Flavius Josephus - Antiquities of the Jews

Preface to the War of the Jews Book I -- From the Taking of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes to the Death of Herod the Great Book II -- From the Death of Herod till Vespasian was sent to subdue the Jews by Nero Book III -- From Vespasian's coming to Subdue the Jews to the Taking of Gamala Book IV -- From the Siege of Gamala to the Coming of Titus to besiege Jerusalem Book V -- From the Coming of Titus to besiege Jerusalem to the Great Extremity to which the Jews were reduced Book VI -- From the Great Extremity to which the Jews were reduced to the taking of Jerusalem by Titus Book VII -- From the Taking of Jerusalem by Titus to the Sedition of the Jews at Cyrene Preface to the Antiquities of the Jews Book I -- From Creation to the Death of Isaac Book II -- From the Death of Isaac to the Exodus out of Egypt Book III -- From the Exodus out of Ehypt to the Rejection of the Generation Book IV -- From the Rejection of that Generation to the Death of Moses Book V -- From the Death of Moses to the Death of Eli Book VI -- From the Death of Eli to the Death of Saul Book VII -- From the Death of Saul to the Death of David Book VIII -- From the Death of David to the Death of Ahab Book IX -- From the Death of Ahab to the Captivity of the Ten Tribes Book X -- From the Captivity of the Ten Tribes to the First Year of Cyrus Book XI -- From the First Year of Cyrus to the Death of Alexander the Great Book XII -- From the Death of Alexander the Great to the Death of Judas Maccabeus Book XIII -- From the Death of Judas Maccabeus to the Death of Queen Alexandra Book XIV -- From the Death of Queen Alexandra to the Death of Antigonus Book XV -- From the Death of Antigonus to the Finishing of the Temple by Herod Book XVI -- From the Finishing of the Temple by Herod to the Death of Alexander and Aristobulus Book XVII -- From the Death of Alexander and Aristobulus to the Banishment of Archelaus Book XVIII -- From the Banishment of Archelaus to the Departure of the Jews from Babylon Book XIX -- From the Departure of the Jews from Babylon to FAdus the Roman Procurator Book XX -- From Fadus the Procurator to Florus Book I Book II

1. THOSE who undertake to write histories, do not, I perceive, take that trouble on one and the same account, but for many reasons, and those such as are very different one from another. For some of them apply themselves to this part of learning to show their skill in composition, and that they may therein acquire a reputation for speaking finely: others of them there are, who write histories in order to gratify those that happen to be concerned in them, and on that account have spared no pains, but rather gone beyond their own abilities in the performance: but others there are, who, of necessity and by force, are driven to write history, because they are concerned in the facts, and so cannot excuse themselves from committing them to writing, for the advantage of posterity; nay, there are not a few who are induced to draw their historical facts out of darkness into light, and to produce them for the benefit of the public, on account of the great importance of the facts themselves with which they have been concerned. Now of these several reasons for writing history, I must profess the two last were my own reasons also; for since I was myself interested in that war which we Jews had with the Romans, and knew myself its particular actions, and what conclusion it had, I was forced to give the history of it, because I saw that others perverted the truth of those actions in their writings.

2. Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appear to all the Greeks a man who is a lover of all kind of learning, but is principally delighted with the knowledge of history, and this on account of his having been himself concerned in great affairs, and many turns of fortune, and having shown a wonderful rigor of an excellent nature, and an immovable virtuous resolution in them all. I yielded to this man's persuasions, who always excites such as have abilities in what is useful and acceptable, to join their endeavors with his. I was also ashamed myself to permit any laziness of disposition to have a greater influence upon me, than the delight of taking pains in such studies as were very useful: I thereupon stirred up myself, and went on with my work more cheerfully. Besides the foregoing motives, I had others which I greatly reflected on; and these were, that our forefathers were willing to communicate such things to others; and that some of the Greeks took considerable pains to know the affairs of our nation.

3. I found, therefore, that the second of the Ptolemies was a king who was extraordinarily diligent in what concerned learning, and the collection of books; that he was also peculiarly ambitious to procure a translation of our law, and of the constitution of our government therein contained, into the Greek tongue. Now Eleazar the high priest, one not inferior to any other of that dignity among us, did not envy the forenamed king the participation of that advantage, which otherwise he would for certain have denied him, but that he knew the custom of our nation was, to hinder nothing of what we esteemed ourselves from being communicated to others. Accordingly, I thought it became me both to imitate the generosity of our high priest, and to suppose there might even now be many lovers of learning like the king; for he did not obtain all our writings at that time; but those who were sent to Alexandria as interpreters, gave him only the books of the law, while there were a vast number of other matters in our sacred books. They, indeed, contain in them the history of five thousand years; in which time happened many strange accidents, many chances of war, and great actions of the commanders, and mutations of the form of our government. Upon the whole, a man that will peruse this history, may principally learn from it, that all events succeed well, even to an incredible degree, and the reward of felicity is proposed by God; but then it is to those that follow his will, and do not venture to break his excellent laws: and that so far as men any way apostatize from the accurate observation of them, what was practical before becomes impracticable and whatsoever they set about as a good thing, is converted into an incurable calamity. And now I exhort all those that peruse these books, to apply their minds to God; and to examine the mind of our legislator, whether he hath not understood his nature in a manner worthy of him; and hath not ever ascribed to him such operations as become his power, and hath not preserved his writings from those indecent fables which others have framed, although, by the great distance of time when he lived, he might have securely forged such lies; for he lived two thousand years ago; at which vast distance of ages the poets themselves have not been so hardy as to fix even the generations of their gods, much less the actions of their men, or their own laws. As I proceed, therefore, I shall accurately describe what is contained in our records, in the order of time that belongs to them; for I have already promised so to do throughout this undertaking; and this without adding any thing to what is therein contained, or taking away any thing therefrom.