"A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

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Peter Kirby
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"A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by Peter Kirby »

I just came across this interesting new paper on the Testimonium Flavianum.

Paul J. Hopper
A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus:
Jewish Antiquities xviii:63
Abstract: Josephus in the Jewish Antiquities introduces Jesus the Messiah into his
history of the Jews, and appears to report events corresponding closely to those of
the Gospels, including Jesus’s crucifixion on the orders of Pontius Pilate. A long
standing dispute exists about the authenticity of this text. The present article
offers a narratological analysis of the passage, comparing the styles of event
reporting in the passage with the three other episodes in Josephus’s Pontius Pilate
sequence. The study concludes that the uses of the Greek verb forms such as
aorists and participles are distinct in the Jesus passage from those in the other
Pilate episodes, and that these differences amount to a difference in genre. It is
suggested that the Jesus passage is close in style and content to the creeds that
were composed two to three centuries after Josephus.
I've uploaded it here for reference.
Attachments
Josephus_Proofs_Hopper-libre.pdf
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"... almost every critical biblical position was earlier advanced by skeptics." - Raymond Brown
Stephan Huller
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Re: "Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by Stephan Huller »

Great. I've always thought this. Fantastic someone else systematically worked it out.
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Leucius Charinus
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Re: "Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by Leucius Charinus »

Peter Kirby wrote:
Hopper wrote: It is
suggested that the Jesus passage is close in style and content to the creeds that
were composed two to three centuries after Josephus.
Exemplified according to the author by the Nicaean Creed. [10] where footnote [10] resolves to Eusebius.
Creeds are as much political statements as theological ones. They come about after fierce and, often, long lasting disputes, such as the Nicene Creed, devised in the wake of the bitter contest over the Arian heresy. They present a non-negotiable statement of current beliefs drawn up by the winners. They respond to the need to constrain and reassure believers, and to confront nonbelievers (in this case, the Jews) and divide them sharply from believers. The Testimonium reflects what had by the third century CE become a commonplace of Christianity: that culpability for the death of Jesus rested with the Jews. [12] [Cites Erhman 1997]

LC
A "cobbler of fables" [Augustine]; "Leucius is the disciple of the devil" [Decretum Gelasianum]; and his books "should be utterly swept away and burned" [Pope Leo I]; they are the "source and mother of all heresy" [Photius]
outhouse
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Re: "A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by outhouse »

Thank you.

Only problem I have is Witherington used as a source and Shanks.

Its always good to have more ammunition and knowing both sides of the coin helps us better understand where the thin line in the middle is.
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Re: "A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by steve43 »

How does he handle the James, the brother of Jesus, passage in Book 20?
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Re: "A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by Peter Kirby »

steve43 wrote:How does he handle the James, the brother of Jesus, passage in Book 20?
He doesn't.
"... almost every critical biblical position was earlier advanced by skeptics." - Raymond Brown
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Re: "A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by stevencarrwork »

steve43 wrote:How does he handle the James, the brother of Jesus, passage in Book 20?
Is that the one which refers back to the passage in Book 18?
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Re: "A Narrative Anomaly in Josephus" by Paul J. Hopper

Post by andrewcriddle »

stevencarrwork wrote:
steve43 wrote:How does he handle the James, the brother of Jesus, passage in Book 20?
Is that the one which refers back to the passage in Book 18?
The passage in book 20 refers to the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was James; some interpret this as implying a previous reference to Jesus by Josephus to which the passage about James is referring back. However this is not necessarily so, particularly if Josephus' typical reader already had a (vague) idea about a Jesus whom his followers called Christ.

Andrew Criddle
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