<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><i>DonL</i>
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I recently finished reading a book that gave me a better understanding of Josephus's works. It's call Josephus and the New Testament. The author is Steve Mason.
Particularly interesting is a chapter titled "Josephus and Luke-Acts," wherein the author compares the two and posits that "Luke" must have read or heard at least parts of Josephus' works, as he mentions many of the same people and incidents in much the same way. He feels that <b>Josephus's main purpose in writing the Antiquities was to show the Jews as basically legitimate, cultured members of the Roman Empire (the rebellion being the work of a few troublemakers)and Judaism as a "philosophy" or collection of philosophies, not unlike those current in the Greco-Roman culture. </b>And the author sees Luke-Acts as a similar attempt to legitimize Christianity as yet another member of the Jewish collection of philosophies. The author points out that if "Luke" did know the works of Josephus then Luke-Acts can be dated to the mid-90s AD or later, for Josephus completed the Antiquities in 93 AD.
http://110559.aceboard.net/110559-971-4605...ded-reading.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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I recently finished reading a book that gave me a better understanding of Josephus's works. It's call Josephus and the New Testament. The author is Steve Mason.
Particularly interesting is a chapter titled "Josephus and Luke-Acts," wherein the author compares the two and posits that "Luke" must have read or heard at least parts of Josephus' works, as he mentions many of the same people and incidents in much the same way. He feels that <b>Josephus's main purpose in writing the Antiquities was to show the Jews as basically legitimate, cultured members of the Roman Empire (the rebellion being the work of a few troublemakers)and Judaism as a "philosophy" or collection of philosophies, not unlike those current in the Greco-Roman culture. </b>And the author sees Luke-Acts as a similar attempt to legitimize Christianity as yet another member of the Jewish collection of philosophies. The author points out that if "Luke" did know the works of Josephus then Luke-Acts can be dated to the mid-90s AD or later, for Josephus completed the Antiquities in 93 AD.
http://110559.aceboard.net/110559-971-4605...ded-reading.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->