Question about writings of Josephus

[keeptrying]

Has anyone else read "Josephus the Essential Writings" by Paul Maier. I am just beginning it and I have a question. The bible states in Genesis 20:12 that Sarah, Abraham's wife, was his half sister. Josephus states that Sarah was Abraham's niece from his brother Haran and Lot, Abraham's nephew, was Sarah's brother. If you have the book it is on page 25.

Taking into consideration who Josephus was and the time when this was written how could he get a fact like this wrong? Can anyone shed some light on this for me.

[MORTANIUS]

Oral Tradition was sometimes slightly different among the Greek Speaking Jews and the Jews that were not Greek speaking, but rather spoke Aramaic and used strictly Hebrew in their liturgical prayers.

It is a possibility that Josephus may have even misunderstood either Oral Tradition or the written scriptures.

I haven't had a chance to read this book you mention. Tell me a bit more about the book, it sounds interesting.

[keeptrying]

Thank-you for your reply. I have taken that into consideration but it does not seem likely to me that would be the answer.

I will quote what has been written about Josephus. "He was born in A.D. 37 the son of a priest and descended from the royal Jewish family of the Hasmoneans. He is by far the most important historical source illuminating the entire biblical era . In terms of sheer quantity of data, Josephus provides probably 300 times as much information about Herod the Great as does the Gospel of Matthew, ten times as much abut Pontius Pilate. He furnishes fascinating perspectives on such other figures as Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Felix, as well as intriguing sidelights on John the Baptist, Jesus' half-brother James, and Jesus himself."

The value of his writings is immeasurable. What Paul Maier's has done is condensed volumes of his work into something understandable and readable (or so I have been told). I have not yet read through it so I will save my comments about the book until I do.

If you would like to know more I'm sure he would come up in a google search with no problem. Thanks again, I have posted this on other websites and another forum and so far you are the only person who has replied.

[BigNorsk]

Genesis 11:26-32 NET
(26) When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
(27) This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
(28) Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, while his father Terah was still alive.
(29) And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.
(30) But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
(31) Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there.
(32) The lifetime of Terah was two hundred and five years, and he died in Haran.

If you read verse 29, it is relatively easy to mix up the two women as to which is the daughter of Haran. It was probably even harder to keep them straightin Greek or Hebrew or Latin. I'm not sure which language Josephus was using. People when they read this verse have a tendency to think the additional phrase refers to Sarai because they "know" she is more important than Milcah.

I'm also not sure exactly how the Septagint rendered the verse, maybe some Greek scholar here could fill us in.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that is the source of his mistake and he certainly isn't the only one to make it.

Marv

[ctobola]

Well, the first good question of any historical methodologist is this: from what source material is the information taken? Since much of the writing of that time was taken from oral sources, and that is problematic. (For example, few historians believe that Homer wrote the Illiad or the Odessy: the structure of the language indicates that they were probably stories told in metrical structure so they could be memorized and passed down over generations. The )

If indeed Josephus was recording oral tradition, there is a strong possibility that errors were introduced over the years. Remember that most of the people who lived at this time were probably not "literate" in the modern sense. Even those who could read to a degree, lacked the tools and skills to write. Additionally, papyrus and ink were exceptionally expensive. As a result, the "truth" that was passed from generation to generation often morphed as it went along.

Moreover, in a tribal communities terms like cousin, aunt or uncle were sometimes applied generically to people who might be only distantly related, but were socially close.

Just a few thoughts from a guy who studies oral cultures and such stuff.

-Cloy


Thank-you for your reply. I have taken that into consideration but it does not seem likely to me that would be the answer.

I will quote what has been written about Josephus. "He was born in A.D. 37 the son of a priest and descended from the royal Jewish family of the Hasmoneans. He is by far the most important historical source illuminating the entire biblical era . In terms of sheer quantity of data, Josephus provides probably 300 times as much information about Herod the Great as does the Gospel of Matthew, ten times as much abut Pontius Pilate. He furnishes fascinating perspectives on such other figures as Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Felix, as well as intriguing sidelights on John the Baptist, Jesus' half-brother James, and Jesus himself."

The value of his writings is immeasurable. What Paul Maier's has done is condensed volumes of his work into something understandable and readable (or so I have been told). I have not yet read through it so I will save my comments about the book until I do.

If you would like to know more I'm sure he would come up in a google search with no problem. Thanks again, I have posted this on other websites and another forum and so far you are the only person who has replied.

[RedneckAnglican]

My Josephus has "Now Abraham having no son of his own, adopted Lot, his brother Haran's son, and his wife Sarai's brother;"...The Antiquities of the Jews 7:1

ok...upon futher reading..your right it does say niece...wow...