers down the alleys. After reading this book, you will understand why so many have identified the Beast of Revelation with Nero. You'll read the primary source for the famous mass suicide at the top of Masada. A 7 year war. A great tribulation. Many fulfilled New Testament prophecies within their own generation. If you're a Preterist, it's evidence that the premils could be mistaken. If you're a premil, you may have some explaining to do. Although Josephus exaggerates and clearly sucks up to Rome, The Jewish War is a must-read for any Bible student or church historian. The problem has been that forever, it seems, Whiston was the only translation of the book, and I'm guessing that's why so few people read it. Even if forced to read it for school credit, it made you want to cut your wrists. I discovered Williamson's translation in a bruised book store by accident a few years ago, and suddenly the book was a page-turner; I couldn't put it down. I missed meals. Then I was happy to find it on Kindle. You can get Whiston on Kindle too, but I see no reason to. Now, with Williamson's touch, The Jewish War is readable again, so there should be no excuse for missing this treasure!

Great resource. Book came tattered around edges but still happy with purchase.

This book proves the Little Season theory

One of the greatest stories of war ever written, full of amazingly vivid tales of daring do. If someone wrote a Fantasy or Historical Fiction novel like this most people would roll their eyes at the over the top action sequences, what's jarring is what you're reading is true, no fiction can capture the drama this book has between its covers. This reads like something from Tolkien's First Age and The War of the Jewels. If you're a fan of Heroic Fantasy (or whatever you call it) and want to get to the good parts, start at Chapter 17 - Factions in Jerusalem. How's this for an opening, "Only Gischala, a little town in Galilee, was left unreduced." Sounds like something Tolkien, Howard or Gemmel would pen! And it's all fast paced action from then on! After finishing the book, go back and read the first sixteen chapters if you want, great history, amazing story

It's one thing to read about ancient history from a modern historian. A completely different experience to read about it in a book written in the same timeframe as the events being discussed. A great book, covering roughly the time of Christ in what we now call Israel, Palestine, and Syria.

In spite of my title, I don't speak Latin (or Aramaic), but the details the editor (Mary Smallwood) provides in the notes are simply marvelous. I can't imagine attempting to read _The Jewish Wars_ without the helpful clarification and inside information provided here. The editorial assistance aside, this was a fascinating read. While Josephus is not without his flaws (as is so often the case with any primary document), the vivid description of the Roman reconquest of Jerusalem, the subjugation of the Jews and the subsequent diaspora makes for riveting reading. For anyone interested in classical history, Biblical scholarship or ancient history, this is recommended reading.

A wonderful book highly recommended if you are interested in the history and culture of ancient Jerusalem and Rome. An eye opening account on the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the second temple at the hands of ancient Rome. Buy this book if only for the telling of that dark time in history.... a real eye opener of the politics and power struggle within Jerusalem it self.

Font is too small to be readable. Once bought cannot be returned. Consider a Kindle edition instead. Material itself and the quality of translation is far superior to that of William Whiston.

Excellent material

Print is small but well written and easy to read. Very interesting.

The Jewish Wars (or the Wars of the Jews) is a book that everyone who wants to study the Book of Revelation must read.

Having gone through the state education system, I came out of school completely uneducated about things like history and classic literature and I've been trying to rectify this omission for many years. This has resulted in me reading a lot of the classics line, and something I've realised is what hard work many of them are. As times change, so do writing styles and ideas of what makes a narrative work, and to the modern reader many books written hundreds of years past can be a challenging read. This is why Josephus is such a pleasure. For all that we are separated from him by almost two thousand years, his humanity shines through. His history of the Jewish war against the Romans in the late 1st century AD is very much a history of his own activities therein, and what an unashamedly self-serving document it is. Originally a regional commander in the rebellious jewish army, Josephus wrote his history after his capture by the Romans and defection to their side (he became a Roman citizen and a courtier to more than one emperor). By turns witty, outrageously immodest and deceitful, Josephus wrote a hagiography of himself and his roman patrons and a tremendously enjoyable read it is too. By humanising his narrative, he also succeeds in making it accessible. We have so few records of the ancient world it is impossible to be absolutely certain how accurate any given historical document is. However, as well as being enjoyable, the archaelogical and historical record suggests that when Josephus talks about the facts of the war (who won and fought who, where and when) he can be trusted in the broad sweep if not in the details. It's a fascinating and human insight into the ancient world which shows that people, wherever and whenever they lived, are just as human - and as worried about their reputations - as are we.