Josephus –traitor or patriot?

 

Was Josephus Flavius a traitor who opportunistically changed sides during the Great Revolt to help Rome? Many historians think so. However, it is suggested that the situation may be more nuanced than this.

 

Josephus was a talented individual from an elite and wealthy priestly family who was educated in Jerusalem. In his mid-twenties, he was sent to Rome to negotiate the release of some Jewish priests and was impressed by what he saw. He returned to Jerusalem at the outbreak of the revolt against Rome and agreed to be the commander for the Galilee and Golan. Nevertheless, Josephus was not a Zealot but a Pharisee, and he did not agree with the messianic expectations of the Zealots.

 

After the Romans had succeeded in breaching the walls of Yodfat, some of the surviving fighters, including Josephus, gathered in a cave and elected to kill each other rather than surrender to the Romans. According to his book “The Jewish War,” Josephus tried to persuade them to surrender rather than kill each other but they rejected his advice. They picked lots as to who would kill who, and Josephus and one other person were the last two remaining alive. Whether Josephus engineered that he would get the last lot is not mentioned in his book, but both of them surrendered to the Romans.

 

Josephus was led in chains before the commander Vespasian and he told him prophetically that he would become emperor. He remained a prisoner in Rome for two years, and when Vespasian did indeed become emperor, he was released. He then began working for Rome. He ingratiated himself with Vespasian and his son Titus, including taking Vespasian’s name Flavius.

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Josephus became the advisor and negotiator for Titus during the siege and eventual destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. He attempted to persuade the Zealots to surrender, but was unsuccessful. Meanwhile, there was mayhem in Jerusalem with different factions fighting each other. Titus was aware of this and delayed his attack on the city so they could continue killing each other.

 

After the destruction of Jerusalem, Josephus became a Roman citizen, received a pension under Vespasian’s patronage, and wrote historical works while on the payroll of Rome.

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All of this sounds as if he was a self-serving traitor. However, there may be another way of looking at matters. After his prediction that Vespasian would become emperor, Josephus wrote that he believed that God had decided to punish the Jewish people, that “fortune” had been given to Rome, and that his role was “to announce the things that are to come.” He believed that Rome would eventually be punished, perhaps in a final apocalypse, but this would be in the distant future.

 

Early on, he realized that the Zealot cause was doomed other than via a miraculous salvation. Revolts are not won by being caged up in a siege. He also realized that Jerusalem was destined for destruction if the Zealots refused to surrender. Further damage needed to be prevented at all costs and this could only be done from within the Roman camp.

 

In actuality, the aims of Titus and Josephus overlapped. This was to limit the effects of the rebellion and keep the country intact. Neither Vespasian nor Titus initiated anti-Jewish laws as later emperors would do. Thus, most of Judea remained unscathed from the rebellion, other than the towns and cities that had rebelled.

 

Josephus wrote several books. “The Jewish War” is a description of the Great Revolt and is the only detailed account of this conflict. Josephus stated in his Preface that his intention was not to demonstrate the greatness of Rome, nor lessen the activities of the Jews. Nevertheless, historians recognize that because of the circumstances, he could not but write his book in a way favorable to Rome. Another of his books “The Antiquities of the Jews” traces the history of the Jews from Creation and is an attempt to present Judaism in a favorable light to the Hellenist world. HIs book “Against Apion” defends Judaism against critical charges raised by Hellenist writers.

 

In sum, it is suggested that Josephus was a proud, practicing and realistic Jew. Like the Sages of that time, such as the leader of the Pharisees Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who escaped from Jerusalem, he came to the realization that an accommodating approach to Rome would achieve more than resisting it. He made the same prophecy about Vespasian becoming emperor as did Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. Proud Jews are not usually traitors to their people even when receiving a pension from their enemies. Nevertheless, because of his services to Rome, he would never be able to return home to Judea.