JOSEPHUS FLAVIUS (37/8–c. 100 CE), born Yosef ben Mattityahu, was a Jewish general, historian, and apologist. Josephus was perhaps the most prolific, significant, and controversial of Jewish writers in Judaea during the Hellenistic-Roman era. Born in Jerusalem, he traced his paternal lineage from the priesthood and his maternal descent to the Hasmonean dynasty, and he claimed to have been educated not only within the priestly circles but also among the various Judaic sectarian movements of his day. In 64 he went to Rome and obtained the release of imprisoned Jewish priests, returning to Judaea on the eve of the Great Revolt, a Jewish uprising against Rome. Although he was a moderate, he was appointed to command the Galilean forces, and upon their defeat by Vespasian in 67 he surrendered after his comrades committed suicide. Josephus claims that while in captivity he predicted the accession of Vespasian to emperor, and...