Understandably, throughout Christian history, the Works of Josephus have been indispensable in helping us reconstruct the history and world of the New Testament. After all, Josephus tells us firsthand about the Herodian family, the temple, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. He mentions James the brother of Jesus, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself. Arguably, apart from the New Testament itself, Josephus has helped us understand the life and times and world of Jesus and the apostles as much as any other document of the ancient world.
Unfortunately we have often strip-mined Josephus for selfish reasons and have left the message of this first-century Jewish historian in shambles. His relevance for Christianity has been flattened by a simplistic history=fact formula approach, and his contribution to our understanding of the ancient world has been twisted to suit modern needs and answer to questions Josephus never intended.
An internationally recognized authority on Josephus, Louis H. Feldman comments on the appearance of Steve Mason's Josephus and the New Testament:
"There can be no doubt that the best aid for understanding the background of the New Testament is its contemporary, Josephus; and there can now be no doubt that the most careful, most comprehensive, and most useful introduction to Josephus as the key to the background for the New Testament is Steve Mason's book. As one reads it, one senses that a master teacher is talking directly to one in a most delightful, even breezy, style so easy to understand. The judgement in the many disputed questions are eminently fair and always based on a fresh and insightful reading of the texts involved, so that even the most advanced student will find the book of great value." Â—Louis H. Feldman, Professor of Classics, Yeshiva University

Josephus and the New Testament

Steve Mason

Religion & Spirituality

Hendrickson Publishers

Early Christian Reader is a sourcebook and textbook that offers a welcoming and informed entrée into the complex world of the earliest Christian literature. The books of the New Testament (NRSV) are presented in a plausible chronological order rather than the canonical order encountered in modern New Testaments. In addition, translations of other early and important works such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Didache, the Letter of Barnabas, 1 Clement, and the letters of Ignatius are included. This volume orients its extensive introductions and notes to historical ways of thinking about these texts by examining each text as a product of its time and situation and by tracing similar themes from one text to the next. Each work s introduction discusses the date and place of composition, authorship, audience, basic themes, literary features, Jewish and Hellenistic contexts, and suggestions for further readings in the secondary literature. Generous notes illuminate specific historical, lexical, and interpretive issues. Broader issues affecting the treatment of these texts are introduced in seven lead articles covering such topics as ancient letter-writing, the relationships among the Gospels, meaning in texts, early church leadership structures, and the relationship between texts and events for example in Jesus life. Informative appendixes, maps, and charts make this an ideal text for the university or college classroom. Early Christianity remains a subject of great importance for anyone interested in the roots of Western civilization, and Early Christian Reader provides access to the formative texts from a perspective that simply seeks historical understanding.

Early Christian Reader

History

Tom Robinson

World

Society of Biblical Literature

About the Author\nSteve Mason, Ph.D. (1986), University of St. Michael’s College (Toronto), is Emeritus Professor in the University of Groningen. His earlier books include two in this series, which he edits, and A History of the Jewish War, AD 66-74 (Cambridge UP, 2016).\nBook 4 is the pivotal volume of Josephus’ seven-volume masterpiece, the Judean War. It takes the reader from Galilee and the Golan to Vespasian’s rise to power via the entry of John of Gischala and Simon bar Giora into Jerusalem.

Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary, Volume 2a: Judean War 4 (Flavius Josephus, 2)

University of Groningen

Ancient Civilizations

BRILL

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Books by Steve Mason