Josephus' Portrait of Saul
In striving for his apologetic ends, Josephus was clearly influenced by the historiographical ideals of the rhetorical school associated with the name of Isocrates and the scientific school founded by Aristotle. His depiction of Saul is to be viewed as a Hellenized portrait of a Jewish hero, in line...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1982
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 1982, Volume: 53, Pages: 45-99 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Josephus, Flavius (37-100)
B Saul Israel, King |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | In striving for his apologetic ends, Josephus was clearly influenced by the historiographical ideals of the rhetorical school associated with the name of Isocrates and the scientific school founded by Aristotle. His depiction of Saul is to be viewed as a Hellenized portrait of a Jewish hero, in line with the ideals of Isocrates, Theopompus, and Dionysius, with stress placed upon precisely those qualities which would appeal to a Greek audience. These are first, the external qualities of good birth and handsome stature; second, the four cardinal virtues of character — wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice; and third, the spiritual attribute of piety. These are, to be sure, hardly distinctive with the Greeks and are surely important to Jews as well; but what is decisive is the phraseology which Josephus employs, which is so often reminiscent of Greek writers, notably Dionysius. The close connection of tragedy and history which we see in Josephus' portrait of Saul may be due also to their single common source — epic. This may, indeed, ultimately explain why Josephus' depiction is so redolent of Achilles. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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