J. Blenkinsopp, Prophecy and Priesthood in Josephus

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roe M, Maxens, Jonsh Osucres: Rebun ond Reich ‘Sandy Bua shel Near Baer Sting ALNegev Jacos Nausvsn (e.), Sort View of aimuste Jadot ive Pope by Yuu A. Soldutho tn English Iraaation HJ. Haswanarnr Sedin am Combeiger Codex isu0.k.22 P. Weraberg-Moller UH. Pottacs, Jen Fllagys ia Camente Land (1648-1806) Lionel Kochan Franz Roseanne, The Star of Reeplon Pamcla Vermes Auaene Fribiawoen, Les Bac Louis Jacobs eo Boek Yoo Book Lionel Kochan, EL, Lowneraat, The Jouph Nareaive i Gens Inurprcata P. Wernberg-Meller Row A. Rosesnen, The Anatuny of God Srrsoun J. Cones (ed and trans), Sr Ho-Yaser The Book of the Rights Inco Newsven (.), Undstanding jvih Theology Buaezen Benxovres, Fah ofr the acu Joanaree Meet Hanon (ed), Sued by Adri Ea. “Adie on dercan JoishLije by Sal Waser Baroo Egoeve B, Bono, The Moi fons Wea The Sef;Detion of Aneiesn Joey Sauu S. Futon, No Hoven or the Opava United Stata Ply Towards Jew Hefyres, 193843 Bernard Wasserstein Ayaan Hotze hae Dor hot: ole of he Upented George Mandel Louis Jacobs 7 oo Ms a we we M7 ue ay we a ae Prophecy and Priesthood in Josephus ‘on the understanding of prophecy in Judaism during the first century of the era, including prophecy in early Christianity, the writings of Josephus are clearly of the utmost importance. However, Josephus is evaluated as mat ‘and historian, he was a significant public figure from the early days of the revoltto the end ofthe century, in touch with different groups and movements, in Judaism, a man of considerable culture who was beth priest and Pharisee (Life \-12; Wer 13). He bas much to say about prophetic figures and pro- phetie phenomena which is sometimes corroborated and sometimes contra- ‘goes te lang tthe Tsar mira and especialy im Nokia dR. Lipa Pvor V1 312 c6 I 399-408, Ly 622,62: Sec O. Macnee, "Spal udsetes Prophetene tum", Newestorenliche States fir Rel Bamana (954), fp 6213 A SeRLATEE ob. Sy. BBG Bt MBan art,p. On theses! a 8 whol we W. Wa, Sbiefe and Vexposten, 192), however, eee hi lew (pp I) Fieve tn In ef Jaahand the Messienc Baty". BL 80 (1961), po. axa, Bef Die Zelon iSey et pp ef, ras sony frie Bla race aad gives ces relerenee tothe alton The ef the ede ampbuls( Wag Hts) wonld not meses connote «prophetic text. Loeb Josephus Th pps 674 Foaxrs Jacksov, op246 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES IV 629), In view of his eatly associations with Essenes it is also worth noting that the dream of Archelaus, interpreted by Simon the Essene, is curiously similar to the account of Pharaoh's dreams interpreted by the patriarch (Gen. 41:14-26)25 At other points in the history of the biblical and postbiblical ‘petiods as retold by Josephus dreams play an important directive role;** one of several points of intersection with the apocalyptic groups whose conclusions he so cevsively reject. Before passing on to the question of prophecy and priesthood a further point requires comment. We have seen that while Josephus does not hesitate to-se the term peeudoprophtés of individuals who falsely claimed, or to whom, was fabely ascribed, prophetic status,27 he does not refer to those who, like himself, were genuine predictors as prophétai, the term being reserved almost cexctusiely for canonical prophets (6g. Ant. X 60, 72, 60, 246). While it is true ‘that this emphasis on prediction fits in well with popular religious ideas ‘current in the Hellenistic world, it would be misleading to look for paralleis there before examining how Josephus stands with respect to more traditional “Jewish views on prophecy. The vocabulary associated with mantic and oracular prophecy is far from frequent in bis writings. John the Essene is called ‘mantis and the verb mantewomai is used in the account of Saul’s recourse to the witch of Endor, but otherwise these terms are used only of non-Jewish individaals and phenomens.2# Nor does the word-group mainesthal, mania, ra ag LH hy of ep Me a Naa a atten rele a er BECO Sateen ml GS re aati anus at RR tan su iene antag tn Soe eat 2 SEE ote gl gad dane ee DRESS te ee cir pene caine Ree ee na Ne a tus teatis tet aide Sia ag asia ets rat nar an eae AS stot deta ar co as ESP Se reer recy nee nce to nate a eo uisaeams nit Son an Seacaamocs ae PE tay X97 han ar I 5-9 aed elt nba A meena eh ye ens ee seis Seige ee gtae ae ne Se eaaaagec ee Caria Geen iathegenet His ar an deci a meme set cera ESAS trae iene ren ec jeg tira tapessmeenane ie omens aa ur ih Rubee acs Fatima te pca ruiciler tey tz una ouceoaben Mee pera nt mnie tebe fame Sars Doe a renee ah 8 os hetislad WM gion PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN JOSEPHUS 27 ‘mainomenos, etc. occur with anything like the frequency it does in Philo. It would seem, then, that Josephus remains quite clear throughout on the differences between Jenish and non-Jewish prophecy. “Much more basi is the way prophecy is, so to speak, built into his understanding of history. His laim—whatever its veracity—that his own prophetic sift rested on a combination of exegetical skill and divine inspiration (War HL 381-4) is not essentially different from that of the Essenes of whom he says that “there are some among them who profess to foretell the future, being versed from their early years in sacred books, holy writings and the sayings of the prophets” (War If 159). However one transiates this passage,® it at least implies that Essene prophecy is based on midrash or scriptural study, and references elsewhere in Josephus confirm this conclusion." The same holds good for what he has to say, litle as its, of prophecy among the Pharisees, Like Josephus, the men of Quran avoid using the term ndBf' while clearly claiming for themselves, and for the méreh hassedeq in superlative measure, the gift of prophecy in the sense of direct access to revelation.*? Tn both cases “prophecy” has the primary connotation of the inspired interpretation of biblical texts with reference to present and future fulfilment. Both share the conviction thatthe real meaning of text in both Tordh and Neb is revealed ‘to the inspired exegete as a result of direct divine illumination enc inspiration.*? Even in his prediction of the political ascendency of Vespasian the climax of his prophetic career—itis clear that he spoke as, in his own view, sinister ofthe voice of God and inspired exegeteo” biblical prophecy. The difference between this prophecy, based as itis on a specific but unidentified biblical text, and the Qumran pete, is therefore not one of presuppositions ‘and type despite the radically different viewpoints involved. In both cases predictive prophecy implies exegetical study vitalised by divine inspiration, Confirmation may be found in the reasons which he gives for condemning politcal messianism as pseadoprophecy (e.g. in War I 342). The first and ost obvious ofthese, for anyone writing after 70 c., is that their predictions 20 1H, 3 Towing the reading plo haaas Wand Steins Roses te wns io avestion would ten bs thetnce pure tne canein he eof bee [iiberaesimerpetd to lnclade wring othe isons woud stlcontan erence obit tox 3), Simon (War It 13; Ant. XVI 345-8), Monae Suga (War 118 $80; dnt. XH a Ee a eee eas 3 This conviction is sated with parclar cary in the téayc (LQ) but se 195 AUS lpia 9s Vit 3, Se forthe eu of propa at rvan ses Os Bers, Ofetarang nd Scviiforachang im der Dunrrsolte Cingea, 980) pp. 7) fey WL Fopisie. Der helige Geist im Spaidentam™, NTS 8 US4I/) pp. 122 23'Ck te ue ofthe Danae term raz (nytey) the mein of wah teveald onlin ‘he later daye Josephus stesscs more se anu of progticutetancs tg, Mar Ek B51 Sia) bar hed Sey a do th of usta hat egal we ot PRET a a0 W aE om 2 ane 1116;248 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES of divine assistance did not come true. For this there existed excelent biblical precedent in Deut. 18:22, and it may be noted that the predictive aspect of prophecy is stressed very strongly in the Deutsronomist writings. But quite apart from this obvious point, Josephus insists that these people perverted the sense of the biblical prophecies. In much the same way the opponents of the ‘mdreh hassedeg are said to have despised the words of the prophets, and the ‘author of the Testament of Let¥ condemns the priests for having "set at naught the words of the prophets by evil perverseness”.26 In both eases the sense is clearly that of abusive appeal to prophetic texts. ‘The passage about the death of Ahab, quoted earlier, illustrates the pen- ‘chant of Josephus for restating speciicaly Jewish concepts of divine power ‘and prophetic determination of the course of history in terms ofthe classical Greek concepts of fate and tragic destiny. In that instance he speaks of the ‘power of to chrean—the “Must-be", as George Foot Moore translated it?”— ‘which is not indeed identical with divine predestination but which co-operates it, finding entry into the soul of the doomed man through some psychological flaw, some “vicious mole of nature”. This idea of fate working in the psyche of the doomed hero is, of course, central in Greek tragedy. Josephus, ‘or perhaps one of other of his assistants,?* makes use of it in accounting for the tragic fall of biblical heroes like Saul and Josiah. With respect to the former, he gives great importance to the change of character which so often accompanies elevation to high office and which, in its tura, gives rise to the change of fortune (mesabolé) which takes the hero to his tragic end,% As for ‘Josiah, Josephus suggests that it was destiny (peprdmen@) which urged him on {to oppose Neco in order to have a pretext for destroying him; though in this case there is no mention of a psychological law (Ant. X 76). OF this last the career of Herod provides for Josephus the clearest example: Fortune (tyché) ‘working through his inconsistency of nature and love of honour to encompass. his roin (Ant. XVI 396 11) OF syché he writes here in hypostatic terms: 25h Dene ty bape oe eae opie st" 2 Kins Tedget: 19:1 kings 21°93 2 Kings 9236; 1 Kings 21°21 ef 2 Kes 0:10, 1722 Kings 14:25 Guinirtant of te propaeay af Toneh eh Ain; 2 Kgs 10°30 18:12. SACD VITIT Le Tar Ee XVL3 (RH. Cuan, The Apocrypha ar Poadepirapha of ‘the Old Testament in Enis, Ip, 33) ve " SG: Hoot Moone, Erate and Free Will In the Jewish Philosophies according to Jogephos ATR 22 (1929), p38, ‘SPSS John Tiencneni¥, otro, 100. Not ll ave found his theory of Thuy idea and Soph st asinine efor ump HS Se Josephs (London let). Te a a lar fom Joseph father acon emake on died atte esis was eto ny prea pat of mk A. *Pan- V3 For sony mes he mel of ont td te pps og ce re at a ee cele Cet Wee oe EB "Beat Assert! Sa sid da, ne PP Ca the account ofthe degeneration of Uzziah in dnt 222M Yr PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN JOSEPHUS 29 for which reason we are persuaded that human actions are dedicated by ier beforeband to the necessiy of taking place inevitably, and we call hee Fate (heimarmené) on the ground that there is nothing thst is not brought about by hee (Ant. XVI 397). ‘While there are plenty of examples in Josephus of language reminiscent of Graeco-Stoic fatalism—witness the variety of terms for fate or destiny’! — and while it is true that he assirilates Sadducees to Epicureans, Pharisees to Stoics and Essenes to Pythagoreans,*? the really important question is to ‘explain why he chooses this methos of presentation; which resolves itself into ‘the question what he was thereby attempting to say about contemporary Judaism. The fact that he attributes a doctrine of fate ina rigorous form to the Essenes and a modified form to the Pharisees, which doctrine is rejected in any form by the Sadducees, strongly suggest that he is basically saying some~ ‘thing about the different hermeneutical systems of the parties." And since we cannot suppose that he is engaged in a purely arbitrary transposition of language, we are obliged to conclude that he is really speaking of the deter- sministic world-views of Pharisaie and Essene apocalyptic prophecy.** What, therefore, the Grecks call fate (helmarmend) is for the Jews the divine decree seyealed through the prophet.*5 Nor should it be overlooked that the Greek translators ofthe Bible had alrealy used the vocabulary of fate® It would be ult to imagine how the use of such terms could be avoided in attempting to convey to a Greek-speaking audience the idea of prophetic predestination, especially in the rigorous form alopted by the apocalyptic sects, Even in passages where fate is described as a deceptive and destructive “yo chngon 1233. 278: 35, $16, S72; A. VIER; VITAE, 418-20) che (War 1 BHT e88 ant XV Sie Sy ap. hetmarmend xe War Vi (oS. Fae eel 7 the eltnet robe) VI 287 08a S397 deed wh [ehd); ECS) poo Cir): ner (or Lak promote et TED ich ts ahowa ha he prope of Daniel refute the Eicreandoasoael ot prot, Wh which ct. IML TP, fete fo the Soccuces who Go say wth fara? "ped: po eS eh ones yas ute tout se leg War 393,26 3912 1V 99: ne, XLV an EE 21S, "Sec arf 162-4: ant, XIU 1723, RUIN iy i +4 Despie the Ink of Baris wih Sots, Essence with Ptbagoceans and Sudduces yh Eotearens (ophora, Josephus nas have been petecty amare tats Goce of ie en ah Si ae gr ag hes, way ke anf Suan (0 wich se. Foe Moon arte pt te it tat ws eam erly sages cooked ‘Eston Mom Jonepis’ Re des dings sh Betneen historical sid ethical detesrnisn Std etteen tad ofthe Ennead the Parte sl conssiet wih what ne knoe a he srs demet ie rou stern that nib aur on es {rar foxepanenys beh of hr peal vows ne ont Fret "scat: foie des Enanuny ele Live @tibanch RO 1 C0569) pp 113) but i ape vt [eae in rae tn couap unde torte a thf of eon, War Se ee eee ee VEE va re : eee ae ee ae ee re Ae igen atlas rae Fe BIBLOTECA FACULTAD OE LETRAS GRANADA |SECCION DE REVisTAS|250 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES agency Josephus may be more in Keeping with Jewish thinking than may at firs sight appear. In his account of the death of Ahab, for example, the refer~ ‘ence to fate which “secretly enters the souls of men and flaters them with false hopes” (Ant, VIHL 420) acises fairly naturslly from the lying spirtin the ‘mouth of the prophets which, in 7 Kings 22;19-23, enticed the king to his destruction. In the case of Josiah it seems that Josephus is following the CChronieler (2 Chien. 35:20-22) who aseribes the king's death to neglect of divinely inspired word communicated by the Pharaoh. iit Inthe passage cuoted at the beginning ofthis paper we learn that Josephus claimed not only prophetic but also priestly status,” and elsewhere he tells us that he was descended on his mother’s sie from the royal and priestly Tie of| the Hasmonaeans (Life 2-6), It is clear from the way he speaks abost his priesthood that itis closely associated in his mind withthe prophetic gi. In Edition, we know independently of Josephus that from the time ofthe Has- ronaeans the prophetic endowment was believed to inhere de jure # not aways de facto inthe high priest, To explain adequately how this came about ‘would take us back into the early history of eultic prophecy in Issel and therfore beyond the scope of the present essay. Suffice it to note for the snoment that hy the time of the Maccabees the conviction that prophecy belonged only to a normative past or a hoped for future was already well established; witnes the expressions of regret voiced by the author of 7 Mace. that no authoritative word was available At the same time, thee is some evidence that the Meccabean resistance movement was thought to be pro- ‘hetially inspired from the begining, and by the time of John Hyrcanus the prophetic character of the ruler was am established element of Hsmo- ‘nacan Hoftheologie © According to Josephus, Hyreanus was the only o2e to “nite in his person three ofthe highest privileges: supreme command of the nation, the high priesthood and th gift of prophecy: "for so closely was hein touch with the Deity, that he was never ignorant ofthe future” (dn. XII War 1 68 £.). combination of high priesthood and prophecy i certainly no invention of Josephus, being attested independently in the Testament of Levi and in the ‘21m aon to War IL 38-4 ee Life 1-2 apd War 13 ester ins cert orn F Conor BS 0) Fad on Lam, 2:9" Siar repels are Vola in Pe. 74:8 F and, Garden Ci, 15ST, 11-16 (the drear-vsion of Jadas in which Jeremiah rf PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN JOSEPHUS 251 ‘Talmud.*! Further confirmation is at hand in the Qumran serolls, granted that the kakén ra@" refers to a Hasmonacan ruler; for itis clear that he is, represented as claiming prophetic status.* If the “priest for ever after the ‘order of Melchizedek” of Ps. 110:4 also refers to a Hasmonaean ruler— perhaps Simon— the point would be made even moze cleary. In view, however, of the uncertainty of dating this cannot be pressed. In this contest, finally the prophecy ofthe high priest recorded in Jn. 11:51 should? be borne in mied since it has to be understood within the same frame of referee. “Josephus has it that Hyrcanus, like the high priest Jaddus before him, was privileged to receive dream-oracles about the course of future events witich ‘came to him, as to Samuel, while officiating in the Temple (dnt. XL327; XIII 322), He has another story about Hyseanus which provides a further clue to the understanding of prophecy at that time, one which calls for consideration here: Now about the high priest Hyrcanus an extraordinary storyis told how the Deity communicated with him, for they say that on the very éay on which his sons fought with Cyzicenus, Hyreanus, who was alone in the temple ‘burning incense as high priest heard a voice saying that his sons had just defeated Antiochus. And on coming out of the temple he revealed this to the entire multitude, and so it actually happened (nt. XINt 252-3). From the circumstances it would appeat that this took place during Yom Kippur and that therefore the voice was heard in the Holy of Holies.*8 Under- stood in the light of certain parallels in the Talmuds, this voice was the bath gol which, according to rabbinical teaching, provided a surroga‘e for prophecy after the death of the last canonical prophets.*6As is well known, the bath qt played an important part in the deliberations of the Jabneh rabbis and the ascendancy of the Hillelite school, though appeal to it did not always go un- isputed.*7 It served to decide dificult exegetical and halakic problems*® and ‘was often vouchsafed to the great rabbis of the Tannaitic period.® It is i, Le I 5: le re. bet ote Moat Uh. aa 1.290) dats tis o Ue telen of Marea | SeealeorSorah 3:51 and bo a ehh Beste Yehanan and Simo hae aan in Arama om he Hoy of fies) ‘S?Sae pecially Top, X9,nctng thew the vero hii, et 7:10: He. 2:11, and CD in 32. On th bien so B Banc “ARCHIEREUS PROVLLTON' TLE) C36 cob 353 Bone e Baaaa, ot it, ol, 359) reflec the vere to Simon. 56m this ee the coments ad oc as also ©. Dano, “The Prophecy of Calphas John 3147-53 Neovestamonte et Pathe (Lele, i963), pp. 134-43, Hakata et doe 51-6 "3 GE ihe account fo Borah 3a, bier BYeb 1a; BP. 1140 SB Pilep. 2a; ne Eg Akiba (bder. 61b), Jonathan ben-Uzdel (bitag. 146), Judah the Nasi (bKeth. aie act ate 2282 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES sometimes, rather inconsistently, associated with specific individuals during the age of prophec "For the rabbis the bath 96! could be heard under different circumstances and in different places, Itseems, however, thatfor so long as the Temple stood the Holy of Holies was the place where this orm of divine communication ‘and revelation could be expected to take place. Simon the Just heard such a \oice from the Holy of Holies announcing thal Caligula’s decree to install his Statue in the Temple had been annulled (Sojah 13:7), and Josephus himself records that at the beginning of the civil war the priests functioning in the ‘Temple during Shavuoth heard a voice saying, “We ace departing hence” (War V1299 f) clearly dependent on Ezekiel's reference to the kabdd leaving, the Temple before its destruction by the Babylonians (9:3; 10:4; 11:23). The ‘voice from the east, the west and the four corners of the earth in the oracle of the ecstatic Jesus ben-Hananiah was also heard in the Temple during a festival, in this cases Sukkoth of the year 62.C-. It, too, embodied ancient ‘prophetic material (cf. Jer. 16:9; 25:10). Other examples are at band in the literature of the period, including the New Testament.6t In the light of this evidence it appears probable that the bath ql derives ultimately from the ‘belief in the sanctuary asthe locus of divine revelation and the theophaoy. It may be recalled that in the Priestly corpus Moses hears the divine voice speaking from above the mercy seat in the ‘ahel mé'ed (Ex. 25:22: Num. 7:89) and the prophetic collections contain references to the voice heard in the sanctuary during a theophany (e.g. Am. 1:2; Jo. 3:16). ‘The high priestly prerogative of prophecy his its origin, for Josephus, with ‘Aaron who qualified for the office he held “ty reason of his birth, his prophetic gift, and his brother's virtues” (Ant. IIT 192). A little later on he explains hhow this gift was exercised and, in so doing, clearly indicates the hierarchy of excellence in prophetic inspiration. The passage deserves to be quoted in full: ‘Moses left no possible opening for the malpractices of prophets, should there in fact be any capable of abusing the divine prerogative, but left to God supreme authority whether to attend the sacred rites, when it so pleased Him, orto absent Himself; and this He wished to be made manifest hot to Hebrews only but also to strangers who chanced to be present. Well, of these stones which, as I said before, the high priest wore upon his shoulders ... it eame about, whenever God assisted at the sacred cere- ‘monies, thatthe one that was buckled on the right shoulder began to shine, ‘light glancing from it, visible to the most distant, of which the stone had before betrayed no trace ... By means of ths twelve stones, which the high priest wore upon his breast stitched into the essen, God foreshadowed Bg. BPes 94; bMer. 128, epee RVC Mk, 1214; 12:28 Fr PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN JOSEPHUS 253 victory to those on the eve of battle, For so brilliant alight flashed out from them, ere the army was yet in motion, that it was evident to the whole host that God had come to theic aid. Hence itis that those Greeks who revere ‘our practices ... call the esten logion. Howbeit, essen and sardonyx alike ‘eased to shine two hundred years before I composed this work, because of God's displeasure at the transgression of the laws (Ant. If 21418). ‘Magical mumbo jumbo as it may seem, this isan important passage since it suggests that for Josephus the only unambiguous kind of prophecy was associated not with the ne6t"in but with the priesthood aad the Temple; and ‘aocording to his criteria it was superior precisely Because it was unambiguous. Te further suggests the existence of two kinds of prophecy throughout Israel's history: that ofthe canonical prophets which ended, as we have seen, with the reign of Artaxerxes [; the oracular priestly kind which ended with the death of Hyzcanus, It will be necessary before going any further to contextvalise ‘hat Josephus has to say about the latter. ‘According to the oldest biblical testimony Urim and Tummim were entrusted to the Ievtes whose function it was to impart miSpatim and fOrdth (eg. Deut. 33:8). Ata later stage their use seems to have been restristed to the ‘igh priest (Ex. 28:30; Ler. 8:8). While the use of ths divinatory technique is attested for the petiod of the monarchy, ? it seems to have fallen into desu- ‘etude by the time of the Exile, congruent with the rabbinic statements on this subject. In Ezra 2:63 (= Neh. 7:65) we find the interesting information that those priests returned from exile who could not prove their priesly descent were not t0 partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and ‘Tummim should aris. This ruling, which is cusiousy similar to statements in ‘Maccabees attesting the expectation of a trustworthy prophet,“ may help to ‘explain why Josephus attributes vaticinary and orecular power to Hyrcenus and holds that revelation by Urim and Tummim was no longer available after his death ‘Whatever the original significance of Urim and Tummnim, by the time of the priest-theotogians (P) they had become part of the complex symbolism of the high priestly attire. Placed in tho “breastpiece”(hofen hamaifpa in LXX Iogion res kriseds), they symbolised the power of YHWH as judge of Israel which power was now exercised vicariously through the priesthood.65 In th context judgment implied the banding down of legally binding decisions, 1 J Som, 28:6; 44:4 a LOX a0 Vale) with wbich divination yephod in 23:6-19. ASS tb where caphanaed tt Pre eben natant pose but an eleanlop hop Ia bie, Lene Ber tht Ea hao erect ad {Ep who Sect of stn an Tammi wed af ecto othe Ft Tene. (oT ier elt snp a th a pein auihovetie’ guidane onc ented to pene, she pes ips 8 ‘cic of the historical phonomenon of propbeey. me " ‘Wop Be B89 cae. None Bead 4 Conmonory Phat, 1962p. 22254 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES ‘but in the course of time this meaning was expanded to include functions traditionally associated with the prophets and sages. The Testament of Levi calls the hafén “the breastplate of understanding” (VIL 2), avd inthe Talrmuds Urim and Tummim stand for enlightenment and the fulfilment of prophetic ‘utterances expressed in the time-honoured phrase, “thus says YHWH™. Un- ‘that emanating from a prophet, the judgment thus obiained is irrevoo~ able,§ and itis further to be noted that no priest is inquired of by this means ‘who does not speak through the Holy Spirit (b Yona 73b). ‘Mach the same connotation is found in one of the fragmentary Qumran Tarim in which the “pinnacles of agate” of Js, 54:12 are explained as the fevelve (chief priests) who shall enlighten by judgment of Urim and Tummim.®* ‘The author of the Hédayéth takes this even further by using, perhaps coining, the term “ért6m (or “tim, a combination of the singular forms, to denote the state of the initiate prophetically endowed with the Spirit. Nor is it sur- prising that the text which speaks of Urim and Tummim confided to the Ievitieal priesthood occurs in the Qumran Testimonia (4QTest). "A like process of symbolisation can be demonstrated with respect to other articles of priestly attire. In at least one clear instance in Scripture (I Sam. 2:18) the ephod is a garment. Elsewhere itis not clear whatit was thought to ‘be, though it was certainly used for divination. This no doubt explains why it can be referred to in the Testament of Levi as “the ephod of prophecy” (VIIL 3). It is possible thatthe sfp (Greck: petalon)—the headband worn by the high priest—also had prophetic connotations.” "The sacral and cultie aspects of prophecy are not, however, restricted to the ‘igh priest either in Tosephus or in Judaism in general at that time. From the ‘earliest days in Iseael there were prophets who carried on theic activities at ‘sanctuaries, and the existence of cutic prophets in the First Temple need no longer be argued. The prophets of the Restoration period were associated auite closely with the cult and the priesthood, and atleast one of them appears to have belonged to an exilic priestly family.” At different point the Priestly corpus witnesses to a fairly thorough concentration of prophetic functions in the priesthood and presents Aaron as the paradigm and prototype of the ‘prophet-prest.? In the Chronicler’s work itis clear that the eutic prophets 4 5Yema 13, According 0 BB.Batha 106b Urim and Turmin were wed in the snpottaing ite neo the tbs San Te ragpte't 3 See Durant Sant 091, xvi Sa op ef 241-13, 283 Sir Gh rrr or nSudetn goer teeing aka EP I a tegen teenth th 8 arapmntensnetem na erat a Ria hans atest tetra PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN JOSEPHUS 255 of the preeulic period have been succeeded by the levitical guilds, and the category of prophecy has becn expanded to include caltie bymnography and ‘sie. Josephs presupposes and is aware of all this and at several points in his nercative speaks of the Temple as the locus of prophetic activity. It ‘oned its existence in the fst place to a prophetic oracle (Ant. VIL 90M ef. 4334), and at is dedication it received a portion ofthe divine Spit (An. VIEL 114) which, for Josephus as for the rabbis, is pre-eminently the spirit of prophecy, To cite just one or two examples: during the reign of Jehoshaphat the prophet Jazielos (hazel) uttered an oracle in the Temple promising favourable outcome in an impending battle; and infact the batle was won by temple singers and levites without striking a blow. This Jahaziel was an Ast- shite levite, one of those who ‘prophesied with musical instruments accord jog to 1 Chron. 25:1 £% Later on, king Joash ordered Zacharias son ofthe high priest Judas to be stoned after God had appointed him (Zacharias) 10 prophesy.” ‘Tosephus has it that Jeremiah read his prophecies alond in the Temple uring a Tivurgy of fasting, and the context suggests that he is thinking of Lamentations (Ant. X 93) This is one of several references in Josephus to prophetielly inspired compositions in use in Temple worship. The Song of Moses (Deut. 32:1-43) is described 9s a poem in hexameter verse (pois Ihexametros) which he (Moses) had bequeathed in a book preserved in the “Temple, one containing predictions of future events in accordance with which alas come and is coming to pass (Ant, IV 303) Of another hexametric poem composed by Moses, the Song at the Sea, he says that it was written “to enshrine His praises and theit (the people's) thankfulness (cucharstia) ‘which would also seem to suggest iuegeal usc (dnt Tl 346) These and other references to poetic compositions written by prophetically inspired authors and destined for wse in worship (dnt. IL 38; V 61) Would most naturally point toa collection of chants used by the singers engaged in Temple worship, one with which Josephus, os a prist, was familia.” iv It may be useful at this point to summarise what has been said so far. Like the Jabneh rabbis who were his contemporaries, Josephus knew that the age to Dest (4912) 0 whic i stated thatthe 68 of nine prophecy en es eget 1 of ed with Meo “Be cesly | Chron, 25:18. Not thatthe “pits an prophet” of 2 Kings 2: a ee ee ts lh Prt Prop” of 2 King 23:2 ‘2 is dn nding 17, Ret on 3 Chron. 20: 2 fre G8 of Caan ar. The prophesy ook pice ale “the Spin pew of dcr the fom af iho the pes se ea "5c Sohn Tuacettay a, p90256 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES of prophecy was in principle past and gone. This postulate arose, inthe frst place, out of the actual situation of postbellum Pafestnian Judsism which hhad an urgent need to reject the apocalyptic delusions of the sects and the messianists and to oréer life on a firm, authoritative basis of Torah. Hence forward none could claim the tile nab in the proper sense until God should bring in the Kingdom. in his own way and at his own time." Despite this conviction, Josephus believed that God still made use of certain individuals as instruments for revealing the course of the future and guiding the destinies of his people. These could not be called prophets, for the reason just stated, ‘though those who abusively claimed to be such could be called false prophets. Since he believed further that he himself had been entrusted with such a mission he was obliged to provide a context in which this claim could be made credible and inteligibe to others and perhaps also to himself. His political predictions and his activity as historian provided a ready connection with ‘current understanding: ofthe traditional role of the prophet. A less obvious but perhaps no less important aspect of this process of legitimisation arose Girectly out of his priestly and Hasmonaean (therefore high priestly) descent. With this he associated not only his divinely inspired-—and thetefore ‘mate—interpretation of prophetic texts but also his “prophetic” role in the actual unfolding of events.7* I have argued that, however we evaluate the claim in itself, it makes perfectly good sense in the context of traditional and contemporary understandings of both prophecy and priesthood, At the same time, it brings to the fore an important and much neglected aspect of prophecy in Judaism of tke fist century of the era. ‘A furthee question mbich calls for consideration is the relation between ‘Josephus’ self-understending as prophet and the understanding of prophecy ‘current in the sects or “philosophies” of which he speaks. He informs us that no became a Pherisee a an early age and thereafter regulated his life in aocord- ance with their principles (Life 12). The information which he provides on them is not abundant and cannot be taken uncritically.”” Theres the problem, already mentioned, of assimilation to Stoicism, There are also considerable differences of attitude tetween the accounts in the earlier and the later work.®° 17 According to bf tia 12a (R, Abdi of Heil) prophecy has bean ‘akon fom the ‘imand given to the Ride, bBer, Sb and Soder"Olam Rabook 80) The niga of {he present Se mat spon for even wea furs ike let te Eze Saal the Ltde aad alba to receive Sackinah or Holy Splst™aze Asan}, bs Sarl 139 E Bren tie miracte worker R, Hlanina ben-Dosa rosed the tile “prophet™ quoting Am Tia (ier. Sab: be. 121). "Mor the roe of pris atl se Ant 1X 71 and the Qumcan Wor Seell YOM) ‘and srfon aio stich speais of ta malo llama, te priest consecrated Tot Wa, WhO falda higher station than the nb 7 Aoi paar: Wor 162, 41; dnt XVIK 4-3; XVIML12 XML 172; resentation in nt oe in par, no dou, to the fading -Gaaliels opposlign and the npod io rosomncnd Phat eh Lie 190-4, 38). PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN J0SEPHUS 257 For our present purpose, however, some points sem to be reasonable clear. (One ofthese isthe attestation that the Pharisees were considered to have foe- Knowledge (progndsis) of the futre communicated to them through extra ordinary expesiences (Ant. XVI 41-3), During Herod's reign several of them jut this git to political use (XVIT 43), and elsewhere he speaks ofa cersin Pharisee named Pollion and his disciple Samsias who prophesied (Ant. XIV 172-6; XV 3,370) The identity’ ofthese two individual has been argued for a Jong time,* and it may be that they were just two Pharisees named Poltion and Samnaias not otherwise attested. At any rate, Josephus did know of charis- nati, prophetic Pharisees and what he tells us, meagre as itis, has tobe taken together with rabbinic reference to charismatic Pharisees wo lived before the war and Pharisaicrabbini charismatios among the Tannaim—-men ice Simon the Just, Onias the Ciscle-Drawer and Hillel who was worthy ofthe Holy Spirit! This aspect of Pharisaism needs to be mentioned if only because its so often neglected.® In Keeping with ths atestation of charismatc-prophelis activites atti- tuted to individual Pharses is the factthat they asa group saw themselves as his of the great prophetic tradition. The Pharisaic Zugoth took over the tradition from the men ofthe Great Assembly who received trom the asin line ofthe prophets *# The balance of power in the Sanhedrin was represented jn terms of the biblical polacity beeween priest and prophet, the term “pro- thet" being used forthe lay leader ofthe Sanhedrin who ofciated alongside {he high priest What we know of the composition of this body in Josephus? day suggests strongly that “prophet” stands for Pharsacseribe; an interpre- {ation which is conftmed by the account ofthe assembly convoked after the cessation of the daily sacfce on behalf of dhe Romans (War I 411).8¢ see npn, REY24(892) po. 68M, flowed by A Ky, JOR 30 (193910), 07 argued that Bolom i tll se ezo'S Zatut, furmal of Tevish Lore ad BRiusphs'i O91), pp, 6b Ae L- H. Frown, JOR 49 (19589), pp. $3 fy iene hin ltt Abtaing. Santas has been variously ioenlited with Sparchay, Shimon bea Shei Be Aeee sir a icalion hat mon acne. Sex mos Fenty, J Nn, Fae Bisnis abou the Pharacerbfre 701 (ic, 170) Ma Aen pte sae Ne pp 30 22 aera pte puta won fen tc to Phares or Phare ce ents Solano aad espn of Move) ae ee ut of acount ete EL a edie nd Trader den Sette Posing and Datyeiens Mem aE Bean La cha del ado parseane RB (OS Feds oat i pene eon te send up the case entre fo te holy tty and lt the high priest and the pronbel and the ne tee ane Ue ge Sf apa compat oe ess tnd Freese eno bapesrsto bein of. seems key, ovephs read kolo and tre Steg a nt Re lee ie dee ek Meare Ses che Fe ashen area Serie Sexes 17), (Carbetge, Mas, 196), ps 87-95 SB as Grea Saati (New ark 1229) Ese te Set of he prin lucas anal) the el pits ad theron sot Pratsce Oar ate teresa before them Jet then BIBLIOTECA DE LETRAS: SRANADA |SECCION DE REVSTAS| FACU258 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES ‘As expert interpreters of the ible the Pharisees were engaged in a process which was the closest approximation possible t that time 10 the revelation tnediated through the prophets of an earlier day. Is truc, of cours, that this otvty was brought to bear principally on Torah and issued in halakahs and that, in consequence, they tended to view the prophets primarily as exponents and tradtioners af Torab.#” That, however, is not the only understanding of prophesy curreat among the Pharisees prior to 70 c.f. OF them, as of their Riecessors, it could be said that "if they are not prophets, yet are they sons of the prophets" Entirely consonant with this is the word of Jesus about their building the tombs of the prophets and adorning the moguments of the righteous (3 23:29). ‘We are often reminded that the distinctions between the sects may have been much less rigid than Josephus gives us to understand. This we may accept without going with Leo Baeck to the other extreme of a Pharisee movement Which could take on an Essene, Zealot or whatever other character. From the point of view of this paper, at any rate itis clear that both Essones and Zealots had much in common with Pharisees. According to Josephus, the ‘Eesenee’ ability to predict the future was based on their skill and inspiration as exegetes and interpreters of dreams (War If 159). Apart from the Qumran material we have no unambiguous examples of Essene midrash unless it be ‘Simon the Essene's interpretation of the dream of Archelaus (War IK 113; “Ant. XVII 345-8). Josephus mentions two other Essene prophets: Menabem, {ited with progndsis ofthe future, who foretold the aocession of Herod (Ant. cv 373-9), and Judes who foretold the death of Antigomus. The latter is described as conducting what might be called a seminar in prophecy with a [group of disciples in the Temple court (War I 78-80; Ant. XUIL 311-13). ‘Another charismatic figure, Eleazar by name, may also have belonged to the scene genos. We find him carrying out an exorcism in the presence of Ves- pasian using the name of Solomon, various incantations and @ root with ‘magical properties (Ant. VII 42-9).9° The eabbinie view stat the, oropbets sad gothng which was not contained ince sina att Gk the wan andthe fami wip saxended tm Grew De Fe tn Gato example, Bx Rabie 13:28). On the Poarsarrabbune aaa rt aly tes Secren of- Dp, 25TES Re Mee, Piel istanay Se ctmron leans, G. We aromley, Grand Rasas 190), Vl pp 615-19, Ste ee re The stew of Relea 100940) pp 113 Bown, Bang, Qariry SNe Te aS Sse TEs Ge Hi, denis Bye X pp 213 LF Fe SD on 1S sth op. ints; Scare, "Die termi Heligr Ges nd "Geist Fea cravat, Ps i910 ps + 1a; te, Die orang om Meligen Serer rabbinschen tran (Munk 19). fete Sos ick Bonen), Abu Ee 18 beat of Grier exon the partion bere between prophres and kor, ago a ne aE TFB nd reds oe Phe conten esa with the wisdom of Solomon which included he ais fein and ears cata eal i tg compar ns wih the bealing of Pharaoh by Abram in TQcebApoe: XX 21-32 rF PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN JOSEPHUS 289 If Josephus did indeed stay fora while with the Essenes during his youth— though it could hardly have been very long”!—it is posible that he received instruction in biblical interpretation, and the meaning of certain prophetic texts in particular, after the Essene manner. Iti also possible, as suggested earlier, that bis use of midrash may owe a debt to the Essenes. I is atleast poteworthy that nowhere docs he describe Essene prophecy as pseudo prophecy or associate Esenes with the apocalyptic Schvdrmereithat he never tires of condemning; and this despite the fact chat they did take part in the svar and were punished by the Romans.7? 'A further snd particulary signiicent point needs to be noted. At thet of Josephus both Pharisees and Essens thought of themselves in cul priestly terms. The former cultivated the priestly laws of purty and their havdréeh®® The theological ralonale for these practices may perhaps be sought in the exegetical tradition elaborated by R. Ishmael and his disciples in the Tannaitic period. According to this school the promise that Israel wil bbe kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6) awaits faflment in the eschatological age when all Israelites willbe priests The priestly character and ethos ofthe Essenessalso hardy in doubt. Josephus informs us that they ‘had their owa succes singe they did not frequent the Temple, and the fact, that they wore white garments may also point inthis direction. % tis equally clear that the men of Qumran (whatever one thnks oftheir relation wit the Frsenes)thonght of themselves basially a priesti-prophetic eommanity and, in keeping wit this, the mireh hase was both a prophetic interpreter of scripture and a priest just as his opponent and persecutor was both priest and false prophet. One might add thatthe earliest Jewish Christianity man fested several elements of priestly theology and ethos, which however did not prevent it frem claiming a prophetic character 97 ‘The situaion is rather more complicated with those whom Josephus designates as false prophets and, among these, the members of what he cals ‘the fourth philosophy” (dnt. XVIII 23). Bor Tosephs politica prophecy i¢ 40 £y 9-2 be sys that he passed throu the thee tan pant thee years wi cng nal cn Ho ge a ncn * ‘sin he Buta a pera in cars of the provine of Tarnee ar 1367; 19); he Bato ose ad led byte Romans (Wari gn fy Oe SSPE 35S EP Sasons adatom nae Fist Con of the Chron Bra (New Yor, 1927) 1, ppgse i: twat! op 86.50. 5 ie Muhteas adh od 22. Lactranac (Philadephia, 1987), 205, 55 dn, VII, 90 which sw the aot of Le Paton inthe Loe Yves IX, made il, ma i te fe i sabe ima er ee dee oh SE era sre aS ce ee ae een ea Be aes RO sa oe ne ro ee DS TE A tse Se, ‘idea that Jesus was ordained priest by the Baptist “ a260 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES not ipso facto pseudoprophecy. He mentions without condemnation several Phitisee and ‘Essene prophets as well as other charismatic figures who delivered themselves of inspired oracies inthe political sphere, and of course he hima was a politcal prophet. The pseudoprophefai ae those who “under the pretense of divine inspiration” (War IL 258) claim prophetic authority to anrounce the messianic age of deliverance or even present themselves as mesiahs-—men like the Egyptian, Theudas, the prophet who led the people to te Temple court in the last days of the siege, and a host of others. It was these imposters (goetes) and “pretended messengers of the Deity” who, in his view, were responsible for the catastrophe.” “Among these false prophets the worst were the Zealots of whom Josephus ‘understandably gives us & one-sided and totally negative view. While it is aot to our purpese to evaluate this view in the light ofall the evidence availabe,!© fone of two points relevant to the issue under discussion may be made. The ‘firsts thatthe followers of Judas the Galilean based their opposition to Rome ‘on biblical prophecy and its inspized inspiration; in other words, they were doing exactly what Josephus himself professed to do though with entirely diferent results. It is significant that he calls Judss sophises which, in the ‘context, must imply exegetical skill, and that it was an ambiguous scriptural ‘oracle as interpreted by sophoi (soph'rim?) which led to the outbreak of hortiltes (War 1 118, 433; VI 312-15). Judas and Matthias who tore down the golden eagle over the Temple gate are also called sophistai andthe context ‘agnin makes it clear that this implies expertise in biblical exegesis (War 1 648; ‘Ant. XV11 155), The same term is also used of Menahem son of Judas (War 11445). It may be recalled that an inspired interpretation and application of a Ditlical prophetic text—the fourth oracle of Balaam—by R. Akibs contri- ‘bused to the outbreak of the revolt under Hadrian according to one authority (Taan,iv.5, Schwab VI, 189). ‘While in his earlier works Fosephus says thatthe sect founded by Judas the Galitan had nothing in common with the others (War U1 118), he avers later ‘on in Ant. XVIII 23) that they had everytbing in common with the Pharisees fexeept an unquenchable love of liberty and an acknowiedgement of God lene as master. In tis respect we need to recall thatthe heros eponymas of the Zealots was the Aaronite priest Phineas (Pinas) whose zeal for YHWH at Seo War TE 261; dnt. XX 97; War VI 25, Despite the brevity of his lsions, Joep Borays ts vial hans of ihe luis made by these peops: esas the people see mesa Mase Fs a XX tre Me 2420) rrauious epaation oe ia he Joan (dats XX 5/1 exthrig onthe Mount of Olives (fork 261-3), the TRSRGUg af Zion var VE 2051 He infuence of Feremibh and Ezhit has boca noted SUE, age 24:24 and the pram thee between fale prophets and fle mets Ge a i ee itr Pr ei toy ft New MU A sate” acabes, Zens and Josephus New York, 1980) M. Hawaae, Dine sen is SG Mon fs he Zeke Nen Vos, 58). . PROPHECY AND PRIESTHOOD IN JOSEPHUS 261 ‘shittim won for him and his descendants an everlasting priesthood (um. 25.613). In rabbinic tradition Phineas was identified with Elijah, the mesenger of YHWH according to Mal. 4:3 £, no doubt also un avount of ‘zeal (I Kings 19:10). This identification is certainly Tannaitic and may trell go back to the period before the war, perhaps even to the Zealots them- ives 102 In keeping with this, atleast two of the Zealot leaders mentioned by Josephus were of priestly descent,!09 and there seems to have been a fairly “lose association between Zealots and inferior clergy during the latter days of the war (eg. War IL 409 f). Here again, therefore, we find that close associ tion between prophecy and priesthood fo which Josephus testes at so many different points. ‘According to the rabbinic view, attested explicitly from the Tannaim onwards, the Holy Spirit (rah ha-gddet) is the spicit of prophecy (rial: hha-bi'GH).3™ For reasons already seen, it was believed that the Holy Spirit had left Israel at the death of the last canonical prophet, or, alternatively, at the destruction of the First Temple.1°5 It was thus impossible for even the holiest and most charismatic of men, such as R. Akiba, to possess the Holy Spirit either by asceticism, uprightness of life, ecstatic experience or any other ‘way.10 This periodisation of history according to which Spirit-possession or prophecy is confined to a normative age in the past and the messianic age i the future is very significant. In the beginning all Israclites were prophets; in the endtime the prophetic Spirit will be poured out on the whoie people;!"” in the meantime, however, “we will begin with the decisions of Shammai and Hille” (c8duy. 1:1). BE INE oneness P. Scuires, op. ei, (in 87 above), pp. 21 f ean SR eet EEE Petia sna peat ores anf ae Getta tt rs ae OUT ara ha Sars FREON ea cae aia SCRE Se Be iowa acer SST ed aan coratton ernest sect Sia elie ta rerarae iat ohooh SSE il RR EAE? aa 1, Dosa, wha quotes Am, 7:14), bSan., Shirata VIL 17 f. (LAUTERBACH IL, p. 338 Bip aideie iR ol rie ca De Garr ti E ae ry oth Ge tanec ae aa Fase BL ES Oe Dns vga setters Shah ane este nari262 JOURNAL OF JEWISH STUDIES J importa lement inthis priodstion iscsi texte in Josephus: sn aun Joes he speak of th thaton puna apart fom bial prophesy, 222 Fiano case docs heal he tia popes to ay but bible prophets. Jct notjoten acknowledgement ofthe enone stats of eran witngs ath sail dvne inspiration hy which thy were witen}™ fstha Batis doa tron x ong hows ge ti te oi of steal understanding of history Is, obvious}, provided him a eet a condemnaon othe oiickaon of popbee wich ed rovtonal dase. *° Nowra hs works doe Josephs speak, a do the Tanaim® ofthe csnbtuhtent of God's Kinglom othe ecatlogal rene of sae and Se trough he Holy Sprit. For Josephs the Kingdom lead here eye thatrant-a word coed ty bim-—and the observance of wise fv witha she roward of aif aftr ent in another evence 3 Maybe casa caine welng of he ac agsnnt Apion, more tn Chit eas fener of erate, he etme uae speak ofthe eschatlogeal see Miche mut have known net an trl prof any genuinely Jvish GR Neaboutthe ame tine anobier Palestinian Jo, the author ofthe Bea sRaatyone, wes presenting a very dftrent slut tothe clemm of eae Arcee I pegs ef story 2 A fo which solution wes i the long see hat and ibe wit tis ot fotanatly, te responsibilty of te ee wnt fo decide [wl ule 0 show tat Josephus, oral i Pius dete did have soliton and one which mess cosieaton, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, U'S.A. so ex Scauaryn, op. iy. $95. Ba, “The Use and Non Use of Paeuna ty sot SS SSE TTBN op 20 dW: Rovira "Der hte Goi Spy ent SSG del pyr 1178: last parla valvabe on Phariic snd Qu iophey. eee BER atement i? Pt, 1:24 represents ood rabbi eachng: “no pronsy cone epee Seis tutes moved by the ody Sprit spake fom Gad ng Fecha fou ne Targum and fc, peal Stat. Fatah ict dea tte way the Wat speaks of Josep BuENKINSOPP “Te pligl Genson, hough at, deel he ee eg fine etm core at, 1217-19 akin nt XVTEYE gn Wriif ss osprey cna opty, othe Pare beet sn sgpurecton, oath i Nuusnats close ina Time of Css: Four Responses tothe Desteticn of the Second Terie", adatom 21 0972), pp 315-17. From Exegesis to Fable in Rabbinic Traditions About the Pharisees 1 THE comparison and intapretaton of various versions of single str, saying or exegisis occurring in diferent compilation of rabbinic traditions hhave made little progress. The reason is that scholars, well aware of variations ‘of one sort or another, suppese that pericopae originally were transmitted by ‘word of mouth, until written down many centuries after ther first formulation ‘and introduction into the processes of oral transmission. That supposition is applied to the Mishnab, where it certainly fits, and to the several compilations ‘of midrashic traditions, assembled from late Talmudic times to the early ‘modern period, where it manifestly does not. But if one assumes that every version represents a singular and authentic oral tradition, as valid a witness to the “original” formulation as any other, then be will be unable to cope ‘with, or even take seriously, the differences between one example of a story and the next. Since, moreover, a pseudo-orthodox spirit of piety tends to ‘prevail nearly everywhere, itis dificult for scholars to raise searching ques- tions, to call into doubt the “historicity” of stories, sayings, and the attribu- tion of exegeses to particular masters of ancient times, Whether confessedly or otherwise, the larger number of students of talmudic and midrashic Titerature take for granted that moma “wwe B7pM2 PR applies to the Oral ‘Torah as much as to the writen one. Consequently they discern no sequence of development in a given tradition, for, as noted, each version is as good as the next, and all are right. The task is not to discriminate, but to harmonise, and critical analysis of either literary or historical problems is, therefore, ‘uncommon, except within the fundamentalist, unhistoricl presuppositions of the traditional yeshivot and heir continuators in the Jidische Wissenschaft. In recent times, a small number of students of ancient Jewish literature, primarily located in American universities, have attempted to close the ‘culture-gap of nearly two ceoturies that separates the study of rabbinic litera- ‘ture and history in late antiquity from that of other literatures and histories ‘of the same period and plac. I call attention to Henry A. Fischel’s “Story ‘and History: Observations cn Greco-Roman Rhetoric and Pharissism,” in American Oriental Society, Middle West Branch. Semi-Centennial Volume (ed. ‘by Denis Sinor) Asian Stuties Research Institute Oriental Series No, 8 (Bloomington, 1969: Indiana University Press), pp. 59-88; to Morton Smith's Tannaitie Parallels 1 the Gospels (Philadelphia, 1951: Journal of Biblical Literature Monograph Series); and to my Development of a Legend: ‘Studies on the Traditions Concerning Yohanan ben Zakkai (Leiden, 1970: E. J.

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