Abstract
This paperback is now the best choice for anyone who wishes to read through the most impactful text of western antiquity, outside the Bible, in English. Rendering Josephus’ complex periods faithfully but without anaesthetic effect is a challenge. This edition has achieved that and much more. It represents the collaboration between Martin Hammond, master of ancient Greek and of English style, and Oxford’s renowned expert in classical Judaism and Josephus, Martin Goodman.
For the translator of Josephus’ War, problems begin with the Greek source. Hammond sensibly uses B. Niese’s late nineteenth-century critical text and apparatus—often criticised but still unsurpassed—and records the (ca. 140) cases in which he chooses a different reading (pp. 486–9). His handling of War’s opening sentence illustrates his chosen style. Translators often try to preserve the recherché effect of Josephus’ 264 words with dependent clauses, men…de contrasts, and highfalutin phrasing. Hammond has decided that an elite English writer would not sentence his readers to such incarceration. His ten easy sentences allow key phrases to leap from the welter of whereases: ‘I am Josephus, son of Matthias.…’ (War 1.3); ‘This was, as I say, a convulsion on the grand scale’ (1.4); ‘I saw, then, a paradox which demanded my attention’ (1.6). Such vividness requires a translator willing to interpret by clarifying (Varus at 2.8), if not supplying catchy completions for (‘this manifesto’ for Ἐπὶ τούτοις at 2.8), Josephus’ pronouns. Hammond’s willingness makes him able to offer us a comfortable journey.
Although aimed at a general readership, the volume does not lower the standard of scholarship. Goodman’s introduction is lucid, nuanced, and up to date, including fascinating pages on the reception of Josephus. Although the large asterisks in the translation may distract, they signal that Goodman has a note at the end (pp. 377–485), mainly to help the reader navigate countless Agrippas, Eleazars, and Simons. Maps and plans as well as a detailed index (pp. 504–62) make this volume useful for the scavenger as well as the reader.
I noticed few errors. William Whiston’s translation dates from 1737 (not 1760s, p. xxxi). Josephus’ fame as ‘Flavius’ began not ‘only in the early modern period’ (p. xxvi) but well before 200 ce (cf. Clement, Strom. 1.21.147.2, then often). Map 3 has a pre-1980s location for Gamala, far to the southeast of the confirmed site.
This accessible Josephus will both satisfy and stimulate the considerable interest in this author.