I’m a little ways into Flavius Josephus’s “Antiquity of the Jews”. I have noticed that in his retelling of events from scripture he adds a great deal more detail than is contained in the Bible, including words spoken by God, by others, biographical details, historical information, etc. What were Josephus’s sources for this information and are bis sources recognized as legitimate by the Catholic Church?
Thanks
What Josephus does in retelling stories all perfectly fits in the tradition of the
midrash, a way of interpreting Biblical stories that goes beyond simple distillation of religious, legal or moral teachings. So, in a way, he is drawing upon things like tradition or folklore or popular exegesis which tries to fill in the gaps left in the Biblical narratives.
It was actually a pretty common method among Jews. Take for example the translations of the Old Testament in the vernacular Aramaic, called the
Targumim (admittedly made much later). From a modern observer, some of these translations are very ‘loose’ in that they do not so much attempt to translate the Hebrew text literally but give midrashic interpretations, somewhat enhancing the text. Take for example this passage from Genesis 3:
Hebrew: Then the LORD God said, “
Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: And the Lord God said to the angels who ministered before Him, “
Behold, Adam is sole on the earth, as I am sole in the heavens above; and it will be that they will arise from him who will know to discern between good and evil. Had he kept the commandments which I appointed to him, he would have lived and subsisted as the tree of life for ever. But now, because he has not kept that which I prescribed, it is decreed against him that we keep him from the garden of Eden, before he reach forth his hand and take of the tree of life: for, behold, if he eat thereof, living he will live and subsist for ever.” And the Lord God removed him from the garden of Eden; and he went and dwelt on Mount Moriah, to cultivate the ground from which he had been created. And He drave out the man from thence where He had made to dwell the glory of His
Shekina at the first between the two cherubim.
Before He had created the world, He created the Law; He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they might eat and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree; because they would have practised in their lives the doctrine of the law in this world, and have maintained the commandments: (but) he prepared Gehinnam for the wicked, which is like the sharp, consuming sword of two edges; in the midst of it He hath prepared flakes of fire and burning coals for the judgment of the wicked who rebelled in their life against the doctrine of the law. To serve the law is better than (to eat of) the fruit of the tree of life, (the law) which the Word of the Lord prepared, that man in keeping it might continue, and walk in the paths of the way of life in the world to come.
Jerusalem Targum: And the Word of the Lord God said, “
Behold, Adam whom I have created is sole in my world, as I am sole in the heavens above. It is to be that a great people are to arise from him; from him will arise a people who will know how to discern between good and evil. And now it is good that we keep him from the garden of Eden before he stretch forth his hand and take also of the fruit of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.” … And He cast out Adam, and made the glory of His
Shekina to dwell at the front of the east of the garden of Eden, above the two cherubim.
Two thousand years before He had created the world, He created the law, and prepared Gehinnam and the garden of Eden. He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they should eat, and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree, because they had kept the commandments of the law in this world. For the wicked He prepared Gehinnam, which is like the sharp, consuming sword with two edges. He prepared in the depth of it flakes of fire and burning coals for the wicked, for their punishment for ever in the world to come, who have not kept the commandment of the law in this world. For the law is the tree of life; whoever keeps it in this life lives and subsists as the tree of life. The law is good to keep in this world, as the fruit of the tree of life in the world that comes.
Now that’s a lot of added words!
