controversy
Josephus on Jesus
Also known as Testimonium Flavianum
undated
The Jesus passage in Antiquities 18 is widely judged partly interpolated; most scholars think a shorter original existed, a minority judge it wholly inserted.
Wikipedia extract
Josephus was a first-century Jewish historian, general of Galilee during the First Jewish–Roman War, and relative of the high priestly families of the Second Temple who provided external information on some people and events found in the New Testament. Josephus was the military governor of Galilee, which is where Jesus ministered. He lived near Jesus's hometown of Nazareth for a time, and kept contact with groups such as the Sanhedrin and Ananus ben Ananus, who were involved in the trials of Jesus and his brother James. He wrote much about Galilee and its inhabitants in his autobiography The Life of Flavius Josephus, which was an appendix to Antiquities of the Jews. The extant manuscripts of Antiquities of the Jews, written c. 93–94, contain two references to Jesus of Nazareth and one reference to John the Baptist.
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Sources
- Josephus on Jesus · Wikipedia contributorsAccessed 2026-11-12 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q1127893 · Wikidata contributorsAccessed 2026-11-12 · CC0 1.0
Authority files
modern-scholarly-debate · roman-sources