A Roman Bust ( sculpture ) | portrait bust said to be of Josephus

Josephus names Astyages as the father of Darius the Mede, and the description of the latter as uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus by mediaeval Jewish commentators matches that of Cyaxares II, who is said to be the son of Astyages by Xenophon.

Neverthelss Noah in his promotional materials did enthusiastically claim that the historian Josephus had said of the Book of Jasher: " by this book are to be understood certain records kept in some safe place on purpose, giving an account of what happened among the Hebrews from year to year, and called Jasher or the upright, on account of the fidelity of the annals.

The family name of the Hasmonean dynasty originates with the ancestor of the house, Ἀσαμωναῖος Asamoneus or Asmoneus ( see Josephus Flavius ), who is said to have been the great-grandfather of Mattathias, but about whom nothing more is known.

Separate passages in the " Jewish Antiquities " and " Jewish War " of the 1st century Jewish historian and scholar Josephus show that Jews of that time identified Gog and Magog with the Scythians: Alexander the Great, Josephus said, locked these horse-riding barbarians of the far north behind the Caucasus mountains with iron gates.

Herod is said to have provided an annual stipend for the benefit of prize-winners in the athletic games ( Josephus, " B.

Despite his mother Helen and Ananias's fear of the consequences, Josephus said that God looked after Izates and his reign was peaceful and blessed.

Similarly in The Witnesses to the Historicity of Jesus ( 1912 ) Arthur Drews stated: "( i ) n the edition of Origen published by the Benedictines it is said that there was no mention of Jesus at all in Josephus before the time of Eusebius ( about 300 A. D., Ecclesiast.

The most famous was Masada, where, in 70-73 CE, a small group of Jewish zealots held out against the might of the Roman legion, and Machaerus where, according to Josephus, John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod Antipas and died.

Josephus ' Antiquities of the Jews, written around 93 – 94 AD, includes two references to Jesus in Books 18 and 20 and a reference to John the Baptist in Book 18.

A number of variations exist between the statements by Josephus regarding the deaths of James and John the Baptist and the New Testament accounts.

John Painter states that phrase " who was called Christ " is used by Josephus in this passage " by way of distinguishing him from others of the same name such as the high priest Jesus son of Damneus, or Jesus son of Gamaliel " both having been mentioned by Josephus in this context.

In the Antiquities of the Jews ( Book 18, Chapter 5, 2 ) Josephus refers to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist by order of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee and Perea.

Because the death of John also appears prominently in the Christian gospels, this passage is considered an important connection between the events Josephus recorded, the chronology of the gospels and the dates for the Ministry of Jesus.

While both the gospels and Josephus refer to Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist, they differ on the details and the motive.

While Josephus identifies the location of the imprisonment of John as Machaerus, southeast of the mouth of the Jordan river, the gospels mention no location for the place where John was imprisoned.

Although there is no doubt that most ( but not all ) of the later copies of the Antiquities contained references to Jesus and John the Baptist, it cannot be definitively shown that these were original to Josephus writings, and were not instead added later by Christian interpolators.

In Contra Celsum ( Book I, Chapter XLVII ) as Origen defends the Christian practice of baptism, he recounts Josephus ' reference to the baptisms performed by John the Baptist for the sake of purification.

The 4th century writings of Eusebius of Caesarea refer to Josephus ' account of James, John and Jesus.

In his Church History ( Book I, Chapter XI ) Eusebius discusses the Josephus reference to how Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist, and mentions the marriage to Herodias in items 1 to 6.

There are some variations between the statements by Josephus regarding James the brother of Jesus and John the Baptist and the New Testament and other Christian accounts.

The marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias is mentioned both in Josephus and in the gospels, and scholars consider Josephus as a key connection in establishing the approximate chronology of specific episodes related to John the Baptist.

However, although both the gospels and Josephus refer to Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist, they differ on the details and motives, e. g. whether this act was a consequence of the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias ( as indicated in Matthew 14: 4, Mark 6: 18 ), or a pre-emptive measure by Herod which possibly took place before the marriage to quell a possible uprising based on the remarks of John, as Josephus suggests in Antiquities 18. 5. 2.

Louis Feldman has stated that there is " no necessary contradiction between Josephus and the gospels as to the reason why John was put to death " in that the Christians chose to emphasize the moral charges while Josephus emphasized the political fears that John stirred in Herod.

Josephus reports only one specific conflict between the Pharisees and Hyrcanus.

First of all, Josephus reports elsewhere that the Pharisees did not grow to power until the reign of Queen Salome Alexandra ( JW. 1. 110 ) The coins minted under Hyrcanus suggest that Hyrcanus did not have complete secular authority.

According to Josephus the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents, which he then paid Antiochus to spare the city.

According to Josephus, John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents which he paid as tribute to spare the city.

Josephus noted, " Antigonus ... came to Caesar ... and accused Hyrcanus and Antipater, how they had driven him and his brethren entirely out of their native country ... and that as to the assistance they had sent Caesar into Egypt, it was not done out of good-will to him, but out of the fear they were in from former quarrels, and in order to gain pardon for their friendship to enemy Pompey.

John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents which he paid as tribute to spare the city ( according to Josephus ).

Instead Josephus explains that Antipater's family converted to Judaism during the forced conversions by the Sadducee-influenced Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus.

Josephus presents two opposing reasons, one which would help secure Hyrcanus against the rising threat of Herod, and the other being his desire to quickly dispose of Hyrcanus and take power himself.

The religious tension between the Jews and the Samaritans led to the temple on Gerizim being destroyed by either John Hyrcanus in the 2nd century BCE ( according to Josephus ) or by Simeon the Just ( according to the Talmud ).

Josephus explains in The Jewish War that John was also known as " Hyrcanus ", but does not explain the reason behind this name.

* Flavius Hyrcanus, third son of Josephus

Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews, relates Honi's end in the context of conflict between the Hasmonean brothers Hyrcanus II, backed by the Pharisees and advised by Antipater the Idumaean, and Aristobulus II, backed by the Sadducees.

The Maharsha explains the discrepancy between the Talmud and Josephus by stating that Honi was " presumed " killed by Hyrcanus II's men, but in reality was put into a deep sleep or coma for 70 years.

According to Josephus, Antipater aimed at controlling Judea by putting the weak Hyrcanus back onto the throne.

Hyrcanus was seized and mutilated at his ears ( according to Josephus, Antigonus bit his uncle's ears off ) to make him permanently ineligible for the priesthood.

The following statement is made by Josephus: " And Hyrcanus ' father, Joseph, died.

However, according to Josephus, in Antiquities, Book 7, Chapter 1, Joab had forgiven Abner for the death of his brother, Asahel, the reason being that Abner had slain Asahel honorably in combat after he had first warned Asahel and had no other choice but to kill him out of self defense.

Josephus, a contemporary, reports that " Jerusalem ... was so thoroughly razed to the ground by those that demolished it to its foundations, that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation.

According to Josephus, Chaerea had political motivations for the assassination.

The ancient Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus narrates in his book Jewish Antiquities XII, how the victorious Judas Maccabeus ordered lavish yearly eight-day festivities after rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem that had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

According to Josephus, the Essenes had settled " not in one city " but " in large numbers in every town ".

According to Josephus, they had customs and observances such as: collective ownership, electing a leader to attend to the interests of the group, obedience to the orders from their leader.

Both Origen and Eusebius had access to the Greek versions of Josephus ' texts.

Craig A Evans states that although some scholars had in the past supported the Slavonic Josephus, " to my knowledge no one today believes that they contain anything of value for Jesus research ".

In the 3rd century, Origen of Alexandria was the first ancient writer to have a comprehensive reference to Josephus, although some other authors had made smaller, general references to Josephus before then, e. g. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus in the second century, followed by Clement.

And again in his Commentary on Matthew ( Book X, Chapter 17 ) Origen refers to Josephus ' Antiquities of the Jews by name and that Josephus had stated that the death of James had brought a wrath upon those who had killed him.

An issue that is subject to more debate is that in Commentary on Matthew ( Book X, Chapter 17 ), Origen cites Josephus as stating the death of James had brought a wrath upon those who had killed him, and that his death was the cause of the destruction of Jerusalem.

Wells has argued against the authenticity of the Testimonium, stating that the passage is noticeably shorter and more cursory than such notices generally used by Josephus in the Antiquities, and that had it been authentic, it would have included more details and a longer introduction.

Feldman states that it would make no sense for Origen to show amazement that Josephus did not acknowledge Jesus as Christ ( Book X, Chapter 17 ), if Josephus had not referred to Jesus at all.

Justin Meggitt states that there are fundamental similarities between the Josephus ' portrayal of John the Baptist and the New Testament narrative in that in both accounts John is positioned as a preacher of morality, not as someone who had challenged the political authority of Herod Antipas.