The New Complete Works of Josephus

Rating:
Summary: A true classic made superbly accessible to modern readers.
Review: Enhanced with expert commentary by Paul L. Maier (Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University), William Whiston's (1662-1752) translation of the historical writings of Josephus (c. A.D. 37-100) is now available in a completely revised, expanded, and linguistically updated edition. The New Complete Works Of Josephus is a core title for any academic or public library world history collection, Judaic studies or Roman history reading list, as well as of sustained interest to scholars and students of Mideast and Mediterranean antiquity. Whiston provides a much needed updating of vocabulary and spellings in all five of the complete and unabridged works by Josephus and presents them in a single volume. More than forty photographs of ancient sites and artifacts, numbers charts, tables, maps, cross reference numbers to the Geek text of Josephus in the Loeb Classical Library, a revised subject index, and an index of Old Testament texts paralleling Josephus' writings make this edition a very necessary acquisition. The New Complete Works Of Josephus is also available in hard cover.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Indispensable
Review: For readers of Jewish history, this book contains an indispensable account of Jewish life during the Roman occupation of Judea. While Josephus is much cited by nearly every subsequent historian recapping this era, these cites cannot capture the nuanced ways in which the author's psychological portrait of the time's leaders. The translation is clear and readable, although a little stilted. The textual notes are dated and largely unhelpful to the modern reader.

Rating:
Summary: Almost worth five stars
Review: In studying Judean history in the first century CE, there is no historian more important than Josephus, especially when one is interested in the study of the historical Jesus or of the world around him (the religious/social/political climate, etc.) Josephus is not only the only Jewish historian of this era to comment on Jesus, he is the only Jewish historian to thoroughly present the history as well as psychological outlook of Jews through a lengthy span of time. His works are immeasurably important to anyone interested in this line of study. This book contains all of his important works and more: his autobiography, Jewish Antiquities, The Jewish War, Against Apion, and an extract out of Josephus's Discource to the Greeks Concerning Hades (the last of which is EXTREMELY HELPFUL in understanding the Jewish view of the afterlife at the time of Josephus.)
This edition of Josephus is helpful, with occasional essays on certain topics (i.e. "Josephus and the Romans" or the family tree of the House of Herod.) The translation is a little stale, but easy enough to understand (and I am assured that the faults in the original Whiston translation have been corrected.) The textual notes are VERY helpful, if a little dated and biased. It is for these negatives that I gave this work 4 stars instead of 5-- though I really am indebted to those who put together this extremely comprehensive, helpful volume of one of the most important historians relating to the history of Israel/Judea.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, essential, and updated
Review: The works of Josephus give a reader a window into the perceptions of the world in the first century. Josephus, prolific by any standard, covered a range of topics from ancient Jewish history, the Jewish wars, life in the roman world (as presented in his autobiography) just to name a few. In almost everyway, Josephus is our best available source for understanding the ancients understanding of the Bible. As such, it is essential and invaluable to any serious student.

This collection utility is immeasurable. Not only does it contain all of the works collected under one cover, it also gives strong commentary and a well-written introduction. The translator has significantly updated the work, eliminating archaic English translation often held over from earlier editions and giving useful reference for things like Biblical parallels.

My only complaint about the work is that the text is extremely dense and the font quite small. Sitting down and reading the text is difficult as a result and I decided to get a magnifying glass. Still, despite this drawback, this edition is a must own for anyone interested in the subject.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for the Serious Historian
Review: This book was a serendipitous purchase. I was reading "James the Brother of Jesus, and that author recommended having three other works available while studying. One was "Josephus." I have not, unfortunately, finished "James" yet, but am totally fascinated by Josephus. One sees him as a bit puffed up about himself at times, as the detailed historian, the passionate supporter of causes, but most of all as a realist of the time. So valuable because organized religion seldom provides the lay person seldom insight into the actual social and political pressures that moved events that we take for granted in an almost legendary way. Again, a fascinating work is Josephus.